After five years, Nobel Prize winner Mo Yan returns with new stories

Nobel Prize winner, Mo Yan, has announced his new work. The Chinese writer's opera drama "Jin Yi,” or colorful clothes and a group of poems "Qi Xing Yao Wo” or “Seven Stars Shine on Me" will be published in People's Literature magazine in 2017.

File photo of Nobel Prize winner Mo Yan. [Photo: Agencies]

"This time, I wrote a number of short stories when I was in my hometown Gaomi, Shandong Province. The longest one is not more than 10,000 words, which you will soon be able to read on People's Literature and "Harvest," Mo Yan revealed on Wednesday on 24th Beijing international book fair.

Mo said this is the first time that he has published his stories in a row. "I felt I have quite a lot new ideas when I restart writing. Everything's changing and everyone's changing, those characters I created in the past have exited from the stage. Now it's time for some new faces."

Readers and fans of the authors had been desperately waiting for his new work after Mo won the Nobel Prize.

Mo said there was a lot of pressure on him after he won the award. Nobel laureate revealed that it's better to forget the readers when it’s the time to write because the standard of good novels is not the same for everyone. "If a writer is thinking too much about how to cater for reader’s taste, I will not know how to write," added Mo.

Jin Yi, the calligraphy work by Mo Yan [Photo: meldingcloud.com.cn]

Jin Yi, the new work of Mo, integrates multiple cultural features of Shandong opera, but is not limited to the local expression of time and space. Mo has weaved imagination, folk interest, historical plots into one. The stories are inspired by the regional culture but can be appreciated by the wider public.

In addition, Mo's three short stories will be published in "Harvest" magazine in the middle of September this year.