Opening Up The East

As China begins to unfurl and we get a peek at life in this extraordinary country, we are delighted to welcome two of its most influential writers in a Stratford first. The award-winning, Mo Yan is one of the great novelistic masters of modern Chinese literature with a long list of ambitious novels to his name. His writing is powerful, visual, and broad, dipping into history, fantasy and absurdity to tell stories of China and its people. Originally counted a part of the ‘root-seeking’ literary movement of the 80s it quickly became clear that he had a style and voice that was distinctly his own. Displaying the marks of a global literary heritage – touches of Faulkner, Marquez, and gusto for experimentation - he is often regarded as the Chinese writer with the most potential to appeal to an international audience, and is perhaps the one most translated into English. His latest, Frog, tackles China's one-child policy.

The critic and academic Professor Lu Jiande is one of the most recognised experts on British and American literature in China. He is director of the Institute of Literature at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and an expert on Chinese literature and the influence of Western culture and English Literature in general in modern China.

This event is supported by the British Council China Market Focus 2012.