Mo Yan Writing Quotations

I'll continue on the path I've been taking, feet on the ground, describing people's lives, describing people's emotions, writing from the standpoint of the ordinary people.

I heard so many stories from Gaomi's peasants that I had an irrepressible urge to write them down. Today, Gaomi's peasants know that they have become famous around the world through my writings, but I think they are a little puzzled by this.

A writer writes what he knows, in ways that are natural to him.

I write about my region, the countryside in which I grew up.

No person writes to win awards.

When I write, I try to represent the ordinary person in the pew, which means that, ironically, I'm qualified to write about prayer by being unqualified!

I think writers write for their consciences, they write for their own true audiences, for their souls.