Yan Mo

Yan Mo, also known as Mo Yan, was born in 1955 to a farming family in Gaomi, in China’s Shandong province. During the Cultural Revolution, he left school at the age of twelve and first worked as a herder and later in a cotton-oil factory. In 1976, he joined the People’s Liberation Army, where he began writing. From 1984 to 1986, he studied in the literature department of the PLA Academy of Arts. He became widely known in 1987 with the novella “Red Sorghum,” whose film adaptation brought him international recognition. His works translated into German include “The Garlic Ballads,” “The Republic of Wine,” “Sandalwood Death,” “Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out,” and “Frogs.” He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012.