Projection of Excluded History in Mo Yan’s Red Sorghum

Abstract

This research entitled “Projection of Excluded History in Mo Yan’s Red Sorghum” examines the contribution of neglected and sidelined people who fought against Japanese invasion in China. The novel concentrates on its central character, Yu Zhan’ao, whose thought, behavior and life in totality reflect how even a bandit contributed for the sake of motherland, inspired by his wife Dai. The struggle made by the bandits and women during the Sino-Japanese War was quite pervasive; yet, it was sidelined by the mainstream history of China. As the novel depicts, the protagonists are engulfed in a terrible impasse, conditioned by both external and internal circumstances and compelled to be united for the sake of their identity. So, with the help of the notion of genealogical history of Michel Foucault, the present dissertation digs out buried and marginalized people’s contribution in making the real Chinese history. Thus, the outcome of the work proves Mo Yan’s Red Sorghum as a counter historical work of art in Chinese literature.