When can Chinese shed 'Nobel Prize complex'?

Recently, the news about Chinese writer Mo Yan's inclusion into the favorites for the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature by some betting companies were reprinted by many cultural media outlets. Although the winner remains unknown, it does not hamper the bets of betting companies on it.

The world's leading betting company Unibet has recently published the list of writers with the odds winning the Nobel Prize for Literature on its official website. Chinese writer Mo Yan first appeared on one of the lists, ranking first with the odds of 1 to 6.5, followed by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami with the odds of 1 to 8.

In these years, every time before and after the Nobel Prize for Literature was announced, the cultural media will talk about the world's highest literature prize. These reports and discussions involved all the aspects but their most concern was when a Chinese writer can win the laurel.

However, the literary circles, the writers and even the readers really have a very complex psychology to the Nobel Prize for Literature in China. It can be said that both Chinese literature and writers have accumulated very deep "Nobel Prize complex."

The complicated cultural moods include anxiety, hope, effort, self-confidence, disappointment and even rejection. They are not difficult to understand because they show a desire of being recognized by the world literature. They hope that China's literature and writers can integrate with the development trend of the world literature and contribute to the world literature.

Why does China, a country with an ancient civilization and world's large population, always miss the Nobel Prize for Literature? How can the Chinese literature be ignored and pushed to the edge of the world literature since the Chinese economy had a significant impact on the world and Chinese culture is loved by the people of many countries?

Then, what kind of attitude should we have toward the Noble Prize for Literature?

In the past few years, most of Chinese writers, critics and readers become more and more rational, calm and objective to the Nobel Prize for literature.

A rumor that Chinese American writer Yan Geling will be awarded the 2012 Nobel Laureate for her 2006 novella, "The Ninth Widow," came out in the literary world. However, Yan denied the rumor in a recent interview titled "Can the Nobel Prize Really Stand for the Trend of the World Literature?"

Yan said, "I never write in accordance with the selection criteria of the Noble Prize for Literature and I do not know why Chinese writers and readers have so strong Nobel Prize for Literature complex." The Nobel Prize for Literature is just a prize set up by Swedes. Can it really stand for the trend of the world literature? Why do Chinese let the old Swedish academicians judge the standards of their literary value? Actually, the Swedish do not just consider about the literature itself when selecting the Nobel Laureate. Many world-famous writers never won the Nobel Prize for Literature but their influences were no less than that of the Nobel Prize winners.

In fact, Mo Yan looks cool and calm to the Nobel Prize for Literature. He said, "At this time of every year, the media will make an issue of the topic. It actually has little to do with the writers. Some critics satirized Chinese writers and said that they have the Nobel Prize for Literature anxiety disorder. The irony was not necessarily correct and sometimes they have forgotten it but the critics did not forget."

It makes people think what Taiwanese writer Yu Guangzhong had said when he talked about the Nobel Prize, "Chinese people should have their own prize for literature. It is better to take the Noble Prize for Literature as a Western prize than take it as a World literature prize because it was established specially for the Western languages."

Therefore, it is better to take the Nobel Prize in a rational and calm way.