''Red Sorghum: A Novel of China'' () is a Chinese-language novel by

Mo Yan Guan Moye (; born 17 February 1955), better known by the pen name Mo Yan (, ), is a Chinese novelist and short story writer. Donald Morrison of U.S. news magazine ''TIME'' referred to him as "one of the most famous, oft-banned and widely pirate ...

. Its five parts were published serially in various magazines in 1986 and republished together as a single novel in 1987. It was Mo's first novel and remains one of his best-known works. The novel is a compilation of five novellas: "Red Sorghum", "Sorghum Wine", "Dog Ways", "Sorghum Funeral", and "Strange Death". "Red Sorghum" was published in ''

People's Literature ''People's Literature'' (《人民文学》''Renmin wenxue'') is the oldest continuously published literary magazine in China, and the first literary magazine published in Communist China. Established in 1949, the magazine is published by the Peo ...

'' (Issue 3, 1986), "Dog Ways" was published in the April 1986 issue of ''Shiyue'' ("October" magazine); "Sorghum Wine" in the July 1986 issue of ''PLA Arts'', "Sorghum Funeral" in the August 1986 issue of ''Beijing Wenxue'' and "Strange Death" in the November–December issue of ''Kunlun'' magazine. The novel was translated from the Chinese by

Howard Goldblatt Howard Goldblatt (, born 1939) is a literary translator of numerous works of contemporary Chinese (mainland China & Taiwan) fiction, including '' The Taste of Apples'' by Huang Chunming and '' The Execution of Mayor Yin'' by Chen Ruoxi. Goldblatt ...

in 1993 as ''Red Sorghum: A Novel of China'', but has also been referred to as "The Red Sorghum Clan" in some sources. ''Red Sorghum'''s plot revolves around three generations of the

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

family between 1923 and 1976. The narrator tells the story of his family's struggles, first as distillery owners making sorghum wine and then as resistance fighters during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. The novel also details civil disputes between warring Chinese groups, including rival gangs and political powers. The book also refers to the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

and the 1972 resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. As the principal crop of

province's Northeast

Gaomi Gaomi () is a county-level city of eastern Shandong province, China, under the administration of Weifang City. It is the hometown of writer and 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Mo Yan, who has set some of his stories in the region. Adminis ...

Township (the author's hometown), red sorghum ''(

sorghum bicolor ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a Poaceae, grass species cultivated for its grain, which is used for food for humans, animal feed, and ethan ...

)'' frames the narrative as a symbol of indifference and vitality. Amidst decades of bloodshed and death, it grows steadfast to provide food, shelter, wine and life. Mo Yan employs a terse style in the novel that is characterized by brevity and non-chronological storytelling written in the first-person. The work contains elements of folk-tale that blend into myth and superstition, placing it in the magic-realist genre.

Adaptations

The novel was read by director

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

, who proposed to Mo Yan to make two of them ("Red Sorghum" and "Sorghum Wine") into a film.''Zhang Yimou: Interviews'' p 3 Frances K. Gateward - 2001 "I didn't know Mo Yan; I first read his novel, Red Sorghum, really liked it, and then gave him a phone call. Mo Yan suggested that we meet once. It was April and I was still filming ''Old Well'', but I rushed to Shandong — I was tanned very dark then ..." In 1988, the resulting film '' Red Sorghum'' was presented during the competition and won the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

. In 2014, it was adapted as a

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

, directed by

Zheng Xiaolong Zheng Xiaolong (; born November 30, 1953) is a Chinese TV and film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography *''Stories from the Editorial Board'' (1991)—China's first sitcom *''A Native of Beijing in New York'' (1992)—first Chinese TV ...

References

{{Authority control 1986 Chinese novels Novels by Mo Yan Chinese novels adapted into films Chinese novels adapted into television series Magic realism novels Postmodern novels Novels set in Shandong