Millions of China’s microblog users broadly welcomed Thursday’s award of the Nobel Literature Prize to Mo Yan, with many claiming an achievement for the country’s literature.
The award was the most discussed topic on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, with almost three million users posting messages about the writer within two hours of the news being announced on state media. “Mo Yan winning is his personal honour, but also the honour of Chinese literature,” wrote one.
“For Mo Yan to win the Nobel prize is the greatest thing for so many Chinese people. It really is a dream,” said another.
Mo Yan, 57, one of the country’s leading writers of the past half-century, became the first Chinese national and just the second Chinese-language writer to win the literature prize. “Congratulations Mo Yan. A Chinese person has won. There were tears in my eyes,” said one user.
While the majority of posts on Weibo were congratulatory, some netizens displayed indifference. One said the author impressed the judges because his writing style appeals to Westerners. “But to read his books, I do not think they capture the style of the Chinese people.”
Other microblog users said the author would be able to exploit commercial opportunities following his triumph.
“Mo Yan has achieved overnight fame. My roommate tomorrow will go to the library to get a Mo Yan book. I doubt she will find one,” said one user.
“His books are about to outsell Steve Jobs’ biography,” added another.
