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Mo Yan. Photo by Bengt Nyman on

Top 10 Interesting facts about Mo Yan

Mo Yan is a Chinese novelist, and short story writer celebrated for writing in the Chinese language. Most of his writings are fictional and based on his rural hometown.

He came from a peasant family, and when he joined the school, he did well, but this did last long before he drooped out because when the cultural revolution was launched, his writing talent caused distress. He left elementary school before he graduated.

Mo Yan had a passion for writing, and his breakthrough came when he joined the Peoples Liberation Army, where he served as a soldier and started writing. He ended up publishing his first novel in 1981

One of his novels, Red sorghum, became popular and was adopted for an award-winning film. Additionally, his unique writing skills made him win the Noble Prize in literature in 2012, becoming the first resident in China to win the award.

Get to learn more about the amazing life of Mo Yan in these top 10 interesting facts about him.

1. Mo Yan actual name is Guane Moye

Mo Yan. Photo outsourced from

Mo Yan was born on 2nd February 1632 in Shandong Province, China, to Gao Shujuan and Yifan Guan. Mo Yan is his pen name which in Chinese means don’t speak.

Mo Yan had two brothers and one sister. His family was an upper middle peasant class. When he was 11 years old cultural revolution was launched in China, and he left elementary school to work as a farmer and later started to work in a factory

2. He is a Chinese novelist and short story writer

Mo Yan is popular know for his imaginative and humanistic fiction works, which became popular in 1980. One of his most recognized works is Red sorghum.

His works were greatly influenced by several writers such as Gabriel Marquez, James Joyce, Oe Kenzaburo, and William Faulkner.

Mo Yan First work was published in 1981, and he continued writing many novels and stories. His rural hometown greatly influenced the setting of his novels and stories. Some of his novels and stories were adapted for films.

3. Mo Yan’s writing stint started in 1981

At 11 years old, he dropped out of elementary school and worked as a farmer. In 1973 he started working in a factory.

In 1976 he joined the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), where he started studying literature and began writing stories during his free time.

He published his first novel, “Falling Rain on a Spring Night,” in September 1981.

4. He won Noble Prize in Literature in 2012

Mo Yan during the awarding of Noble Prize in Literature. Photo Outsourced from

Mo Yan began his writing after the end of the cultural revolution. The end of the cultural revolution led to reforms and opening up, which occurred in 1980.

The reform and opening up gave Mo Yan the freedom and opportunity to write dozens of short stories and novels in Chinese, focusing mostly on Chinese traditions.

Mo Yan became popular for his unique way of writing and got recognized by many institutions, one being the Swedish Academy. The academy praised his work, which “with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary.”

The Swedish Academy awarded him the Noble Prize for Literature, and he became the 109th recipient of the prestigious prize.

5. Several of his work has been adapted for film

Mo Yan great, amazing and unique writing skills made his work be featured in films, with most accomplished directors in China adopting his novels.

One of the films adapted for the film was Red Sorghums (1987); Zhang Yimou directed it. This film won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film festival. This award played a major role in launching the director’s career on the international platform.

Also, his novel Nuan (2003), directed by Hao Jiangi, an adaption of White Dog Swig, fared better on screens, and the audience received it well.

6. Mo Yan served in the army

In 1976 he joined the people’s liberation army (PLA), serving as a soldier and librarian. During his free time, he could write stories.

In 1984 Mo Yan received a literary award from Peoples Liberation Army, and he joined the People Liberation Army Academy of Art from 1984 to 1986 to study literature.

While at Peoples Liberation Academy, he was forced to write a self-criticism book, only for them to withdraw it from publication later.

7. Mo Yan published his first book after winning Noble Prize in Literature

He published his first book” A Late Bloomer “after eight years after winning Noble Prize in Literature in 2012. The book is a collection of 12 novellas demonstrating 12 realistic and irrational stories established in Chinas Village, covering from the 19th century to today.

For the first time, he portrayed the man of today who deeply knows the rules of operating the internet and relies on selling rumors for fortune.

Additionally, Mo Yan gives readers an insight into how his life changed after winning the Noble Prize. He tells how he gained so much spotlight and many responsibilities, which interrupted his focus on writing.

8. Mo Yan graduated from Beijing Normal University

Beijing Normal University Logo. Photo outsourced from

When Mo Yan dropped out of school and started working as a farmer, it was when the cultural revolution was launched, and during this time, writers were afraid to write.

He joined the people’s liberation army in 1976 as a soldier and hi started his writing journey and later joined the army academy of art to study literature and graduated in 1986.

In 1991 he graduated from the creation graduate class of Lu Xun school of literature. He joined Beijing Normal University to further his studies and obtained a master’s degree in literature.

9. Mo Yan is a teacher

Mo Yan graduated from Beijing Normal University with a master’s in literature, and he later became a professor at the university and a director of the international writing center.

10. He was the first Chinese writer

Chinese literature focuses on its influence by oral traditions of different social and professional provenance.

Mo Yan’s writing setting was based on his rural hometown, and he represented real rural life.