Beijing, China, Sept. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As this year marks the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the original opera Red Sorghum, adapted from Nobel laureate Mo Yan's novel of the same name, and composed by Guo Wenjing, will premiere at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing on September 27. Set against the backdrop of Gaomi, East China's Shandong Province, this production reimagines the wartime narrative through the symbolic imagery of red sorghum fields, probing the essence of the Chinese people's spirit.
In a recent interview with the Global Times, Mo Yan shared his thoughts on the philosophical core of the "Red Sorghum Spirit," the creative challenges of adapting his literary masterpiece into an opera, and the global relevance of Chinese literature.
This is part of our Cultural Influencer series.
"Red sorghum is not merely a plant, but a symbol of the vitality of the Chinese nation," Mo Yan, who won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature, told the Global Times. He anthropomorphizes sorghum, endowing it with the philosophical connotations of "uprightness, fervent passion, and unyielding tenacity."
In his book Red Sorghum and the film version directed by Zhang Yimou in 1988, the sorghum fields serve not only as a cradle of emotion but also as a barrier against wartime adversity. Drawing inspiration from the historical Gaomi ambush in his hometown in 1938, Mo Yan transforms this event into a grassroots narrative of awakening "where personal grievances dissolve amid national salvation, and individual emotions yield to the greater cause of liberation."
At its core, the work underscores the "Red Sorghum Spirit," a metaphor for resilience and defiance rooted in cultural identity. "When the Chinese nation faced an existential crisis, it also underwent a momentous awakening and achieved unprecedented unity," added Mo Yan.
'Phoenix rebirth'
Mo Yan emphasized that the opera adaptation of Red Sorghum will inherit the spiritual core of the original work. He described the adaptation process as a "phoenix rebirth": transforming the narrative details of the novel into musical imagery, while blending regional theatrical elements like Maoqiang (Shandong folk opera) and Shandong bangzi (a traditional Shandong drum opera) with symphonic orchestration to forge an aesthetic realm of Chinese style.
"Every adaptation is a reinterpretation of the original work," Mo Yan admitted. Transitioning from novel to opera requires distilling the core spirit, merging secondary plots, and even reconstructing character relationships. For instance, the opera focuses on the central conflict of the ambush, portraying the metamorphosis from "wild growth" to "national awakening" through the fates of characters like Yu Zhan'ao and Jiu'er.
This process was fraught with challenges. Mo Yan recalled that when first attempting to write the script for the opera, he mistakenly applied traditional Chinese theatrical thinking. Later, inspiration struck through a painting titled Red Sorghum in the Snow by a hometown artist: snow-covered sorghum spikes, flame-like red sorghum, and blood-soaked fields... After seven revisions, he finally elevated the folk narrative of the novel into a "poetic aesthetic expression."
Rooted in rural life
Mo Yan's works are deeply rooted in rural life, and he has always maintained that the "local spirit remains timeless." As the times evolve, rural life themed literature must also innovate. "Young people are not averse to rural themes as the key lies in how to infuse classic stories with contemporary spirit," he noted.
Taking the opera adaptation of Red Sorghum as an example, he highlighted that through modern musical arrangements and lyrical reinterpretations, even time-honored narratives can "bloom anew" with fresh vitality.
This innovative spirit is also evident in other adaptations. From the film Red Sorghum to a Maoqiang opera and dance drama, Mo has consistently pushed the boundaries of artistic forms. He revealed that he will focus on script writing, including operas and plays, while "never abandoning the novel," as it "carries the deepest intellectual inquiries of literature."
Transcending oneself
When discussing the so-called "Nobel Prize Curse," referring to the many writers who lose their creative "hunger and anger" after winning the world's highest literary honor, Mo Yan stated that "anger" is merely one of the emotional states of the creative process, rather than an absolute prerequisite.
He emphasized that writing involves a complex interplay of emotion, including moments of exhilaration and introspection.
Ever since winning the prize in 2012, he has constantly reminded himself: "Forget about the award - stay true to my own path, and focus on my own work." Thus, this curse "holds no power over me."
Regarding the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on writing, Mo Yan has taken a firm stance: "AI can only mimic styles - it cannot recreate my unique style."
He emphasized that a writer's most valuable trait lies in originality: "I can create what others have never written and I myself have never written before."
"Chinese literature has long been an integral part of world literature." Mo Yan, using Gaomi Dongbei Town, a fictional literary landscape rooted in his hometown, as an example, highlighted how regional storytelling intertwines with universal human values.
He opposed simplistic judgments of Chinese literature through a Western-centric lens, instead advocating for a localized evaluation framework: "Works recognized by the majority are good works."
Living in the age of short videos and fragmented reading, Mo Yan called for a return to holistic artistic experiences: "Long novels are irreplaceable by short dramas." He said he firmly believes that "even if short videos are one day replaced by new art forms, classics like novels and stage plays will endure."
Source: Global Times:
Company: Global Times
Contact Person: Anna Li
Email: editor@globaltimes.com.cn
Website: https://globaltimes.cn
City: Beijing
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