Abstract
SUMMARYThe title of my study is taking about Mo Yan’s novel, especially concentrate on The Republic of wine.Three main ideas of this thesis are “the choice of the epistolary style”, “the viewpoint of writing therapy”, and “the correspondence between the text and novel techniques”.The study is dedicated to deal profoundly with this experimental novel.
Key Words：Mo Yan, The Republic of Wine, epistolary, writing therapy
INTRDDUCTION
Looking back at his road to success, Mo Yan has encountered setbacks. For example, after The Republic of Wine was published in 1992, the feedback was not as popular as Red Sorghum. As The Republic of Wine was not taken seriously by readers, this has caught the researcher’s attention. After his “elucidating beyond all tabooed limitations,” this thesis investigates the situation by means of textual analysis based on Mo Yan claim that “the time for true innovation has come…eloquent critics have become silent” to progressively verify how to combine text with the technique and strong sarcastic contents of experimental novels to carry the great expectation of writers in order to increase the space for analysis and narration of The Republic of Wine.
This thesis is divided into five chapters. First, it analyzes the choice of the epistolary style for The Republic of Wine and discusses the feasibility of cultural translation into the Chinese world of this style habitually exploited for love and female writings in Western literature. From female writings to male onomatopoeia, from Western literature to Chinese novel writing, Mo Yan opens a new path for the epistolary style to present a pattern diverse from the Western context. Then, from the viewpoint of writing therapy whereby writing compensates the hunger and spiritual wants, the researcher discusses in detail “wine” and “cannibalism” to repeatedly consider the subject matter of “cannibalism” inherited from Lu Shun. By extending “the human nature of food and sex,” the researcher redirects to the sex entanglement beyond the ethics and morality of ordinary people to highlight the sinking and chaotic dark side of society. Lastly, this thesis examines the correspondence between the text and novel techniques to point out how Mo Yan exploits different novel techniques to overlap a fiction with the real world to maximize an interpretative space and explore the author’s voice hidden behind.
CONCLUSION
Mo Yan persistently experiments and goes beyond the extremes of writing to the farthest boundary of literature. At the Nobel Prize presentation ceremony, Per Wästberg, chairperson of the Nobel Committee for Literature 2012, praised Mo Yan, “Mo Yan’s imagination soars across the entire human existence. He is a wonderful portrayer of nature…only he can attempt to elucidate beyond all tabooed limitations.”After concluding the above, this thesis induces the unique value of The Republic of Wine in Mo Yan’s novel cycle.
| Date of Award | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Original language | Chinese |
| Supervisor | Wei-Zhen Su (Supervisor) |