Chinese Nobel laureate Mo Yan (莫言) shared stories about his creative life in a speech on writers’ dreams delivered in Taiwan yesterday.
Mo, who is in Greater Kaohsiung to attend a forum organized by the Buddhist Fo Guang Shan monastery, said he was fortunate to have had the chance to read books, even though he dropped out of school when he was in fifth grade.
These opportunities were one of the main reasons that he become a writer, Mo said.
He also quipped that his literary dream was sparked after he joined the military and no longer needed to worry about feeding himself.
During the speech, the 58-year-old writer, who is noted for his skill as a storyteller, also shared several stories his grandparents had told him.
Regarding, inspiration for his work, Mo said that his ideas sometimes emerged from his dreams.
He also said that he had never dreamed about receiving the Nobel Prize after he started writing.
Mo said that receiving the honor last year had made him a more cautious writer, who focused more on quality than quantity.
Besides engagements at the monastery, Mo is scheduled to launch his latest book — his first since receiving the Nobel Prize — titled Grand Ceremony, in Taipei on Saturday.
The book documents the week Mo spent in Sweden in December last year, when the Nobel Prize ceremony was held.
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