Lu Xun and Nobel Prize

For years， the story that Lu Xun declined Nobel Prize in 1927 was a mystery in China. People talked about it but the truth was not known and versions multiplied but accurate details were lacking.A visit paid by Chen Suyu， deputy curator of Beijing-based Lu Xun Museum and director of Lu Xun Studies， to Tai Jingnong in Taipei in 1989 clarified the matter.

In mid September， 1927， Mr. Wei Jiangong held an engagement banquet at Sun Yat-sen Park in Beijing. Liu Bannong， Qian Xuantong and Tai Jingnong， all professors from Peking University， were present at the banquet. During the banquet， Liu Bannong asked Tai out for a word. Liu mentioned that a Swiss teaching at Peking University was a member of Nobel Committee and that he offered to nominate a Chinese writer for that year’s shortlist. Some people were lobbying for Liang Shiqiu， but Liu thought Lu Xun was the right person for the proposed nomination. Afraid that Lu Xun could turn him down straightforwardly， Liu asked if Tai could write Lu Xun a letter to find out how Lu Xun thought about this motion. If Lu Xun agreed to be nominated， Liu said， he would prepare all the necessary materials including translation and recommendation; if Lu Xun turned down the proposal， he was ready to drop the matter.

On September 25， Lu Xun received the letter written on September 19 by Tai Jingnong， which he replied immediately that day. In the letter， Lu Xun expressed his thanks to Liu Bannong for his proposal on the ground that the recommendation would be great for both Lu Xun and China. Then Lu Xun expressly said that he would like not to be nominated and that neither Liang Shiqiu nor he was entitled to the honor. Lu Xun then went on to cite Dutch Writer F.W. Van Eaden whose “Little John” Lu Xun had translated into Chinese and who did not receive the prize. Lu argued that many writers in the world were better than him and that he needed to work harder to earn the prize money. The matter was dropped.

Premier Wen Answers a Difficult Question

Fei Shengchao， a senior interpreter with Ministry of Foreign Affairs， works for top state leaders. The following is what he witnessed while interpreting for Premier Wen Jiabao during his visit to India in April， 2005.

While answering questions after a speech at Delhi Institute of Technology， Premier Wen Jiabao found this question coming his way: how many years more would China need before China could have a university equal to Delhi Institute of Technology? For some Chinese this question would sound laughable， but the student who raised the question did not look like trying to be provocative. Premier Wen gave data first: China has more than 1，000 colleges and universities with an aggregate student population of 19 million. This information surprised many among the audience. Then Premier Wen mentioned Peking University and Qinghua University and their established status in China’s education. Premier Wen stressed that Chinese college students wished to strengthen cooperation and friendly exchanges with Indian college students.

Fei Shengchao was impressed by the way Wen answered the question. “I’ve learned quite a lot from Premier Wen. I don’t have to plunge myself into argument when a question is raised. Arguing may not bring about good results in some cases. In some cases better results can be achieved if an indirect and friendly discussion can be held.”

Yu Dafu Has Bank Notes in Shoes

After a dinner with a friend， Yu Dafu got cash out of his shoes and handed over to the waiter.The friend was surprised to ask why Yu had kept the money in his shoes.Yu laughed and explained that “this thing used to oppress me and now it is my turn to oppress it”.

Couplet Modified

Kang Youwei， a royalist reformer， found himself receive a couplet upon the day of his fiftieth birthday. The couplet looked like a best wish but it was actually a curse. The two truncated lines came from classics. The first line read “When the state is about to die there will be”. The second line stated “The man who refuses to die in his old age is”. The originals read “when the state is about to die there will be evil devils” and “the man who refuses to die in his old age is a monster.” Scholars like Kang would know what the truncated lines meant. Liang Qichao， who had spearheaded with Kang Youwei the 100-day reform， added some words to the couplet. After his modification， the couplet now read: When the state is about to die there will be royalists and heroes; the old man who refuses to die in his old age is a man of longevity.□