Two Novels with Tibetan Setting Score Well in Initial Mao Dun Literature Prize Voting

http://www.bruce-humes.com/?p=4807

Sixty-plus judges have voted on the initial long list—187 books long—for the 2011 Mao Dun Literature Prize. It's worthy of note that two of the top twenty vote-getters are set in “Greater Tibet,” i.e., in Tibet proper or in areas of the PRC that have traditionally been home to many Tibetans. They are. . .

Comments

# 1.   

Another aspect of the list that has received some attention from the Chinese media is the fact that eight of the top ten titles are by the chair or vice-chair of a provincial Writers Association.

jdmartinsen, August 9, 2011, 11:26p.m.

# 2.   

Anyone know the date set for the actual announcement of the 3-5 winners of the prize?

Bruce, August 10, 2011, 3:04a.m.

# 3.   

The latest round sees 4 novels set in Greater Tibet among the 42 "survivors." For news in English, click here. For news in Chinese, click here.

Bruce , August 12, 2011, 4:36a.m.

# 4.   

As Joel points in comment 1 above, the media has reported that most of the top vote-getters are high-ranking members of provincial Writers Associations -- which smells a bit fishy.

Hu Ping, Director of the Office for the 8th Mao Dun Literature Prize, has responded to those reports. To learn what he said in Chinese and in translation, visit Explicating Voting for the 2011 Mao Dun Literature Prize.

Bruce, August 14, 2011, 10:59p.m.

# 5.   

The list of 20 semi-finalists is now out and can be seen in Chinese here.

3 of the 5 novels with Tibetan settings that figured on the previous list of 42 -- including Alai's Empty Mountain (空山) -- have been eliminated.

The remaining two that now stand a real chance of winning in the upcoming final round of voting are Ning Ken's Heaven/Tibet, and Fan Wen's Canticle to the Land.

To read an excerpt from Canticle to the Land, visit The Creation Story.

Bruce, August 15, 2011, 11:09p.m.

# 6.   

As of 18th, there are now just ten books on the list, and both Tibetan-related ones have been eliminated.

Several heavyweights have made the cut, including books by Mo Yan, Su Tong, Bi Feiyu and Liu Zhenyun.

For a full list in Chinese, click here.

Bruce Humes, August 18, 2011, 2:42a.m.

# 7.   

Final results are out. Five men, three writers association officers, and the top winner a huge, multi-volume work that has been written and published over the course of the last decade.

  • 你在高原 (张炜) On the Plateau, Zhang Wei (Shandong Writers Association chair) -- previously best of 2010;
  • 天行者 (刘醒龙) Skywalker, Liu Xinglong (Hubei Writers Association vice-chair);
  • 推拿 (毕飞宇) Tuina, Bi Feiyu (Jiangsu Writers Association vice-chair);
  • (莫言) Frog, Mo Yan;
  • 一句顶一万句 (刘震云) One Sentence Worth Thousands, Liu Zhenyun

jdmartinsen, August 20, 2011, 11:13a.m.

*

Your email will not be published
Raw HTML will be removed
Try using Markdown:
*italic*
**bold**
[link text](http://link-address.com/)
End line with two spaces for a single line break.

*
*