Words that changed the world

• Source: Global Times
• [09:55 August 26 2010]
• Comments

It was that year that one high school student appeared late for the final round and was taken to a nearby hotel by a kindly judge who allowed him write his entry there. He was Han Han and he wrote See Through A Man In The Cup which gave him a prize and made him famous overnight.

Han was one of the 20 winners of the first competition and is now one of the most controversial writers and bloggers in China. The "literary bad boy" was chosen as one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine this April.

Another famous writer, Guo Jingming, won a prize in the fourth competition, and is now one of the highest earning writers in China.

The stories in the first competition were not extraordinary compared with modern writing styles and approaches. But 12 years ago they were unprecedented.

Zhao Changtian, the chief editor of Mengya, expressed his confidence on the post-90s contestants, saying: "They live under the pressure of a market economy, and their works imply their concern and confusion about the future. I think they will be as good as the earlier writers but time will polish their stories with their richer experiences."

The freshness of the New Concept now seems to be found in online literature, which might offer a larger and more effective stage for those who want to become another Han Han or Guo Jingming.

Zhao does not treat the Internet as a threat. "The Internet has created a platform for contestants to exchange opinions, which benefits their writing."

He said Mengya will sign contracts with some of the new contestants, publishing their stories and promoting their work through online portals. "We will help them get into the literary world quickly," Zhao added.