When Chinese novelist Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012, some argued that the award was related to his criticism of the Chinese system. Yet through the works he produced afterward, he indisputably proved himself worthy of that distinction. Time has spoken, and in June 2026 we were happy to welcome in Astana the classic writer recognized by history itself.
Sauytbek Abdrakhmanov and Mo Yan during his visit Kazakhstan. Photo credit: Adebi Portal. A certain western author wrote in the 19th century, “There is a giant sleeping in the East. Let him sleep, for when he awakens, he will shake the world.” The quote reflects the attitude of many Westerners once held toward the East.
Yet countless inventions and discoveries originated in China. Chinese statehood is believed to stretch back five thousand years, and written records alone cover three and a half millennia. Nevertheless, for centuries, a great nation such as China did not occupy a place in world history commensurate with its stature.
The giant finally awoke at the turn of the second and third millennia. Today, the world recognizes the Chinese miracle, including its achievements in literature. A particularly important milestone was Mo Yan’s receipt of the Nobel Prize in 2012. We take pride in this as a triumph for Eastern culture as a whole and for the great spiritual heritage of our great neighbor.
For this, we thank Mo Yan. Although I am a literary scholar, I must admit that I am not yet fully acquainted with all his works. So far, I have read the Russian translation of the novel, “Big Breasts and Wide Hips.” I have also seen excerpts of its Kazakh translation online.
We all know the international success of the Berlinale Golden-Bear winning 1988 film “Red Sorghum.” World literature contains many family sagas. Among the greatest are Thomas Mann’s “Buddenbrooks,” John Galsworthy’s “The Forsyte Saga,” and Gabriel García Márquez’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” I believe Mo Yan’s novel belongs to this selection of works.
After reading William Faulkner, I realized that it is not necessary to depict the entire world; showing just one corner of it can be enough. Just as Faulkner invented Yoknapatawpha County, Mo Yan created Gaomi County in Shandong Province. I believe Mo Yan’s prose will enter literary history as a phenomenon that married Chinese folklore with magical realism.
The central theme of his novel Big Breasts and Wide Hips is also very close to the Kazakh soul. Kazakh families do not differentiate between sons and daughters, yet they traditionally place special value on sons as continuers of the family line. Therefore, the fate of a mother who finally bears a son after seven daughters resonates deeply with us.
Kazakhs, too, often give daughters names such as Ulbosyn (“May a son be born”), Ulmeken, Ulzhan, or Uldana when hoping for a son. His heroine’s daughters bear names expressing similar wishes. Through this novel, Mo Yan wrote an epic of the entire twentieth century.
He revealed the destinies of ordinary people against the backdrop of history. He created a remarkable image of motherhood and portrayed the contradictions between traditional China and the revolutionary upheavals of the last century. At the same time, Mo Yan expressed faith in the great future of the Chinese people despite all the tragedies they endured.