Sweden

Stockholm

Splendid palaces, imposing churches, towering minarets, and narrow streets and alleys are full of medieval style.

The Swedish Academy is located in it,

It was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III of Sweden in imitation of the French Academy, with 18 academicians.

Because it is a tenure system, there are only 18 members, and whenever an academician dies, the Faculty of Arts can add to it on its own and submit it to the king for approval.

But because the constitutional monarchy weakened the king's power, this "ratification" was mostly a process.

In addition to academicians, the college also has a president and vice president.

Then there is the position of permanent secretary.

The current Permanent Secretary is Carl David Ave Wilson,

At this time, he was busy in the round table room with the list of nominees for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Someone behind him asked, "Carl, isn't it over yet?" ”

Wilson turned,

In front of me is a Swedish man in his fifties,

Men have almost no urban atmosphere, but a certain dryness, and their facial features are also extremely firm, three-dimensional, and even a little abrupt.

This man's name was Hans Ludwig Fussell, the first seat of the Swedish Academy.

The "first seat" here sounds like a very middle two disease,

But this is not a joke, but the number of seats caused by the lifetime system of academicians is fixed, so that the academicians of the Swedish Academy of Letters are very much like the knights of King Arthur, and the meetings are like the Round Table Council, which looks very retro.

"I'm researching writers from Asia," Wilson said. ”

He pointed to a name,

"Have you ever heard of Hu Hongming?"

Forsale corrected: "You should pronounce 'tribute', right?" Gong Hongming, just like Gunnar. ”

Gunnar Wenneberg is the second seat in the Swedish Academy.

Wilson muttered to himself,

In the spelling of "Gunnar", isn't there one more letter 'n' than "Gu"?

But he didn't ask, but continued: "Many of Gong Hongming's works are still good. It's just that I don't know if I can contact him now, you know, China is fighting with a bunch of countries at the moment. ”

Forsel said, "There is no life, only death." ”

It is impossible for the Qing government to live.

Wilson couldn't help but complain: "You are really a typical affairs officer, without empathy." ”

As he said, Forsel currently serves in the Swedish government.

Forsel pouted,

"I'm just capable, honest and efficient."

This is clearly a joke.

Wilson couldn't help but make an exaggerated vomiting gesture,

Both are academicians but can joke like this because Wilson had collaborated and published two books on literary criticism when he was an editor at the Swedish Literary Review.

Wilson said: "I didn't expect the Ice Freezer to tell jokes. ”

Forsel heard that the other party was complaining about the cold joke he told, so he didn't pick up the stubble, and instead talked about the Nobel Prize in Literature.

"Forget about Asia, right?"

Wilson scratched his head,

"How?"

Forsel said, "It's about the same if there are three or four Asian writers, isn't there one named Tagore?" ”

Wilson smiled and said, "And Lu." ”

Hearing this particular pseudonym, Forser fell silent,

He is a fan of "The Mystery of Roger".

After a while, he said: "If "Roger's Mystery Case" was written in Chinese, it would definitely not have achieved the current achievements. ”

This is not an exaggeration,

English is one of the strongest languages in the world,

Writing in English has an inherently superior audience to other languages, even if the Qing government claims that there are 40,000 people in China.

Forsale reiterated: "A few nominations from Asia are pretty much that. ”

In the early days, the geographical nature of the Nobel Prize in Literature was obvious.

Russia's weight is very light, and Asia, except for India, is basically ignored,

But there was South Africa.

Wilson said: "I'm really right, you are really a 'frozen man'. ”

This time it was to say that Forsel was cold-blooded and had no empathy.

Forsel shrugged,

"Oh, don't just talk about me. Wasn't Tolstoy on the list? ”

18 academicians, all tacitly shunning Russia,

I can only say that everyone who understands understands it.

Wilson touched his nose in embarrassment, and was about to explain a few words, when he heard a sudden knock on the door outside,

He raised his voice,

"Come in."

Immediately a clerk rushed into the house,

"Mr. Wilson, there is a telegram from London that was sent directly to the British Consulate, and someone sent it over there."

Many universities in the UK have a large number of international students and are relatively wealthy, so they can receive and receive telegrams by themselves.

The Swedish Academy does not have this condition, and it is very inconvenient to receive and receive telegrams.

Wilson took the telegram, and after only two lines, he couldn't help frowning, and muttered, "I'm in trouble." ”

Forsel leaned over,

"How?"

As he asked, he read the telegram as well.

Both of them are famous figures in the literary world, and they read ten lines at a glance, and it didn't take long to finish reading.

Forsel muttered to himself, "Lu Shi is really ...... Humph......"

Wilson said, "What to do? ”

Forsel pondered for a moment and said, "We still have to start with Mr. Nobel's will to consider this issue. The will stipulates that the winner of the literary prize must 'produce the best work with desirable tendencies'. ”

Wilson was surprised,

"Mr. Tolstoy isn't ideal?"

Forsel shook his head,

"What does the anarchism and fatalism in his current works have to do with the so-called 'ideal tendency'?"

Red mouth and white teeth, the upper and lower lips touched, and a hard reason was created.

I already knew that the later winner Yasunari Kawabata was a typical nihilism, and it didn't go well with the word "ideal".

Wilson said: "And what about Chekov? ”

Forsale glanced at the telegram,

"There is no mention of Chekov in this ......"

Wilson said: "I am worried that the British, who are in the University of London Union, will move out of the Russians one after another to grind the foreign workers. ”

Forsel thought for a moment and said, "Mark Twain and O. Henry are not nominated, and short stories are not considered for the first Nobel Prize in Literature for the time being." And, you know, it's not an excuse, it's something we've set before. ”

Wilson bowed his head in contemplation, but did not reply.

Forsel said again: "Still worried? ”

Wilson couldn't help but sigh,

"Don't forget, Lu Shi is a popular writer and playwright who has made a hit, and George Bernard Shaw is even more famous. None of them are the kind of people who are not popular, and if something really goes wrong, they may not be able to hold back. ”

This is true.

Forsel couldn't help but frown.

At that moment, there was another knock on the door.

Wilson shouted irritably, "Come in." ”

Or the clerk,

Seeing that Wilson's mood was not high, he cautiously walked in, and whispered, "Sir, there is also a telegram from Cambridge, you can see it." ”

The telegram was delivered.

Wilson quickly finished reading it, and said helplessly: "There are also doubts in Cambridge, if historians like Theodor Monson can participate in the selection, why is a writer like Tolstoy not nominated?" ”

Forsel said: "Is the wording harsh? ”

Wilson looked at it again,

"I feel like it's just an inquiry, and there's no accusation."

Forsel frowned,

"'Feeling'?"

Wilson glared at him and said, "English isn't my first language, so I don't dare pack a ticket." Why don't you read it? ”

Forsel waved his hand,

"Don't read it."

He thought for a moment and said, "Let's reply the way I say." There could be no more fitting reason for Mr. Nobel's will to state that the winner of the Literary Prize must 'produce the best work of the desired inclination'. ”

Wilson asked, "Unified response?" ”

Forsel nodded,

"That's right, reply in unison."

Wilson asked again: "What about Lu Shi and George Bernard Shaw?" The two of them clearly proposed to withdraw from the selection. The University of London Alliance is also ready to pick and choose. ”

Forsel smiled,

"It doesn't matter. Invite more in the future and show sincerity. ”

As long as the Nobel Prize can make a name for itself in the first year, I am not afraid that these people will not bow their arrogant heads.

Famous and advantageous, who doesn't love it?

Forsel urged, "Write a telegram quickly." Let's still point to Cambridge......"

In the middle of the sentence, there was another knock on the door,

Knock Knock Knock –

Wilson immediately asked, "Who is it this time?" ”

The clerk pushed the door open and said, "This is a telegram from Oxford." ”

Wilson shook his head,

"Come on, another one."

He immersed himself in writing the telegram and said to himself, "I see, let's get a common template." ”

……

Cambridge.

King's College.

In the huge conference room, a group of professors from the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Philology are gathering to study the preliminary works for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Suddenly, someone said, "I don't know." ”

The professors looked up at the speaker.

The man coughed awkwardly and said, "This Tagore play is good, but the poetry is too ordinary." He is worthy of being a student at the University of London. ”

Is that how the word "worthy" is used?

The crowd burst out laughing.

Rabindranath Tagore is indeed a graduate of University College London.

In 1878, he went to England to study law at the behest of his father and brother, but because he did not like it, he transferred to University College London to study English literature and Western music.

James said: "It turns out that the University of London is angry~"

The laughter grew louder and louder.

James continued: "We still need to be fair and just in the selection of this literary award. ”

He looked at Tagore's work,

"But you are also right, Tagore's play is a little bit of a satire on the privileges and backward customs of the Brahmin priesthood, but the poetry is really average, and cannot be compared with Yeats, Hesse, and Prudhomme."

That's not wrong.

Tagore's truly powerful poetry collections, such as Gitanjali, The Birds, and The Gardener, were not published at this time.

James added: "In addition, it may be that the English translation is inaccurate. ”

The crowd was puzzled,

"Translation?"

James nodded,

"Didn't I visit Professor Lu before? He talked about the problem of translation. He gave an example in Chinese at the time, which I understood and understood, but it was difficult to repeat. ”

Chinese is still too difficult for James.

Someone said: "It seems that Tagore is still not qualified, let it go for the time being." The main question now is Mr. Monson. ”

The Cambridge bigwigs were silent.

History of Rome,

How can this book be evaluated from a literary point of view?

It's hilarious!

They seriously suspected that the Swedish Academy had a brain in the water.

James said, "It's all right, didn't you shoot the telegram?" If the expectation is good, the Swedish Academy of Letters should remove Mr. Monsen's nomination, or, if they have a conscience, add Mr. Tolstoy. ”

If Monson is removed, it is a purely literary review, so to speak;

If Tolstoy is added, the winner is undisputed, or even better.

When everyone listened to James's words, they were all freed from their work, or stretched, or yawned.

James also made himself a cup of tea.

At this time, there was a call from outside: "Professor James, there is a telegram from Stockholm." ”

James opened the door, took the telegram and read it aloud:

"Omitted. According to the provisions of Mr. Nobel's will, the winner of the Literary Prize must produce the best work with ideal tendencies, and Mr. Tolstoy, bothered by fatalism, was not the one to choose. ”

One professor asked, "What about the back?" What should Mr. Monson do? ”

James stared at the telegram and did not speak.

Such an attitude is approximately equivalent to an answer.

Someone muttered: "The Swedish Academy is really good." ”

The rest chimed in.

At this time, James whispered again: "Professor Lu and Mr. Xiao are actually ...... It turned out to be ......"

All:???

I don't understand why Lu Shi and George Bernard Shaw are suddenly mentioned.

James said: "I don't know what the reason is, the British consulate in Stockholm seems to have sent the wrong telegram to us with a telegram that should have been taken to the University League of London." ”

As soon as he said this, a young professor said, "Normal. The British's Officer~"

The rest of the crowd burst into laughter.

The young professor said, "You have forgotten Yes! What does "Prime Minister" say? 'Great Britain has always been unhuman, in its inappropriateness.' ”

"Hahahaha!"

People laughed louder.

It took a while for the professors to turn their attention to James,

Someone asked, "Montagu, you just mentioned Professor Lu and Mr. Xiao, do you have any questions?" ”

James couldn't help but take a deep breath,

"They rejected the nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature."

In an instant, silence struck,

“……”

“……”

“……”

It's like you've been pressed the pause button in the conference room.

James repeated: "Professor Lu and Mr. Xiao have rejected the nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Moreover, the reason for their refusal was very straightforward, criticizing the Swedish Academy for not including Mr. Tolstoy in the list of nominees. ”

There was another unspeakable silence.

Suddenly, someone laughed and said: "Indifferent to fame and fortune, noble sentiments." ”

This evaluation speaks to everyone's hearts.

Discussion abounds,

"Without Mr. Tolstoy's literary prize, is it still a literary prize?"

"I like him, he understands human nature."

"Not only human nature, but also description and portrayal, what kind of person will react in what situation, he knows it all like the palm of his hand."

……

Someone asked, "Montagu, who is in charge of this?" ”

James looked at the telegram,

"Judging from this telegram, it should be Professor Lu who first took the initiative to put forward the idea that the Nobel Prize in Literature is incomplete without Mr. Tolstoy, and then Mr. Xiao was moved and withdrew from this selection."

"Sure enough, it's Professor Lu......"

Cambridge's bigwigs spoke in unison.

In their hearts, Lu Shi is such a person with a high wind and bright festival, Huai Jin holding Yu, and pine and cypress.

Suddenly, James spoke,

"I'm ready to quit too."

Everyone thought they had misheard and looked at him in shock.

James was full of a relaxed smile,

"An English gentleman, you should be self-aware. As for the Nobel Prize in Literature...... Is the Nobel Prize in Literature good? ”

As soon as these words came out, the emotions of the rest of the people were ignited,

"That's right, is the Nobel Prize in Literature good?"

"Hmph, I'm quitting!"

"I'm not doing it anymore! The Swedish Academy of Letters nominated so many authors, are we really cows and horses?! ”

Push a friend's book,

"West Coast American Residence",

Look at the name, hey, hey, everyone who understands understands.

(End of chapter)