by Xinhua writers Zhou Yan, Yao Yuan and Xia Xiao
BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese waited a century for their Nobel literature prize dream to come true.
When novelist Mo Yan became the first Chinese national to win the top literature award on Thursday. He fulfilled a dream that was beyond the reach of an earlier generation of literary giants, including Lu Xun and Lin Yutang.
Many Chinese were overjoyed at the award -- news of Mo's Nobel prize was widely discussed among web users Thursday night and Friday, and hit headlines in almost all Chinese newspapers.
Many people, literary critics and readers alike, thought the prize was long overdue in the world's most populous country, which takes pride in its long history, unique language and culture, and numerous good writers.
Avid Mo readers took to social networking and microblogging websites to share their delight and recommending works.
New readers visited online bookstores, only to find his best-selling books were sold out.
Despite his longstanding fame, Mo, 57, was not necessarily among the most widely read writers in China. Many criticized his works as vulgar, dark and violent.
The Swedish Academy described Mo's works as having combined "hallucinatory realism" with Chinese folk tales, history and contemporary life.
"Through a mixture of fantasy and reality, historical and social perspectives, Mo Yan created a world reminiscent in its complexity of those in the writings of William Faulkner and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, at the same time finding a departure point in old Chinese literature and in oral tradition", read the Academy's citation for the award.
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