Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 556: Interview with reporters

This was obtained by Fang Minghua by specifically seeking out Li Wei, the station chief of Guangming Daily's Xijing station.

Fang Minghua had known Li Wei for a long time. In 87, when he had just become the editor-in-chief of the magazine, he convened the Xijing Conference and specifically sought out Li Wei to report on the conference.

Same thing this time.

There is no problem for Guangming Daily to report news like the establishment of a world-class award, but it is difficult to do an exclusive interview with a certain person.

This would take up a large newspaper page.

Spend money to buy it?
Do you think it's a street tabloid?
Although Li Wei is Fang Minghua's friend, he cannot guarantee that their interview can be successfully published in Guangming Daily.

After all, Li Wei is just one of the heads of dozens of Guangming Daily's workstations in other places, not the editor-in-chief of the newspaper.

To this end, Fang Minghua specifically called Wang Meng of Yenching University and asked him to find a way to contact the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and try to get the interview published.

Of course Wang Meng understood his feelings.

Is it to show off for yourself?

No, it is to expand the influence and publicity of the literary award.

The interview took place in Fang Minghua’s office, which has now become the jury’s office.

The reporter who came to interview him was not Li Wei himself, but a female reporter named Yang Li. She had short hair and wore a pair of glasses. She looked quiet but shrewd. She took out her notebook and said:

"Chairman Fang, let's get started."

Fang Minghua nodded.

Li Hongying poured a cup of tea for each of them, then went out and closed the door.

Start off steady.

"Chairman Fang, could you briefly introduce this World Chinese Literature Award?"

"Okay, the World Chinese Literature Award is an award for writers and literature lovers around the world. It is held every two years. The purpose is to promote literary exchanges among countries and enhance mutual understanding."

"Chairman Fang, how is the preparation for this award going?"

"Now it is basically ready. The members of the first jury and reading class have basically been determined. The next step is to publish the call for papers in due course."

Fang Minghua talked about a lot of basic information about the literary award, the preparations, the selection process, etc., and the process was uneventful.

Yang Li took notes in her notebook and suddenly changed the subject. "Chairman Fang, why did you establish the World Chinese Literature Award? Some people say you are trying to attract attention, right?"

The tone became aggressive.

Damn, this isn't following the script.

Interviews like this are usually planned in advance with the interviewee, and both parties know what questions to ask to avoid awkward situations.

Why did you establish the Chinese Literature Award? This question was arranged in advance, but why did you ask later that some people say you are trying to show off?

Originally, Fang Minghua would have answered the first question by starting with a standard answer about the purpose and significance of the Chinese Literature Award, but when he heard Yang Li suddenly raise the next question, he suddenly had an idea and changed his answer.

"Reporter, before I answer your two questions, can I tell you a story?" Yang Li was stunned for a moment before she said, "Please go ahead."

"I know an old general who is not very well educated, but when he heard that I wanted to set up this literary award, he immediately said "yes" several times!"

"why?"

"He originally said: We Chinese translate our works into foreign languages ​​and go abroad to participate in awards, so why can't foreigners translate their works into Chinese and come to our country to participate in awards?! Now that our country is carrying out reform and opening up, we can go out and invite in, both economically and culturally!"

"As for the spotlight you mentioned? If the establishment of this award can promote literary exchanges between us and other countries in the world and promote the Chinese language and culture, I am willing to take the spotlight!"

The interview lasted for forty minutes before it ended. Yang Li asked another question before leaving.

"Chairman Fang, can I publish the story you told me truthfully?"

"of course can!"

Fang Minghua politely sent Yang Li to the back gate before returning, and saw Li Hongying giving him a thumbs up.

"Teacher Fang, you are so amazing!"

"Okay, stop praising me and get back to work."

That evening, Qin Province TV and Xijing TV broadcast the news of the establishment of the literature award. The next day, major official media such as People's Daily, Guangming Daily, and Qin Province Daily also reported the news. Soon after, Guangming Daily published an interview with our reporter, in the form of an interview with Comrade Fang Minghua, the founder of the World Chinese Literature Award and vice chairman of the Qin Province Writers Association.

During the conversation, Fang Minghua elaborated in detail on the background, motivation and award process of the Chinese Literature Award.

The judges of the jury were also revealed, all of whom are heavyweights in the literary circles of Taiwan, Mainland China and Hong Kong:
Chairman of the China Writers Association, known as the leading light of the literary world!
Vice Chairman of the Writers Association and former Minister Wang Meng!
Liu Yichang, Honorary Chairman of the Hong Kong Writers Association and Editor-in-Chief of "Hong Kong Literature"!

Yu Guangzhong, President of Taiwan PEN Club and famous poet
Each one is well-known and of astonishingly high standard.

Some people joked that this momentum is catching up with the top prize in the domestic literary world, the Mao Dun Literature Prize. Some writers who have a good relationship with Fang Minghua even called to express their congratulations and joked that you are trying to kill the Lu Xun Literature Prize which is still in its infancy.

Fang Minghua felt wronged after hearing this. I really didn’t mean that.

Besides, the selection rules for the Lu Xun Award and this Chinese language award are different.

In any case, the influence of this award has been spread in China, and at least people will not suspect that it is a fake award.

Of course, this is just the first step, and there is still a lot to do.

To refine the award judging process, we also need to communicate with the judges. Since we are not in the same city, we need to contact each other through letters and phone calls.

The call for papers has been launched. According to the plan of the jury, the call for papers will start on August 8 and the deadline is December 1. All works published in Chinese for the first time in the world between 12 and 31 or works translated into Chinese (not limited to those published in the mainland) can be submitted.

Of course there is no problem domestically, as long as the news about the establishment of the literary award is published in the newspapers to let the majority of authors and literature lovers know. Now the focus is on Hong Kong, Taiwan, and abroad, which requires placing a call for papers in newspapers in these regions or countries.

Fang Minghua used his friends in Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as Iwakami Osamu, the president of the Chinese Science Fiction Research Association in Japan, and Li Li and Sun Lizhe in the United States to help contact local media. For a while, the landlines in the three offices kept ringing.

By mid-July, Fang Minghua suddenly received two invitations to come to Hong Kong.

One was from the Hong Kong Writers Association, inviting him to give a lecture in Hong Kong on cultural essays. The other was from the Hong Kong Joint Publishing Company, inviting him to attend the second Hong Kong Book Fair and sign and sell books.

(End of this chapter)