《檀香刑》是莫言的转型之作。他在这部小说中借鉴了传统戏曲、民间语言等资源,很多论者据此认为,《檀香刑》之后的莫言已经回归传统。这其实是误读。《檀香刑》之后,莫言写的仍然是现代小说。传统小说没有把感觉观念化、象征化的实践,感觉象征化是现代小说的独特标志。《檀香刑》之前,莫言感觉的狂放,更多是停留在具象化和物质化的层面,《檀香刑》之后,莫言将这种感觉巨型化和象征化了。把感觉推到一个超感觉的象征世界,是传统小说中所未曾出现过的,而从具象性的感觉走向象征性的感觉,这既是莫言写作风格的重要变化,也是莫言成为大作家所迈出的关键一步。 “Sandalwood punishment” is Mo Yan’s transformation. In this novel, he draws on resources such as traditional Chinese opera and folk language, and many commentators believe that Mo Yan has returned to tradition after “sandalwood punishment”. This is actually a misunderstanding. “Sandalwood punishment”, Mo Yan wrote is still a modern novel. The traditional novel did not conceptualize the feeling, symbolize the practice, feel the symbol of the modern novel is a unique symbol. “Sandalwood punishment” before Mo Yan feel wild, more is to stay in the visual and materialized level, “Sandalwood punishment”, Mo Yan will be the feeling of the giant and symbolized. Push feeling into a super-sensory symbolic world, which has never been seen in the traditional novels and moves from the figurative feeling to the symbolic feeling, which is not only an important change in Mo Yan’s writing style but also Mo Yan’s becoming a great writer The key step.