Literary Master 1983

Chapter 362 Finally Wins the Cervantes Prize

There was no unexpected turn of events; Yenching University came to hire Yu Qie as a teacher.

Back then, college graduates could choose to stay at the university to teach, but there was a big difference between becoming a lecturer and a professor.

Take Yu Minhong, a student majoring in Spanish, as an example. His salary as an English teacher reached eighty yuan a month, which was far higher than the national average. However, due to inflation and the imbalance of the salary system, Yu Minhong still lived a very frugal life in the capital.

Even though he was a university professor, he still wanted to freeload ribs from the students.

This situation completely changed after he became a professor. Ji Xianlin from the School of Literature wrote a book called "A Casual Talk on Consumption," in which he mentioned that his salary in the 1950s had reached 345 yuan, and with the allowance from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, his salary reached 450 yuan.

By the early 1990s, Ji Xianlin's salary had reached 1,200 to 1,300 yuan a month. This was only part of Professor Ji's income. As the oldest "senior" professor, Ji Xianlin also had a large amount of income from manuscript fees, copyright fees, and other sources.

So why did Ding Lei and Sun find a way to fire Lao Ji?

We simply can't afford it.

He earns more by himself than ten teachers combined.

“Yu Qie is certainly one of our people, but what is Yu Qie’s treatment like?” Hu Daiguang asked this question on Yu Qie’s behalf.

Ding Lei said sincerely, "Our school will classify you according to the standards for overseas talents. You will be temporarily paid the stipend according to the standards for associate professors, but this will be after you graduate. Yu Qie, can you accept this?"

Whether or not there's an allowance, Yu Qie doesn't care, but what's the deal with this overseas talent?
Yu Qie was puzzled: "I have neither pursued a doctorate nor studied abroad, so what kind of overseas talent am I?"

“This should be regarded as a ‘standard for overseas talent’!” Ding Lei emphasized this phrase.

Hu Daiguang suddenly realized: this is a current classification bug in the higher education system.

Ding Lei then explained to Yu Qie:

“Normally, the promotion order for researchers is: PhD, postdoctoral fellow (assistant professor), lecturer, associate professor, and full professor. This is what I learned after visiting Harvard University, and it has been practiced in the West for over a hundred years.”

"However, this system doesn't work for foreign PhDs, because in terms of academic level, our current domestic professors in some fields may not be as good as other PhDs, so why would they come back from abroad?"

"So, although foreign PhDs returning to China still need to go through this process in name, they will actually be promoted to full professors within one or two years. We do need this kind of young blood."

Now, Yu Qie also realized what was happening.

Since the reform and opening up, China's teaching system has been in a mixed state for a long time: it has both the traditional system and the Western-style assistant professor system that it has learned. Ding Lei and Sun have their eyes on the latter.

But this still doesn't work!
What if someone accuses me of using connections in the future?
My abilities don't allow me to take such a shortcut; there's no need for it.

Yu Qie expressed his concerns: "How do you determine whether I meet the criteria for overseas talent?"

Ding Lei laughed loudly, "Why? Because of this!"

He took out a copy of today's newspaper from his folder, which contained the article "CUHK Wants to Hire Mr. Yu as Professor of Economics".

Upon closer inspection, it actually reads "Honorary Professor".

"I have confirmed that it is true. A materials science professor named Gao Kun mobilized more than a dozen faculty members to issue an invitation..."

Yu Qie could also obtain these kinds of underhanded tactics from places like Boston University and the University of Chicago, all it took was a single sentence from him.

This is how Hu Shih earned his dozen or so doctorates; wherever he went, he would receive a doctorate for every lecture he gave.

But this became Ding Lei's reliance! It was recognition from a top university!
"In urgent situations, one must act expediently. Given your level of expertise, you deserve this kind of treatment! I know that the Chinese University of Hong Kong is not the only institution that offers this opportunity; you have always been very popular!"

"Actually, even if you became a professor, or even a university president, what material gain would that bring you? You've already donated so much money..."

Ding Lei Sun became increasingly anxious as he spoke, and even stood up, pacing around the room... He then grasped Yu Qie's hand and said, "Yan University absolutely cannot lose you, just like, just like..."

"Just like the West cannot lose Jerusalem?" Yu Qie answered reflexively.

"That's right!" Ding Lei clapped his hands and cheered. "In the past few years, you have become the face of Yanda University to the outside world. We absolutely cannot lose you!"

The principal has already said so much, there's no point in Yu Qie being sentimental any further.

I should probably get a few honorary doctorates when I go abroad this time, so that no one will gossip.

Yu Qiesheng was born in 1963 and will graduate next year.

A 25-year-old associate professor?

Actually... it's alright, nothing outrageous.

It would be more impressive if the 24-year-old Cervantes Prize winner were to receive it—if he could.
-
University of Accara, Spain. A group of elderly men from the Ministry of Culture and the Federation of Spanish Language and Literature Associations gathered to finalize the selection.

The list of nominees was initiated by the Federation of Academies and ultimately decided by the Ministry of Culture and King Carlos, or more precisely, mainly by Carlos.

Generally speaking, Carlos is not interested in these things; he prefers to stay out of it.

This time is different.

Carlos was a man of strong emotions.

As a child, Carlos was treated as an adopted son by the warlord Franco, and was relatively distant from his own father. Franco would often affectionately pat the back of Carlos's head and call him "child". This ruthless warlord never beat or scolded Carlos, but instead tried his best to train him to be a ruler.

At the age of ten, Carlos was taken to be groomed to become King of Spain. Franco himself was an officer and knew the power of violence. In addition to the king's training, Carlos was also required to undergo military education, which led him to befriend many young officers.

He had royal blood, and the sole ruler of the country had long ago publicly declared himself the next king.

This experience boosted Carlos's confidence to an unprecedented level. When faced with a warlord coup, Carlos stood firm and forced the rebels to retreat.

He believes that some people are born to have everything, while others are always one step behind.

There's no particular reason, but if I had to say, God is biased.

The judges had been arguing frequently since last month, which Carlos dismissed, but the arguments became more and more frequent, and the judges were still arguing as the results approached.

Upon learning this, Carlos stormed to the scene and immediately demanded, "Why are you arguing?"

"There is a great writer here who can be seen, but only the blind cannot see him!"

The jury paused for a moment, exchanging bewildered glances. An official from the Ministry of Culture respectfully asked, "Your Majesty King Juan Carlos, every argument we have has been beneficial."

Yes!

Of course it's "beneficial"! It's beneficial to your authority, but is it really beneficial to expanding the influence of Spanish culture?

Five years ago, the judges were fiercely debating the final award, with some wanting to give it to Márquez, while others argued that Márquez, a Nobel laureate, no longer needed the Cervantes Prize. It should be noted that the Cervantes Prize was still in its infancy then, not even a fraction as prestigious as the Nobel Prize; what were they even trying to prove?
Ultimately, the conservatives won, awarding that year's prize to a Spanish writer. Luis was a good writer, but he was not famous in the world, while Márquez was the biggest star in the literary world that year.

Carlos, thinking about this, became angry again: "Countless people want to see Gabriel García Márquez come out of his little town of Macondo and meet our Cervantes... What does that mean? Can anyone tell me what it means?"

The king was clearly there to vent his anger, and any answer would be wrong, so no one made a sound.

Carlos laughed in exasperation, and said to himself, "Rumor has it that Native Americans are descendants of Chinese. If you can imagine China awarding an Oracle Literature Prize to an American Native American writer, with everyone weeping for their shared ancient bloodline... then you'll know what kind of script you've ruined!"

"This is what the whole world wanted to see! But you ruined it!"

The Minister of Culture apologized to Carlos.

This was indeed an unethical act. How could anyone have been more deserving of honor than Márquez back then?

“You really should apologize!” Carlos said bluntly. “You have no idea how many years it takes to come up with a script like this.”

Carlos then stayed there for a while. The University of Accarat has many historical sites and was briefly a cultural center of Europe during the Renaissance; the birth of the writer Cervantes was no accident.

The exquisite sculptures and paintings by Western masters lifted Carlos's spirits. He quickly toured the exhibits, spending several hours there. Upon returning, he found the judges still in a meeting, and he abruptly said:

"I wrote a letter to a Chinese writer."

"The letter said that I congratulated him and thanked him for making Spanish literature in the East not appear in a tragic and desolate way, but with more courage and boldness. I admire his book '2666' very much, and I have read it several times."

“People say he defied the Chilean government’s persecution, but I think the opposite is true; he hunted down the Chilean government. His charge was a Don Quixote-like charge.”

Carlos said those few words and then left.

Clearly, Carlos is campaigning for Yu Che. The rumors are true; Carlos, due to his life experiences, feels a sense of kinship with Yu Che, who is both literate and skilled in martial arts and has a very handsome appearance.

It is said that the ruler Franco was a sickly, tall, and thin man. He was a pragmatic reactionary who, despite being a warlord, governed Spain with remarkable efficiency. Therefore, Carlos inexplicably admired him.

Young Carlos's impression of Franco was often limited to that of a military intellectual reading "The Republic," completely unaware of the blood debts he had committed.

Want to hear Carlos's opinion? He is the king.

This question lingered in the minds of every judge.

Afterwards, the judges discussed the matter again, and as expected, influenced by Carlos, most of them chose Yuche. The remaining votes were mainly cast for a Mexican writer named Fuentes.

This man is a typical Latin American writer. He served as a diplomat for many years, studied witchcraft in depth, and had several lovers... He is the most typical old Latin American writer.

Mexicans call him "the conscience of Mexico," and that's the main story of his life.

But there are many more stories about Yuche. In the West, even the University of Akala couldn't contain so many Yuche stories.

To ensure fairness, the judging panel held one last discussion to determine who should receive the award.

The judges immediately split into two factions.

One judge remarked, "Fuentes was also a key figure in the Latin American literary boom; he worked under Carmen. I heard they had a papal game where Fuentes served as archbishop..."

Someone else immediately asked, "Then what about Yuqie?"

"The Cardinal."

"How is that possible? He's an atheist. What's wrong with Carmen? You can't joke like that."

“His performance certainly lives up to expectations. In fact, he even had a dialogue with the bishop of Argentina. Yuche may be a pragmatist. We don’t need to worry about his faith.”

"Moreover, King Carlos clearly supports him. We only need to hold a meeting here for a week to select the winner, while Carlos has many other things to consider."

The Spanish also valued political awareness, and Carlos was a king with real power.

The vote was held again, and Yuqie's votes were far ahead of Fuentes', which relieved everyone.

This means that Yu Qie won based on his own strength.

Even without Carlos campaigning, Yuche would still win.

At this moment, some people realized something: Yu Qie was only twenty-four years old, and once he won the award, he would become the youngest Cervantes Prize winner in history.

Although this award has only been held for a few years, it is unlikely that anyone will catch up in the foreseeable future. The moment he receives it, it will be "unprecedented and unparalleled."

Poor Fuentes, he is already fifty-nine years old.

"Cervantes isn't a workhorse award; we only give it to writers with real talent! The biggest story in the literary world over the past year has been..."

At 8 PM on April 20th, the annual Spanish-language literature award was held as scheduled.

Faced with a swarm of reporters, the Spanish Minister of Culture did not mince words and simply said, "I think he won this time."

The news swept through the literary world like a whirlwind. Upon hearing it, Márquez excitedly wrote a comment: "This is news that we knew would happen, but which still surprised us when it actually happened."

"It's like your child growing into a man; he becomes both familiar and unfamiliar to you!"

indeed so.

News travels through radio waves that are ubiquitous around the world, leaping and refracting between the atmosphere and buildings on the ground, forming an invisible thunderbolt that crosses the Eurasian border, passes through Siberia, and finally lands on the antennas of every Chinese person, then becomes bioelectricity that makes the heart beat a beat slower.

Yu Qie never expected that his award would be so bizarre.

According to the rules, the organizing committee should have contacted him by phone after going through several channels.

However, the Spanish Minister of Culture admitted it directly during a live television broadcast.

So Yu Qie was completely unprepared, and neither was Yenching University. When Hu Daiguang and the others, who were halfway there, heard the news, they quickly turned back to catch up with Yu Qie, wondering as they ran, "Is he going to be promoted to full professor ahead of schedule...? What if other universities are shameless enough to do that?"
Yu Qie rode his bicycle to the school gate and saw a huge crowd of people.

These people blushed as soon as they saw him, and some even cried.

"Senior Brother Yu! Senior Brother Yu!" they called out.

"Silly child, you'll have to call me teacher from now on," Yu Qie said slowly, then asked casually, "I'm here to go home, what do you want?"

Zhao Zehong, the girl who had previously achieved the top score in the Beijing college entrance examination, was chosen by others. Her face trembled with tears as she said:

"Professor Yu, you represented all Chinese people (crying and trembling)! You won the Cervantes Prize!"

(End of this chapter)