Mo Yan: Chinese Novelist Receives the Nobel Prize in Literature 2012

Known for his "hallucinatory realism," Chinese writer of the 1987 novel, "Red Sorghum", Mo Yan, is the recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in literature.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the nobel committee spoke of his use of "hallucinatory realism" which "which blends aspects of "folk tales, history and the contemporary."

Mo Yan is only the second Chinese writer to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Novelist, Gao Xingjian won the nobel prize for literature in 2000. The prize is $1.2 million and obvious recognition from the coveted and highly respected nomination.

Mo Yan whose writing career spanned 30 years has "gained a reputation for speaking out with uncommon directness on the absurdities and corruption of modern China. Born in 1955, he won celebrity during the mid- to late-80s, participating in two key developments in the post-Mao literary thaw that, together, transformed the imaginative landscapes of mainland writing: the root-seeking and avant-garde movements. The root-seekers opened up fiction to influences from Chinese traditional culture and aesthetics, countering decades of anti-traditionalism both before and after the communist revolution of 1949," said The Guardian newspaper.

Reuters reported that the writer was once so deprived that he had to eat weeds and tree bark for survival. Reuters quoted him as saying that he was "overjoyed and terrified," by the award.

Mo Yan's real name is Guan Moye, reports Reuters. His penname is Mo Yan which means, "Don't Speak." He grew up in the Shandong Province in China and his parents were farmers. During China's Cultural Revolution he was forced to drop out of primary school and herd cattle, reported Reuters. Later in life he picked up writing and

Reuters reported him saying to China News Service, "But I do not think that my winning can be seen as representing anything. I think that China has many outstanding authors, and their great works should also be recognized by the world. Next, I'm going to put most of my efforts into creating my new works. I will keep working hard, and I thank everyone. As to whether I go to Sweden to receive the prize, I will wait for word from the organizers about arrangements."

Though best known for his book "Red Sorghum" which was made into a film directed by Zhang Yimou, he is literary repertoire also includes the books, "The Republic of Wine," and Big Breasts and Wide Hips."