One of the series lectures on "Famous Scholars Talking about Reading"
Speaker: Wang Defeng
Wang Defeng, male, 1956+00, born in June, Ph.D., is currently an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy of Fudan University, a teacher in the teaching and research section of Marxist philosophy history, director of the aesthetics teaching and research section, and a researcher at the Center for Contemporary Foreign Marxism Studies of Fudan University.
1978 was admitted to the philosophy department of Fudan University and worked as a welder in Shanghai Dongfeng Nonferrous Alloy Factory; 1982 graduated; 1982 ——1987, translated works of philosophy and social sciences by Shanghai Translation Publishing House; 1990 received the master of philosophy from Fudan university, and 1998 received the doctor of philosophy.
Now he is mainly engaged in the study of the contemporary significance of Marxist philosophy and contemporary art philosophy.
Published more than 20 philosophical papers; Publish a key textbook of philosophy major in Shanghai universities during the ninth five-year plan period (introduction to philosophy); Co-authored the book "Top Ten Thinkers in the World" with Professor Wu Xiaoming; Published a translation of the Mental State of the Times ([Germany] karl jaspers); Editor-in-Chief of National Character and Morality-Selected Works of Liang Qichao. Important papers include: Heidegger and Marx: Meeting in Historical Thinking, Contemporary Situation of Philosophy and Prospect of Marxist Philosophy, Let Historical Materialism Really Come Out, Revisiting Marx's Philosophical Revolution on Contemporary Issues, etc.
Dear students, I am invited by Shi Jing Book Club to give a speech on this topic. I feel ashamed to see this topic. Not because I want to deny my popularity (laughs). Because I am already a scholar, I will tell you my opinion first: I am not qualified to talk about such a topic as a scholar. Why? Because reading belongs to the profession of scholars. If you are a famous scholar, you are even less qualified to talk about reading. Because their reading experience is fundamentally utilitarian. They want to write books and do academic research. The books they put on their desks are tools, and then they look for the so-called "nourishment" of his future works in various tools. In this sense, I don't think I am qualified to talk about reading. The people who are most qualified to talk about reading experience are ordinary people who don't read or write books as their profession, but they love reading very much. So how many people here are real "scholars" by this standard? I will slowly expand this problem.
Since I talked about reading as a scholar, if you want me to tell the truth, I will say this: reading makes people sad (laugh) and writing makes people happy. But at the same time, I'm afraid. Afraid of what? What I am afraid of is that what I write will hurt others (laughs). But please trust the readers. If they feel sad, they will throw away what I wrote and never read it again. There are two results: first, things printed for the first time can no longer be sold; Second, it will not be reproduced. This is the best solution. So I was relieved later, and I didn't care if it would hurt others. Anyway, the market economy has a scale. If the reader doesn't like it because you make him unhappy, then your book won't sell. Don't write next time. So I can continue to write, maybe it is the publisher who suffers, and I don't care (laughs). Maybe a few articles are pleasant without hurting people, then I will be happy. My so-called poor "academic career" has also received a little comfort, that is, what I wrote may not be depressing. I'm trying not to hurt anyone. This is my opening remarks.
What I said may be a little puzzling to you, because it is difficult to talk about reading. In fact, the first topic I want to talk about is the relationship between reading and life. On this issue, the ancients said a lot, and there are various opinions in history. For example, Mencius once said: it is better to believe in books than to have no books. There is another saying that we China people like to say: When people are literate, they begin to get confused. This is where reading is harmful. They (the ancients) advocated reading the big book of life, emphasizing that wisdom did not come from books, fearing that reading would make people stupid. Wisdom should come from the experience of life. This is a way of saying. There is another saying that praising reading is the most important aspect of life. For example, Gorky said: books are the ladder of human progress. Bookstores are all written there now, which shows that this bookstore is particularly important (laughs). Neither of these statements is wrong, but if you only take one statement, you must be wrong. So we have to discuss the real relationship between reading and life.
Before this discussion, I want to classify the books in the world. I have roughly divided it, but I haven't studied it rigorously. It's just that I don't want to feel the books in the world as a scholar now. There are generally four categories.
One kind is technical. Everyone should read technical books, because now we have to find a job and survive. This kind of book is as small as buying a refrigerator, which contains instructions, instructions, and so on. If you study computer, the textbook you want to hold is actually called the operation guide. This is its essence. If you major in technology, you will face many operation guides. Each operation guide represents a process. Such a book is the first one. I give it a general term called technical book.
The second category, namely academic research books, namely theoretical discussion books.
The third category, entertainment books. Reading makes people happy. Lying in bed, or in the bathroom (laughs). If this hobby is still cultivated, it is impossible without this book. This is the third category, called entertainment books. There are many entertainment books in the street. When we are bored on the trip, some people hold a copy of Heidegger's Being and Time (laughs), and some people hold a legal literature, so legal literature is generally entertaining.
The fourth category is ideology.
This classification must not be strict, because some categories overlap, while some books can be combined into categories, which are both entertaining and thoughtful. Of course, that's the best book. I sometimes read Schopenhauer's philosophical works, which I think are entertaining and thoughtful, and I am very happy to read. Of course, this can only be achieved after the accumulation of reading. If you listen to Brahms and Brookman's symphonies, you may find them uninteresting. This means that there will be overlapping parts. This classification is not strict and clear. However, the first kind of feeling will not overlap with the last three kinds, which is for sure. You can never find anything ideological in technical books such as operation guides. Looking for entertainment or academic research, nothing.
Then we are divided into two categories in these four categories: the first category and the second category, and I am not talking about real books. You can never say that the operation guide is a real book, and you can never say that the academic research book is a real book. Why? The first category is the operation guide. If you don't do this, why do you read it? I can't afford a refrigerator at all. What's the point of giving me some refrigerator guides? This is not a real book. Second, academic research is the communication and even competition between professional peers in a certain field. You're not in this business. What are you reading it for? Don't judge which expert is more like an expert and more accomplished. So this book is only suitable for a small number of people. Like the articles I sometimes write, I know only two people read them. One editor, one me. Does this thing look like a book to you? This is by no means a book. However, it must be called a book, which is the established saying. So it's not called a real book. Neither the first category nor the second category are real books. Everyone has a "computer application" in his hand. What book is this?
The third and fourth books, I call them real books. I gave it the status of a real book. Why is it a real book? Because they belong to everyone. This kind of book is a real book. Then I want to say another sentence. Although the first two categories are not real books, they must be read. Why do you say you want to study? Not if you don't read it. Life forces you. You always have to read a guidebook or two. Can I get a diploma without reading one or two guidebooks? Can you find a job if you can't get a diploma? This is forced by life. You bought a color TV and DVD at home, and you have to read its instructions, otherwise it won't work, and it's forced by life. The second category is also forced by life. Academic research? It's a profession now. Not that I have a deep legacy there. I am an aristocrat, and then I meditate, wander and daydream there, and then write some great works for people. No one will count the number of publications for me or give me a title. This pressure is gone. But now academic works are written under pressure. So I'm also forced by life. If you want to write academic books, you have to read other people's academic books. Therefore, academic books are also necessary for such people. So the first and second categories, although not real books, are only required reading.
How to read must be a matter for experts in various fields. What I want to talk about today is that you have to study, so you don't have to study. You can make a living without reading novels, but I want to say that reading is a valuable experience in life. Life will be different with or without it. What's it like to read a book that you have to read? I draw a most appropriate metaphor from my long-term experience: "love". Love is a university of life, which teaches us things we didn't know before and makes us mature. Reading as a kind of love is an experience, experi? Empathy is the communication and dialogue between life and mind. The author's life can't be directly experienced, but the author has written a book, just like your lover talks about the value of life with you, and there are various ways to talk about it. Maybe he didn't talk about it directly. A good book is a qualified lover. What is a qualified "lover"? It is worthy of our worship, heart-to-heart, quarrel and talk. A person who finds a lover in the sea of books is seen by others as sick. Whether he is happy or sad, he forgets to eat and sleep, and he can't sleep at night. After reading it, you should write a "love letter"-reading notes. This is the greatest and most private thing, and you are embarrassed to show it to others. A good book is an ideal, unique and interesting mind. This mentality is very important to us. When we grew up, we studied well at first. When we grow up, we begin to be utilitarian, form a lot of habits, and deposit a lot of prejudices and prejudices. We settle down and feel that we know everything. This is the most terrible thing (laughs).
Today, reading is not for entertainment, but for refinement. The purpose of reading is to be refined. Why exquisite? People who don't study are disgusting (referring to flattering and vulgar attitude towards life), and their language is tasteless (dull and tasteless, the artistic conception is unknown, and what they say is very utilitarian). Reading is a valuable experience in life, but it is not a necessary experience in life. Although an illiterate person can't read, he has many opportunities to "study": talk with businessmen, gentlemen and elegant gentlemen, so there is a saying that "it is better to study for ten years than to talk with gentlemen" There are still many differences between reading and not reading. Whether a person who doesn't study can meet all kinds of gentlemen and have dinner with him every night can only be left to chance. Reading can attract all kinds of gentlemen, and even make a plan so that whoever arrives first will arrive late. Communicate with them often. That's the difference. Why is it important to talk to you? Because a person's life should be meaningful. Such a rare life must be interpreted, and we will encounter setbacks, hardships, smoothness and joy. Whatever it is, our hearts must explain it to them. Be brave when you are in trouble, and experience joy when you are in good times. Although books can't replace explanations, they can help us. What kind of people "fall in love" and what kind of "love" they talk about are related to the level of personal interpretation of life.
How to choose books? Needless to say, the choice of "required reading" is equivalent to asking "what kind of person should I choose to love". When I tell you that you love the rich man, you love the man with status, you love the man with infinite future, you won't love him, and the person you want to love will meet unexpectedly. There are many famous books, and I have searched through ten world famous books. Maybe you can't love them. It is also possible. Reading is my business, but I'm in love. What right do you have to make me love that high-level person instead of this ordinary person? It is said that Wuthering Heights is of great literary value, but I just don't like it. I like reading The Count of Monte Cristo. The hero and heroine talked about prison life, and every sentence hit my heart. We don't want "arranged love". The "Reading Guide" arranges lovers worthy of pursuit, such as a matchmaking agency. When reading, you should generally know the facts and comments, look for them, and "lovers" will always find them. Scholars should not "force reading" for teenagers, which is to impose their hobbies on others. Lu Xun never forced young people to read. Not only that, he thinks that all scholars are not qualified to be young mentors. If you must recommend it, then my first answer is that you must read the classics. The significance of classicism is undeniable, and contemporary problems can be found in classicism. The second answer is contemporary, which is difficult to read and may not be able to "love". For example, I really don't know what to say after reading Memories of the Past. All metaphors have their limitations. What needs to be emphasized is that you should read "Love" in the spring and never stick to it, so that you can become a writer. If you are obsessed with a book, you have not fully understood it. When you were bored and too familiar, you came across another book, so you changed your mind (laughs). If you continue to "love" like this, you are a person who will "love". Find more literary lovers. Don't doubt your discernment, and don't doubt whether you have spent precious time on a book that is not worth reading. For example, the gadfly, this novel has a deep influence on me. Don't believe what the critics say. The important thing is that we are irrational and study according to a certain plan. We study not for window dressing, but for the needs of our own lives. A good work is a prism, which is used to refract sunlight. Different thoughts will reflect different scenes. This work refracts sunlight into spectral form. When you meet a good work, you will meet a great prism, which will inspire you, give you strength and open up new horizons for you.
There are two ways to read. Don't underestimate entertaining books. First, they don't hurt people. Second, if they impress people, they should not be ranked according to people's value, and should not be first-class or second-class in books; The strict boundary between masterpieces and non-masterpieces. It is common for some books to be worthless, unknown for generations and suddenly unattainable one day. Must-read comments in religion, art and philosophy can't be solidified, and it is you who are really qualified to comment. Maybe I have regarded a book that everyone thinks is not very interesting as my world all my life. A great work is a world full of ups and downs of life. Although it is a specific story of a certain character, it reflects the whole meaning of life, so it is difficult for us to understand the immortality of immortal works. The society they reflect has gone away, but why is it so attractive to us who live today? The aristocratic families in A Dream of Red Mansions, Guo Rongfu and Ningyuan Fu, still have maids and slaves. This kind of society has gone away from us. This work is a mirror of China feudal society, but its significance is not limited to this. What is the root of the immortal works? Its meaning should be endless, it is a prism, reflecting the most essential things in our lives. Different people in A Dream of Red Mansions read different things, which shows its inclusiveness. The life of immortal works has been interpreted or praised again and again by people in countless generations, and it has continued in countless new interpretations. Therefore, we are not passively accepting reading. Those books worth reading are books that we can talk about and are worth talking about. This is the standard. How do we talk to A Dream of Red Mansions? Jia, at first, I thought such an image was very simple, that is, the person with the highest status in this family was very concerned about the fate of the family, and the feudal thought was very strong and very conceptual. But when I read it again today, I found that the image of Jia Mu was so full. Her concern for her family and love for her grandson Baoyu are so real in Cao Xueqin's works. Although the image of Jia Mu is an individual thing, she will live in China for a long time, especially as a mother, and she will not end with the end of feudal society. Another example is Jia Zheng. Does Jia Zheng love his son or not? I even tried to kill him many times, but do you remember the plot? Jia Baoyu was beaten half to death by him and finally came back to life. Jia Zheng's sentence "Son, you scared me to death" is right. These images reflect the culture of the whole nation. The ups and downs of Rong He Ning Er Han are all over, but the life value it explains is still very valuable to the progress of China today.
..... maybe we are ordinary people. It is very important for us to know ourselves now and then learn from others. Enrich your life with different interpretations.