From Chinese Press

Death of a literature award

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-29 07:57

 

The awarding of the fifth Lu Xun Literature Award to Che Yangao for his "lamb-style" poems in a way marks the death of the award. Of late, the announcement of award winners' names has triggered heated debates on their integrity and quality of their work, says an article on www.southcn.com. Excerpts:

In 2007, the media reported that the four litterateurs appointed to judge the Lu Xun Literature Award winners became the ultimate winners themselves. This is unique in the world of literature.

When questioned, the Chinese Writers' Association (CWA), which gives out the award, insisted the entire process of choosing the winners was clean. It retorted that "if you think that someone has bought the award, show evidence to prove the charge".

It is well nigh impossible for either the public or the media to produce concrete evidence of "who bought the award for how much". It is also impossible for an insider, despite his/her knowledge of the "money-power deal" to fix the award, to step forward as a witness.

In fact, it was the award's judges who, in their less-than-100-word comment on Che Yangao, revealed his official identity as the "secretary of the city's discipline and inspection committee". According to the judge's, Che has a hard black gauze cap but a soft tender heart for poetry, which is the aesthetic criterion that the award demands.

Such actions of literature award committees, rather than "cultural differences" or the quality of translation, explain why contemporary Chinese writers and poets have not won public appreciation either at home or abroad.

Giving the Lu Xun Literature Award to a "lamb-style" poet reflects the shortcomings of the CWA and the falling standards of contemporary literature.