Literature a matter of memento?

During the Tomb Sweeping holiday, more than 1,000 tourists visited the former residence of Nobel Literature laureate Mo Yan within three days. But the visitors were anything but civilized in their behavior, scraping walls to remove bricks and digging up soil to carry home as mementos, says an article in Guangzhou Daily. Excerpts:

Last year, visitors dug up some saplings and radishes from near Mo Yan's former residence. But this year, they actually caused damage to the structure itself by removing bricks and digging up the soil in the courtyard. Many of the visitors said they did so in the belief that the mementos will help them improve their literary acumen.