Beijing: Amid criticism of his links to the ruling Communist Party of China, Mo Yan ,the winner of this year`s Nobel Literature Prize, has said he took "huge risks" by exposing the evils of the system in the country.
In a candid talk with media at his village Gaomi in Shandong province, Mo refused to be apologetic about his association with Maoist doctrines on literature which in the later years resulted in massive purge of intellectuals during the decade long cultural revolution in 1960s.
Mo said many of his critics have not read his books.
"If they have read them, they should have known that I was at huge risk and under great pressure when I was writing", he was quoted by the local media as saying.
"Many criticised me for my close relations with the `Ti Zhi` (the Chinese word refers to governmental departments or government-related sectors) and the Communist Party of China. But actually, many of my critics are working in the `Ti Zhi` or they themselves are Party members," the 57-year-old said.
Mo also defended Communist Party founder Mao Zedong, who wrote that Chinese art must serve the party.
"I think some of Mao`s remarks on art were reasonable," the author said.
The PLA soldier-turned-acclaimed author, commenting on the celebrated speech by Mao Zedong on art and literature, said "Of course looking at it today, the speech had huge limits. It gave excessive emphasis on the relations between culture and politics and on literature`s class nature, but ignored the human nature of literature,"
"Our group of writers had already realised the limits when we wrote in the 1980s. We were trying to push through the limits during all our literary creation", he said.
"The political stance doesn`t contradict with the Nobel Prize," he stressed, adding that his novels were bigger than politics and the coveted prize was not conferred to him for "political correctness".
"Books speak for writers. Their writing doesn`t serve any parties or groups. Writers should be guided by conscience, face all people, study people`s fates and feelings, and make their own decisions," Mo said.
"If you have read my books, you should know that my attacks on the dark sides of society are very severe and harsh," he said.
Mo added that in three of his novels written in the 1980s, he mercilessly attacked all unjust phenomenons in his eyes from the stance of human beings.
"If you regard me as an uncritical, official writer only because I haven`t shouted slogans on streets, then the criticism doesn`t make any sense," he said.
"My novels are bigger than politics. The prize the Swedish Academy awarded to me is a victory of literature, but not a victory of political correctness. This is an award of literature and I got the prize for literature," he said.
PTI
