Lu Xun: Why did you reject the Nobel Prize nomination?
Lu Xun
The first Chinese writer who may win the Nobel Prize in Literature is Lu Xun.
In 1927, when explorer Sven Heding visited China, he learned more about Lu Xun’s achievements in literature and his huge social influence. He discussed with Liu Bannong and planned to recommend Lu Xun to be the Nobel Prize winner. candidate.
Sven Heding served as an academician of the Swedish Academy for nearly 40 years. He began expeditions to Xinjiang in China in 1890. In 1900, he discovered the site of Loulan ancient city . In April 1927, Heding and the "Association of Chinese Academic Societies" reached an agreement to jointly form the "Northwest Science Research Group". Liu Bannong was the head of the board of the delegation, and Heding and Liu Bannong knew each other well.
At that time, Liu Bannong was very eager to win a place for China. After all, the authority and influence of the Nobel Prize is beyond doubt. What's more, in that disaster-ridden China, such an international award is indeed needed to enhance the public’s love and support for literature. Someone recommends Liang Qichao, Liu Bannong feels wrong, he thinks Lu Xun is the ideal candidate.
Liu Bannong
Liu Bannong recommended Lu Xun. If Lu Xun agrees, he must immediately start a lot of preparation work, prepare recommended materials, and translate the works that participate in the evaluation into English.
Regarding this matter, Liu Bannong asked Lu Xun’s friend Tai Jingnong to ask for his opinion. You must know that being able to win the Nobel Prize in Literature is not only an extremely high reward for personal literary achievements, but also a national honor. Unexpectedly, Lu Xun refused directly.
Lu Xun wrote in his reply: "Liang Qichao is naturally unworthy of the Nobel Prize, and I am not worthy. I want to take the money.Still lack of effort. I think there are really no people in China who can get the Nobel Prize. Sweden It's best to ignore us and give no one. If it is because of the yellow-skinned people who are particularly generous, it is enough to grow the vanity of the Chinese people and think that they can really compare with the great writers of other countries, and the result will be very bad.
Lu Xun’s rejection was the same as his personality, simply, direct, and hit the nail on the head.
Lu Xun expressed his three views in the letter: First, the Nobel Prize for Literature is indeed a major international high-level award. There is no doubt that he refused the Nobel Prize nomination because he did not look down on the award, it was precisely because of respect; second, there was still a gap between the level of literature in China at that time and the world literature, and it was really not qualified to win the prize; third, if you were lucky The name of the award is not true, it will give the Chinese literary world a false impression that Chinese literature has developed to a very high level, and it will make Chinese literati feel self-respecting, which is not conducive to the development of Chinese literature.
What if Lu Xun does not refuse?
Sven Heding
Lu Xun has a clear understanding of the Nobel Prize, and his evaluation is also very profound. When Lu Xun wrote this letter, China's new culture has gone through a ten-year course, although there have been many Authors also produced many high-quality works, but there was indeed a distance between Chinese literature and world literature at that time.
In 1927, the competition for the Nobel Prize in Literature was very fierce. There were only writers who were eliminated from the list of candidates. 36 people, in fact, there is no shortage of Thomas Man, Gorky, world-renowned and year-round great writers. The famous French philosopher and writer Henry Bergson won the Nobel Prize for Literature that year.
Let's suppose that if Lu Xun did not refuse the nomination at that time, could he win the award in that year?
Ma Yueran
For Lu Xun’s works,Ma Yueran, an academician of the Swedish Academy and a member of the Nobel Prize for Literature, once commented: “I think Mr. Lu Xun’s " Scream" and "Wandering" are very creative works. If this collection of short stories is translated into a foreign language, Lu Xun will definitely be recommended as a candidate and may win the prize.”
In other words, Ma Yueran gave a more objective answer to Lu Xun’s award. May win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Mr. Lu Xun failed to win the Nobel Prize in the end, but he did not affect his status in the Chinese literary world. He was not only great at the time, but to this day, he is still an unsurpassable monument for Chinese writers. He not only played the role of a writer, but also an intellectual with a conscience and daring to fight. Later, he gave up writing novels and wrote essays specifically, just to jump out of the works and speak up straight, he must be the conscience of this society.
Hu Shi: also rejected the Nobel Prize nomination
Hu Shi
Just after Lu Xun rejected the Nobel Prize nomination, another master in China was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. This master is Hu Shi. Sven Heding is preparing to nominate. This incident was completely recorded by Hu Shi in his diary.
On February 26, 1929, Hu Shi returned to Shanghai from another place by train. He was on the train. "Hedin (Hedin) talked to me: he is one of the 18 members of the Swedish National Academy and can nominate candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature. People, he wants to put up my name, but he wants me to translate my work into English."
Hu Shi, like Lu Xun, refused. He went on to write in his diary: "I have my opinion on this matter: if They elected me because of my merits in advocating literary revolution, and I will not refuse; if they want me to translate my works because of the prize money, I am not as cheeky. I am not worthy of a literary prize."
Hu Shi's meaning is very clear,He believes that he has indeed made a certain contribution to the Chinese literary revolution, but his level is far from being a scholar, so he is not suitable for a writer, and if he translates his works for the generous bonus, He quit.
His attitude of refusal fits well with his temperament.
Hu Shi
Hu Shi is a typical literati character. He is gentle as a jade and modest gentleman, and he especially values face. He is unwilling to destroy his self-esteem as a literati, and he knows it, even though he is a literati. He is quite accomplished in this respect, but he is by no means a writer.
Here we can see that Sven Heding considered the Nobel Prize nominees very carefully. The two Chinese literati he planned to nominate were indeed the two most influential in literature at the time. When these two people refused, they both used the same word-"unworthy".
Because in their hearts, the weight of the Nobel Prize in Literature is very heavy, and they rejected this award with awe, which was another encouragement to the Chinese literati at that time.
The Principle of Confidentiality of the Nobel Prize
Mo Yan
The Nobel Prize is divided into five prizes: physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. The economics prize added in 1968 is not as big as the Nobel himself. relation. The first three awards are relatively objective and can truly reflect the advanced level of science in the world, while the literary award is to be awarded to "the writer who has written the most outstanding work with ideal inclination in the literary world". What is "ideal" and what is "excellent"? It is difficult to have a unified evaluation standard, so the Nobel Prize in Literature has been controversial over the years.
The Nobel Prize has been awarded by Nobel Foundation since 1901. The Chinese have won more than a dozen times, but most of them are scientific awards such as physics and chemistry. Chinese local writers have won the Nobel Prize for Literature for the first time. , Is the 2012 writer Mo Yan's award.
In October 2012, the Swedish Academy of Sciences selected Mo Yan as the Nobel Prize in Literature. China has become the focus of world attention. Although this focus moment is short, for the Chinese people,But it is far-reaching. The century-old Nobel Prize finally landed in China. At that time, 85 years have passed since Lu Xun's rejection of the Nobel Prize in Literature. China's modernization process has also gone through a hundred years.
Chinese writers and literary circles have always had a special complex for the Nobel Prize. Mo Yan's winning of the Nobel Prize has finally brought a conclusion to the speculations and controversies surrounding "when the Chinese writer won the Nobel Prize for Literature".
About Lao She, , Shen Congwen and Lin Yutang 's Nobel Prize
Lin Yutang
After Mo Yan won the prize, rumors about the Nobel Prize for Literature have surfaced again. The folklore has always been a legend. The most regrettable thing is Lao She, who could have won the prize. The prize was finally given to Japan’s Kawabata Yasunari . And the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988 should be Shen Congwen, but Shen Congwen died a few months before the Nobel Prize was announced. Are these all true?
The former dean of the Swedish Academy, Espemark, once gave a speech at Peking University. He specifically talked about the Nobel Prize in Literature. Regarding nomination, not everyone has the right to nominate . Only four groups of people can nominate. , The first group are members of the Swedish Academy, the second group are linguistics and literature professors from all universities in the world, the third group are former Nobel Prize winners, and the fourth group are the presidents of the writers associations of various countries.
And matters related to the Nobel Prize must be kept secret for 50 years. If the list of candidates is released shortly after the award, most of these news are unreliable.
But one thing has been confirmed, that is, Lin Yutang is the first Chinese writer to be elected and has been nominated 4 times. His masterpieces " 京华烟云" and "The Art of Living" are all written in English. This is his biggest advantage, so that there are no translation problems in his works, and his works are very popular in the United States. , The impact was great, but it was a pity that I eventually did a escort.
Shen Congwen
Some modern Chinese classic writers did not win awards. A very important reason is that many famous works on modern Chinese literature history in the 20th century were not translated into English in time. And Mo Yan's " red sorghum " and " paradise garlic sprout " were translated into English as early as 1988, published in the United States, and the translation level is very good.
In the following 20 years, most of Mo Yan's works have been translated into more than ten languages including English, French, , German and Japanese, and published in dozens of countries. The major publishing countries such as the United States, Britain, and France have published almost all of his classic works.
The significance of Mo Yan's winning of the Nobel Prize is not only that Chinese literature has been recognized by the world, but also that Chinese writers finally knocked on the door of the Nobel Prize. I believe that more Chinese writers will receive this honor in the future.
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