Yan Mo Reading
Christopher Merrill introduces Hualing Nieh Engle who then introduces Mo Yan. Mo Yan speaks only in Chinese and so a translator repeats what he is saying in English. It is difficult to hear what the translator is saying because he is further away from the microphone than Mo Yan, which makes it seem like Mo Yan is speaking very loudly. Mo Yan talks about his novel Big Breasts and Wide Hips and how the title is sometimes misunderstood by readers as an insult to women when in reality it tells a story that shows the importance of women in Chinese society in contrast to the many foolish men they are surrounded by. Mo Yan reads an excerpt from the novel, which the translator then reads in English. Questions are taken from the audience at the end, but we are unable to clearly hear what the audience members are asking/saying, which makes the last part of the recording very difficult to understand.
In: International Writing Program Archive | Fiction
Authors: Yan Mo
Date Recorded: September 13, 2004
Works Read: Yan Mo discusses his novel Big Breasts and Wide Hips.
Program: --
Format: reading
Contributors: Chirstopher Merrill; Hauling Nieh Engle
Topics: Women's rights in China; literature in China; history of China; Communism in China
Note: It is very hard to hear what the translator is saying because he is standing too far from the microphone, whereas, Mo Yan is standing very close to the microphone so it seems like he is speaking very loudly.