A fixation on international validation is fulfilled

Much has been written about China's so-called Nobel complex - a fixation on the country's failure to produce a laureate in literature.

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Julia Lovell's 2006 book The Politics of Cultural Capital: China's Quest for a Nobel Prize in Literature argues the award has loomed large in the national consciousness for decades - a symbol of Western validation that remained unrealized until last week.

So, when Chinese novelist Mo Yan was announced as this year's winner, the selection was heralded by some as more than just a comment on his work.

"This honor doesn't just mark a happy ending to a long and unrequited desire for global recognition," Yale University professor of modern Chinese literature and culture Jing Tsu says. "It is also an important acknowledgement, on the part of its Western audience, that one needs to look beyond newspaper headlines and financial markets to understand the complex phenomenon that is China. I think the recognition of the Nobel committee demonstrates the importance of learning the particular cultural and historical visions that helped make China's rise happen."

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Associate professor of Chinese language and literature at Beloit College in Wisconsin Daniel Youd says: "The award is, of course, primarily given based on literary merit, but there are often other political considerations. The committee is conscious of representing the world's population and of introducing readers to other literary traditions. It was time for a writer of Chinese nationality to be awarded."

Paize Keulemans, assistant professor of East Asian studies at Princeton University, believes the timing reflects a growing recognition of China as a world power.

"That said, I think we should not overemphasize the Chineseness of Mo Yan," he says.

"Even if Mo Yan employs a host of thematics and stylistic characteristics that are Chinese - whatever we mean by that - and even though he is a citizen of the PRC, I think it's also important that we simply recognize him as an individual and great writer."

The range of reactions to Mo's win within China is a barometer of the country's changing feelings about the West, he says. Mo has been criticized for his participation in a government project to hand-copy a speech by Mao Zedong.

But Jing says: "Modern Chinese literature has always been an unusually close witness to the historical humiliation, trauma and violence that accompanied China's road to global power. It has been a unique medium for expressing this evolution in poignant, rich and often subversive ways, as has been the case with Mo Yan's works."

Youd believes the award will positively change how the West views Chinese literary tradition.

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"It's not just a growing economic power. It's also becoming a cultural power again. It's returning to a place it occupied for thousands of years."

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, various Chinese writers were experimenting with innovations responding to Western imperialism. But their works were largely overlooked by the Western literary establishment, he says.

"But as the world and political landscape has changed, it has become clear that the world needs voices from all over."

Penguin Books, which published Mo's most famous novel, Red Sorghum, is reprinting 15,000 copies in response to the announcement, publicity director Maureen Donnelly says.

Arcade Publishing, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing and the publisher of five of Mo's books, will reprint 10,000-20,000 copies of each book in the coming weeks, director of publicity Oleg Lyubner says.

Jeannette Seaver, consulting editor and co-founder of Arcade Publishing, expressed excitement at the increase in Chinese books available to Western readers.

"Being a publisher is like running a roulette game - you never know. We published Mo Yan when he was completely unknown, and we carried on because we loved his writing. We believed in him, irrespective of any immediate return on our investment.

"So, for us, to see Mo Yan being acclaimed is such a validation of his talent. We're very proud."

Wang Bowen contributed to this story.

kdawson@chinadailyusa.com