The Laughter and Tears from Giving Birth to “Wa”---Various Messages Expressed by the Imagery and Phonogram of Mo Yan’s Frogs

Abstract

Frog, written by Mo Yan, the first Nobel Literature laureate in mainland China, unravels the life stories and the belief transformation of Gugu, the paternal aunt of the narrator “Tadpole”. Through depicting Gugu’s riveting stories as a government-appointed midwife, the author probes into the complex beliefs and values underpinning women’s birth choices, voluntary or involuntary, spanning over four decades including China’s family planning era.