Mo Yan to talk about storytelling, home and inspiration in Nobel prize speech

Mo Yan (2nd R), this year's winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, arrives at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, as he is to leave for Sweden to accept the award, Dec 5, 2012. [Photo/Xinhua]

Before boarding his flight to Stockholm on Wednesday, Nobel Laureate Mo Yan said his speeches in Sweden will focus on storytelling, homeland, and an ancient Chinese writer he calls his mentor, according to CCTV.

Mo Yan's visit to Sweden to collect his Nobel Prize is prompting wild speculation in China. People are eager, and nervous, to see how a Chinese writer will present himself on the Nobel stage to a global audience.

Related: Mo Yan leaves for Sweden to accept Nobel Prize

Mo said part of his speech would focus on: "telling, hearing, and writing stories" throughout his whole life.

His homeland Gaomi, in Shandong province, also the location depicted in his literary creations, will be another major topic.

"I'll will also talk about family members and friends," Mo said.

With a humorous tone, which he has frequently used in speeches to international audiences, he will also talk about Pu Songling, a Qing Dynasty (1644-1910) writer whose work he is vary familiar with. Pu is known for his classical novel Liaozhai Zhiyi, (Strange Tales from LiaoZhai), a collection of grotesque and magical stories on spirits and ghosts.