Novel Ideas

by+Gong+Haiying

Chinese writer Mai Jia became known overseas on March 18， 2014， when British Penguin Group and Farrar， Straus and Giroux， an American publishing company， simultaneously released the English version of his novel Decoded around the world. Penguin Classics also published the book， which soon became one of its bestsellers– dubbed the greatest success of a Chinese writer in the international market.

Decoded was later published in other languages in 35 countries， breaking every sales record for books by Chinese writers in the international market. The Economist dubbed Mai Jia the Chinese Dan Brown， an American author of thriller fiction best known for the 2003 bestseller The Da Vinci Code. The journal also opined that Mais fiction reflects magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez， a Colombian novelist， short-story writer， screenwriter， and journalist， and it leads the reader into a brand-new world of mysticism like Peter Carey， an Australian novelist known for being one of only three writers to win the Booker Prize twice.

Mai Jia made painstaking efforts to finish Decoded. He began to write it in 1991， which evolved from short fiction to a full-length novel and was eventually published in 2002.

Decoded follows Rong Jinzhen， a genius codebreaker， who has no trouble breaking the most complicated codes in the world but cannot solve puzzles of his life.

Born into a noble family， Rong is a math genius who suffers from autism. He is recruited to Unit 701， an intelligence agen- cy， to crack two groups of highly-classified passwords. In the battlefield of intelligence， he struggles against a deep， unpredictable fate full of contradiction of chance and necessity， strength and weakness， and rises and falls.

Rong is meant to be tragic. A reviewer from The New York Times compared him to Edward Snowden， and describes the author as a spy fictionist. Nevertheless， Mai Jia doesnt agree. “A spy is someone tightrope walking on the edge of a blade，” Mai argues. “But Rong is not a spy. Rather， he is a Chinese version of Alan Mathison Turing（1912-1954）， a British mathematician， logician， cryptologist， philosopher， computer scientist， and mathematical biologist， who serves his homeland security， yet remains a mathematician by nature.”

On the surface， Decoded is about breaking passwords. But it leads readers into the labyrinth where artists seek answers to the greatest questions of all mankind： “Who am I？” “Where am I from？”and “Where am I going？”

These questions pop up throughout Decoded. Despite the surface subject of spy games， Mais characters are witty， stubborn， pessimistic， and particularly unfortunate： They always end up dead or crazy. “Im the father of my characters，”Mai asserts. “They have my genes and my reflection， but they are not completely me. All my hidden traits can be found in them.”

Mai Jia has published six novels so far， with Plot Against nabbing the 2008 Mao Dun Literature Award， the highest of its kind in China. Mai became famous after Plot Against was adapted into a 34-part TV drama in 2005. It took another decade for Decoded to become vogue overseas. “Ive been waiting many years for this moment， a moment of good luck，” Mai smiles.

“Its all chance，” he remarks. “Its not likely for anybody else， nor my next work. Its all fate. Chinese literature is little known around the world due to contrasting mechanisms. Therefore， not all masterpieces are recognizable abroad. I hope that active demand for Decoded will inspire Western publishers to have greater interest in Chinese writers.”

Opportunity comes out of necessity. “First， Im lucky to have an excellent translator，” Mai insists. “The publisher was another key to my success.” The chief translator of the English edition of Decoded was Olivia Milburn， a British sinologist who graduated from Oxford University and taught at Seoul National University. Milburns grandfather even worked on breaking German code under the guidance of Alan Mathison Turing during World War II.

Mai Jia believes ones upbringing determines his personality. “I was raised like a chicken and duck， never being loved，” he frowns. “Besides， I felt depressed all the time due to my family background： My father was dubbed a rightist， my grandfather was a Christian， and my maternal grandfather was a landlord – plenty of reason to suffer political persecution in the days when I was young.”

Enduring loneliness and lack of love， Mai devoted his heart to literature. For a year， he eased away his childhood reading the Book of Sand by Jorge Luis Borges（1899-1986）， an Argentine short-story writer， essayist， poet and translator. His favorite literary giants include Franz Kafka（1883-1924） and Stefan Zweig （1881-1942）， an Austrian novelist， playwright， journalist and biographer. Along with reading， he filled up 36 journals.

His life experience decides his literary style. “Mai is tenacious， absolute and stubborn，” commented Prof. Chen Xiaoming from the Chinese Department of Peking University. “That explains why his writings are secretive， gloomy， miraculous and unfathomable， always dormant with mysteries， smothering.”

Literature has helped him excel on the global stage， but he has never forgotten his roots. In October 2012， Mai Jia established a charitable bookstore named Dream Valley in Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province， in southern China. Complementing a reading space of 260 square meters filled with over 10，000 books， it also sponsors a writing camp for young writers， providing them temporary free food and accommodations.“Many young writers are knowledgeable and talented， but dream too much instead of connecting with people and showing concern for their era，” Mai illustrates. “I hope that they become closer to this tract of land as they move further from it.”