British writer.

Chapter 307 Lubricant

The exchange meeting is over.

Both the French and the British were quite satisfied with the results.

Of course, the atmosphere at the scene still hasn’t improved.

The two groups of people had just finished fighting each other and looked at each other with disgust.

As the organizer, LSE definitely doesn’t want the scene to be too ugly.

George Bernard Shaw first saw off Edward VII and Balfour, and then warmly invited the French to dine together.

Fa Fang also agreed with dignity.

Two groups of people took a carriage to the banquet hall of the Langting Hotel.

Because it has been hosting the advertising space bidding meeting of "Mirror" and witnessed a lot of business legends, the status of Langham Hotel has rapidly risen, and it has become a landmark building in London.

When business tycoons come to London, they must stay at Langham.

At this time, Verne approached and said: "Mr. Xiao, you also saw the Nobel Prize last year. International awards are difficult to handle."

Yorkshire pudding is an important part of British Sunday dinner. It is mostly a side dish of roast beef.

The combination of the two is even called the British national dish.

Then there is the Goncourt Literary Prize.

Then each took a sip.

Bernard Shaw sighed: "Mr. Verne, to be honest, it was because of the Nobel Prize last year that I hoped for a new literature prize... Sigh... I can feel that those old men at the Swedish Academy are interested in I have a very discerning taste in writing.”

Poincaré smiled and said: "Are you picky? I think you are picky, right?"

Lu Shi didn't answer.

As a result, Poincaré came over and

The Nobel Prize in Literature,

Bernard Shaw poured wine for Poincaré,

Interestingly, these four awards, except for the Nobel Prize, were only for domestic awards when they were first established.

The literary aesthetics of the Swedish Academy is more traditional.

Academicians are like gourmets who like palace and government dishes. No matter how delicious the food in the food stalls is, they cannot appreciate it.

Taste covers a wider range of topics, with Hemingway and Faulkner winning awards, as well as works that cater more to popular tastes, such as Margaret Mitchell who wrote "Gone with the Wind";

The scene burst into laughter again.

Bernard Shaw whispered to Lu Shi: "It seems that this exchange meeting was still very successful. The truth becomes clearer with more debate~"

Everyone laughed.

Several people couldn't help laughing.

There was even a British professor who came to Proust with French fish soup and said, "You were right. British food is really terrible!"

Food can resolve conflicts,

Poincaré was lost in thought.

The two clinked glasses,

After a while, the waiters began to serve the food.

Bernard Shaw whispered: "Mr. Poincaré, I heard about it when Lu and I visited France last time. You are planning to organize the Goncourt Literary Prize. What is the progress now?"

Poincaré was surprised,

"What do you mean, Mr. Xiao?"

Therefore, even if LSE did not make a reservation in advance, the manager agreed to the banquet.

There are four major international literary awards in the modern world:

"No. At least, this time we didn't debate whether English or French is stronger."

Poincaré nodded slowly,

After a long while, he said: "In Professor Lu's heart, the most accurate language must be Chinese."

Booker Prize,

This award seems to be particularly popular among filmmakers, with many adaptations including Young Martel's "Life of Pi" and Keneally's "Schindler's List."

Pulitzer Prize,

Not to mention the wine.

The hotel is very grateful to Lu Shi.

The atmosphere between the two parties has relaxed a lot.

The professor sighed: "The only thing I can get is roast beef and pudding."

Lu Shi said: "If you learn any language well enough, you will be able to use it accurately; if you are passionate about it, you will find it romantic. So I agree with Mr. Xiao's point of view, 'There is no most accurate language, only application. Can a person of language express it accurately'."

George Bernard Shaw laughed,

What's more, there is also the issue of translation.

Lu Shi gave a shallow "hmm" but didn't say anything further.

“The love and praise for one’s own language cannot be exaggerated~”

Proust waved his hand,

"Isn't Yorkshire pudding pretty good?"

The work of the winners needs no introduction;

"It's a pity that the literary award is limited to domestic awards. It would be better to go international."

Even a weirdo like Lu Shi,

In terms of popular culture, there are a large number of serialized novels and secular dramas;

If we talk about art, there are works like "Lolita";

If we talk about languages, English, French, Japanese, and Chinese are all excellent.

This is because he has opened up the two channels of Ren and Governor. Apart from the disadvantage of being relatively junior, he can undoubtedly win the award without any doubt.

Poincaré and Verne couldn't help but look at each other,

Both of them could tell that Shaw wanted to make the Prix Goncourt an international award and not be so high-minded in terms of taste.

Of course, this has a precondition——

The British side also needs to get involved.

Poincaré chuckled,

"This matter is not limited to literature, right?"

Bernard Shaw nodded,

"Of course. Just like you want to snatch the first place in "The Little Prince"..."

Before he finished speaking, Verne interrupted: "Mr. Xiao, the first language of literary works cannot be snatched away. Moreover, we French people are more reserved, and we cannot do the kind of misbehaving people who take advantage of others. thing."

"puff!"

Poincaré laughed,

He quickly grimaced and looked away,

"This is not what we said, it was Professor Lu who said it in "Yes! Prime Minister"."

Lu Shi: "..."

I complained in my heart,

Don't blame me for everything!

He coughed lightly,

"Mr. Verne said, 'We French people are more reserved and can't do anything inappropriate.' Did he mention Great Britain?"

Unexpectedly, two Frenchmen spoke at the same time,

Poincaré: "Not a word is mentioned, a word is never left."

Verne: "I really didn't mention it, but you did."

Lu Shi's head was full of black lines,

￣□￣｜｜

The atmosphere at the scene became extremely strange.

Bernard Shaw coughed lightly,

"Sigh... As I get older, I often have bad ears and can't hear what others are saying."

He continued: "We just talked about the literature prize. How can it be left to the Swedish Academy... I mean, how can it be left to the Nobel Prize for Literature?"

This thing is like the "World University Rankings",

It’s also like the competition for the first language of “The Little Prince”.

In the final analysis, it is a question of the right to speak.

So, as Poincaré said, "it's more than literature."

But practical problems also exist,

First thing first,

"How to solve the bonus issue?"

Verne said: "Mr. Nobel's legacy is a large sum of money, not only supporting the literature prize, but also other scientific awards. And Mr. Goncourt... to be honest, in terms of prize money alone, we are not strong enough."

Bernard Shaw thought for a while,

"Money is a trivial matter. For writers, the key is honor."

This is too much nonsense.

Lu Shi said: "There is a word called 'gold content'. Isn't that straightforward enough? In the end, honor must also be quantified, and the best way to quantify it is bonuses. Of course, as time goes by and reputation accumulates, bonuses may not be enough." No matter how important it is. But if the prize money for the newly established award is only 1 pound, writers will not think it is an honor, but will think it is a ridicule."

He just finished saying,

Bernard Shaw nodded repeatedly,

"Jazz, you are absolutely right!"

Lu Shi:? ? ?

I feel like I've been tricked.

He said: "Old Xiao, didn't you call me 'Lu'? Isn't it too strange to call me 'Sir'?"

The corners of Bernard Shaw's lips curled up,

"Doesn't this show respect for you?" "Hiss..."

Lu Shi took a breath and said, "You don't want me to sponsor you, do you?"

Bernard Shaw waved his hands repeatedly

"I didn't mean that. However, I did hear that the School of Journalism at Columbia University in the United States has been established and is preparing to hold a professional journalism award called the Pulitzer Prize."

Lu Shi had a big head,

It turned out that the other party wanted to make him explode gold coins.

He said: "I didn't sponsor the award, I just sponsored the academy. Don't think too much about it."

Bernard Shaw smiled,

"Sir, you did misunderstand me this time. I don't want you or the Mirror to pay for it, but..."

He leaned close to Lu Shi and whispered in his ear.

Lu Shi was confused.

"You mean Your Majesty?"

George Bernard Shaw corrected him: "To be precise, it's the Crown Estate."

Edward VII and the Crown Estate,

Is there any difference between the two?

Lu Shi was speechless.

Unexpectedly, Poincaré on the side clapped his hands and said: "Indeed! King Edward of your country is wise, far-sighted, and attaches great importance to the impact of cultural soft power in international competition. I believe he must be willing to fund it."

Wise, mighty, far-sighted...

George Bernard Shaw felt that he did not know such a person.

But it doesn't matter!

He said: "Mr. Poincaré, no matter what misunderstanding you have, as long as you are willing to express your sincere praise to His Majesty, he will definitely support you."

With the character of Edward VII, let the French lick him, and with Lu Shi's instigation, there is no fear of not getting money.

Moreover, the French do not necessarily feel that they are licking,

Looking at them like that, they seemed to be really "conquered" by His Majesty the King.

What's more, because of its investment in the "Mirror", the Royal Real Estate has a large amount of funds that cannot be spent.

This money is just right for "squandering".

Verne whispered: "With the investment in royal real estate and the inheritance of the Goncourt brothers, the bonus problem can indeed be solved."

As he spoke, he paused.

"But when it comes to legacy, a second issue arises."

Bernard Shaw also understood it instantly.

"You mean the will?"

Poincaré and Verne nodded silently.

Brothers Goncourt,

Among them, his brother Edmond Goncourt made a will to use his inheritance as a fund to establish the Goncourt Academy, and designated ten friendly writers including Mr. Flaubert, Mr. Zola, and Daudet as the first academicians.

The purpose of the evaluation of the Faculty of Arts is to discover outstanding French works.

It is great for a man to die;

The will is such that the French Literature Prize cannot be forced to become an international literature prize against its will.

Bernard Shaw pondered,

"This...does have to be dealt with."

Lu Shi was surprised,

"Trouble?"

The other three people looked over immediately.

Lu Shi said: "We can set up a branch award. The purpose of establishing the Goncourt Literature Prize is that my brother Edmond commemorates his brother Jules who died young. Then we can create an Edmond Prize and only give it to France. The Jürer Prize is awarded to other nationalities.”

He could think of this instantly because most literary awards in reality develop like this.

The Booker Prize includes the Booker International Prize;

The Femina Prize includes the Femina International Prize;

Needless to say, there is the Pulitzer Prize, and there are a lot of branch awards.

Poincaré said: "What a genius idea! In this way, we are not violating Mr. Goncourt's last wish, but at the same time we are expanding the influence of the award!"

Verne pondered,

"Then there's just one last question left."

He looked at George Bernard Shaw,

"Mr. Xiao, what do you think are the similarities and differences between English literature and French literature?"

Bernard Shaw chuckled,

"You asked a good question."

The UK does not set up an international literary award alone, but wants to cooperate with the Académie Française. The reason lies in the huge differences between literatures.

People who can study English literature dare not say that they understand French literature;

vice versa.

What's more, even within a single culture, there have been too many changes and unexplainable things.

George Bernard Shaw smiled and said: "In British literary works, it is generally believed that good people will be rewarded and evil people will be rewarded with evil. This is true in the novels of Dickens, Thackeray and the Brontë sisters."

The other three were all amused.

Lu Shi complained: "Wuthering Heights is not it."

Bernard Shaw continued: "In French novels, both good and bad people must die. Mr. Hugo's romanticism tells how good people die; Balzac's realism tells how bad people die."

This is undoubtedly a joke.

"puff!"

The two Frenchmen burst into laughter.

When Verne turned to Lu,

"Professor Lu, it's up to you to speak. You are both a master of English literature and a dean of French literature, so you have the most say."

Lu Shi shook his head and said: "This kind of question cannot be answered clearly in a few words. Even if it is a paper, it will probably take a thousand pages. Therefore, I will also choose a clever answer like Mr. Xiao."

After speaking, he fell into deep thought,

Then he said: "I understand what you mean. To put it bluntly, who is in charge of the literary award?"

The three of them nodded at the same time.

There are indeed differences between English literature and French literature, which naturally lead to aesthetic differences.

For example, in shaping characters,

British people like to use environment and behavior to highlight the personality of characters;

And the old revolutionary base areas have begun to play with depth, such as Proust's stream of consciousness, which is familiar with self-analysis and has a strong dramatic color.

In this situation,

Judging domestic awards is okay, everyone does their own thing and doesn’t interfere with each other.

But how do you avoid getting into fights when judging international awards?

Bernard Shaw sighed: "What's more, there are so many excellent works in the international literary world that there are so many, including Russian literature, German literature...especially the Germans. I even suspect that all German writers are philosophers in disguise."

Poincaré nodded,

"Moreover, not everyone is like Professor Lu, who can create and translate by himself."

Verne said: "I have an idea."

George Bernard Shaw asked, "What?"

Verne tapped his chin with his finger, thinking while replying: "Wouldn't it be enough to just invite a literary person recognized by everyone as the head of the review committee? If the person in charge is proficient in multiple languages, and can also use It would be even better to create in multiple languages.”

The voice just fell,

Stare——×3

The three people's eyes were locked on Lu Shi.

Lu Shi:? ? ?

"Why are you looking at me with such weird eyes? I'm inexperienced!"

Verne shook his head,

"Didn't you serve as a judge for last year's Verne Science Fiction Award? So, you have experience! Don't be humble!"

Lu Shi added, "But I can't convince the public!"

Verne then retorted: "You have been designated as the winner of this year's Nobel Prize for Literature for so long. Has anyone stood up to object? This is the best proof that you can convince the public!"

"Ah this..."

Lu Shi couldn't help but scratch his head after hearing this.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to be the kind of male protagonist in a cool novel.

Moreover, this is not an ordinary cool article, it is simply the kind of mindless cool "the three-year period has come, welcome the return of the Dragon King".

Seeing that he stopped talking,

Poincaré said: "Then let's think of a name for the Literature Prize. First of all, Mr. Goncourt's name must be reflected."

Bernard Shaw took over the conversation,

"Then, the name of our king is also essential."

he thought,

Edward VII loved being flattered so much, so he must have cared about this false reputation.

The French think that His Majesty the King is as wise as a fool.

Verne nodded,

"Of course~ of course~ it is appropriate to add His Majesty's name. Then call it the Edouard-Goncourt Literary Prize?"

Bernard Shaw pondered for a moment,

"I think I need to add a name."

They looked at Lu Shi again.

Poincaré smiled and said: "The Edouard-Lord Goncourt Literary Prize? It is indeed a good name."

Lu Shi was speechless.

In fact, he has no objection to receiving the literary award.

But the horoscope has not yet been revealed, how come these people have already thought of the name of the award?

Too outrageous!

Moreover, the way this award is named...

He couldn't help but complain: "I feel like lubricant."

Poincaré laughed,

"What Professor Lu said is a bit conservative. You are an old friend of the British and French people, a guest of the British royal family, and a corresponding academician of the French Academy. Can you call this a 'lubricant'? It is clearly a 'bridge and link' 'Well!"

(End of this chapter)