Wins in Intervarsity Chinese Literature Awards

Five Chinese Studies students and one Architecture student were proud winners at the 19th National Intervarsity Chinese Literature Award Presentation Ceremony held at the University of Malaya (UM) on 21 April 2017.

Hosted by the Chinese Language Society of UM, the event aimed to encourage university students all across Malaysia to engage in literary works. It also seeks to award recognition to the excellent examples of University students’ written literature.

Pang receiving First Prize for both Prose (left) and Novel category (right) from the Panel Judges

Chinese Studies student Pang Mei Jun won a double win at the competition. Her winning entries titled “The Idle Sunlight (《日色慢》)” and “Carousel (《旋转的木马》)” earned her First Prizes in the Prose and Novel categories. She walked away with two trophies, certificates and cash prizes totalling RM2,000.

Her winning prose “The Idle Sunlight” is a story of a small town, descripted on the changes, lyrical and nostalgic of the town and people, from the rubber estate memories in the 1950s to 1960s until her secondary school memories in 1990s to 2000s.

Meanwhile, “Carousel” is a story of a lady who has grown up under the patriarchal line, and her obsession with her body, gender and sexual desire. The writer further explores the relationship between women and her body and the relationship between gender barriers and patriarchal society.

As a final year student, she said, “The awards have been very meaningful to me because this will be the last time for me to participate in the competition as a university student. Winning an award is an affirmation for me to continue writing and venture further on my journey of literature.”

She shared her view on literate writing, saying, “Writing is a very personal tendency, which relies more on reading and imagining.”

Lee (right) receiving Judge Award from the Panel Judge

Another winner in Prose category, Chinese Studies student Lee Shu Yi with her winning entry titled “I Would Like to Talk to You (《我想和你聊聊》)” earned her a Judge Award. She walked away with a cash prize of RM600, a trophy and a certificate.

Her winning prose described a scene that would take place when one meets a person that they really want to talk to, with various topics or ideas, but have nothing to say in the end, a kind of willy-nilly feeling.

According to Lee, this was her first time to participate in a literature writing competition and the award was an unexpected achievement for her. She said, “This award will be a reminder for me to pay heed to my writing because there are still many rooms for me to improve.”

According to her, the inspiration of writing came from her very own personal life. She said, “Studying away from home gained me a lot of new experiences.”

Goh (left) receiving Judge Award from the Panel Judge

Another winner in the Novel category was Architecture student Goh Chin Chern with her winning entry titled “The New World Clauses (《新世录》)” earned her an Honorable Mention. She walked away with a cash prize of RM300 and a certificate.

The background story of her winning novel mainly reflected on the dark side of what it seems like orderly social surface and the exploitation and repression of the marginalised groups. It also raised questions and doubts about happiness in the traditional utopian literature.

She said, “This is my first time to write an anti-utopian novel and I felt very difficult to complete it. An anti-utopian novel is not easy to write because the writer is required to have a huge worldview and a wide range of knowledge in science and philosophy.” She added, “Because I was a fan of anti-utopian novel, I manage to complete my writing using my experience of reading anti-utopian novels. However, I believe there is still room for improvement.”

According to her, as an architecture student and literature lover, it was not easy to strike a balance between study and interest, “I have always struggled in between the assignment’s dateline and literature writing competition’s due date. Although it is very tiring, I believe the journey of literature is a dream worthy to persist and most importantly, we should make an all-out effort during our young time.”

Hoo (first from left), Lee (first from right), Ee and other winners with the Judge Panel of Modern Poetry category

UTAR was the prodigious winner in the Modern Poetry category, which bagged one Judge Award and two Honorable Mentions.

The Judge Award’s winner was Chinese Studies student Hoo Kiu Chew with his winning entry titled “Like (《喜欢》)”, and he walked away with a cash prize of RM600, a trophy and a certificate. Meanwhile, the Honorable Mention went to Ee Chin Huan and Chia Swee En with their winning entry titled “Learn to Write a Poem (《学诗》)” and “Forgive (《原谅》)” respectively. They walked away with cash prizes of RM300 and a certificate each.  

Hoo’s winning poem was a misty poetry regarding the growth process of a poet, which expressed about the thing that he likes will change along with his growth and the simple feelings that one experiences during the searching process, will touch the heartstrings of the reader.

As a poetry lover, he said, “My feeling for poetry writing is similar to the title of my winning poem –‘like’. I really did not expect to receive this award until my name was announced during the presentation ceremony. However, I am very glad to receive the award and I thank the judges for liking my poem.” He added, “The picturesque scenery around the Kampar Campus is a great place to nurture poet because it provides the inspiration and nutrition for poetry writing.”

Ee’s winning poem was about his journey on poetry writing, an inner dialogue between him and himself. The victory was very meaningful and encouraging to him as it was his first poem. He said, “I am not confident in poetry writing and this is my first formed poem. I felt tangled up during the process of poetry writing and finally produced this poem based on the experience of my powerlessness that I faced during the poem writing. ”

Not forgetting to send his gratitude to his lecturer Dr Wong Lih Lih, he said, “I really appreciate and thankful for her guidance and encouragement throughout my participation in the competition. Without her encouragement, this victory will not be achieved.” 

All the winning entries have been published in the literature collection “Wen Yi (《文毅》)” and it is available in major Chinese bookstores in Klang Valley.