Chapter 464 Witnessing the Sacred Moment
The Goncourt Prize has been established for more than half a century and is awarded every year. Doesn't that mean that dozens of world-class writers have been born here?
Ms. Edmond Charles Roux's statement was of course somewhat exaggerated, but on an occasion like today, no one in the dense crowd in front of the Tuong Restaurant raised any questions, and the crowd on the entire street was completely caught up in a frenzy of atmosphere.
After enjoying the flowers and applause for more than ten minutes, Lin Weimin returned to the restaurant with the academicians feeling a little unsatisfied.
Compared with the serious award ceremonies in China, the unique award ceremony of the Goncourt Prize can indeed inspire the winners' inner sense of pride and honor, and make people more intoxicated.
The end of the Sunshine Tour also means the end of the award ceremony. The following time is basically a conversation between the winner Lin Weimin and the reporters who come to interview him.
The Goncourt Prize is very prestigious, and dozens of media outlets arrived at the scene to interview today.
These include several major national newspapers in France, including Le Figaro, Le Monde and Libération, as well as many regional newspapers such as Lyon Progreso and Le Parisien.
In addition to French media, there are also international media from other countries.
There were nearly a hundred media reporters at the award ceremony, but due to limited space in the restaurant, not many were able to enter Tuang Restaurant for interviews, so reporters could only come in in groups.
Because it was a group interview, the efficiency was quite good, with one batch completed every half an hour, and it was estimated to last until dark.
During the interviews, the college also arranged for Lin Weimin to have a short rest.
Around four o'clock in the afternoon, Lin Weimin and the academicians sat in the restaurant drinking afternoon tea and chatting casually.
The crowd on the street has gradually dispersed, leaving only a group of reporters waiting for interviews.
Because he was leaning against the window, Lin Weimin looked at the reporters waiting outside the window, among whom were two yellow-skinned figures.
The two figures also noticed Lin Weimin's gaze. They raised the credentials in front of their chests. They turned out to be reporters from Xinhua News Agency.
Lin Weimin stood up and walked outside the restaurant and exchanged a few words. The two reporters were both very young and were stationed in Paris, France all year round.
Today I received the news from the Museum of History in advance that Lin Weimin would win the Goncourt Prize, so I came here specifically to interview him.
However, as there were so many reporters interviewing on the scene, Ambassador Zou could not make any special arrangements and could only let them wait here and be interviewed with everyone else.
As a media reporter from the motherland, he should naturally be treated preferentially. Lin Weimin looked at his watch.
"Today's interview may not end until 8pm. The last interview will be broadcast live on France 2. If you are willing to wait, there is plenty of time in the evening and we can discuss it in detail then."
The two reporters were naturally eager to do so. They had already taken a lot of videos and photos during the award ceremony. What they lacked was an interview with the winner, Lin Weimin. It would be best if they could have a detailed interview.
Lin Weimin will certainly have various interviews after returning to China, but the exclusive interview at the award ceremony in Paris, France, is of great significance.
This is the first time that a Chinese writer has won a world literary award!
As the national news agency, Xinhua News Agency must witness this sacred moment!
After chatting for a while, the media interviews in the restaurant continued.
In a blink of an eye, it was already dark outside and Lin Weimin was about to conduct his last TV interview.
The interview was conducted in the form of a live broadcast by the host of France 2 TV.
Through the footage of TV2, audiences across France got to know Lin Weimin’s young face.
"Mr. Lin, you are unexpectedly young." The live broadcast began, and after a greeting, the host began to interact with Lin Weimin.
"This is probably one of the characteristics of Oriental people. They always look very young."
The host looked down at the information. "But I see that you are only 27 years old, the youngest winner in the history of the Prix Goncourt."
Lin Weimin spread his hands and said, "Well, he is indeed very young. It really makes people jealous!"
Of course, this statement may sound self-satisfied, but Lin Weimin's tone was light-hearted and humorous, and everyone in front of the TV smiled knowingly.
This writer from China is a humorous person, much like the French.
The interview continued, and the host talked to Lin Weimin about his creative experience and the influence of his works overseas.
The host read the contents of the document with an increasingly shocked expression.
"Wow! Mr. Lin, I never thought your work would be so popular and win so many awards."
The information in the host's hand was provided by the Prix Goncourt, and the information about the Prix Goncourt was painstakingly collected by Gallimard Publishing.
These materials include a brief introduction to Lin Weimin's works, publications, and awards since his debut.
He has written more than ten novels with a total of more than 3 million words, which have been published in China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and other countries around the world, with cumulative sales of more than 20 million copies. He has won local awards, the US Literature Award, the US Literature Award, and has just won the French Prix Goncourt.
There are also achievements in work adaptation. "The Lover" won an award at the Cannes Film Festival, and the play adaptations of other works also won the Tony Award, the highest award in the American theater industry...
Listening to the host reading out Lin Weimin's rich resume, coupled with his overly young face, countless French viewers in front of the TV were shocked.
“This is a genius among geniuses!”
"He will definitely become a world-class writer! He will!"
The live interview on France 2 TV has ended, but the fermentation of public opinion has just begun.
Tonight, all the viewers of TV Channel 2 remembered the oriental name Lin Weimin and his overly young face.
Neon lights flickered outside the window. Inside the Tuang Restaurant, Lin Weimin had just finished an interview with TV Channel 2 and sat down at a dining table, opposite two reporters from Xinhua News Agency.
"Teacher Lin, you have worked so hard today!"
"It's not bad. After all, it only requires moving your mouth. You guys have been waiting for a long time."
"How do you feel now?"
"It's okay. The excitement of winning the award has passed. I'm at peace now."
"You have brought glory to the country again this time!"
Lin Weimin waved his hand and said, "It's just a literary award."
"You underestimate the influence of the Goncourt Prize!"
"I am not underestimating the influence of the Goncourt Prize. The role of winning glory for the country is to boost national confidence. A literary award cannot enhance our national confidence.
True national confidence is determined by economic and military strength.
No matter how many awards our generation wins abroad, it will not change our deep-seated admiration for the West.
It may be our next generation, or the next generation after that. Only when our national economic development catches up with and surpasses Western countries will this kind of national self-confidence truly flourish.”
The reporters interviewed Lin Weimin to talk about his feelings about winning the award, but they didn't expect the topic to go off track right at the start. However, they did not correct Lin Weimin, but continued with his topic.
The interview lasted until after ten o'clock in the evening. The neon lights on the street gradually went out and the interview came to an end.
The reporter asked the last question: "Teacher Lin, do you think you have a chance of winning the Nobel Prize in Literature?"
Lin Weimin hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is the Nobel Prize in Literature important?"
"After all, it is the world's top and most influential literary award, and it should be the dream of many writers."
Lin Weimin nodded. "That's right. Do you think I will win the Nobel Prize in Literature?"
The two reporters shook their heads and said, "I don't know."
Lin Weimin laughed. "Like you, I don't know. Whether I get it or not, it doesn't make any difference to me."
Lin Weimin said this in a gentle and relaxed tone, but the two reporters felt an emotion.
That is a true emotion of indifference. Obviously, in Lin Weimin's heart, he has an equal attitude towards the Nobel Prize in Literature, the world's literary award.
They suddenly thought of the topic of national confidence mentioned at the beginning of the interview. Lin Weimin said that that kind of national confidence will only be seen in the next generation or the next generation.
But it was only at this moment that they suddenly realized that what they had felt from Lin Weimin all along was exactly the kind of calm and magnanimous national self-confidence that he had mentioned.
After the interview, Lin Weimin chatted with the two reporters.
It was already past ten o'clock in the evening, but the two of them had not been able to rest yet.
After returning to the base, they have to quickly organize the interview materials, develop photos, edit videos, and then take the earliest flight to send these materials back to the country.
This is a routine operation for foreign correspondents whenever they encounter major international news.
Lin Weimin's winning of the Prix Goncourt is not considered major international news, but it is great news for the Chinese.
Whether he admits it or not, this is bringing glory to the country!
Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night for them.
The next day, with the publicity of many media, the news about the Goncourt Prize award ceremony became known to everyone in France.
At the same time, the news gradually spread to countries around the world with the coverage of multiple international media.
For the first time, Lin Weimin's name appeared widely around the world through words, sounds and images.
After winning the award, the Goncourt Institute has several activities to attend, as well as interviews scheduled in advance, so his schedule will be very busy in the next few days.
After a busy day, in the evening, Lin Weimin received a call from Qiao Sen who called from the United States.
The Goncourt Prize has a wide influence throughout the world. As the largest publisher in the United States, Random House naturally pays attention to it. Qiao Sen specially called to congratulate Lin Weimin.
Qiao Sen's tone was enthusiastic on the phone. Lin Weimin's winning of the award was also a good thing for the publishers who worked with him.
Because it means that his popularity will rise again, his works will become more popular, and publishers will earn more money, which is a good thing for everyone.
After chatting in detail for a while, Lin Weimin found out that even Random House had prepared a "red belt" this time.
As soon as the list of candidates for the Goncourt Prize was announced, major publishing houses whose works were competing for the award had already made preparations in advance.
This kind of operation is basic for publishing houses. Every year on the eve of major world literary awards, these publishing houses become extremely busy.
For publishing houses, if a published work wins an award, it not only boosts sales, but also brings the invisible benefit of increasing the influence of the publishing house. Gallimard is the best example.
At the end of the call, Qiao Sen once again invited Lin Weimin to go to the United States.
This period of time is when the Goncourt Prize has the greatest influence. Lin Weimin will stay in France for ten days or half a month, and then take advantage of this favorable situation to travel to the United States. Random House will arrange the publicity work, and Lin Weimin only needs to cooperate to ensure that his popularity in the United States will reach a new level.
Faced with Qiao Sen’s enthusiastic invitation, Lin Weimin declined again.
He has been in France for several days and is busy like a dog every day. He doesn't want to go to the United States and repeat the same life.
Anyway, the award has been won and it’s on the headlines, so it doesn’t matter if I show off a few times.
(End of this chapter)
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