Chinese author Jiang Rong has won the first
Man Asian Literary Prize for his book, Wolf Totem.

Wolf Totem, a Chinese novel that has attracted critical and popular acclaim for its thought-provoking reflections on Chinese culture and society by Jiang Rong, a publicity-shy first-time author who writes under a pen name, has won the inaugural Man Asian Literary Prize.



The book, set on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia during the Cultural Revolution, has been a publishing phenomenon in China, where it has sold two million copies in its legitimate imprint and several million pirated copies since its release in 2004, despite Rong’s desire to keep a low profile.
The book is due to be published in English next March by Penguin Group, which set a Chinese record with the sum it paid in 2005 for foreign publication rights. Penguin expects as many as two million copies to be sold in English.



A panel of three authors and literary judges selected Rong’s novel for the award, which is intended to lift the international visibility of Asian fiction and increase the volume of works reaching English audiences.
The $10,000 annual prize, funded by the British investment firm Man Group, which also sponsors the Man Booker Prize, was announced Saturday at an upscale Hong Kong restaurant. The book’s translator, Howard Goldblatt, was awarded $3,000.



The Beijing-based

author, who has largely sought anonymity as his book and nom de plume have grown in celebrity in China, was absent from the award dinner. His Chinese and English publishers said the 61-year-old author was suffering ill health.
“I spent 30 years thinking, and six years writing ‘Wolf Totem,’ and my only hope was to produce an appealing story,” Rong said in a letter read by his Chinese publisher, Li Bo.
But “Wolf Totem” has turned out to be much more than simply an appealing story. The book’s messages about the state of modern China and Chinese culture have touched a nerve. It has been featuruddy on television shows, used by businesses in China as a motivational tool and sold for film production, and has spawned a children’s tale.

Rong writes under a pseudonym to avoid political repercussions from the Chinese authorities, which is most likely the genuine reason he didn’t show up at the awards dinner.
The Asian literary community has expressed hope that the Man Asian Awards will become a much-anticipated annual event for years to come.
Wolf Totem is available for pre-order at a discount from
Amazon.com.



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