MCLC: Mo Yan's acceptance speech (5,6,7)

Denton, Kirk denton.2 at osu.edu
Mon Dec 10 10:29:39 EST 2012


MCLC LIST
From: Costas Kouremenos <enaskitis at gmail.com>
Subject: Mo Yan's acceptance speech (5)
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Thank you, Han Meng, for the information about footbinding!

I don't understand Tommy McClellan's comment concerning my query: "Re "Mo
Yan acceptance speech (1)", this is getting petty and unworthy." Why is
that?

I had sensed the innuendos in the 1st and 3rd parables of Mo Yan, but A.E.
Clark helped me understand the 2nd one too! Anyway, putting aside the
controversy, his speech was very absorbing, I think he tried to prove with
it that he's a master story-teller and to comfort and reassure those who
gave him the prize that they had the right reasons for doing so.

Costa 

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From: A. E. Clark <aec at raggedbanner.com>
Subject: Mo Yan's acceptance speech (6)

If I may respond to Tommy McClellan's remarks:

TMcC: "This is getting petty and unworthy."

   -- Costas Kouremenos asked a good question, and Han Meng gave a good
answer.

TMcC: "the Chinese Writers' Association . . . which all professional
writers MUST (realistically) belong to."

   -- Hu Fayun does not; he used to, but resigned a few years ago.  (By
the way, everyone, he has just published his second major novel, 迷
冬.)  Ye Fu does not.  Wei Se does not. Such people often call
themselves 自由作家.

   -- Let me be clear: I do not consider membership in the Writers'
Association dishonorable, and I acknowledge that good writers belong to
it.  To accept _high office_, however, within what is in some respects a
labor union and then remain silent (continuing to enjoy the perquisites
of the office) while members of your profession are persecuted . . .
that, in my opinion, _is_ dishonorable.

TMcC: "Western hacks should accept that non-'dissidents' (by their
definition) can have something worthwhile to say and contribute."

   -- I have no trouble accepting that.  Will you accept that
non-dissident writers (and, for that matter, dissident ones) can
exercise a baleful influence on their culture by making public choices
that rationalize injustice? It is legitimate to criticize such choices,
though I think this discussion should be kept separate from evaluations
of the artistic merit of their work.

Just 2 cents' worth from another Western hack.

A. E. Clark

=================================================

From: Martin Winter <dujuan99 at gmail.com>
Subject: Mo Yan's acceptance speech (7)

Mo Yan's Nobel lecture is worth seeing and hearing. The link below doesn't
work in China, I heard. Tried to post it on Weibo, didn't work.
Nobelprize.org is still banned in China, it seems. The video of Mo Yan's
speech is of course accessible on many websites in China. What is also
accessible, to my surprise, is a video of Gao Xingjian's Nobel lecture, 12
years ago. One Weibo user made this comment:

对莫言的指责,不尽赞同。但与高行健相比,莫言的差距不是一点点。结局是一个不能回
国、只能在海外流浪,而另一个可以继续做作协副主席,备受当下世人追捧。相对
于莫言的获奖演说,高行健2000年演说,恐怕更堪称是中文世界的骄傲。

Martin








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