On Aug. 25th, the award list of the 8th Lu Xun Literature Prize, sponsored by China Writers Association, was revealed. Two professors from Renmin University of China were on the list. Professor Chen Fang, Dean of School of Foreign Languages, won the Prize for Literary Translation with her work My Children. Professor Yang Qingxiang, Vice Dean of School of Liberal Arts, won the Prize for Literary Theoretical Review with his work The Landscape of Literary Writing in the New Era.
Introduction to Prof. Chen Fang and her work
Dong Qiang, Deputy Director of the Literary Translation Award committee said that the submitted works for this year’s selection demonstrate immense inclusiveness and diversity in terms of language, genre and the age of translator. My Children, translated by Chen Fang, is a masterpiece of the Russian woman writer Guzel Yakhina. The translator, by her delicacy as a female, fully conveys the charm of the original work.
About the work
My children is a masterpiece of the Russian woman writer Guzel Yakhina. Based on the experience of the author’s grandfather—a German-born teacher, the novel tells a tragic love story that happened in a Russian village. In the course of the story, a panoramic historical picture is unfolded. The author depicts the ups and downs of individual characters in the context of the rise and fall of the collective farm in Soviet Union.
About the translator
Chen Fang is Dean and Professor of School of Foreign Languages, Renmin University of China. Prof. Chen’s main research area includes contemporary Russian Literature and Russian women writers’ writings. Since 2000, She has created abundant works, including monographs like A Study on Contemporary Russian Women’s Fiction and ‘The Second Sex’ of Russian Literature, translations such as Dr. Kucotsky's Medical Records, In the Garden of Other Possibilities and The Paradox of a European, as well as papers published on renowned academic journals like Russian Literature & Arts, Foreign Literature Review and Foreign Literature Studies. With all her studies, Prof. Chen has also accomplished “The Development and Comparison of Female image in Russian Literature” as a Youth Project of National Social Science Foundation of China.
About the author
Guzel Yakhina is a contemporary Russian woman writer. Her debut novel Зулейха открывает глаза (Zuleikha Opens Her Eyes) published in 2015 won important Russian literary awards, including the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award and the Big Book Prize. In 2019, She was awarded the Big Book Prize again for her work Дети мои (My Children).
Introduction to Prof. Yang Qingxiang and his work
About the work
The Landscape of Literary Writing in the New Era is the latest literary review on literary phenomenon, writing trends and representative writers and works in the new era in China. It mainly discusses the new achievements and trends in literary writing, including youth writing, non-fiction writing, new southern-China writing, science-fiction literature and AI writing. In the second part, the author quotes and interprets representative works of nine young writers who are active in the forefront of original literature, which exemplify the vibrant atmosphere among young writers and give the readers a creative and diverse Landscape of original literature in the new era.
About the author
Yang Qingxiang, born in 1980, is now a professor and doctoral supervisor of School of Liberal Arts, Renmin University of China. He is among the list of Top Young Scholar of National “Ten Thousand Talent Program”. Prof. Yang once won the Mao Dun Literature Prize for New Writers and the Award for China Young Critic of the Year. So far, he has published over 60 articles on authoritative and core journals in his field, such as Literary Review and Literature and Art Studies, some of which have also been reprinted by Xinhua Digest. His other works include monographs represented by Where Is the Way Out for the Post-80s Generation and How Literary Imagination Relates to Social Problems, and poem collections represented by I Choose to Cry & Love You and The World is Something Like Zero.
Introduction to the award
As a literary award, Lu Xun Literature Prize is named after Lu Xun, the great pioneer of the New Culture Movement. It is one of the highest national literary awards, with an aim to reward literary writing and translation so as to foster development and prosperity in Chinese literature. The award shall be selected every four years by experts organized by China Writers Association. It has seven categories, namely the Prize for Novella, Short Story, Reportage, Poetry, Prose Essay, Literary Theoretical Review and Literary Translation. Since its inception in 1997, the prize has been awarded for eight times.
