The Mao Dun Literature Prize is arguably the highest award that many novelists in the Chinese literary world strive for. Winning it is enough to make the recipient a renowned and influential figure in the country.
However, must a truly outstanding and enduring master be included in such a coveted prize to realize their values? I believe that an artist's artistic achievement shouldn't be confined to official judging before using an award to spread their artistic influence. Rather, it should be achieved during the author's lifetime through "more comprehensive on-site research to refine the cultural images built from various texts in their mind," maximizing the exploration of natural beauty, evocative imagery, philosophical beauty, and tragic beauty, so that readers of today and future generations can appreciate and study the cultural phenomena the author has inherited.
I recall Hemingway saying, "I only use the works of masters who continue to shine after their deaths as my benchmarks." Even the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, when refusing the Nobel Prize in Literature from the Swedish Academy in 1964, said, "My refusal was not a hasty or sudden act; I have always refused all official honors." He believed that "my deeper meaning goes beyond honors. These honors are given by some to others, and those who give them, whether it's an honorary title or the Nobel Prize in Literature, are not qualified to bestow them. I cannot imagine who has the right to give Kant, Descartes, or Goethe a prize that implies you now belong to a certain class. We have turned literature into a hierarchical entity, in which you occupy this or that position." He also believed that "most people around us are obsessed with honorary titles, Nobel Prizes..." The awards and similar prizes are overrated; in fact, these awards don't prove anything, they merely conform to a hierarchy… He also believes that “the idea of arranging literature according to a hierarchical order is an anti-literary thought. A writer cannot be the best among the rest at a given time; at best, he is just one of the best.” Therefore
, I think a writer capable of creating better works should engage in spiritual labor with the ambition of “enlightening history, guiding all beings, and calling forth the sacred,” rather than with the hope of “obtaining a label to prove identity or a lottery ticket with the prospect of winning.” In this way, even if he or she becomes world-renowned, he or she belongs only to one generation and one period, because on the coordinates of history, he or she only possesses an eternally usable brilliance.
Of course, I am not saying that the winners of the “Mao Dun Literature Prize” have low artistic achievements, but rather that a writer should put into practice the excellent creative mindset summarized by others or realized by himself, rather than using it as a catchphrase to scold and instruct others.
The Mao Dun Literature Prize is perhaps the most authoritative and accomplished institution representing the "culture of judging novels" in modern China. Its judging criteria serve as a cultural guide, enabling contemporary novels to draw upon the profound wisdom of ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, to make Chinese culture shine brightly. It can also prevent contemporary novels from becoming merely a formality, a tool for many writers to achieve greater brilliance.
As a nobody with little influence, I have no right to comment on the judging criteria for contemporary Chinese novels or the mindset of a good writer. However, precisely because of my insignificance, I dare to confront our culture today and seek out the stagnation within it. Perhaps it's because there's no pressure, nor fear of being criticized for my mistakes. Perhaps it's because celebrities are too busy, searching for inspiration or creating fame, while only those of us have the energy to focus on the core issues. Whether famous or mediocre, if they can inject new blood into our culture and ensure its healthy development, then they have made a contribution.
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