Nobel author Mo Yan honored with museum

To honor his achievements and boost rural development, a new museum dedicated to Mo Yan opened to visitors in Gaomi, Shandong province, on Tuesday.

Mo Yan, who was born in Gaomi in 1955, won the Nobel laureate of literature in 2012, and is known for writing rooted in his home and the land.

"Most of the stories I tell are true and have happened in Gaomi," the author said at the opening ceremony for the Mo Yan Literature and Art Museum, adding that he hopes the museum will become a place for international literary exchange and a spiritual home for Gaomi residents.

"What I should do was simplicity itself, write my own stories in my own way. My way was that of the marketplace storyteller, with which I was so familiar, the way my grandfather and my grandmother and other village old-timers told stories," Mo Yan said during his acceptance speech for his Nobel award.

The museum contains versions of his books in different languages, as well as manuscripts, and award medals and certificates. It will also host literary events and tours for students.

Mo Yan said that many famous writers were born in Shandong and he hopes that the museum will contribute to drawing them together.

Writer Feng Jicai attended the opening ceremony. "A big tree of literature has grown, and it is the earth where it grows that nurtures it. The museum is the earth for us to find out roots to interpret Mo Yan and learn more about him," he said. "It also shows how people love and respect him."