Literary Master 1983

Chapter 431 "Ordinary World"

The failure to establish the Lu Xun Literary Prize has caused considerable anger. At the very least, the Mao Dun Literary Prize should be vigorously promoted.

The award is currently accepting submissions from the past few years, and there are many nominees.

Yu Qie's "Lurking" and Liu Baiyu's "The Second Sun" are strong contenders, in addition to novels such as "The Broken Golden Cup".

These were all completed before 85.

It is now 88, so some people have suggested that 86, or even 87 and 88, should also be included in the award scope (since the award was actually given in 89). What would this lead to?

For example, "The Funeral of a Muslim" was selected. For example, "The Young Emperor" was selected.

Ironically, these novels are seen by later generations as a major failure of this year's Mao Dun Literature Prize.

How should Yu Qie's series of novels be ranked? He has a large output, with at least several novels such as "Returning to One's Roots" and "Bloody Battle of Laoshan" making the list.

If you include Yu Qie on the list and have him make multiple selections, the Mao Dun Literature Prize might as well become the Yu Qie Prize.

If you don't include Yu Qie's other novels on the list, it seems that this award loses its meaning—it was established to select representative novels and authors within a certain period.

Li Duo of Beijing Literature spoke the truth: "As a judge, I am in a difficult position; as an author being selected, I am in a difficult position; and Yu Qie is also in a difficult position."

By August 88, the Writers' Association's award office had received more than ninety recommendations from publishing houses across the country. Subsequently, the judging committee appointed 22 critics to form a reading group to read the recommended works individually.

Among these people were Ding Ning, Ma Feng, Liu Baiyu, Cheng Huangmei, Li Duo, and Zhu Shengchang—who seem to be relatively unknown, but they were all major literary critics of this period.

Literary critic!
It's not about who you think you are or who you are. To be a critic, you need influence, which, intuitively speaking, means having a background or connections.

Li Duo was the editor-in-chief of *Beijing Literature*, Cheng Huangmei was the director of the Film Bureau and the vice minister of the Ministry of Culture, and Ma Feng served as the head of the Shanxi Provincial Writers Association and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles. The rest are not worth mentioning; their backgrounds are similar.

That's the kind of group of people they are.

Yu Qie also holds a minor official position; he is currently the vice chairman of the Beijing Writers Association, which is actually the lowest position among them. However, it is clear that no one dares to underestimate him.

"Teacher Yu!" Cheng Huangmei, who had met Yu Qie before, shook hands with him.

"You made it to the final five in Stockholm? Really? That's a real boost to our national prestige, a true literary event!"

The others also looked over curiously.

Although Yuqie is very far removed from them, the Nobel Prize is undoubtedly even further away.

There are a few Chinese Nobel laureates, but none of them are native-born Chinese. In fact, none of them even made it onto the shortlist of five.

Li Duo has always been outspoken. He said, "If it's true that you're on the list of five, you'll be the first Chinese writer in history to achieve this!"

These words were too frightening, so Li Duo tried to salvage the situation by saying, "Of course, we can't just look at what those foreigners think! But if we were to look at it, that's the truth."

His words were somewhat empty promises, a jumble of conflicting thoughts. But Yu Qie liked them very much; Li Duo's few words explained Yu Qie's brilliance.

With Li Duo making such a definitive statement, Yu Qie naturally had no need to boast about himself. He said a few self-deprecating words, then dropped a bombshell: "There are many people who have been nominated for the Nobel Prize, and many who have declined."

"What's the explanation? I really want to hear it." Li Duo, like a playful old man, blushed with excitement.

"I remember two people. One was Lu Xun, who was nominated for the Nobel Prize, but he refused. He believed that the Republic of China was poor and weak, and if he were to receive a nomination, it would only lull the people into a false sense of security, making them think that the Republic of China was still doing well, which would be very harmful!"

This was indeed some interesting information. None of the others had heard of it before, but Ding Ning, Ma Feng, and others who were not originally acquainted with Yu Qie also leaned over to listen.

"The other one is Qian Zhongshu, who is very low-key. You may not know this, but he also refused nominations from foreigners."

"It's true!" Cheng Huangmei exclaimed, then sighed deeply.

They were colleagues at the Social Academy for a period of time and heard some rumors: Qian Zhongshu was quite famous overseas, and a sinologist wrote to him to ask if he would accept a nomination for the Nobel Prize.

Knowing he lacked the ability and disliking crowds, Qian Zhongshu politely declined.

So here's the question—it turns out that China has had more than one Nobel Prize nominee, does this cast a shadow over Yu Qie's reputation?

Yu Qie revealed: "The Nobel Prize is awarded every October, and the search for the next year's winners begins immediately after the announcement. Individuals or institutions around the world who are eligible to nominate for the Nobel Prize send in their letters, and the process stops accepting nominations after January of the following year, when the selection process begins."

"Most people get stuck at this stage. How many? I can't say. I can only say that the next stage is a long list of about two hundred people..."

"Wow!" Li Duo exclaimed in surprise, "So you mean there must have been several hundred or even a thousand in the previous stage!"

Yu Qie smiled and said, "That might be the case. Since I'm not on the Nobel Prize committee, I don't know. This selection information is confidential."

Cheng Huangmei also asked, "Since it's kept secret, how can we know the process, or even the approximate list?"

"This is a characteristic of the West. Over the years, an industry chain has been formed around the Nobel Prize. Some people who have participated in the Nobel Prize selection process are lured by betting companies with huge sums of money to reveal the real list! In order to make money, betting companies naturally adjust the odds, and we can tell who is more likely to win by looking at the odds."

Then, in March or April, the nomination list of more than two hundred people will be drastically reduced to less than twenty-five people, at which point the betting company will open for business.

By May, a shortlist of five people had been submitted and sealed, and the selection process would not begin until September.

The middle four months are reserved for judges to observe the works of the finalists.

Then, in the month leading up to the October draw, the judges held three intensive meetings to finalize the list. The betting activity peaked during this period, topping headlines worldwide.

The judges suddenly realized: so this is how the Nobel Prize selection process works; it's truly a commercial marathon.

Cheng Huangmei said, "I think the selection process for our Mao Dun Literature Prize is even more arduous than that for the Nobel Prize! They look at the works of the final five shortlisted candidates, while we receive more than ninety submissions! To be honest, how can we possibly review them all!"

That's true, there's simply not enough material to watch it all, so what's the basis for the selection?

Naturally, influence and connections also played a role. Therefore, the Mao Dun Literature Prize became increasingly abstract starting from this year, with its prestige declining year by year. Although Ba Jin served as the chairman of the judging panel, given his health condition, it was impossible for him to have read all ninety-plus novels! He was merely a mascot from the previous era, brought in as a figurehead!

After the meeting, the judging panel invited Yu Qie to join them.

"Don't be afraid of not winning an award as a judge. Liu Baiyu, one of our judges this time, is also a judge, and his novel was shortlisted. So what?"

Cheng Huangmei and Li Duo both came to persuade Yu Qie.

This is what they think: regardless of whether Yu Qie wins the award or not, his status is already there.

Without Yu Qie on the judging panel, the panel would seem to lack credibility!

Yu Qie was shocked: it turns out there really are people who can be both judges and players, and the key point is that Liu Baiyu actually won this year's Mao Dun Literature Prize.

Holy crap, city folks really know how to have fun!
Yu Qie politely declined, saying, "Let me think about it."

However, what happened after that selection process became increasingly abstract.

With over ninety works to choose from, the judging panel proactively expanded the selection scope to include 88, perhaps in an effort to create a literary landmark year.

The immediate effect of this move is that nearly two hundred works have been sent from various places. Not to mention reading them all, some of these books are so obscure that people don't even remember their names!
Novels such as "The Young Emperor" and "The Funeral of a Muslim" were included in the selection list, as is the case in history. This was not because they were particularly outstanding, but because at the time, these works had large distribution platforms, good sales, and were endorsed by famous editors.

The selection process has gradually become more vulgar.

Those with high online traffic and strong connections will be selected. Conversely, those without such connections will be excluded.

This is not to say that the judges were all incompetent, but rather that it was the result of a combination of factors, and they chose the judging criteria that seemed more favorable at the time.

Who is unlucky in this screening model?
"Ordinary World" by Lu Yao.

He had no lineage or mentor, was very introverted, and had little social skills; he was a typical homebody.

Lu Yao didn't have much money, but he was eager to gain recognition from authors in the industry. So whenever he had money, he would use it to treat people to meals, and sometimes he would even borrow money to do so.

He acted like someone from a small town, afraid of being seen as poor and shabby. But these treats couldn't buy the respect of the judging panel, and with the judging period shortened, Lu Yao's novel was even less likely to be noticed by the judges!

Zhang Shouren, author of *October*, was extremely anxious upon learning that the Mao Dun Literature Prize had changed its selection process. He privately approached Yu Qie and said, "*Ordinary World* is a truly great book! It's simple, unpretentious, profound, and substantial! Lu Yao poured his heart and soul into writing this novel; he was practically worn out!"

"He lived in the coal mine, writing all night long every day, and then sleeping until the afternoon!"

Yu Qie then learned the inside story of Lu Yao's smoking and coffee drinking: his novels were popular but not critically acclaimed, and the industry didn't recognize his work. Lu Yao was naturally furious.

Because of the popularity of experimental literature in recent years, the literary merit of "Ordinary World" was not recognized. The editorial teams of major magazines were also rather "frivolous" during this period.

"Ordinary World" is exactly the kind of novel that is difficult to get into at first.

"What you don't know is that before it was published in *Huacheng*, Lu Yao's novel was also sent to *Contemporary*, and then rejected! After the rejection, Lu Yao was completely devastated; it was an insult and a blow to him! But he still wanted to publish, so he went to *Huacheng* again. Although the reader feedback was very good after it was published in *Huacheng*, the magazine was unwilling to publish the second part of *Ordinary World*..."

“If it weren’t for our magazine, October, finding him, Lu Yao would have already sent his manuscript to Yellow River (a city-level publication)... He has had a long and arduous journey, and he just hoped that the Mao Dun Literature Prize could be fair to him, at least give him a nomination, but now that’s impossible!”

Yu Qie indeed discovered a shocking bug in this year's Mao Dun Literature Prize!

Originally, it was postponed to 91 for various reasons, which gave the judging committee ample time to review all the novels.

"Ordinary World" thus stood out. It was so excellent that when later readers recalled this year's Mao Dun Literature Prize, they felt that "Ordinary World" was truly deserving of the award.

Now, with a larger number of submissions and a shorter selection period, this book has been completely ignored.

For many years afterward, "Ordinary World" topped the list of "literary books borrowed" by college students. "Ordinary World" finally won an award in 91, and Lu Yao passed away the following year. However, he saw his hard work being recognized before he died.

Those editors who rejected Lu Yao's manuscripts back then, under pressure, wrote articles to apologize.

“Teacher Yu!” Zhang Shouren said, “I never run errands for others, but there have been two exceptions! One was Lu Yao, and the other was you!”

"Back then, the chairman of the judging panel was also Mr. Ba. Editor-in-Chief Wang and I went to Shanghai to lobby for awards for you, afraid that Mr. Ba wouldn't notice you! Now I'm in the same situation as back then, but the person in front of me is you!"

Since Zhang Shouren had put it this far, Yu Qie had no choice but to agree.

"Let me think of a way. I promise I'll at least give 'Ordinary World' a fair chance!"
-
This August was practically the pre-awards season, and Nie Weiping even came to Yu Qie's house for drinks.

Yu Qie cherished this drinking buddy of his. He rarely cooked a feast to warmly entertain Nie Weiping.

With the first Ing Cup World Professional Go Championship about to begin, Nie Weiping, who has already earned the title of "Go Saint," will have to wait and see whether he can ascend to godhood in this Go competition.

The Ying Cup is sponsored by Taiwanese entrepreneur Ying Chang-chi. It can be said that this award was specially set up by Ying Chang-chi for Nie Weiping and is directly related to him.

"Master Ying is a playful old man in the Go world! Although he had a meager income when he was young, he persevered in learning Go. After his life became stable, he invited friends from all over the world to play Go and exchange skills."

"However!" Nie Weiping said regretfully, "Master Ying discovered that the Japanese Go club system is excellent, with complete Go equipment and books, while the Go culture in China is declining and no one cares about it."

"Go was originally invented by the Chinese, yet the Chinese are not as good as their Japanese apprentice!"

Yu Qie also knew of Ying Changqi. He had donated over 100 million NT dollars—and this was in the 1980s and 90s! The Ing Cup champion received a prize of 400,000 US dollars, the highest among all Go competitions in the world, making the Ing Cup an instant sensation. Media from all over the world came to report on it.

Ying Changqi is considered the "Nobel Prize of Go," so the Ying Cup naturally became a battle for the title of "Number One in the World."

"When will you become the best in the world?" Yu Qie asked him.

Nie Weiping declared with boundless pride, "It's today!"

(End of this chapter)