The Chinese waited a century fortheir Nobel literature prize dream to come true.

When novelist Mo Yan became the first Chinese national to winthe top literature award on Thursday. He fulfilled a dream that wasbeyond 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 Nobelprize was widely discussed among web users Thursday night andFriday, and hit headlines in almost all Chinese newspapers.

Many people, literary critics and readers alike, thought theprize was long overdue in the world's most populous country, whichtakes pride in its long history, unique language and culture, andnumerous good writers.

Avid Mo readers took to social networking and microbloggingwebsites to share their delight and recommending works.

New readers visited online bookstores, only to find hisbest-selling books were sold out.

Despite his longstanding fame, Mo, 57, was not necessarily amongthe most widely read writers in China. Many criticized his works asvulgar, dark and violent.

The Swedish Academy described Mo's works as having combined"hallucinatory realism" with Chinese folk tales, history andcontemporary life.

"Through a mixture of fantasy and reality, historical and socialperspectives, Mo Yan created a world reminiscent in its complexityof those in the writings of William Faulkner and Gabriel GarciaMarquez, at the same time finding a departure point in old Chineseliterature and in oral tradition", read the Academy's citation forthe award.

CONTROVERSIAL BUT SOUL TOUCHING

Mo said he was "surprised and delighted" at the Nobel prize.

"It's quite a surprise. There are so many good writers nowadaysand I'm probably at the end of the list," he said in an interviewwith Xinhua late Thursday in his home county of Gaomi in ShandongProvince.

Gaomi is the cradle of Mo's literary creation and most of hisnovels and short stories are set in his hometown. Every once in awhile, he would go home to spend some time with his father, who, inhis 90s, is in good health.

Before his Nobel award, Mo was best known for his "Red Sorghum",a novella set in Gaomi county in 1939, during China's war againstthe invading Japanese.

In 1987, the story was made in a film, which, directed by ZhangYimou, proved an even bigger success. It won the Golden Bear atBerlin film festival and was the first movie from the Chinesemainland to gain international fame.

A farmer's son who survived on tree bark and weeds, Mo onlyattended primary school.

He dropped out to herd cattle at 11. It was in 1966, the yearthe Cultural Revolution began that his family was defined as "richmiddle-class peasants", close to "class enemy".

But inadequate school education was not a problem.

"At eight, he began reading huge volumes of books. When he wasin primary school, his essays were always the best-written inclass," said his brother Guan Moxin.

Mo, meaning "Do not speak", was a pen name and his real name wasGuan Moye.

He became a published author in 1981, and throughout his threedecades of writing, he was among China's most-watched writers.

Most of his works sparked controversy.

His award-winning novel "Big Breasts and Wide Hips" (1995) wascriticized for its blatant display of eroticism. In this book, Mobased the protagonist on a mother, a strong matriarch whom criticscompared to Ursula Buendia in "100 Years of Solitude" by GabrielMarquez.

"Sandalwood Death", published in 2001, drew vehement criticismfor its description of a gruesome capital punishment in China inthe early 1900s.

In a more recent novel, "Frog", published in 2008, Mo reflectedon China's family planning policy that began in the late 1970s andportrayed the life of a rural gynecologist who changed from midwifeto abortionist.

His works often faced realities and openly discussed darknessand evil, which he said was an effort to "anatomize the society andhuman nature". "Writers should reach the most painful part deep inthe human soul," he told Xinhua.

Many of his novels have been translated into foreign languages,English, French and Swedish included, and entered worldwidebookstores -- which has been key to his success in taking the topliterature prize.

Before Mo, Chinese-born author Gao Xingjian won the prize in2000. But Gao moved to France in 1987 and had taken Frenchcitizenship. Most of his works were created after he leftChina.

Mo, however, is fully Chinese. "My works are Chinese literature.They show the life of Chinese people as well as the country'sunique culture and folk customs," he told reporters in hishometown.

DREAM FULFILLED, WHAT NEXT?

China's literary circle basked in glory Friday as writers andcritics celebrated the long-awaited Nobel prize.

"Mo's Nobel award is a milestone indicating Chinese literatureis accepted by international readers,"said Prof. Lin Shaohua withOcean University of China, who is famous for translating Japaneseauthor Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood into Chinese.

The prize is "particularly encouraging" for the country's youngwriters who feel low and marginalized in an increasinglymaterialistic and fast-paced society where people prefer browsingwebpages to reading printed publications.

"These young writers will be convinced that to keep writing inChina is not meaningless or ridiculous as some people thought,"said Jiang Fangzhou, 23.

Jiang began writing at the age of seven, published her firstbook at nine and has released several more novels since.

"It's opened a new window on China. International publishers andreviewers will pay more attention to Chinese literature, and moreworks will be translated and introduced to international readers,"she said.

Amid the jubilance are also calls for calmness.

"The award is more an honor for Mo Yan than a 'breakthrough' inChinese literature. We should take it more matter-of-factly," saidHu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Beijing-based tabloid Global Times, inhis microblog at Weibo.com Friday.

While many web users are expecting the award to boost writers'confidence and readers' enthusiasm in Chinese literature, criticsfear such effect would be transient if no further efforts are madeto encourage literary writing and translation.

"Translation remains a major barrier that keeps well-writtenChinese works at bay," said noted literary critic Zhou Limin."Western works are easily introduced to China and are favored bymany Chinese readers even if they are not translated wellenough."

Chinese literature, however, is not as easily accepted in theWest. "Western readers are more pickly about what they read, and ifit is not well translated, it would be out of the question torecommend Chinese books to them," he said.8 In China, translatorsare often underpaid, which worsens the situation, said ZhuangZhixiang, president of Shanghai Foreign Language EducationPress.

Most of Mo Yan's books were translated by Chinese proficientforeigners, including U.S.-based scholar Howard Goldblatt whotranslated several of Mo's works into English and Anna GustafssonChen, a Swedish sinologist and literary translator from Chinese.