China writes its way onto the world stage (2)

The paperback edition of Mo Yan Anthology sold 200,000 copies, and the hardcover reached 100,000. Employees from his agent, Beijing Genuine and Profound Culture Development Co, said Mo's collections are selling well because many customers give them as presents during Spring Festival.

Suddenly, Mo was everywhere. His image became part of a test for elementary school students, asking the young students to identify the writer. Textbook writers are considering including his work into the high school curriculum. They are known for their high standard in selecting the texts.

Rumors are also flying that Mo's book Big Breasts and Wide Hips is to be adapted into film, possibly directed by Zhang Yimou, and that Mo is said to be planning to attend the CCTV Spring Festival gala.

It's probably the first time in a decade that writers' names have appeared in entertainment news. The Mo effect has also reached other writers, including Feng Tang and Zhang Chengzhi, making them a feature of gossip columns.

Writers being at the center of public interest is a sharp contrast to a popular statement that literature, especially serious literature, is dying.

On the contrary, more people are interested in literature, spurred by Mo's influence.

On Jan 22, Mo was named director of the International Writing Center at his Alma Mater, Beijing Normal University, said to be the first of its kind in China.

Renmin University Press editor He Yaomin said in early January that a series of books on creative writing developed by the press have, "Unexpectedly, sold extremely well".

Mo is not the only Chinese writer who is being embraced internationally.

"Americans already viewed Chinese literature as an extremely important part of world literature, but the Nobel Prize always focuses attention more concretely," said veteran literary critic Carlin Romano, former president of The National Book Critics Circle in the US and author of America the Philosophical.

"I am sure that editors in American publishing are right now scrutinizing Chinese writers more closely than ever, looking for novels that will translate well into English," Romano added.

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