Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 311 Behind the Awards
December 1982, 12. Today the weather is clear and haze-free, and the small auditorium of the People's Hall is crowded with people.

There is still half an hour left before the first Mao Dun Literature Prize award ceremony begins. This year's jury members, award-winning writers, invited leaders and guests are entering the venue one after another.

The Writers Association has put in a lot of effort for this award ceremony.

Among the many guests present were leaders from relevant ministries such as culture, publicity, and press and publication, leaders of local literary associations, heads of well-known publishing units and literary journals across the country, and many well-known writers, editors, and critics...

Upon closer count, there were hundreds of guests attending the award ceremony, all of whom were well-known figures in the domestic cultural circle.

Among them are many people who are highly respected and hold important positions, such as Mr. Ba Jin, the Minister of Culture, and the Vice Minister of Propaganda.

Lin Chaoyang entered the venue among a group of award-winning writers, greeting people all the way into the auditorium. There were so many acquaintances at such an occasion today that he spent a long time just greeting people.

"Comrade Chaoyang is really popular!" Wei Wei, who was sitting next to Lin Chaoyang, joked after taking his seat.

"You're joking. The main thing is that the people here today are all from the industry, so there are naturally more acquaintances."

Lin Chaoyang went to the Overseas Chinese Hotel yesterday to check in, where he met several other award-winning writers.

A few years ago, "The Garland under the Mountain" held a seminar and Wei Wei was invited to attend, so the two sides knew each other.

Li Guowen, who was sitting on the other side of Lin Chaoyang, was the author of "Spring in Winter". He was very tall, but had a blank expression on his face and said nothing.

The two chatted for a while last night, and Lin Chaoyang knew that he was not arrogant, but just not good at talking, especially in an unfamiliar environment.

The other four award-winning writers, Yao Xueying, Zhou Keqin, Gu Hua and Mo Yingfeng, lined up around the three.

Among the seven, Yao and Wei are both literary veterans in their sixties, while Li, Zhou, Mo and Gu Hua are in their forties or fifties, in their prime.

The only person sitting among them was Lin Chaoyang, a young man in his twenties, with a face full of collagen that was particularly eye-catching.

After the conference officially started, there were the customary speeches by leaders. Mr. Ba Jin spoke as the leader of the Literary Association and the chairman of the jury.

Then it was time for the awards ceremony. Lin Chaoyang and seven others sat on the podium and stood there. Writers from three generations, old, middle-aged and young, gathered together, and the literary seniors in the audience felt gratified.

The members of the jury sat in the first row below the podium. Zhang Guangnian and Feng Mu sat together, and they looked at the people on the stage with some emotion.

"Old comrades are shining, middle-aged people are the backbone, and young people are catching up. The development of the literary world is really thriving!"

"Yes, what a great situation! This award is really timely, and it lays a solid foundation for the future development of the literary world."

Listening to Feng Mu's words, Zhang Guangnian nodded slightly.

In the past two years, the name "New Period Literature" has gradually become popular. It corresponds to the "Seventeen Years of Literature" from 1949 to 1976, and is the development process of contemporary Chinese literature since .

If we trace the beginnings of literature in the new era, it should be said that it started with poetry represented by Misty Poetry. This literary form with strong vitality enlightened the literary aesthetics of a generation of young people.

Despite long-term cultural repression, it can still be widely spread through word of mouth.

Then came the rise of short stories and the prosperity of novellas. Under such circumstances, the National Excellent Short Story and Novella Awards came into being, which successfully stimulated the creative desire of a large number of literary creators and also focused the attention and love of the general public.

According to normal creative rules, the creation cycle of a novel is much longer than that of a novella or short story. Now, six full years have passed, and the first novel award event has finally been born in China, which is in line with the current laws of literary development.

However, in terms of the overall development of the novel genre, domestic novels are still in a state of depression as a whole.

On this point, Zhang Guangnian and Feng Mu, as judges, were very clear.

At this time when the novel is just beginning to revive, the winning works of this year's Mao Dun Literature Prize all have their own problems to a greater or lesser extent.

The binary opposition in Furong Town, the militarization of the peasant uprising in Li Zicheng (Part 2), the suspicion that the plot of Xu Mao and His Daughters serves the theme, and the stream of consciousness and montage techniques in Spring in Winter are often confusing and difficult to understand for many people who have watched it...

Thinking of "Spring in Winter", Zhang Guangnian couldn't help but feel sorry for Lin Chaoyang.

As both are stream-of-consciousness works, "The Death of Van Gogh" is obviously superior to "Spring in Winter" both in terms of technique and story, but in the end it was "Spring in Winter" that won the award.

The main reason for this result is that the style of "The Death of Van Gogh" is too Westernized, or as some comrades say, too liberal.

It doesn't even tell the story of the Chinese, but the story of a foreign artist.

In contrast, "Spring in Winter" tells the story of Yu Erlong, a senior official and director of a large military power plant, who returns to the guerrilla base after more than 30 years of absence to search for the murderer who assassinated his wife.

The novel summarizes the social changes and development of the times over the past forty years by narrating his experiences, observations, associations and memories during the three days he returned to his hometown. Such a story will undoubtedly have more advantages than "The Death of Van Gogh" in the award process.

Zhang Guangnian couldn't help but recall the heated discussion among the fifteen judges on "The Death of Van Gogh" during the final review stage.

The fifteen judges of the Mao Dun Literature Prize are all well-known figures in the Chinese literary world. It is impossible for anyone to force others to submit by relying on their official titles and seniority.

Zhang Guangnian was in a trance at the time, as if he was dreaming back to the past. You know, just a few years ago, it was also this group of people.

A protracted debate ensued over the question of whether literary creation after the end of Buzz Buzz Buzz should truly expose and reflect the scars and realities of contemporary Chinese society and whether the mainstream literature of the "Seventeen Years" should be restored, forming two major camps: the Xichun School and the Pianzuo School.

This review meeting was almost a replica of the great debate a few years ago, with both sides holding their own opinions and neither convincing the other. In the end, the result could only be decided by voting. Unfortunately, the Xichun faction failed to win this time. Among the members of this jury, the number of the pro-party faction was in the majority, and "The Death of Van Gogh" had to be eliminated.

Perhaps to comfort these people who cherish spring, or perhaps out of a desire to compensate Lin Chaoyang, the group that favors supporting roles brought up "The Chess Master" for discussion again. They all agreed that the level of "The Chess Master" was worthy of an award.

Zhang Guangnian recalled the scene at that time and still felt a little indignant. The stance and narrative angle of "The Chess Master" were obviously biased towards the left. How could they not see the thoughts of the left?

But this is Lin Chaoyang's work after all, and it is indeed very well written. Although it is not as outstanding as "The Death of Van Gogh", it is not inferior to those award-winning works that have already been decided.

Therefore, in the end, the old comrades of the Xichun faction had no choice but to accept the result, but they couldn't help cursing the shameless behavior of the Pianzuo faction in their hearts.

What’s the difference between this and a teacher threatening parents with their child’s future?
he~tui, despicable!
Memories flashed through his mind, and Zhang Guangnian's eyes turned to the stage and involuntarily focused on Lin Chaoyang.

"The Death of Van Gogh" was eliminated, but "The Chess Master" still won the award. Isn't this a kind of recognition of him?
What's more, he is so young!

Not only Zhang Guangnian, most of the people present felt the same way when they looked at Lin Chaoyang on the stage.

Although this is the first time it is held, in a sense, the Mao Dun Literature Prize has become the highest award in the Chinese literary world.

Lin Chaoyang is able to stand on the podium at the age of only 20-something, so any compliments can be given to him without exaggeration.

Especially since there was a group of middle-aged and elderly writers standing next to him, in this year's atmosphere, these people seemed to have become his foil.

"This kid is really lucky in winning awards!" Li Tuo sighed to Wang Meng who was sitting next to him.

"You can't say it's 'luck'. Without outstanding creative talent and works to support it, how can I always win so many awards!"

The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Wang Meng was just stating the facts, but Li Tuo, who hadn't written a novel for a long time, felt uncomfortable and lost interest in the conversation.

Although he was delighted by his brother's success, his own failure was even more difficult for him to accept.

It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, I just put all my energy into the movie.

On the rostrum, the guests responsible for presenting the awards included members of the jury, leaders of the Cultural Association and leaders of ministries and commissions. The winning prizes were still a three-piece set - a certificate, a prize money, and a commemorative album.

The difference is that this time the prize money is much higher than the previous prize money for winning the national outstanding short story or novella award, a full 3000 yuan.

The prize money for the Mao Dun Literature Prize comes from the 3000 yuan in royalties donated by Mr. Mao Dun before his death. In order to create a sufficiently authoritative literary awards event, the China Literary Association spared no expense, and each winner can receive a prize of yuan.

There are seven winning works for this year's Mao Dun Literature Prize, with a prize amount of up to 2 yuan, which is almost 1/1 of Mr. Mao Dun's estate.

Such a generous reward has, to a certain extent, greatly enhanced the reputation of the new Mao Dun Literature Prize.

Each person was given a thick stack of unity on a tray, which looked a bit tacky but full of visual impact.

In this era when the per capita income level has not yet exceeded 60 yuan, a bonus of 3000 yuan is equivalent to the income of an ordinary working class person without food or drink for four or five years. It can be said to be a sky-high bonus.

Even some well-known writers with good incomes would need one or two years to earn these royalties.

Now winning an award is a good thing, how can this not make the writers on the stage happy?
Writers are also human beings. They also need to eat, drink, defecate and urinate. Everyone is happy to receive the bonus.

Everyone was smiling, except Lin Chaoyang, who looked calm. A reporter recorded this scene with a camera.

Lin Chaoyang was not pretending to be reserved, but his income from royalties had always been very high, so this little bonus hardly excited him.

After the award ceremony, everyone spoke in turn, and then Zhou Yang gave a speech, affirming the final result of the award, calling it "the first review of commemorative novels in the new socialist era, and generally represents the achievements of today's novels."

After the conference, the more than 600 people from the cultural circles present took a group photo, which took quite a lot of effort.

After having lunch in the sea at noon, there was a symposium in the afternoon. Lin Chaoyang became one of the focuses of everyone's attention. Both his works and himself were mentioned many times by the judges and guests.

Halfway through the symposium, Wang Meng suddenly asked Mr. Ba Jin, "It is said that there are eight films on the final review list this year. These days everyone has been discussing which film was not selected. Can the director explain this to us?"

The reason why Wang Meng asked the question suddenly was that he was instigated by Li Tuo during the award ceremony in the morning. Li Tuo had been repeating this question in his ear. Wang Meng was also curious, so he took advantage of the fact that all the judges were at the symposium and asked the question.

After he asked the question, the originally lively atmosphere of the discussion suddenly became quiet, and everyone's eyes turned to Ba Jin.

Seven works won awards this year, which is a bit too many, but it is also in line with the style of awards given in the literary world.

But there have been rumors in the literary world recently that the final review list was eight, and only one out of a total of eight works was eliminated.

Everyone was curious about who the unlucky person who was eliminated was, and Wang Meng's question really spoke to everyone's mind.

Seeing everyone's attention, Mr. Ba Jin calmly took a sip of the tea in front of him.

"this problem……"

(End of this chapter)