The Literary Universe

. . .In class today, the teacher was discussing some well-known Chinese authors and poets whose works are still studied and quoted today. And it really got me thinking.
. . .My maternal grandmother was a very accomplied Chinese calligraphist and painter, who also enjoyed the acquaintence of the Taiwanese hero Chiang Kai Shek for well over two decades.
. . .My maternal grandfather, as well as being a first-class rank-immediately-below-general, was also a very skilled poet in Tang/Sung dynasty-styled poems.
. . .My eldest maternal aunt's husband, although not blood-family, has also exerted great influence in my family. As well as being a second-class general, he was also quite the accomplished author and novelist, whose book on logic/critical thinking became the popular/standard textbook used in many Taiwanese highschools and Universities.
. . .My second-eldest maternal aunt, although not in the profession of literature, was equally well-educated in the classics, and a great fan of novels and literature from past dynasties. Even her 'common speech' is easily recognisable as the words of the well-educated and linguistically adept.
. . .Finally, my mother, who on top of studying linguistics in University, also owns a very impressive collection of classical Chinese literature as well as more interesting volumes, such as a Sung-dynasty dictionary, and a copy of the original writings of the book on Confucius (which is to say, a copy in which the words are written in that archaic font instead of the modern Chinese written language).
. . .And then there's me, who can barely express my desired thoughts. With such a strong literary 'lineage', I cannot help but feel the utmost of shame for my inability to even read a sentence in a Chinese novel. So while most of you may commend me on my current fluency "for a CBC", I firmly believe that someone whose family is saturated with such Chinese literary influence as mine should be at a significantly higher proficiency than my current Mandarin standing.
. . .Today, however, I was lent two modern Chinese novels by my teacher at my request. Hopefully, by next week, my Chinese proficiency will take another giant leap forwards.