A Literary Life Starting from the First Year of High School

Chapter 139 Heated Discussion

The internet was made a little different that day because of a message from Britain.

The first person to notice this message was "Bimo Jiushi," a moderator on the Rongshuxia forum. Today, while he was reviewing new posts, a post from "Shenhaiyu" made him pause, his hand holding a teacup.

The headline is quite long: "[Breaking News] Lin Shubai wins the Bath Fiction Prize in the novella category! British magazine *The Bookseller* has already published a report! The first time a Chinese author has won this award!"

There are already more than 30 replies to the post, which was published at 6:43 AM.

The main post was brief: "I just saw the news on the website of the British magazine 'The Bookseller' that Lin Shubai's 'Hell Is Where God Is Not' won the Bath Novel Prize in the novella category. Is this the first time a Chinese author has won such an international literary award? I checked and there is no precedent. Domestic media should follow up after dawn."

The replies below were varied. Some people posted a series of exclamation marks, some asked "What is the Bath Prize for Fiction?", and some had already started searching for the origin of the prize on Wikipedia.

"Literary Novice" posted a long reply on the seventh floor, digging up the background, prize money, and past winners of the Bath Prize.

By 8:00 AM, the number of online users on the forum began to surge, and the moderator "Pen and Ink Old Stories" posted a pinned thread titled:

"Lin Shu's White Bartholomew Award Discussion Thread (Please do not create new threads without authorization)"

He wrote a sentence in the main post: "All discussions about this matter today should be focused here. Do not create duplicate threads, do not flood the forums, and do not make personal attacks. Let's have a rational discussion."

A long string of replies quickly followed.

"Deep Sea Fish" was the first to speak: "I checked the official website of the Bath Novel Prize. There are six people on the shortlist. Lin Shubai is the only non-native English speaker among the participants, and he is also the youngest."

"Quantum Cat" added, "I read his science fiction short stories on the Sky City forum before, and I felt that this person was extraordinary, but this time he wrote about religious themes in English—to be honest, I still find it incredible."

At nine o'clock in the morning, the second piece of news broke.

The "Old Stories of Pen and Ink" thread updated a message in its pinned post: "I just received news that the electronic version of the Shanghai Culture Daily, published this morning, has already reported on this matter, and the print version will be published tomorrow. This is the first media outlet in China to report on it."

He posted a screenshot. The screenshot showed the headline on the official website of the Shanghai Culture Daily: "Shanghai-based young writer Lin Shubai wins the British Bath Fiction Prize, the first Chinese author to win such a prize."

The main body of the report is short, about 800 words, quoting the comments from the Bath Prize website, mentioning several of Lin Shu-bai's previously published books, and the last paragraph reads: "Lin Shu-bai is currently in the UK and is reportedly in talks with several British publishers regarding the publication of the English version of 'The Little Prince.' This newspaper will continue to follow up on this matter."

This message was shared on Weibo by forum users.

At noon, the topic began to gain traction on Weibo.

In 2011, microblogs were experiencing explosive growth. According to a report by CNNIC, by the end of June 2011, the number of microblog users in China reached 1.95 million, more than double the number at the end of 2010. Within a dozen hours after the awards ceremony, Lin Shubai's name had been forwarded thousands of times.

Fermentation started with two big V's.

The first is writer Su Beiqing, who posted a Weibo at 10 a.m.: "I finished reading Lin Shubai's 'Hell Is Where God Is Not Here' last night. It was the English manuscript, sent to me by a friend from England. I only found out today that he won the Bath Prize. He deserves it. This novel is about faith, and it makes people's hearts clench."

This Weibo post was forwarded more than 3,000 times in two hours.

The second is critic Sun Yu, whose Weibo posts started a little later than Su Beiqing's, but his wording was more academic: "The significance of Lin Shubai winning the Bath Fiction Prize is not that it's the first time a Chinese person has won it," but that it's about his writing style. This style has a tradition in Europe, but it's rare in contemporary Chinese literature. For a non-native language author to reach this level shows that his linguistic talent is phenomenal."

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The comments below are also quite representative.

"Bookworm Aqiang" said: "I have been following Lin Shubai for a year, from 'Story Club' to the current English Award, and have witnessed an author go from the alley of Shanghai to the international stage."

But not everyone was cheering.

The literary observer posted a long Weibo post, calm yet respectful: "Lin Shubai's talent is undeniable, but we need to be wary of using 'international awards' as the sole criterion for measuring an author's worth."

Many people agree with this Weibo post.

At 3 p.m., Fang Di, a reporter from the Shanghai Culture Daily, posted a long article on her blog.

The title is "Lin Shubai's Bath Prize: An Interview, One Night, A Small Town"

She wrote about her interview at Lin Shu-bai's house on May 1st, about the English manuscripts spread out in Lin Shu-bai's room, and about Lin Shu-bai's expression when he said he was preparing to write a novel in English to enter into a British literary prize.

She wrote, "I remember asking him a question: 'Are you confident?' He said he was. At the time, I thought this kid was a bit arrogant. A sixteen-year-old Chinese student, writing a novel in English and submitting it to a British literary prize—what made him so confident?' But he was calm. Today, he won the prize, and I realize he wasn't arrogant; he truly knew himself."

Fang Di also wrote: "When the interview ended, his mother, Wang Xiulan, saw us off, carrying a bag of apples. She said, 'Reporter Fang, take a few apples home to eat.' I still have two of those apples."

At 6 p.m., local media in Shanghai began to follow up on the story.

The Evening News published a news flash on its website: "Lin Shubai, a high school freshman in Shanghai, wins the British Bath Novel Prize."

The Shanghai Morning Post's report was more detailed, quoting Lin Shu-bai's acceptance speech at the awards ceremony: "Some things don't require faith, just belief." It then added a reporter's comment: "From the alleyways of Shanghai to the Bath awards stage, this seventeen-year-old boy took a year, and his journey continues."

At 9 PM, the number of online users on the Rongshuxia Forum broke its historical peak.

The moderator "Pen and Ink Memories" posted a pinned thread all day, and it already had over a thousand replies. He had to add a line to the title: "The thread is too long, please check the first post summary before climbing."

He summarized the most important information of the day on the first floor: "1. Award confirmed. The Bath Prize website has been updated. 2. All three newspapers, including *Shanghai Culture Daily*, *Evening News*, and *Morning News*, have reported on it. 3. The Weibo hashtag 'Lin Shubai Bath Prize' has entered the top ten trending topics of the day. 4. There are reports that three British publishers are bidding for the English rights to *The Little Prince*."

The buzz lasted until late at night.