Abstract

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Title:: Literary China, Asian Narration and Imaginative Reading:A Review of Japanese Scholars’ Mo Yan Studies

Keywords:: Mo Yan studies; literary China; Asian narration; Sino-Japanese communication

Abstract:: Japanese scholars believe that Mo Yan’s works successfully show Chinese people’s great perseverance and tenacity in the turbulent 20th century. In their eyes, those works provide them with an important window into the politics, culture and spirit of contemporary China. They regard Mo Yan’s way of literary creation which is based on but rise above the traditional Chinese literary creation as the direction for the progress of contemporary Chinese literature and as the sign that Chinese literature has converged with world literature via the whole Asia. Mo Yan’s success is thought to reflect the breadth and depth of Asian narration as well as the global influence of contemporary Chinese literature, which is due to the fact that Asian countries in general and China in particular are becoming more important. Japanese scholars’ studies on Mo Yan have provided a new perspective for Japan to see China and to improve Sino-Japanese relation. Their efforts have also created new possibilities for making modern Asian narration.