MCLC: Lu Xun Prize controversy

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: Lu Xun Prize controversy
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Source: China Daily (8/17/14):
http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/culture/2014-08/17/content_18402887.htm

Elite literature prize stirs questions

China's prestigious Lu Xun Literature Prize has come under fire after its
most recent award winner for poetry was denounced as a "shame on
poetry."Zhou Xiaotian, a poet and professor of the literature and
journalism college of Sichuan University, won the prize on Monday for his
poem collection "Jiang Jin Cha" or invitation to tea.

Not long after the announcement, Zhou's verses were posted online by
Internet users with the charge of being "nothing more than doggerels
unworthy of the prize."

Many have criticized the winner for the colloquial style of his poems
based on the late singer-actor Leslie Cheung from Hong Kong and another on
Nobel prize winner in physics Yang Zhenning.

"The 28-year-old wife and the 82-year-old husband, one for talent and the
other for lust," according to a line of his poem on the physist's
high-profile marriage at the age of 82 in 2004.

"I've never heard of this poet, but I'm suspicious of the quality of his
works submitted to the committee after reading those provided by online
users," said Fang Fang, a writer based in Wuhan, Hubei Province.

"Are those judges really adept? Did they make judgement on the work's
quality or on the candidates' connections?" Fang added, casting doubt upon
the professional ethics of the judging panel.

Zhou, however, has refuted the criticisms on his work."Doggerels are not
necessarily ill-written poems. You can hardly expect people to read
serious poems nowadays," Zhou said in an interview with Xinhua.

He defended the fairness of the selection process, saying the whole
procedure of voting was transparent based on a real-name system.

Zhou's argument was backed by professionals. Fan Xing, professor with
Wuhan University, said it is almost impossible for a poet to ensure every
single verse is well-written.

"It's only some of Zhou's poems that have aroused controversy," Fan added,
while admitting some lines are unrefined.

The prize named after Lu Xun, one of China's best-known modern authors and
essayists, was first awarded in 1986.

Writers of outstanding short- to middle-length novels, poems, prose,
essays, reportage, literary reviews and theoretical works will receive the
award, which is bestowed every three years.

It is not the first time the literature prize has been put in the
spotlight.

In 2010, Che Yangao, secretary of the discipline inspection committee in
Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province, was awarded the prize
for his collection of poems "Yearning for Warmth," which was criticised
for being overly simplistic.

Many of the current elite literature awards have not been well received by
the public, not just the Lu Xun Literature Prize, Ding Xiaoyuan, vice
president of the Chinese Reportage Association, said.

"Professional judges should listen to public feedback, rather than sealing
up literature in an ivory tower," he warned.