ON October 28, the award ceremony for the 9th “Literature and People” Chinese-language Original Literature Competition was held to acknowledge the distinguished writers of the 2017 Shanghai College Chinese-language Original Literature Competition & Forum on City and People in Literature.
The event, set up on ECNU grounds and jointly hosted by ECNU, Shanghai Writers Association and Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, was organized by ECNU Department of Chinese Language, with the online hub www.myhuayu.com under Shanghai Writers Association.
“Literature Was about People” was the theme of the 9th “Literature and People” Chinese-language Original Literature Competition. A title taken from the guru on literary theory Qian Gurong’s collections of famous quotes: “Literature is the study of people, written by people, about people and for people to read. Learn how to be a human before studying literature. Learn to be a decent and upright person, which is the origin of morality in human beings.”
The contest began to solicit entries from all over the world in March to the result of 3,688 pieces from literary virtuosos of the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and sizeable foreign countries. 220 of those pieces were submitted by university students in Shanghai. The jury - composed of prestigious writers and scholars - selected 47 winners out of the total.
The prize-winning literary works will be available in electronic form on the website www.myhuayu.com. Thereupon E-books will be accessible to the public and the authors will be included into the website’s database of talented writers. The first, second and third prize winners expect to have their works published in national literary journals.
Three notable writers gave speeches at the Forum on City and People in Literature: Xu Zidong, professor of the Department of the Lingnan University of Hong Kong and part-time professor of ECNU’s Chinese language department and vice chairman of Chinese Literature Theory Society; Sun Ganlu, one of representative writers of vanguard literature who is vice chairman of Shanghai Writers Association and editor-in-chief of the Mengya (meaning sprout) magazine and Si Nan Literary Journal; and Bi Feiyu, professor with Nanjing University, vice chairman of Jiangsu Writers Association, and a member of the 19th National Committee of China Writers Association.
ECNU professor Yang Yang presided over the forum, which highlighted the cultural ties between cities, literature and human beings. Yang is also the vice chairman of Shanghai Writers Association and chairman of China Association of Mao Dun Studies.
Zhu Guohua, dean of Department of Chinese Language of ECNU, said the organizers will continue to build on the mission of ECNU to expand on the platform of literary exchanges; opening up vast space for ECNU students to explore creative ideas and innovations.
ECNU launched its first Original Literature Competition in 2008, with an aim to inherit and carry forward the love for literature and spirit of pursuing dreams.