The scene in the west courtyard of Xiaoliubukou Hutong was no different from a week ago. The only difference was that the atmosphere seemed to be more tense.
In the final selection, the jury still adopts a relative majority voting system. Each judge has 2 votes, which can be voted for the work of their choice.
The first thing to do is the voting for the Best Short Story Award. 50 judges' votes are allocated to 5 works. Since it is a selection, it is naturally impossible to average.
At the end of one round of voting, Zhahidawa's "Soul Tie on a Leather Cord Buckle" led with 18 votes.
The judges were a little surprised to see such a result. The five shortlisted novels were all works of above standard. Naturally, there could not be such a big gap in votes based on the level alone.
Such a result can only show that "The Soul Tie on the Leather Buckle" has indeed moved everyone.
"The Soul Tied to the Leather Cord Buckle" is an imaginative work that tells the story of hunter Tabe who obtained the Dzi Bead and was told by HF to send it to the palm of Padmasambhava to atone for his sins.
Tarbet embarks on a journey, during which the shepherd Joan falls in love with him and follows him, and a psychic mute boy named Pu travels with him.
Ta Bei had a feud, and his enemy Guo Ri wanted to kill him to seize the Dzi Bead, so they pursued him all the way. After going through many hardships and dangers, they finally arrived at the palm print to complete their mission.
During this period, the writer Gedan has been looking for Tabei, who "resurrected from the dead" in his novel.
The whole story shuttles between reality and fantasy, integrating XZ regional characteristics and religious mystery elements. It has a flavor of magical realism and well reflects the history and culture of XZ. Last year, it won the 7th National Outstanding Short Story Award.
Later, this novel was adapted into the movie "The Soul on the Leather Rope" by director Zhang Yang.
The best short story was announced, the judges whispered among themselves for a while, and then came the voting for the best novella.
After a while, the results were announced, and Mo Yan's "Red Sorghum" won the first place with 12 votes.
Judging from the number of votes, compared to the competition for the best short story, the competition for the best novella is undoubtedly much more intense.
This result is not surprising to everyone. Let’s not mention how well written “Red Sorghum” was. Just the fact that the film adaptation won the highest honor at China’s first three major European film festivals is a big bonus.
The voting for the best short story and the best novella was over, and only the final best novel was left. The judges couldn't help but feel a little excited.
Novel has always been the jewel in literary awards. Looking at literary awards at home and abroad, they are basically based on novels.
Many judges wrote the names of their favorite works on paper and solemnly handed them over to the scrutineers.
Five minutes later, the voting ended, and the names of the five shortlisted novels were arranged on the blackboard from high to low. Many judges looked at the final result with stunned faces.
In addition to the judges and notary office personnel present at today's selection, there was also Tang Dacheng, the leader of the Cultural Association.
Kong Luosun, editor-in-chief of "Literary News", Liu Xinwu, editor-in-chief of "People's Literature", Qin Chaoyang, editor-in-chief of "Contemporary", and more than a dozen heavyweights in the Yenching literary circle.
In addition to these people, the jury also invited reporters from "People's Daily" and "Literary News". These two newspapers will serve as the authoritative release channels for the results of the Zhuang Chongwen Literature Award.
When the jury evaluates the awards, these guests and reporters also attend.
The results of the selection of the best short story and the best novella just now were within everyone's expectations. Even though "The Soul Tie on a Leather Cord Buckle" received more votes, everyone understood it better.
But when this scene happened in front of them, everyone felt a little uncomfortable with it.
"Why did "The Ordinary World" have the same votes as "The Ancient Ship"?"
"'Muslim Funeral' is a pity, it only missed one vote."
The guests present couldn't help but discuss, forming a slight noise.
Not only them, but also some of the judges did not accept the votes for "Ordinary World" very well.
During the previous month's reading and discussion, the judges had a strong idea of ​​all the nominated works.
Especially after the five shortlisted works were voted on last week, the vast majority of people mentioned the long-form works they would vote for in the end, and "The Ancient Ship" and "Muslim Funeral" were the ones that appeared most frequently.
Therefore, in the minds of many people, it is almost acquiesced that the best novel this year may be between "Muslim Funeral" and "The Ancient Ship".
But the current situation is that among the five shortlisted works on the blackboard, "The Ordinary World" and "The Ancient Ship" tied for first place with the same 13 votes, and "Muslim Funeral" ranked second with 12 votes.
.
This also means that "Muslim Funeral" will not be eligible for the Best Novel Award, and the award will be awarded to "The Ordinary World" and "The Ancient Ship".
"The Ordinary World" has not received a good reputation among critics since it was published. Several judges who were critics looked at their colleagues around them suspiciously.
If we hadn't been getting along day and night for a month, they wouldn't have been able to help but wonder if there was something fishy going on.
Now is the critical moment of selection, and they don't have time to guess what went wrong.
"The Ordinary World" and "The Ancient Ship" had a tie and tied for first place, triggering the second round of voting.
This time, a majority vote system is adopted, each judge has one vote, it is either this or that, a total of 25 votes, the winner must be decided.
After voting again, the support rates of the two works seem to be about the same. The number of votes increases alternately.
After the 24th vote was sung, the blackboard magically showed that "Ordinary World" and "Ancient Ship" were tied again.
In other words, the 25th vote in the hand of the vote-singer Xiao Zhao will determine the winner of this year’s Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award for Best Novel.
Nearly forty pairs of eyes fell on Xiao Zhao, which made him feel a little nervous. His eyes were fixed on the words on the note, for fear that he would read or pronounce it wrongly.
In the eyes of everyone as if they were real, he read with difficulty: "Lu Yao's "Ordinary World", 1
ticket."
The time and space at the scene seemed to have stopped at a certain moment, and many people watched in disbelief as the vote counter drew the last vote for "The Ordinary World".
No matter how much some people may not believe it, the voting for all three awards of the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award has ended, and the entire process is open to the public and is beyond reproach.
While everyone was discussing, Lin Chaoyang knocked on the table and reminded: "Mr. Feng, please announce the final result."
Feng Mu is nearly eighty years old and is used to big storms. An award is nothing exciting for him.
He nodded and said "OK".
Then he stood up slowly, looked around the scene with his eyes, showing a trace of majesty, and said in a solemn tone:
"I would like to announce that the Best Short Story Award of the first Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award is won by "The Soul Tie on the Leather Cord Buckle", written by Tashi Dawa;
The Best Novella Award was won by "Red Sorghum", written by Mo Yan;
The Best Novel Award was won by the first and second parts of "The Ordinary World", written by Lu Yao.
The selection process for this award is fair and impartial. Thank you all for your hard work over the past month.
Thank you everyone!」
As Feng Mu finished speaking, there was a burst of warm applause.
Although today's award results were a bit surprising to some people, everyone witnessed the working attitude and professionalism of the jury throughout the entire process, and this result deserves recognition.
After the warm applause, Feng Mu pressed his hands, maintained order at the scene, and handed over some information.
Including the channel and time for the results to be announced, the method of notifying the winners, the time and location of the awards, and many other matters, he finally announced the end of today's awards meeting.
After the serious awards meeting ended, everyone finally had the opportunity to communicate freely. Zhu Zhai couldn't wait to ask:
"Who voted for "The Ordinary World"?"
He knew that it was inappropriate to ask this question on such an occasion. The jury voted anonymously, but there was no requirement that everyone have to announce their choice after voting.
Everyone looked at each other, hesitantly.
Upon seeing this, Lin Chaoyang said: "I voted."
Zhu Zhai couldn't help but ask: "You haven't even finished writing "The Ordinary World," so you're not afraid of winning the award and causing controversy?"
"Is there any controversy in the awards? I don't think "The Ordinary World" can win the award. I think "The Ancient Ship" can win the award. The other vote is useless anyway, so I voted for "The Ordinary World"
.”
When Lin Chaoyang said this, he looked around everyone, "I guess there may be many people here who have the same mentality as me, right?"
Listening to Lin Chaoyang's question, many people present nodded.
When Zhu Zhai saw this scene, he couldn't help but put his hand on his forehead, "Oh my God! So you say that "The Ordinary World" has won a big prize?"
At this time, Li Shifei said: "It doesn't count as winning the grand prize. After all, there is still a second round of voting. "The Ordinary World" can be regarded as a model of getting better. At least I voted for it sincerely."
Zhu Zhai knew he had made a mistake, but he was even more curious. Even if there was luck in the first round, why did "The Ordinary World" win over "The Ancient Ship" in the second round?
Now that the conversation has started, no one has any worries.
After some communication, Zhu Zhai found out that "The Ancient Ship" had some voting advantages among the judges such as writers, editors, critics, and scholars, overpowering "The Ordinary World". The two votes were 10:6.
.
But among the judges of filmmakers, dramatists, and readers, "The Ancient Ship" scored 2:7 against "The Ordinary World"
"Ordinary World" has an absolute advantage.
In this way, there was a situation where "Ordinary World" reversed the situation and won the award.
Lu Xu finally said something, he said:
"I think these five shortlisted novels are all very well written. Unlike the teachers here, I don't have such a high level of literary literacy. I can't analyze them so thoroughly as to how good they are and what they are good about.
In fact, I was very conflicted a few days ago, but later it was Lao Wang’s words that inspired me.
Since the jury has chosen me to be the judge, it must be that I make this decision from my own standpoint.
Frankly speaking, among these five novels, "The Ordinary World" has the deepest impression on me, because it is the most relevant to my situation and heart.
So I finally chose it firmly!"
For Lu Xu, the experience of being a judge for the Zhuang Chongwen Literature Award was not only an introduction to the world, but also a valuable life experience.
When he said this, his tone was sincere and his true feelings were revealed. The judges present, who always tried to judge the works from a professional perspective, couldn't help but look thoughtful when they listened to his words.
Wang Meng asked Lin Chaoyang in a low voice, "Did you anticipate this situation when you set the composition of the jury?"
Lin Chaoyang laughed, "Do you think I'm a fortune teller?"
"Then why do you insist on enriching the jury lineup?"
"I simply feel that the previous way of judging was a bit out of touch with the masses."
Wang Meng looked puzzled, "Why are you separated from the masses? Aren't the shortlisted works like those for the National Outstanding Short Story Award all voted for by readers?"
“First of all, there is a question about how many of those who voted are ‘ordinary readers’.
Second, the final evaluation power is always in the hands of experts.
Since I think ordinary readers have the power to decide, what does it matter if we add some such people to the judging team?"
After Lin Chaoyang finished speaking, Wang Meng fell silent. He was not convinced, but he understood that Lin Chaoyang's ideas were fundamentally different from those of them.
After the award evaluation, everyone chatted for more than an hour, and then dispersed after eating in Xiaoliubukou Alley.
After a busy month, it’s time for everyone to take a good rest. The judges from other places can take this opportunity to wander around Yanjing City. We will see you again next week when the awards are presented.
The work of the judges has been completed, and the work of the Literary and Art Association will continue.
Once the award results are announced, they will notify the winners as soon as possible.
Tashi Dawa, who is far away in Xz, received a call from the Association for Literary and Art Circles. Mo Yan, who is studying in Yanjing, also received a call from the Association for Literary and Art Circles. Only Lu Yao has not yet been contacted.
It turned out that after his health recovered last year, he devoted himself to the creation of the third part of "The Ordinary World". However, just a few days ago, his weak body showed a red light again.
In desperation, Lu Yao had to go north to northern Shaanxi again, traveling back and forth between Yulin and Yan'an to seek medical advice.
It took the Literary and Art Association two days to contact Lu Yao. He was recuperating in a Yulin hotel. This time, Lu Yao was unable to find Mr. Zhang Pengju, the famous doctor who treated him last time.
He was feeling depressed. When he received a call from the Literary and Art Association, he was both surprised and happy.
"Won an award? Did "Ordinary World" really win an award?"
Lu Yao repeated this in disbelief several times into the phone receiver, until finally he was so excited that he sat down on a chair and took a few seconds to regain his senses.
Then he had a few words with Xie Yongwang on the other end of the phone and discussed some matters regarding receiving the award.
After hanging up the phone, Lu Yao remembered something.
The Zhuang Chongwen Literature Award has a bonus of 100,000 yuan!
Thinking of the astronomical bonus, Lu Yao's heart was filled with joy again. It was for honor before, but this time it was for money.
He quickly picked up the phone and called his brother Wang Tianle, "Tianle, I have money! I will take you to Yanjing to receive the award!"
"What?""
Faced with his brother's sudden nonsense, Wang Tianle was puzzled.
"I won an award! I won a grand prize! Do you know about the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award? A bonus of 100,000 yuan!" Lu Yao said loudly.
Of course Wang Tianle knew about the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award, but he couldn't believe that his brother had only written two novels, and one was still unfinished. The jury dared to give him this award. How brave he was!
The two brothers talked for a while, and Wang Tianle finally confirmed the news and congratulated his brother.
Faced with Lu Yao's invitation to take him to Yanjing to receive the award, Wang Tianle hesitated but refused.
"You go alone."
"Why?"
"No matter how much the bonus is, you have to save some money. If you are so lax, you'd better spend less on the bonus and hold on to it for a few more years."
Listening to his brother's words, Lu Yao couldn't help but feel ashamed,
He is a well-known writer in Shaanxi. He has a salary, allowance and manuscript fee from the Literary and Art Association. His income is far higher than that of ordinary people, but at the same time he has consumption habits that are beyond ordinary people.
For example, when he was writing, he smoked at least three packs of cigarettes a day and drank several cups of coffee to refresh himself.
These things were nothing in later generations, but they are somewhat luxurious today.
Lu Yao's extraordinary spending habits often put him in a difficult situation of having no money. At this time, his younger brother Wang Tianle became his logistics minister.
Wang Tianle is not dissatisfied with this. If it weren't for Lu Yao, a writer brother, he might still be digging in the dirt, but now he is a glamorous and respectable reporter.
When the two brothers chatted about winning awards before, Lu Yao once said that when he won the Nobel Prize for Literature in the future,
He wants to take Wang Tianle to Stockholm to receive the award to reward his younger brother for his support and contribution to his writing career.
That's why Lu Yao said on the phone that he would take Wang Tianle to receive the award. He might not be able to go to Stockholm, but he would always go to Yanjing.
Lu Yao felt that there seemed to be a kind of providence in the dark. Today was June 1st. In the morning, he had just sent the manuscript of the third part of "The Ordinary World" to the Central People's Broadcasting Station, and then he received calls from all over the country.
Good news from the Literary and Art Association came from Yanjing.
On this day, he felt that he was the happiest person in the world!
It was already the third day after Lu Yao received the news of the award. As early as the second day after the award was announced,
"People's Daily" and "Literary News" simultaneously announced the winners of the first Zhuang Chongwen Literature Award.
Since the establishment of the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award was announced, it has aroused huge attention among good readers in the domestic literary circle. Now that the results of the award have been released, the attention is even greater than before.
The Best Short Story Award was won by "The Soul on a Leather Cord", which is no problem. Last year, this novel won the National Outstanding Short Story Award.
The Best Novella Award was won by "Red Sorghum", which is the icing on the cake. "Red Sorghum" has received a lot of praise since its publication, and the film adaptation has won awards abroad.
The selection results of the first two awards have won the recognition of many writers and readers. You can wait for "The Ordinary World"
After the news emerged that the first and second novels won the Best Novel Award, some people couldn't calm down.
Why did it win the Best Novel Award?
Almost as soon as the award results were announced, doubts arose in the literary world.
Since the publication of the first part of "The Ordinary World", many problems such as outdated style, slow narrative pace, and dull characters have been criticized by the literary and critical circles.
Many self-proclaimed, tasteful and pursuing writers and critics are confused by this result, and some are even writing furiously, questioning whether the jury acted in secret.
Contrary to the skepticism in the literary world, after the news spread that "The Ordinary World" won the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award for Best Novel, the response from the reader community was joyful and encouraging.
After the first part of "The Ordinary World" was published, the novel did not receive much praise either in the literary world or among readers. However, now the novel's reputation among readers has undergone a 180-degree change.
The reason also starts with the broadcast of the Central People's Broadcasting Station.
Starting from March 27, China People's Broadcasting Station's "Long-form Continuous Broadcast" program will broadcast "The Ordinary World" to listeners across the country in two sessions every day.
At this time in 1988, although the number of domestic TV sets exceeded 10 million, for a country with a population of one billion, the penetration rate of TV was still not enough, and its dissemination was far inferior to that of radio.
After "The Ordinary World" was aired, it quickly aroused enthusiastic responses from the audience. When the second part of the novel was aired, the response became more violent and overwhelming.
Thousands of letters from listeners flew into the Central People's Broadcasting Station like snow flakes. Among the letter writers were students, teachers, workers, farmers, soldiers, retired cadres, unemployed young people -
These listeners jointly expressed their love for this novel in words. In the descriptions of many listeners,
They usually listen to "The Ordinary World" as a group of colleagues and classmates, and everyone is so mesmerized when they listen to it.
When a novel is published in a famous magazine, it is likely to be familiar to millions of readers, and it is featured on a "long-form broadcast" on the Central People's Broadcasting Station, which has hundreds of millions of listeners.
In the third year since "The Ordinary World" was published, the reputation among readers has finally turned around.
At exactly this time, the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award recognized "The Ordinary World". This news spread, which undoubtedly greatly enhanced the sense of identity and pride among readers and listeners of the novel.
The Zhuang Chongwen Literature Award recognizes "The Ordinary World", and readers and listeners will naturally reciprocate the favor and recognize the authority and fairness of the award.
With the blessing of tens of millions of listeners, the topic of the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award has been rising all the way, and its influence is almost as much as that of the Mao Dun Literary Award, and it has also won unanimous praise from word of mouth.
Many people simply believe that a work like "The Ordinary World" that is close to people's lives and feelings should win the award.
June 6, 1988, Yanjing, West Chang'an Street.
Compared with ten years ago, Chang'an Street now is full of traffic, especially today is a Monday. A huge army of bicycles occupy the main force on the wide road, mixed with motorcycles and cars.
In the long flow of traffic and people, there was a small branch that turned into Daliubukou Street south of Chang'an Street, and then went into a small alley.
The alley, which is not usually very busy on weekdays, is suddenly filled with the sound of cars and people, making it lively and noisy.
The Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award was still presented in Xiaoliubukou Hutong. Today, Lin Chaoyang's house has four large doors across the east-west courtyard. There was no ceremony, no banners or flowers.
If you don't observe carefully, you won't even notice that this is actually a literary award ceremony.
The only thing that can be distinguished here is probably the amount of "literary" content in the crowd.
Today in Xiaoliubukou Hutong, not only the judges of the jury are present, but also many leading cadres of Wenhuakou, editors/deputy editors of many well-known domestic literary magazines, leaders of publishing institutions, many writers, critics, and people from many TV stations
, newspaper reporters, and more than a hundred guests in total were present.
Of course, in addition to these people, there is also a special guest today, who is the sponsor of the award, Zhuang Chongwen.
Zhuang Chongwen arrived in Yanjing yesterday and stayed at the Yanjing Hotel. The Yanjing Hotel is also on Chang'an Street, less than 3 kilometers away from Xiaoliubukou Hutong.
Early this morning, Zhuang Chongwen took a car to Xiaoliubukou Hutong.
When he saw Lin Chaoyang, he had a sincere smile on his face, took two steps forward and reached out his hand.
"Lin Sheng, thank you for your hard work!"
"Mr. Zhuang, you're welcome."
After a few words of greeting, Lin Chaoyang introduced some of the leaders present to Zhuang Zhongwen, and then the two communicated in low voices.
Zhuang Chongwen's funding for the establishment of the Literature Prize was certainly public-spirited, but he also had selfish motives.
Although he was in Hong Kong during this period, news about the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award would still reach his ears from time to time. It was completely beyond his expectation that the award would achieve such an impact in its first session.
Especially after he landed in Yanjing last night, he read several newspaper reports on the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award and deeply felt the influence of the award. Zhuang Chongwen was glad that he had entrusted this matter to the right person.
300,000 yuan was spent to set up a literary award, which spread his name all over the country in just a few months.
If you look at it from a business perspective, it’s a huge profit!
As the two communicated, Zhuang Zhongwen said a few words of thanks to Lin Chaoyang.
The prize money for the Zhuang Chongwen Literary Award was provided by him, but the organization and selection process were all driven by Lin Chaoyang, and Lin Chaoyang also donated his own house. It can be said that he contributed money and effort, and took the greatest credit.
It was almost nine o'clock, and the guests were arriving one after another.
Lu Yao, who was surrounded by people, came to greet Lin Chaoyang. Today was the day for him to award the award. It was a time when he was in high spirits, and even his sick face looked a little more energetic.
"I heard that you are sick?" Lin Chaoyang asked.
"It's nothing serious, just pharyngitis."
After Lu Yao fell ill, he always claimed that he had a minor illness and was unwilling to go to a regular hospital. He believed deeply in traditional Chinese medicine and folk remedies.
"How is the novel going?"
"I just finished writing the third part a few days ago, and the manuscript has been sent out."
Lin Chaoyang nodded, "Now that I've finished writing the novel, don't worry about your health anymore. When you have time, you should go to a big hospital to see the disease. It's time to treat the disease. With the bonus, let's solve the disease first."
Feeling his concern, Lu Yao nodded, took Lin Chaoyang's hand and shook it.
Lu Yao was very grateful to Lin Chaoyang. He felt that if Lin Chaoyang had not promoted the establishment of the Zhuang Chongwen Literature Award, he would definitely not have won this award.
So much so that when he received the award, the first words he said were:
"Thank you, Comrade Chaoyang—"
After all, the awarding of the Zhuang Chongwen Literature Award was not given out over a meal as Lin Chaoyang thought. Chinese people do not have the sense of relaxation that foreigners do. The award lunch might not be a rural seat. In the end, Lin Chaoyang negotiated with Wen
After measuring it, let’s just award the award directly.
Therefore, when the Zhuang Chongwen Literature Prize was awarded, there was not even a speech from the leader. Feng Mu, the chairman of the jury, simply stood under the plane tree in the courtyard and delivered a few words.
Chapter completed!