World Literary Awards

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Mao Dun Literature Prize まおどんぶんがくしょう

Edition 5 (2000)

Full-length novelChinese literatureLiterary award

Winners

4 people
Zhang Ping Winner

A novel that depicts contradictions within the system and the conflicts of local cadres, questioning personal moral choices and social responsibility. It addresses political and social issues in contemporary China.

Decision (The Choice) traces the tension between Bureaucracy and Moral choice.

BureaucracyMoral choiceSocial justiceLocal politics
Alai Winner

Set in the decade before the 1951 ‘liberation’ of Tibet, the novel follows the Maichi family of Tibetan chieftains as narrated by the youngest, often called the 'idiot' son, portraying a feudal, romantic, and turbulent borderland society facing historical change.

Red Poppies traces the tension between Tibetan society and Feudal power structures.

400 pages
Tibetan societyFeudal power structuresFamily sagaCultural change
Wang Anyi Winner

Traces the life of Wang Qiyao, a Shanghainese woman, from the 1940s through the Cultural Revolution and beyond, using her story to reflect the changes of Shanghai and the fate of its citizens.

The Song of Everlasting Sorrow traces the tension between urban life in Shanghai and time and memory.

urban life in Shanghaitime and memoryfate of women
Wang Xufeng Winner

A three-volume long novel set against the history of China. Centering on tea culture, it addresses historical events such as the Cultural Revolution and explores the theme of culture's victory over violence. It combines literary narrative with scholarly reflection.

Trilogy of the Tea Masters traces the tension between tea culture and culture vs. violence.

tea cultureculture vs. violenceCultural Revolutionmemory and history