Scent of Heaven by Shanghai-based author Wang Anyi wins HKBU “The 4th Dream of the Red Chamber Award: The World’s Distinguished Novel in Chinese”
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) announced the winner of “The 4th Dream of the Red Chamber Award: The World’s Distinguished Novel in Chinese” today (26 July). The prize was awarded to Scent of Heaven《天香》by Ms. Wang Anyi (王安憶) from Shanghai, who will meet members of the public in Hong Kong at the prize presentation ceremony to be held in October this year. Ms. Wang wins HK$300,000 for her work, which was chosen following a rigorous selection process.
The Chairperson of the final judging panel, Professor Chung Ling (鍾玲) said: “Scent of Heaven presents the story of four generations of the Shen family and the novel itself is encyclopedic in scope, with rich characterisations of several dozen family members. Historical figures such as Xu Guangqi are merged into the scene naturally. The novel presents the finesse, depth and grandeur of Chinese cultural traditions. The writing is elegant, clear and smooth, capturing a style that speaks to the great works of classical Chinese fiction. This novel is like an encyclopedia for the culture of the Southern Yangtze Delta region, a classic of the embroidery culture, and a masterpiece that vividly presents daily life, the interests and aspirations between four generations of protagonists, who come to life in this masterful work destined to become a classic of contemporary Chinese fiction.” (Refer to the attachment for the full version of the comments by the Chairperson of the judging panel.)
Ms. Wang was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu in 1954. She graduated in 1969 and is currently a Professor at the Department of Chinese of Fudan University, Vice Chairman of the seventh national committee of the Chinese Writers Association and Chairman of the Shanghai Writers Association. Ms. Wang’s works include novels, essays and children’s books. Her most well-known novel, Song of Everlasting Sorrow《長恨歌》, was recognised with a number of regional awards in the arts. An Era of Enlightenment《啟蒙時代》received a Jury Award at “The 2nd Dream of the Red Chamber Award”.
The judges also proposed China《古爐》by Jia Pingwa (賈平凹) from Shanxi, China; Four Books《四書》by Yan Lianke (閻連科) from Henan, China; and The Last Spring in Jiangnan《春盡江南》by Ge Fei (格非), from Jiangsu, China as winners of the Jury Award. The Age of Goodbyes《告別的年代》by Li Zishu (黎紫書) from Malaysia and Lu Yanshi, Criminal《陸犯焉識》by Yan Geling (嚴歌苓) from Shanghai, China, won the Highly Recommended Award.
The final judging panel of “The 4th Dream of Red Chamber Award” comprised Professor Chung Ling (鍾玲) of HKBU; Professor Michael Berry (白睿文) of University of California, Santa Barbara; Professor Chen Sihe (陳思和) of Fudan University; Professor Chen I-chih (陳義芝) of National Taiwan Normal University and former editor-in-chief of the literary supplement of United Daily News; Professor Huang Ziping (黃子平) of Peking University; and Mr. Lo Yi-chin (駱以軍), novelist and winner of “The 3rd Dream of the Red Chamber Award” for his novel Hotel Xixia《西夏旅館》.
Launched by HKBU’s Faculty of Arts in 2006, “The Dream of the Red Chamber Award” runs every two years. It aims to encourage the publication of excellent Chinese novels worldwide, and to recognise outstanding Chinese novel writers from around the world to enhance the standards of Chinese novel-writing. The winner of the Award receives a cash award of HK$300,000, the highest cash prize for a contest of this kind.
The entries for “The 4th Dream of the Red Chamber Award” are original Chinese novels of 80,000 characters or more and published in either 2010 or 2011. Every year, over 1,000 long novels in Chinese are published worldwide. In order to make the selection process more effective, a nomination system has been implemented since “The Dream of the Red Chamber Award” was launched. Nomination by members of the Award organising committee or the committee's recognised and invited publishers are required for entry into the competition. For details on the Award, please visit http://redchamber.hkbu.edu.hk
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Attachment
The full version of the comments by the Chairperson of the judging panel, Professor Chung Ling (鍾玲)
Wang Anyi’ Scent of Heaven presents the story of four generations in the Shen family from the mid to the end of the Ming Dynasty (16th to 17th century). The Shen family’s “Scent of Heaven Garden” is a very famous estate and over time the embroidery by the ladies of the family becomes known as the finest in the nation. The novel is encyclopedic in scope, with rich characterizations of several dozen family members. Historical figures such as Xu Guangqi are merged into the scene naturally. The novel presents the finesse, depth and grandeur of Chinese cultural traditions. Scent of Heaven reveals a visionary recreation of Chinese artistic traditions: garden and architecture, and embroidery, and also other traditions such as the production of ink bars for calligraphy, the playing of musical instruments, the production of fruit jam, etc. Over the course of the novel, the transformation of the Shen’s “Scent of Heaven Garden” is described from its construction to its zenith, to its eventual decline. The embroidery of the ladies is developed and becomes an innovative new tradition. The novel also reveals feminist thoughts. Almost all men of the family are cultivated, but are rather weak characters while several ladies in the family are strong, resolute and talented. It is their embroidery that saves the family financially and boosts the family’s reputation. The ladies are able to combine superb embroidery techniques and the ink painting traditions, and therefore create a unique, graceful style. The stories of sisterhood and strong bond among the female characters evolve into a central theme of the novel and some complex relationships between them transcend life and death. The novel also focuses on the outstanding knowledge and techniques of various artisans. Therefore, the people in the border, including women, servants, and artisans, compared to the men of the gentry class, are moved to the center. The language of the novel is elegant, clear and smooth, capturing a style that speaks to the great works of classical Chinese fiction. This novel is an encyclopedia for the culture of the Southern Yangtze Delta region, a classic of the embroidery culture, and a masterpiece that vividly presents daily life, the interests and aspirations between four generations of protagonists, who come to life in this masterful work destined to become a classic of contemporary Chinese fiction.
The Chairperson of the final judging panel, Professor Chung Ling (鍾玲) said: “Scent of Heaven presents the story of four generations of the Shen family and the novel itself is encyclopedic in scope, with rich characterisations of several dozen family members. Historical figures such as Xu Guangqi are merged into the scene naturally. The novel presents the finesse, depth and grandeur of Chinese cultural traditions. The writing is elegant, clear and smooth, capturing a style that speaks to the great works of classical Chinese fiction. This novel is like an encyclopedia for the culture of the Southern Yangtze Delta region, a classic of the embroidery culture, and a masterpiece that vividly presents daily life, the interests and aspirations between four generations of protagonists, who come to life in this masterful work destined to become a classic of contemporary Chinese fiction.” (Refer to the attachment for the full version of the comments by the Chairperson of the judging panel.)
Ms. Wang was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu in 1954. She graduated in 1969 and is currently a Professor at the Department of Chinese of Fudan University, Vice Chairman of the seventh national committee of the Chinese Writers Association and Chairman of the Shanghai Writers Association. Ms. Wang’s works include novels, essays and children’s books. Her most well-known novel, Song of Everlasting Sorrow《長恨歌》, was recognised with a number of regional awards in the arts. An Era of Enlightenment《啟蒙時代》received a Jury Award at “The 2nd Dream of the Red Chamber Award”.
The judges also proposed China《古爐》by Jia Pingwa (賈平凹) from Shanxi, China; Four Books《四書》by Yan Lianke (閻連科) from Henan, China; and The Last Spring in Jiangnan《春盡江南》by Ge Fei (格非), from Jiangsu, China as winners of the Jury Award. The Age of Goodbyes《告別的年代》by Li Zishu (黎紫書) from Malaysia and Lu Yanshi, Criminal《陸犯焉識》by Yan Geling (嚴歌苓) from Shanghai, China, won the Highly Recommended Award.
The final judging panel of “The 4th Dream of Red Chamber Award” comprised Professor Chung Ling (鍾玲) of HKBU; Professor Michael Berry (白睿文) of University of California, Santa Barbara; Professor Chen Sihe (陳思和) of Fudan University; Professor Chen I-chih (陳義芝) of National Taiwan Normal University and former editor-in-chief of the literary supplement of United Daily News; Professor Huang Ziping (黃子平) of Peking University; and Mr. Lo Yi-chin (駱以軍), novelist and winner of “The 3rd Dream of the Red Chamber Award” for his novel Hotel Xixia《西夏旅館》.
Launched by HKBU’s Faculty of Arts in 2006, “The Dream of the Red Chamber Award” runs every two years. It aims to encourage the publication of excellent Chinese novels worldwide, and to recognise outstanding Chinese novel writers from around the world to enhance the standards of Chinese novel-writing. The winner of the Award receives a cash award of HK$300,000, the highest cash prize for a contest of this kind.
The entries for “The 4th Dream of the Red Chamber Award” are original Chinese novels of 80,000 characters or more and published in either 2010 or 2011. Every year, over 1,000 long novels in Chinese are published worldwide. In order to make the selection process more effective, a nomination system has been implemented since “The Dream of the Red Chamber Award” was launched. Nomination by members of the Award organising committee or the committee's recognised and invited publishers are required for entry into the competition. For details on the Award, please visit http://redchamber.hkbu.edu.hk
************************************************************
Attachment
The full version of the comments by the Chairperson of the judging panel, Professor Chung Ling (鍾玲)
Wang Anyi’ Scent of Heaven presents the story of four generations in the Shen family from the mid to the end of the Ming Dynasty (16th to 17th century). The Shen family’s “Scent of Heaven Garden” is a very famous estate and over time the embroidery by the ladies of the family becomes known as the finest in the nation. The novel is encyclopedic in scope, with rich characterizations of several dozen family members. Historical figures such as Xu Guangqi are merged into the scene naturally. The novel presents the finesse, depth and grandeur of Chinese cultural traditions. Scent of Heaven reveals a visionary recreation of Chinese artistic traditions: garden and architecture, and embroidery, and also other traditions such as the production of ink bars for calligraphy, the playing of musical instruments, the production of fruit jam, etc. Over the course of the novel, the transformation of the Shen’s “Scent of Heaven Garden” is described from its construction to its zenith, to its eventual decline. The embroidery of the ladies is developed and becomes an innovative new tradition. The novel also reveals feminist thoughts. Almost all men of the family are cultivated, but are rather weak characters while several ladies in the family are strong, resolute and talented. It is their embroidery that saves the family financially and boosts the family’s reputation. The ladies are able to combine superb embroidery techniques and the ink painting traditions, and therefore create a unique, graceful style. The stories of sisterhood and strong bond among the female characters evolve into a central theme of the novel and some complex relationships between them transcend life and death. The novel also focuses on the outstanding knowledge and techniques of various artisans. Therefore, the people in the border, including women, servants, and artisans, compared to the men of the gentry class, are moved to the center. The language of the novel is elegant, clear and smooth, capturing a style that speaks to the great works of classical Chinese fiction. This novel is an encyclopedia for the culture of the Southern Yangtze Delta region, a classic of the embroidery culture, and a masterpiece that vividly presents daily life, the interests and aspirations between four generations of protagonists, who come to life in this masterful work destined to become a classic of contemporary Chinese fiction.