Five Chinese Writers Awarded Deutschen Welle Literary PrizeFive Chinese writers were awarded the 2000-01 Deutschen Welle (Voice of Germany) Prize for Literature announced on June 7 in both Berlin and Beijing.The prize was sponsored by German International Radio's Deutschen Welle, in association with the Goethe Institute and the Beijing German Book and Information Center. Little Boy Who Collects Ring-Pull Cans by Wang Jianping and Uncle's Life by Cui Zien won the best radio fiction award; Wang Zhenjun's Chef Lao Ren and Guo Yongyue's The Village Gets A Tractor won the special Goethe Institute awardŁ» and Zhang Shoushan's The Eye of A Banknote got the nomination prize. It was the first time since the literary prize was established in 1985 that the competition was opened to Chinese writers. Contributions had already been solicited from African nations, the former Soviet Union, the Arab world, Mexico and Turkey. This literary prize has a wide influence on Chinese all over the world. A total of 1,166 pieces were contributed, among which 97 percent were from 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in Chinaˇ®s mainland, and the rest were from a dozen other countries and regions. One-third of the authors were under 30, and the youngest was only 15. Seven percent of the contributions were from professional writers. Eighty-four percent of the contributions were radio fiction pieces, including popular love stories and unique Chinese stories on family planning and personal experiences during theˇ°cultural revolutionˇ± (1966-76), as well as legendary stories, fables, science fiction pieces and satirical essays. The sponsors said the aim of the competition was to promote communication and mutual understanding between nationalities. Five literary celebrities from China and Germany, with the famous German writer Peter Schneider as chairman, formed the final adjudicators for the prize. Bilingual Outstanding Works of Deutschen Welle Prize for Literature will be published during the Frankfurt International Book Fair this fall. |
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