Thirteen Steps
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Summary
Fang Fugui, a middle-school physics teacher, works himself to death. Because the funeral parlor needs to prepare the dead Vice Mayor Wang for cosmetic restoration, he is first stuffed into a freezer—and absurdly, miraculously, comes back to life. His wife, Tu Xiaoying, believes he is dead and will not let him back into the house. Li Yuchan, a top-grade cosmetician at the funeral parlor, alters the revived Fang Fugui to look like her own husband, the physics teacher Zhang Chiqui, and sends him onto the podium to teach in Zhang's place, while the real Zhang Chiqui goes into business to make money. The real Zhang Chiqui becomes a homeless ghost without identity, unable to return to his family; the real Fang Fugui, facing an awkward dual identity, does not know what to do. The old order of real life no longer exists; everyone gradually loses their true nature in absurd circumstances and moves irreversibly toward an inevitable doom…
Editor's review
Unlike the unrestrained sweep of Red Sorghum or the epic grandeur of Big Breasts and Wide Hips, Thirteen Steps reads more like a cold, rigorous experiment in spiritual dissection. Here Mo Yan fuses magic realism with the Chinese folk tradition of the strange tale; through absurd episodes such as 'eating chalk' and 'transforming into a tiger,' he sharply exposes the loss of dignity and identity anxiety of intellectuals in an era of material scarcity. The constantly shifting narrative persons (from 'you,' 'I' and 'he' to 'we') and the fractured timeline not only challenge conventional reading habits but also faithfully capture the fragmented state of collective memory in that era.
Notably, the book already shows the embryonic narrative forms of later masterpieces such as The Republic of Wine and Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out—that distinctive aesthetic of wrapping serious critique in the shell of absurd allegory. Its critique of the education system, marriage and the urban-rural conflict retains striking contemporary relevance. Long undervalued before Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize, Thirteen Steps is now being rediscovered: it is not only a key text for understanding Mo Yan's creative transition but also an important landmark in contemporary Chinese literature's exploration of narrative possibility. Reading it requires setting aside expectations of a linear story and immersing oneself in the carnival of language and the clash of intellectual edge.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Literary scholars seeking a deeper understanding of Mo Yan's creative lineage and narrative experiments
- Historically minded observers interested in the situation of intellectuals during China's social transformation in the 1980s
- Avant-garde literature lovers who appreciate nonlinear narrative and structural innovation
- Mature readers seeking to break through conventional realist reading experience
Not a good fit for
- General-fiction readers expecting a coherent, complete plot
- First-time readers of Mo Yan who prefer traditional narrative
Reading tips
- Read earlier works such as Red Sorghum first, then come to this book to appreciate the evolution of Mo Yan's style
- Pay attention to the shifting perspective of the 'narrator in a cage'; it is the key to understanding the book's narrative structure
- The absurd episodes are largely symbolic and can be interpreted against the social background of the 1980s
About the publisher
Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House is a Chinese publisher specializing in literary publishing. Judging from the 808 titles in the database, its publishing areas cover world classics, foreign literature, social novels, folk literature and classic works, as well as modern and contemporary literature and prose. Representative titles include foreign literary translations such as Anna Karenina, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, In Praise of Shadows and The Complete Tragedies and Comedies of Shakespeare, alongside classic works by Lao She and Lu Xun such as Camel Xiangzi, Teahouse and Wandering. Its authors and translators include Leo Tolstoy, Cao Ying, Lao She, Yukio Mishima, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and Zhu Shenghao. The press emphasizes the translation and introduction of classic texts and the compilation of native literary works, giving equal weight to Chinese and foreign literature. Owing to limited public information, its specific series and editorial policies are not elaborated here.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 第一部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 七
- 第二部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 七
- 第三部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 第四部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 七
- 第五部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 七
- 第六部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 七
- 第七部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 第八部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 第九部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 第十部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 七
- 第十一部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 第十二部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 七
- 第十三部
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 笼中叙事的欢乐——代后记
FAQ
Why is the book titled Thirteen Steps?
What are the main differences between this book and Mo Yan's other works?
How should absurd episodes such as 'eating chalk' be understood?
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About the author
Mo Yan, whose original name is Guan Moye, was born on February 17, 1955, in Gaomi, Shandong, and is a major contemporary Chinese writer. He rose to fame in the 1980s with rural works such as Red Sorghum and Transparent Carrot, and his writing often blends magical realism with folk narrative traditions, focusing on rural society, historical memory, and the lives of ordinary people. His major works include Sandalwood Death, Big Breasts and Wide Hips, Frog, The Republic of Wine, Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out, Red Sorghum, and The Garlic Ballads. His works are commonly classified as social fiction, folk literature, and classics, and he has also written essays and miscellaneous pieces. In 2011 he won the Mao Dun Literature Prize for Frog, and in 2012 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first Chinese national to win that award.
