"Our hearts all have a crocodile. How should we view this crocodile? Mo Yan's 'Crocodile' writes about the complexity of human nature."
—Li Er, Author

"The growing crocodile is a symbol. I feel there is some surrealism here, which is the personification of human desires. Today, desire has become a driving force for social development and for us to engage in various endeavors. This force has its strengths but also its terrifying aspects. We will also gain some understanding when watching Mo Yan's plays."
—Chen Sihe, Scholar

"In Mo Yan's works, there is both the folk nature of traditional Chinese drama and the influence of Western drama by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Brecht, etc., and they are very appropriately integrated, truly achieving the sinicization of world culture and the modernization of traditional Chinese culture."
—Chen Xiaoming, Scholar

"Among modern writers, I think there are mainly two types: one is polyphonic, dialogic, and strongly dramatic, and the other is narrative, lyrical, and highlights the subject. Mo Yan obviously belongs to the former."
—Zhang Qinghua, Critic

★Ten years after winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, Mo Yan releases another major work!

★From novelist to playwright—Mo Yan's brilliant transformation
"In front of the statue of Shakespeare at his former residence, I made a vow to use the rest of my life to transform from a novelist to a playwright."
"Drama has been my dream for many years. Writing plays, I do have some experience and insights. It is really enjoyable for a playwright to sit in the theater and watch their plays performed on stage."
—Mo Yan

★Shakespearean witty dialogue + superbly imaginative conflict design, breaking the tradition of realistic drama with "Mo Yan's magic."

★Talking crocodiles, uncontrollable desires!
"Human desires are like crocodiles; if given enough space and nutrition, they will grow rapidly..."
"Desire, the driving force behind the reproduction of all things, the devil that destroys everything. All things are beautiful because of you, and all evils are born because of you."

The story of "Crocodile" revolves around the protagonist Dan Wucan and the gift of a "crocodile" he received at his birthday party. Understanding the characteristic that the growth of a crocodile depends on the degree of environmental constraints, the preoccupied Wucan became deeply interested in the crocodile. Over ten years, he continuously replaced the crocodile with larger fish tanks, indulging the crocodile to grow continuously until it became a huge beast four meters long... Through an infinitely growing crocodile, the story explores the secrets deep in human nature and profoundly discusses the theme of "desire."
The work vividly portrays a series of typical characters through Shakespearean witty dialogue and imaginative dramatic conflict design, reflecting not only the writer's deep thinking and innovation in literature but also having profound social reality significance and educational warning effects.

Mo Yan

Nobel Prize in Literature and Mao Dun Literature Prize-winning author. His main works include 11 novels such as "Red Sorghum Family," "Big Breasts and Wide Hips," "Republic of Wine," "Frog," etc., more than 100 short stories such as "Transparent Radish," "Explosion," "White Dog Swing," etc., and many plays such as "Our Jing Ke," "Farewell My Concubine," "Brocade Robe," etc., as well as several collections of essays and speeches.

Mo Yan and his works have also won many important domestic and international awards, including the Chinese Language Literature Media Award • Annual Outstanding Achievement Award, the World Chinese Long Novel Award • Dream of the Red Chamber Award, the French Laure Bataillon Foreign Literature Award, the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France, the Italian Nonino International Literature Award, the Fukuoka Asian Culture Grand Prize of Japan, the Newman Chinese Literature Award of the United States, the Algerian "National Outstanding Award," etc.

In Mo Yan's literary world, drama creation occupies a very important position. His plays "Our Jing Ke" and "Farewell My Concubine" have been performed more than a hundred times at home and abroad. "Our Jing Ke" has won the "National Drama Culture Award • Drama Golden Lion Award" for "Best Play" and "Excellent Screenplay Award." It has also participated in drama festivals and cultural days in Russia, Belarus, and other countries, winning the "24th Baltic Home Drama Festival • Most Popular Play Award." "Farewell My Concubine" has been performed at international drama festivals in Germany, South Korea, Egypt, Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, and other countries, and was nominated for the "Cairo International Experimental Drama Festival • Best Performance Award."

Crocodile
Characters / 001
Act One / 007
Act Two / 051
Act Three / 099
Act Four / 133
Afterword
The Crocodile in My Heart / 187