Mo Yan (whose real name is Guan Moye) was born in 1956 in Shandong Province in China. The author of several novels. dozens of novellas and many short stories, he has won virtually every national literary prize in China and is the most critically acclaimed Chinese writer of his generation, both in China and in the West. His often dark vision is transformed by his deep love for his land and his fellow-Chinese, his mastery of language and the sheer intensity and exuberance of his writing. Mo Yan is a member of the cultural affairs department of the People’s Liberation Army.
Howard Goldblatt is the Editor of Modern Chinese Literature and has published many acclaimed translations of Chinese works of fiction.