欧宝娱乐

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"?ajā ?īnie?u mūsdienu rakstnieka, Nobela prēmijas laureāta, Mo Je?a krājumā apkopotie stāsti ir niecīga da?a no ?īnie?u valodā publicētajiem darbiem, stāstu varo?i ir pieticīgi, necer uz daudz labāku nākotni, ta?u mē?ina izdzīvot. Tomēr visvairāk ?ajā grāmatā lasītājs novērtēs Mo Je?a tie?o un patieso ?īniskumu, kas ?auj gūt nepastarpinātu, autentisku iespaidu par ?īnie?u dzīvi un pasaules uzskatiem bez romantizācijas, ar ko bie?i vien modernā rietumu pasaule apveltī Austrumus." Raimonds Jaks, tulkotājs.

Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

170 people are currently reading
1316 people want to read

About the author

Mo Yan

299?books1,385?followers
Modern Chinese author, in the western world most known for his novel Red Sorghum (which was turned into a movie by the same title). Often described as the Chinese Franz Kafka or Joseph Heller.

Mo Yan (莫言) is a pen name and means don't speak. His real name is Guan Moye (simplified Chinese: 管谟业; traditional Chinese: 管謨業; pinyin: Guǎn Móyè).

He has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2012 for his work which "with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary". Among the works highlighted by the Nobel judges were Red Sorghum (1987) and Big Breasts & Wide Hips (2004), as well as The Garlic Ballads.

Chinese version: 莫言

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews
Profile Image for Maziyar Yf.
743 reviews536 followers
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August 25, 2022
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Profile Image for Dream.M.
910 reviews491 followers
April 20, 2020
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Profile Image for Atefeh.
53 reviews14 followers
April 26, 2018
???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ??? ? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ???? ??? ????? (( ??? ?? ??? ????? ???? ????? ? ?????))
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Profile Image for E8RaH!M.
225 reviews60 followers
September 2, 2020
??? ????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??????.

????????? ??? ?????? ?? ?? ????? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ? ???? ?? ?????? ??????. ?? ???? ???????? ??? ?????? ???? ? ?? ??? ????? ??????. ?????? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?? ????????? ???? ????? ?????.

?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ?? ??????? ??????? ???? ???????? ????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ???? ??????? ????? ????? ? ??????? ? ?????? ??? ???? ? ?? ??? ????? ???. ?? ???? ???? ??? ?? ???????? ?? ????? ? ???????? ?? ??????? ? ???? ?? ? ????????? ????? ???? ??? ?? ??? ????? ? ????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?? ????.

????? ????? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ?? ?????? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ? ??? ?? ????. ????? ???? ?????? ? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????? ??? ?????.
Profile Image for KatieMc.
905 reviews91 followers
September 21, 2015
Reading this was a good exercise in expanding my personal, hopefully not too xenophobic, horizons. This collection of short stories had an interesting preface by the author, a mini autobiography describing his passion and inspiration for writing. He describes his early childhood during the cultural revolution and how he developed a resilience to adversity. He also describes the fact that he has no formal training, let alone Western influences on his writing. This is important, because you really must do a mental reset in order to appreciate and hopefully enjoy the stories.

All the stories I appreciated. Only a couple of them did I actually enjoy. In several cases, I didn't get the meaning or symbolism. I'm not a short story person. Add to that the fact that several had a magical realism flavor, and my enjoyment was destined to be an uphill battle. All the stories seemed to end abruptly. Needless to say, this was not my reading happy place.

Thoughts on the individual stories...

Shifu, You'll Do Anything for a Laugh. A laid off worker gets creative in funding his retirement. This was mostly light hearted, but did have a few dark moments.

Man and Beast - I'll be honest, I didn't get this one. A cave, a fox, Japanese, rape.

Soaring - a wife bird gets shot with an arrow and killed. I am sure there is meaning in the perils of freedom.

Iron Child - Kids eat iron and turn into iron... iron zombies? This story might be making some sort of statement about state run industry, poverty and neglect. Or it might just be a fanciful play on a childhood memory of feasting on coal.

The Cure. This story was creepy and disturbing. It featured public execution and organ harvesting. Corruption too, with a father offering the services of his 18 year old daughter to a public official, o_O. IDGI

Love Story - This one had the best line in the entire book... Tall girl, short boy — tits in the face, what a joy. What I want to know is, did this rhyme in Mandarin?

Shen Garden - journey to a mysterious garden, meaning lost on me.

Abandoned Child. Well that was depressing. This story tackles ham fisted one-child policy as well as the deeply ingrained misogyny of Chinese culture.
Profile Image for Ghazale.
24 reviews1 follower
October 13, 2016
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??????? ????? ?????? ??????? ?? ????? ? ?? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ? ?? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?? ???? ?? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ?? ??? ?????? ?????..

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Profile Image for Mohammad.
358 reviews359 followers
March 29, 2020
?? ?? ?? ?????????? ???? (??????? ? ????????) ???? ??? ????? ? ???? ???. ??? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ???? ??? ??????? ???? ?? ??? ???. ?? ??????? ??????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?? ?? ???????
Profile Image for EMMA.
255 reviews380 followers
July 15, 2020
??????? ???? ?? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ?? ??? ???? ????? ?? ?????? ??????? ????? ? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ??????.
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Profile Image for Zoha Mortazavi.
157 reviews28 followers
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March 23, 2024
??? ???? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ?? (?? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???)?????? ? ??? ????. ???? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ? ???????? ?? ?????????? ???? ?? ???. ???????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ?????.
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402 reviews118 followers
November 17, 2017
?????? ???????? ?? ?????? ????????????? ???????? ??? ?????.
?? ??? ?? ????????? ?????? ????? ?? ??????? ???????. ????? ??????? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ??????? ????.
?????? ??? ??????? ???? ?????? ???.
??? ? ?? ?? ?????? ?????????? ???.
????? ?????? ????????? ???.

??????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ??????? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?? ?????????? ???????? ???? ?? ??? ?????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??????.
Profile Image for Hosein.
273 reviews109 followers
January 25, 2025
?????? ?? ????? ??? ??? ????? ???? ? ???? ???? ??? ?????? ????.
??? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?? ?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ??? ? ??? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ???????.

??? ????? ?????? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?????. ??? ??? ???? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ???? ?? ?????. ??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????.
Profile Image for Hanieh Habibi.
120 reviews170 followers
December 15, 2021
??? ?? ?????? ????????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ???. ?? ?? ??? ?? ????? ???? ???? ????? ??? ??? ??????? ?? ?? ?????? ????. ???? ???? ?? ??? ????????? ???? ????? ?????? ????????? ????? :?
Profile Image for Tama.
138 reviews5 followers
January 11, 2008
Here's a case of falling in love with the author/intro, but struggling with the book. The book is a series of colorful tales played out during extreme circumstances. Loved the first tale--but not as much--those that followed. Perhaps the brutality? I would love to read Mo Yan's autobiography--he's a terifficly appealing soul. A much loved writer in China--the stories reflect his experiences with poverty and the peoples struggle.
Profile Image for Nazmi Yaakub.
Author?4 books272 followers
August 24, 2016
Lapan cerpen yang memberi peluang untuk kita menikmati kepengarangan Mo Yan meskipun beliau memang dikenali dalam genre novel. Latar sosio-politik dan sosio-budaya terutama zaman awal Mao, revolusi budaya, kebuluran dan moden dengan percikan realisme magis serta erotik tipis di beberapa cerpen - boleh menjadi pembuka selera untuk terus menikmati novel Penerima Hadiah Nobel Kesusasteraan 2011 ini.
Profile Image for Seyed Mohammad Reza Mahdavi.
148 reviews6 followers
October 19, 2024
??? ???? ???? ??? ??? ????? ???.?? ?????? ?? ???? ??????? ?? ??????? ??? ?? ?? ?? ??? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ????? ????? ???? ??? .
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????? ??? ???? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ???? ? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ???!!!!!
????? ??? ??? ?? ????? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ??????? ??? ?? ?? ????? ???????? ??? ??? (??? ??? ????? ?? ?? ????? ????? ??? ???????)
????? ??? ??? ??????? ??????? ?? ????? ?????? ????? ???? ?????? ???
Profile Image for M L Delshad.
47 reviews12 followers
March 9, 2020
??????? ????? ? ???? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???? ?????? ??? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ??????.
????? ???? ??? ?? ?? ?? ??? ?????.???????? ???? ?? ???????? ?? ??? ?????? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??? ??? ??? ????? ?? ??? ???????? ?? ????? ????. ????? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ???? ? ?????? ?? ?????? ? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ?? ?? ?????? ????? ???. ????? ?? ??? ???.

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Profile Image for Richard.
Author?17 books66 followers
July 11, 2008
The blurb from Kenzaburo Oe on the front of the book says, quite simply, "If I were to choose a Nobel Laureate it would be Mo Yan." I think the esteemed Oe would have a good case to make. This short story collection is very revealing about Mo Yan and his purpose in writing. In his introduction, Mo discusses his direction to become a writer after a life of poverty, where a shipment of coal becomes a feast for the villagers. Several of these stories may seem incomplete at first glance, but Mo's introduction brings light to the fact that he is out to reveal a basic love of humanity in his work as well as a desire for justice.

In the title story, certainly and focal point of this collection, Ding Shikou is laid off from work just one month before retirement. Silly, simple man that he is, he believes the kind words of the politicians and supervisors who give him encouraging words and even tries to see them when they've invited him to come see them at any time.

But of course, they are liars, and that is what is at the root of Mo's work--the struggle of humans against powers stronger than them. Sometimes the humans take some kind of victory, as Ding Shikou does in becoming an entrepreneur by turning a rundown bus into a retreat for lovers (by the hour), but when they are victorious in any way, a price is paid. Ding suffers loss of pride, but fortunately not his humanity and in the end cannot be as greedy and ruthless as those who put him out in the first place.

It is this kind of ideal that drives the other stories in this collection as well. "Man and Beast" and "Iron Child" are tales laced with magic about the struggles of soldiers and children to maintain their humanity in the face of unmerciful Japanese soldiers or abandonment by parents. In "Man and Beast," the narrator's grandfather learns compassion even for his enemies, while in "Iron Child," an abandoned child learns to live as an iron demon. Even is fantastical tales like "Soaring," a woman who can sprout wings is surrounded by cold traditionalists who insist upon her arranged marriage.

The humans of Mo's work are beset on all sides and sometimes cannot overcome at all, but the best stories in this collection sing of the human spirit and its endless fight.
Profile Image for jeremy.
1,190 reviews298 followers
December 1, 2012
pseudonymous chinese novelist mo yan is perhaps best known for his novels red sorghum and the republic of wine. the 2012 nobel laureate in literature, mo yan already has a half dozen novels translated into english, as well as two short story collections. shifu, you'll do anything for a laugh features eight short stories (spanning most of mo yan's career) selected for inclusion by translator howard goldblatt with the author's approval.

mo yan's introduction (recounting the forces that led to his initially becoming a writer) is a candid, humble look back on a childhood marked by "hunger and loneliness." allowing an intriguing glimpse into the formation of a writer, the introduction sets the reader up for what she's to encounter in the coming stories. sadly, however, the book's strongest, most poignant writing is to be found in the introduction and not in the stories themselves.

while short fiction can seemingly prove a more difficult format than its longer counterpart, short stories do allow a writer the freedom and opportunity to experiment and work out ideas that can be more fully explored elsewhere. mo yan's stories are intriguing enough, but there is little vigor or vim by which the reader can get carried away. worse yet, is that mo yan's writing - at least in these stories - often tends toward the flat or dull. there aren't any bad stories in this collection, but neither are there any exceptional ones. his acclaimed novels may well be where it's at, but these stories left me wanting for something far greater - especially from a writer whose work is deemed important enough to win so prestigious a prize.

amongst the collection's strongest pieces are the title story, "the cure," and "abandoned child."

my grandmother once told me that while there is no suffering a person cannot endure, there is plenty of good fortune one can never hope to enjoy.
Profile Image for Max Borgens.
20 reviews1 follower
November 1, 2022
Très bonne découverte de ce petit roman chinois. On y suit un vieil homme qui se fait licencier de l’usine pour laquelle il a consacré toute sa vie, et qui doit faire face à l’injustice imposée par la société. ? la fois dr?le et traitant d’un sujet sérieux, ce court roman, par une narration efficace, capte l’attention du lecteur gr?ce à une direction inattendue du récit. La fin est un peu prévisible toutefois…
Profile Image for Violet Christensen.
115 reviews2 followers
July 18, 2024
this is the most sexist work I've ever read ? I've never seen women written in such a one dimensional way, and always at fault for one reason or another. But hey! I finished it. I survived. I said I wanted to read more pieces by authors abroad and this was pretty good in that sense. I liked the common theme of hunger throughout each of the short stories, and the way the Cultural Revolution shaped many of the hardships faced by the characters.
Profile Image for yelenska.
658 reviews165 followers
March 3, 2021
Après avoir entendu le nom de cet auteur maintes fois dans la bouche de @naabolita, et ce, toujours en bien, je me suis dit que Mo Yan était un auteur chinois qu'il me fallait absolument découvrir ! J'ai choisi un livre relativement court, qui fait une centaine de pages, avec un synopsis qui me disait bien.

Le récit se déroule dans la Chine communiste. Le personnage principal, Ma?tre Ding, est licencié du jour au lendemain lorsque son usine fait faillite, lui qui était pourtant si proche de la retraite. Pour lui, c'est tout un monde qui s'effondre. Que faire à son vieil ?ge ? Quelles possibilités s'ouvrent à lui ? Il regarde les marchands autour de lui, et il se dit qu'il ne pourrait pas faire ce qu'ils font. Il passe d'abord par une phase de grand désarroi, prêt à se laisser mourir tant il se sent incapable de s'en sortir. Mais un jour, il lui vient une idée qui n'est certes pas très orthodoxe, mais qui devrait marcher. (La suite, c'est à vous de la découvrir)

Le ma?tre de plus en plus d'humour est une fable qui a tout l'air d'une critique du capitalisme. Lorsque Ding se fait licencier, on voit bien que les structures sociales ne sont pas capables d'aider tout le monde, et par conséquent, des gens vont être laissés sur le banc de touche.

Pour ce qui est de l'auteur, ce court récit m'a laissé entrevoir un certain talent d'écriture: il critique avec délicatesse et une pointe d'ironie, voire de cynisme. Je lirai bient?t d'autres livres de Mo Yan pour me faire une meilleure idée sur son oeuvre. Parmi ceux qui me tentent, il y a notamment La dure loi du karma.

Il demanda doucement: ? Pourquoi faut-il payer pour aller aux toilettes ?

-Ma?tre, on dirait que vous débarquez de la planète Mars, vous croyez que de nos jours il y a encore des choses gratuites ? dit l'apprenti en haussant les épaules. Mais payer a aussi son avantage. Si c'était gratuit, même en rêve, des petites gens comme nous n'iraient pas dans des W.-C. luxueux comme ceux-ci ! ?
Profile Image for R..
980 reviews138 followers
February 4, 2013
A marvelous selection - eight cherrypicked from a list of 80 possibles, according to the wildly inspirational preface "Hunger and Loneliness: My Muses" - that makes for an excellent introduction to The Chinese Chekhov.

The title story starts out as a story about unemployment, morphs into a story about a bang bus and ends as a ghost story.

Other stories veer into the cartoonish and surreal (i.e. hallucinogenic) territory that earned Mo the ol' Swedish Nod: children eat railroad scrap ("Iron Child"), foxes attack ("Man and Beast"), brides float away ("Soaring") and, I dunno, but "Shen Garden" seemed to read like a piss-taking Murakamian pastiche (translator's fault/fancy?)

At the end of the day, at the close of the book, I am amazed at what Mo Yan is able to zip under the radar - truly, he is a literary Manchurian Candidate.
Profile Image for ???? ?????.
Author?31 books59 followers
January 9, 2019
??? ? ??????? ????? ???? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ????? ??? ?????? ?? ? ?????? ???? ??? ? ?????. ??? ?? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ? ?? ?????? ????? ? ??????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?????.

????? ??? ??? ?? ???? ?? ?????. ????? ???? ??????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?? ????? ? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?????? ? ?? ???? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ???? ???????? ?? ???? ??? ??? ???? ? ??? ?? ????? ??? ??? ?? ?? ???? ????? ??? ??? ???? ?????.
Profile Image for David Schwan.
1,138 reviews44 followers
March 16, 2016
An interesting collection of short stories from the noble prize winning author. I've previously read one of the authors novels. I think this collection shows the breadth of the authors skills. The descriptions of life in the stories gives the reader a vivid picture of life in rural China.
Profile Image for 础苍诲谤é.
2,512 reviews25 followers
December 23, 2022
Citaat : Met elke gaap draaide dat mooie gezicht van haar in mijn richting en gluurde zo verontwaardigd naar me dat je gedacht zou hebben dat ik net op haar gespuugd had of kalkpoeder in haar potje gezichtscrème had gestopt.
Review : Mo Yan (1956) is een van de beroemdste hedendaagse Chinese schrijvers,bekend van de romans Het rode korenveld, De knoflookliederen en De wijnrepubliek. Hij werd tevens nobelprijswinnaar literatuur 2012. Een boek van Yan dompelt je echt in de Aziatische sfeer en dat geldt zeker voor deze bundel die een keuze bevat uit zijn korte verhalen van midden jaren tachtig tot heden.De auteur heeft een grote reputatie op het gebied van het korte verhaal en in zijn voorwoord zegt Mo Yan daar zelfs trotser op te zijn dan op zijn romans. Het titelverhaal Alles voor een glimlach werd ook door de bekende cineast Zhang Yimou (de verfilmer van Het rode korenveld) bewerkt voor het witte doek, maar met zulke aanpassingen dat de film (Happy Times) nog maar weinig met het boek heeft te maken. De verhalen varieren flink van stijl maar sluiten nogal aan bij de thema's die hij in ander werk gebruikt zoals de Chinese éénkindpolitiek die ook in zijn roman kikkers uitgebreid aan bod komt. De typische anekdotische verteltrant die ook hier weer regeert maakt van Mo Yan behalve een exotisch auteur ook een toegankelijke auteur. Mo Yans verhalen zijn stuk voor stuk levensechte, menselijke taferelen.
Profile Image for Jaiseri.
206 reviews14 followers
April 23, 2019
The first and the last stories were great. The stories in the middle failed to prevent me from drifting away in my thoughts.
The “abandoned child” which was the last story amazed me with so many similarities we have with the chinese society. The female infanticide in China amid the one-child policy is woven in a story that boggles up your mind. Here’s a quote from the story:

“She is the wife of a man from Black Water Village who’s already had three children, all girls. She was hoping for a boy, but no such luck. And when her husband heard she’d had another girl, he simply drove off in his horse cart. Bot the sort of father you see every day. Well, when she saw him run off like that, she jumped down off the delivery table, pulled up her pants, and ran out crying, leaving her new baby behind.”
Profile Image for Mehrnoosh.
108 reviews5 followers
June 24, 2020
?? ???? ?????????? ??? ???? ??? ????? ????? ? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?????. ??? ???? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?????? ????? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?????? ??? ???.
Profile Image for Evren.
55 reviews9 followers
January 19, 2014
This book left me with mixed emotions. This is one of the books I set out to read as a "light" read, and in the end it turned out to have demanded a considerable amount of mental energy. Now, I have read enough to avoid the condescending idea that a piece of literature will provide an introduction to this or that culture, if anything just the opposite. Therefore, whenever I get to read literature, I seek for common, universal references, with an original voice. Perhaps it is personal, because of the fact that despite my native is not English, I read a lot in English about the English-speaking world, I developed this sensitivity for the commonalities, rather than particularities. And what is more universal than feelings? The most powerful emotion is desperation and contempt for my kind and for myself. In the end, I was left with the conundrum of "circumstantial morality": I realized (once again) that it is the circumstances in which I find myself that make my dark side "disappear"; the harsher realities that most of the people around the world are exposed to, especially poverty, got me thinking the triviality of my moral questions compared to these peoples', and got me confusing whether they are the ones living in "magic reality", or am I? (I was especially struck by the "Abandoned Child", being an expectant father of a baby girl.)

At times, Mo Yan's voice sounds like an overly didactic, condescending but idealistic school teacher: but he should be given the benefit of the doubt of living in a country where "culture" has been shaped by a "revolution"; and everything being written is overseen. Which, I think, does not steal from Mo Yan's art; literature has been proven to bloom under intellectually or otherwise "constrained circumstances", and yes, at times, by compromising.

I was happy in the end to see that the stories in this book can hardly be labeled as belonging to a certain style; I found Mo Yan's style diverse and rich. As a newbie to Chinese literature, I think the complicated relationship between the present and the past of China has a lot to offer, at least in terms of literature.
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357 reviews13 followers
August 5, 2018
Give up finishing Alice Minro short stories then reading the Mo Yan short stories book. feel like... Oh, i did the right thing

just read the intro... the misery that I've felt is nothing. at least I always have food. a good food.

Don't for a minute think there was no pleasure in our lives back then. We had fun doing lots of things. Topping the list of fun things to do was gleefully eating something we'd never considered food before.


hunger made me realize how very important food is to people. Glory, causes, careers, and love mean nothing on an empty stomach. Because of food, I lost my self-respect; because of food, I suffered the humiliation of a lowly cur; and because of food I took up creative writing, with a vengeance.


A writer writes what he knows, in ways that are natural to him. I grew up hungry and lonely, a witness to human suffering and injustice; my mind is filled with sympathy for humanity in general and outrage over a society that bristles with inequality. That's what my stories are all about, that's all they could be about. Not surprisingly, as my stomach grew accustomed to being full when I wanted it to be, my literary output underwent a change. I have gradually come to realize that a life of eating jiaozi??three times a day can still be accompanied by pain and suffering, and that this spiritual suffering is no less painful than physical hunger. The act of giving voice to this spiritual suffering is, in my view, the sacred duty of a writer. But for me, writing about the suffering of the soul in no way supplants my concern for the physical agony brought about by hunger. I can't say whether this is my strength as a writer, or my weakness, but I know but it is what fate has decreed for me.


Life was tough, all right, but as long as you were willing to work hard and put your pride aside, you could always get by.



People were what he feared the most, and also what he missed the most.
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