Human desire is like a crocodile, it will expand rapidly if it is not controlled

The Crocodile, the latest work by Nobel laureate Mo Yan, uses symbolism and realism to tell the story of corrupt overseas officials and their relatives and friends. The crocodile is a metaphor for the expanding desire of the human heart, and Mo Yan got inspiration from the pets kept by the young people in the neighborhood. In the south, there are many ponds where crocodiles are raised, just like pigs and chickens, and made into various leather products. Crocodiles also have a special habit of not growing up in a small space, and if the environment is enlarged, it will expand rapidly. "Human desire is like a crocodile. If it is not controlled, it will expand rapidly without any limit." In previous public events, Mo stressed the contemporary and social effects of drama, which should be relevant to the present and arouse the audience's thinking, otherwise it cannot be called a success.

After winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2012, Mo Yan cut back on his fiction. In addition to the short story collection "Late Bloomers", Mo Yan's new works are mostly plays. Jin Yi, published in People's Literature in 2017, is a Chinese opera script. Speaking of his turn from novelist to playwright, Mo Yan recalled that he had a strong interest in opera as a child: when he could not borrow books in the countryside, he could only go to the movies once or twice a year, but often watched the village opera troupe. In recent years, the visit to Shakespeare's former residence has aroused his dream of a dramatist, "In front of Shakespeare's tomb, I swore in the face of Yu Hua and Su Tong that I would become a playwright and distinguish myself from them." They sneered and scorned me."

Filial Piety: A Collection of Zheng Shirang's Short Stories

Han. Written by Zheng Shilang. Translated by Zhao Yang

Citic Spring tide 2023-4

"효진" is a common female name in South Korea, if there is no special explanation, it is often translated into "filial piety", the girl's father in the book when naming her stressed: filial piety, do your best, and let the child do his best to filial piety themselves. This collection of nine short stories focuses on East Asian social culture, workplace stress, social anxiety, and family of origin. Many of the passages in the book sound like phrases you've heard in everyday life, like "You're lucky you're married to me. I'm not very macho."

In these stories, the author focuses on the topic of women and marriage, shows the self-awakening and pursuit of women in the patriarchal society, and also shows the reality of ordinary Korean life through the narrative full of fantasy and black humor, and expresses the ideal of friendship, mutual assistance, and longing for peace in combination with history and imagination. The author Jung Se-lang was born in Seoul in 1984. In 2010, he published "Dream, Dream, Dream", which made him enter the literary world. In 2013, he won the Creation Novel Award for "So Close", and in 2017, he won the Hankook Ilbo Literature Award for "Fifty People". She describes her novels as "stories of healing when you're tired."

Fulfilling the Order: Having Everything and Having Nothing.

Translated by Alec McGillis and Zeng Chuyuan

New Classic Culture | Wenhui Publishing House 2023-6

In just over two decades, Amazon has risen to become the world's largest Internet company, the second-largest private employer in the United States, and its "fulfillment centers" for warehousing and transportation have spread around the world and reshaped the way people live. In a decade-long investigation, veteran US journalist Alec McGillis has witnessed how the company, once a symbol of technological progress, has grown into a capital monster that has defied the state. It brings the convenience of "one-click order", but also causes a series of chain reactions: the real economy continues to decline, and traditional communities have been withered; Squeezed by monopolies, small and medium-sized retailers are struggling; Workers are trapped in a high-pressure efficiency system and lose their dignity as workers. Through the eyes of drivers, deliverymen, sorters, manufacturers, politicians, lobbyists, activists, and artists, the author writes the stories of ordinary people in the Amazon empire and reveals the rifts of social division with real data.

In particular, the book highlights the problems of regional inequality and economic agglomeration - where profits and growth opportunities that were once distributed across the country are increasingly moving to the home base of these dominant companies. A "winner-take-all" economy creates a "winner-take-all" region. Today, almost all the rich cities are on the coast. Since 1970, wage growth in the largest cities has been almost 20% higher than in other cities. But more importantly, regional inequalities make it impossible for one part of the country and another to understand each other.

Income Inequality

[E] Richard Wilkinson [E] Translated by Kate Pickett and Zhou Yuan