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embedded stories, the inventor of the "braised baby" argues that "the babies we are about to slaughter and cook are small animals in human form that are, based upon strict, mutual agreement, produced to meet the special needs of
Liquorland's developing economy and prosperity", not essentially different from other animals raised for consumption or other goods produced for sale. If anything can become a commodity based on the mutual consent of buyer and seller, then Liquorland's cannibalism is just the logical consequence.
379:. One day two parents prepare their baby boy for a special event. The father, Jin Yuanbao, takes the boy on a journey to the Special Purchasing Section of the Culinary Academy in a village across the river. He waits with other parents and sons, perturbed by the presence of a small red demon. His son is eventually assessed by the staff there and judged to be "top grade." Jin is paid 2140
258:. The "letters" thread contains letters exchanged between Li Yidou, an aspiring author, and "Mo Yan", as well as short stories that Li Yidou sends to "Mo Yan". As the novel progresses, the focus shifts from the Ding Gou'er standard narrative thread to the Li Yidou/Mo Yan thread. Some characters appear in both threads.
517:
loose organization and relative lack of authorial restraint," but there's no denying that in his juxtapositions of the horrific and the comic, the lyric and the scatological, Mo is poking fun at China's post-Mao reformist era while letting out a wrenching cri de coeur for the lost soul of his country.โ
516:
is a fantastical postmodernist hodgepodge that borrows elements from kung fu novels, detective thrillers, traditional
Chinese tales of the supernatural, American westerns and magic realist fiction. Some readers may find, as Mo says of one of the student's stories, that this novel suffers from "overly
396:
The centrepiece of the banquet is revealed, "Stork
Delivering a Son". It appears to be a whole human baby boy, sitting up in a dish, and smells delicious. Ding draws his gun and accuses his company of cannibalism. Diamond Jin insists the dish is a culinary masterpiece -- a fake child. Ding panics and
526:
praised the novel writing that Mo Yan, "fashions a complex, self-conscious narrative structure full of echoes and reflections. The novel grows progressively more febrile in tone, with pervasive, striking imagery and wildly imaginative digressions that cumulatively reveal the tremendous scope of his
534:
of life. The book depicts a society where the "pleasure and desire for delicacies" of the wealthy matter more than the lives of the poor, until "the inferior in social rank becomes food". Likewise, the satirical exaggeration of the novel shows where commodification might lead. In one of the
428:
by Li, in the style of "demonic realism" (according to Li). It follows the children who were sold at the
Special Purchasing Section, and the little demon's attempt to lead them away. The children are caught by authorities at the Special Purchasing Section, but the little demon
344:
The Mine
Director and Party Secretary treat Ding to an expansive feast, and goad him into drinking copious amounts of alcohol. Ding does not hold his alcohol well. Deputy Head Diamond Jin, a Party official with a notorious capacity for drink, also joins
253:
between "Mo Yan" and an aspiring author who is a fan of his work. The book contains ten chapters; each chapter contains several parts. The "detective" thread follows a special investigator, Ding Gou'er, sent to rural China to investigate claims of
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fires his gun wildly, shooting the baby boy in the head and collapses, drunk. The serving girls bring him sobering-up soup and he recovers somewhat. Diamond Jin explains how the fake boy is created and convinces Ding to eat a
287:: claims of baby boys prepared as gourmet dishes. He is greeted by the Mine Director and Party Secretary and immediately taken to a banquet in his honour.
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body to an underground hotel room. While his body is there, a "scaly-skinned demon" enters the room and strips his body of useful implements.
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Yun-Chu Tsai has interpreted the novel as criticizing the increasing disparities in wealth and status in
Chinese society and the increasing
355:, which he calls "grim realism". Li is now bolder, in his requests to Mo's assistance to become a published author, comparing himself to
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and saying, "If you have to host a meal , go ahead. If a gift is required, you have my blessing.""
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studies at
Brewers College in Liquorland, and aspiring author. He includes a short story (
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Mo Yan's reply to Li Yidou. Mo informs Li that he has sent his story to the editors of
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279:" (that he is quite taken with) to the Mount Luo Coal Mine, Liquorland (a fictional
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received near unanimous praise from
Western literary critics. Phillip Gabone of
226:, which was first published in 1992. The novel explores the relationship between
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You Are Whom You Eat: Cannibalism in
Contemporary Chinese Fiction and Film
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Ding Gou'er, 48-year-old special investigator, gets a lift with a "lady
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Introductory letter from Li Yidou ("one-pint Li") to Mo Yan. Li is a
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Second letter from Li to Mo, and Li's second story,
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404:After further drinking, Ding has an
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832:Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out
551:Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out
365:Mo's reply to Li, commenting on
305:) that he wrote after watching
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20:The Republic of Wine: A Novel
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189:The Republic of Wine: A Novel
499:Reception and interpretation
418:Third letter from Li to Mo.
241:The novel has two distinct
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792:Big Breasts and Wide Hips
135:Published in English
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16:Satirical novel by Mo Yan
963:Chinese satirical novels
327:Li Yidou's short story,
460:Deputy Head Diamond Jin
31:First edition (Chinese)
859:The Woman with Flowers
776:The Herbivorous Family
680:Tsai, Yun-Chu (2016).
654:"The Republic of Wine"
627:"The Republic of Wine"
572:"The Republic of Wine"
406:out of body experience
784:The Republic of Wine
514:The Republic of Wine
504:The Republic of Wine
450:special investigator
319:Citizens' Literature
968:Novels set in China
958:1992 Chinese novels
202:traditional Chinese
47:Original title
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760:The Garlic Ballads
598:Wallace, Richard.
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509:The New York Times
375:Li's short story,
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194:simplified Chinese
978:Postmodern novels
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878:The Wall Can Sing
632:Publishers Weekly
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570:Gambone, Philip.
545:Child cannibalism
523:Publishers Weekly
435:Mo's reply to Li.
251:series of letters
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488:Yu Yichi, a
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424:Short story
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935:Red Sorghum
919:Happy Times
911:Red Sorghum
903:Adaptations
851:Collections
752:Red Sorghum
665:21 December
638:19 December
611:19 December
583:19 December
482:Li Yidou's
469:Little red
336:Chapter two
308:Red Sorghum
285:cannibalism
267:Chapter one
256:cannibalism
952:Categories
888:Screenplay
800:Red Forest
558:References
443:Characters
399:lotus root
59:Translator
735:Works of
697:Tsai 2016
527:vision.โ
454:The lady
247:detective
222:novel by
220:satirical
101:Publisher
539:See also
512:wrote, โ
493:hotelier
463:Li Yidou
429:escapes.
410:comatose
377:Meat Boy
367:Meat Boy
353:Meat Boy
180:59544313
69:Language
456:trucker
329:Alcohol
303:Alcohol
277:trucker
218:) is a
73:Chinese
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930:(2003)
922:(2000)
914:(1988)
897:(1996)
870:Essays
862:(2012)
843:(2009)
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811:(2001)
803:(1999)
795:(1995)
787:(1993)
779:(1993)
771:(1989)
763:(1988)
755:(1986)
744:Novels
737:Mo Yan
466:Mo Yan
357:Lu Xun
299:liquor
224:Mo Yan
215:Jiวguรณ
212::
210:pinyin
204::
196::
91:Comedy
83:Satire
41:Mo Yan
37:Author
490:dwarf
471:devil
345:them.
152:Pages
147:Print
128:China
79:Genre
52:้
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927:Nuan
840:Frog
824:Pow!
667:2016
640:2016
613:2016
585:2016
401:arm.
381:yuan
230:and
174:OCLC
161:ISBN
139:2000
119:1992
109:(UK)
297:in
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