Mo Yan's bold leap forward
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Writer Mo Yan at Frog's launch in Shanghai. [Global Times] |
In his latest work Frog, Mo's protagonist is based on his aunt, a countryside doctor who delivered the author himself and thousands of others and faithfully carried out China's family planning policy in local rural areas.
The novel, 10 years in the making and revised three times, presents a unique perspective on life on the grasslands over the past 60 years from the perspective of a local female doctor who specialized in child birth.
Before the family planning policy was adopted, Mo's aunt, referred to in Frog simply as Gu Gu ("aunt" in Chinese), was once considered a godsend who helped deliver little miracles to local families. After the family planning policy was adopted, she transformed into the image of a devil who enforced abortive methods for women pregnant with a second child.
The heart-wrenching predicament facing Gu Gu sees her burdened with the pressure and responsibility of keeping birth rates low while in her heart, she is a good-natured doctor, very fond of children and focused on protecting infants and preventing miscarriages.
Frog delves into Gu Gu's state of mind, revealing her inner struggle between answering the political call of the time and the pregnant families, abortions and deaths as a result of her actions.
"She experienced many memorable moments throughout her 50 years as a local doctor," Mo was quoted by Sina.com as saying. "It sparked my interest and thinking and has spurred me to present the character to readers through literature."
"The family planning policy is a basic condition of China dealing with the most conservative element of traditional culture. It touches the sorest points and most delicate parts of the souls of thousands of millions of Chinese people," he added.
China's family planning policy has long been a topic that writers have dared not touch upon and few literary works have dealt with the subject.
Mo explained that a writer should face the realities of society and not shy away from serious problems. He said that a writer has the right to disclose everything as long as it is present in real life and it is left for readers to judge whether it is right or wrong.
The novel is written in an epistolary style, comprising of five parts of four letters and a play, with the latter part focusing on Gu Gu's confessions of the heart. She marries a local artist who makes clay figures and through his hands finds solace from the aborted children in her life.
The title of Frog symbolizes the lives and multiplication of life, according to Mo, as a frog has a strong ability to reproduce. Another connotation is the homophone of frog or wa in Chinese that has a similar pronunciation to the goddess in Chinese mythology Nv Wa who created human kind.
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