Words for the world

Mo Yan's Nobel Prize for Literature opens a new chapter for China. Many view it as a recognition of the country's growing global importance. Zhu Zheng / Xinhua

Mo Yan's Nobel will likely advance international interest in Chinese literature. Cecily Liu and Zhang Chunyan report in London.

Chinese writer Mo Yan's Noble Prize for Literature on Thursday might ignite an explosion of global interest in Chinese literature and lead to more titles translated into English, European experts say.

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Chinese literature has already attracted international attention, but experts say translation remains a barrier.

"Hopefully, (the award) means more people will read Chinese literature and more work will get translated," says Michel Hockx, professor of the Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia from SOAS, University of London. "Many very good Chinese writers have been accepted globally for a long time already. Mo Yan is probably the most translated Chinese writer alive, with at least five of his novels made available in English over the past 20 years."

Jonathan Ruppin, Web editor of bookseller Foyles, says Mo's win coincides with growing interest in Chinese literature and recognizes the talents of a distinctive and visionary writer.

"We are very excited by the fact that English translations of more of his books should now become available," Ruppin says. He made the comments after Mo became the first Chinese national to win the Noble Prize for Literature in its century-long history.

But as East-West cultural exchange has been booming, Chinese literature has been attracting growing attention in recent years.

Hockx explains: "(It's) mainly because there are many more opportunities for Chinese writers to visit other countries, to publish their work outside China and to interact with readerships abroad. At the same time, more and more people globally are learning Chinese and taking an interest in Chinese language and Chinese culture."

Related: Mo pens Nobel success story

University of Oxford lecturer in modern Chinese literature Margaret Hillenbrand says: "The obvious reason for the growing global presence of Chinese literature is the growing global presence of China itself. People have come to realize that there is a serious knowledge deficit between China and its international counterparts - in particular, China knows incomparably more about Europe and America than the other way around - and reading Chinese literature is an effective, intuitive means of remedying that gap.

"And if the world is coming to Chinese literature, some might say that Chinese literature has taken steps toward the world, too."