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  Amusing Remarks about Nobel Prize  
Raise Nobel Prize in Literature at Home

2007-9-25

'Who in the quest for the melancholic soul of his native city has discovered new symbols for the clash and interlacing of cultures' In 2006, the Nobel prize in Literature was gently awarded to Turkish writer, Orhan Pamuk, and smiled at the bosom of him. From that day on, the name of Orhan Pamuk turned out to be famous and spreading all around world like a wind. Although the name of foreigner seemed strange and difficult for us, it did not prevent those true literature fans from remembering it.
Famous Chinese writers also had their own comments on Orhan Pamuk, the Nobel Laureate:
Moyan: His novel, just like nuclear warhead, has certain killing power!
Yue Lee: as according to Yueran Ma, the member of Nobel Assessment Committee, Orhan Pamuk created a writing style that never used by Chinese novelists.
Ping'ao Jia: His novel deserved the award because it had all the basic elements, insight and caring about human lives.
Yuhua: He caught the cruel relationship between human beings.
Anyi Wang: despised Coetzee, what' wrong with the Nobel Committee or with her eyesight?
Wang Meng, however, kept silence.
And people said, Canxue was not awarded the Nobel Prize perhaps because of her knick name of Woman Kafka in China; and there was only one step gap between Beidao and greatness, but that perhaps was the true distance for him from the Nobel Prize in Literature.
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Arguments and says of different types came after the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony, which indicated that the prize was still hot and concerned by Chinese people.
The publishing industry started to pay great attention to the works of Orhan Pamuk, while the Chinese people who had deep Nobel Complex still argued: Why did the Nobel prize always go to a laureate from other country? It was an old question, or even oldest, which became as heavy as a smooth stone with sharpness ground by time. Mr. Duobi Luo, the student of Yueran Ma, the member of Assessment committee in Literature and famous sinologist, answered the question as follows, 'It' really complex and difficulty to say what the true meaning of Nobel Prize is to Chinese people until now.' He continued, 'It's difficult for Chinese writers to win Nobel Prize in Literature in the coming 30 years. ' As it was complex as well as difficult, we'd rather make it simple.
It was reported on the supplement to the evening newspaper which I worked for on October 17th of the news that Orhan Pamuk was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, and other related news. The news reminded me of one of my friend, and her sayings. My friend, who was also in literary work, raised a cat named Nobel. I felt it's lack of seriousness when I heard of the cat name, because I did not think it was polite to name a cat with such a name. It was deeply implanted in my mind that characters or literature should be respected. So did people in my hometown Jingyuan. It was until now that they respected the books to be holy and evil-preventive. When the parents went out side at night time and had to leave kids alone at home, they would put one book under the pillow of their Child. The parents taught their children to learn knowledge and read, which was once regarded as blind faith by me; however, now, I don¡¯t think so because I found most of the parents in my hometown were illiterate, and their activities instead indicated their respect to culture. We younger generations, because we were educated and literate, less respected the books. That really explained why my friend called her cat Nobel.
It was in this normal feeling when I recalled in a sudden of the request in recent years that the doctrine of Confucius and Mencius should be listed into our textbooks for preliminary students and thereupon remold the personality of our next generation. The people made such request based on the following reasons: Most of the government officials were majored in science, or economy, but lacked of Confucius and Mencius spirit or feelings of literatures, which often triggered the dissatisfaction of ordinary people. I agreed with this point of view at the beginning when I heard it, but I felt it was not correct, or even leading us to a narrow and dead way. The characters were lasting forever, and used for fortune-telling in ancient times and transfer of various kinds of information in recent times. I never see any thing else is same as characters which are keeping prosperous development. The reason why it keeps prosperity is its characteristics of absorption. However, the literature mentioned here is not referred to the culture, but just part of it, because some people who perform literacy works are of poor moral standing. Provided all of us go studying Confucius and Mencius, who can work for the development of economy and scientific research? Therefore, I really doubt that why we pay most attention to the Nobel Prize in Literature, and why we ignore the Nobel Prizes in Medicine, Chemistry, etc. This perhaps is inheriting of our traditional thought of literacy valuing and science neglect which was generally accepted in the past thousands of years.
It, however, is not our fault to pursue traditional culture. I suddenly recalled the poem like this: You are viewing at scenic spots on bridge, while the person below the bridge is viewing at you; with the moon finishing your windows, you are finishing the dream of others. Most people felt it was beautiful but difficult to understand, however, it was still loved and enjoyed by most people in a long term. I, suddenly, find this poem a good ending for my article. It just likes the common understanding of award by most people that it is a top of height, so is the Nobel Prize. The Nobel Prizes are standing on the bridge, and we ordinary people should treat it as scenic spots on bridge. Let moon finish the windows and let the latter finish our dreams.
Why Chinese writers always failed to win Nobel Prize in Literature? In a word, we did not deserve it by comparing with those foreign laureates. Then, we should learn from our foreign brothers. At this time, I remembered my friend again, and it seemed she was calling her cat, gently and tenderly, 'Nobel, Nobel', no exciting as in Nobel Award Ceremony. Then, please let us lower down the height of Nobel Prize in Literature, and treat it as a true friend of us and gently call it until it comes to us some day.
It is not cynical but we really need to go out of our Nobel dream, right from now.
Hereby I remembered Mother Teresa, an Albanian who worked for poor people in Calcutta of India for all her life. In 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and became the second laureate without any doubt since Dr. Albert Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. She was praised to be Mother of the Poor, merciful angel, guardian of slum, and saint of slum, etc. My friend told that when Mother Teresa wore her cotton clothes which worth only 1 USD to the award ceremony, somebody asked her why she wore so poor to attend such solemn accession. She asked in reply, 'am I wearing unsolemnly? There are so many poor people in the world who cannot afford such clothes worth 1 USD.' She embraced her arms to the prize, just like hugging her kids. I once viewed a picture of her, the wrinkles on which reminded me of my mother, and her famous saying, 'What beauty is? It is the love in heart.' And I also remembered her speech, ¡®I plan to build home for those homeless people with the cash award of Nobel Prize, because I believe that love is origin from family. If we can build home for poor people, I think love will be spread widely and rapidly. Besides, the love generated will bring us with peace. Firstly, we do for poor people at home; then, in our country; and finally, for the whole world¡­When I bring back a hungry man from street, and give him a bowl of rice, a piece of bread, I can satisfy him, and drive away his starvation. In contrary, if I leave him stay there, hungry and cold, he would feel he was abandoned by others, and the whole society. That is a really heartbreaking poor. Therefore, let's make others smile, because smile is the starting of love. Once we learn to love each other naturally, we will consider of doing something for others. ¡®
'After that, I remembered the will of Nobel also, '¡­¡­one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics; one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement; one part to the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine; one part to the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction; and one part to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses¡­¡­¡®
I think, the award and laureate are shining each other. Mother Teresa was the person who shines the Nobel Prize. Now, let's suppose Nobel could open his eyes, and look at the laureates of the award he setup, how many times he would smile or frown down? As Duobi Luo is an outstanding student of Yueran Ma, what he said must be something correct, so why not stay with patience and wait for that period, even 30 years are not long for us.
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Organizer: Beijing Municipal Association for Science & Technology
Undertaker: Beijing Science & Technology Consulting Center,
Information Center of Beijing Municipal Association for Science & Technology