One of the Revelations for Mo Yan’s Winning of Nobel Prize: The Significance and Limitation of Mysterious Writing in Contemporary Chinese Literature

Xiao Tai-Yun

doi:10.4236/als.2014.23014

Abstract

Since the 1990s, the relaxed politic and literary environment has left space for mysterious writing, and a series of mystery novels gain Chinese domestic awards for literature, such as the White Deer Plain, Red Poppies and Right bank of the Argun that won the Mao Dun prize which is the highest honor of novel writings in China. Furthermore, Mo Yan’s winning of the Nobel Prize for Literature indicates that mysterious writing is in the ascendant in contemporary Chinese literature. The contents of this paper are as follows: firstly, the definitions of mystery and mysterious writing are defined, and traces of mysterious writing in ancient Chinese literature and its development in the context of contemporary literature are surveyed; secondly, the manifestations of mysterious writing and its multiple aesthetic dimensions are investigated; thirdly, the aesthetic significance and value connotations of mysterious writing are displayed; Finally, the reflection and planning for the limitations and way out of mysterious writing are illustrated. The results of this paper are: Mysterious writing is consistently existent in the history of Chinese literature with various manifestations; Mysterious writing broadens the scope of literary aesthetics, constructs a special aesthetic style and aesthetic effect, and enriches the value forms and the quality state of contemporary literature. But there are also some disadvantages of Mysterious writing and we should look at it from a dialectical perspective.

Highlights

In 2012, Mo Yan’s winning of the Nobel Prize for Literature greatly inspired Chinese people, and effectively alleviated people’s anxiety from the thought that it was too difficult to win Nobel Prizes, which led Chinese literature into a virtuous and healthy development track, and boosted Chinese people to have a calm reflection of contemporary literature
The award words for Alai’s novel Red Poppies, which won the Mao Dun prize for literature were “the lightly touch of magical color enhances the strength of artistic expression”2; and the award words of Chi Zijian’s work Right Bank of the Argun which won the Mao Dun prize for literature were that “this work respects for life, reverences for nature, and adheres to the faith”3
As one category of aesthetic, mysterious writing manifested with various themes broadens the realm of Chinese literature since late 20th Century, and the aesthetic significance of mysterious writing can be displayed as follow: Firstly, on the perspective of aesthetic realm, mysterious writing finds new aesthetic resources, creates a new aesthetic dimension, develops the aesthetic concept of literature, enriches the aesthetic means of literature, broadens the aesthetic space of literature

Summary

Introduction

In 2012, Mo Yan’s winning of the Nobel Prize for Literature greatly inspired Chinese people, and effectively alleviated people’s anxiety from the thought that it was too difficult to win Nobel Prizes, which led Chinese literature into a virtuous and healthy development track, and boosted Chinese people to have a calm reflection of contemporary literature. The award words that the Swedish Nobel Committee gave to Mo Yan’s were: “he blends hallucinatory realism, folk legends, history and contemporary together”1 From these words, we can find that mysterious writing is one of the most important factors for his winning of Nobel Prize for Literature. The award words for Alai’s novel Red Poppies, which won the Mao Dun prize for literature were “the lightly touch of magical color enhances the strength of artistic expression”; and the award words of Chi Zijian’s work Right Bank of the Argun which won the Mao Dun prize for literature were that “this work respects for life, reverences for nature, and adheres to the faith”3 These three award-winning works are just a fraction of all mysterious writings in contemporary literature, but they are good enough to represent one of today’s colorful literary phenomena: the tendency to write mysterious literary is in the ascendant. The questions which we need to have a reflection are: what’s the significance of mysterious writing of Chinese contemporary literature? What makes it worthy of being valued? What’s the limitation? And what are the countermeasures?

The Definition of Mysterious Writing and Its Evolution in Chinese Literature

The Manifestations of Mysterious Writing

The Aesthetic Significance of Mysterious Writing

The Value Connotation of Mysterious Writing

The Limitations and Way Out of Mysterious Writing

Conclusions