I wanted to say "I have to study to make my life proud", because I was afraid that my classmates would misunderstand me, saying that I had healed my scars and forgotten my pain, deliberately concealing the bitterness of studying hard, and not talking about the pain of not being able to watch the football match on the eve of the exam, not to mention the embarrassment of "dropping out of school" or "being eliminated". Ok, let's discuss the feeling of reading from another angle. Is it beautiful, painful, serious, happy, or mixed with ups and downs? Reading is fun, but it is also difficult. Anyone who only says one side is a liar. It is precisely because reading is both challenging and unattainable-it is not as difficult as building a space shuttle or flying to Mars, and ordinary people can achieve it as long as they are willing. So, I said reading is really interesting.
Since ancient times, "persuasion" has been very difficult.
Eight years ago, I said that "reading is a way of life" and that most of the "persuasion" at all times and all over the world is not credible. Not that others can't do it. I can do it, and neither can I. The question is, knowing that the effect of persuasion is very limited, why are there so many sages who enjoy it?
It is tacky, practical and effective to persuade people to study, and to seduce them with "Golden House hides charming" and "Yan Ruyu". During the Cultural Revolution, I worked as a private teacher in the mountainous areas of eastern Guangdong. Children in rural areas don't like reading and often drop out of school, so they have to go to their homes. Parents teach their children this way: you should study hard. Read a good book, and you will be like your teacher, and you won't have to work in the fields in the future. In the early 1990s, when I returned to the mountain village, my early colleagues told me that my parents had changed their ideas: you should study hard; Otherwise, like your teacher, you can't walk out of the mountain village. Parents who educate their children to "study hard" may not know the "persuasion poem", but the idea is the same.
Here comes the problem. Some people read a lot and are very successful. Some people read less and are very successful; Some people basically don't study, make a lot of money and even become emperors. As a teacher, how do you explain to students that many "successful people" in China have low academic qualifications, but there are countless doctors, professors and academicians around them. Those who "stab the stock with their heads hanging" will always be "untalented" or even "gifted". No wonder they get annoyed when they think about it. In fact, all kinds of famous reading sayings handed down from ancient times to the present, because they are aimed at a specific group of people in a specific era (literati, scholar-officials, powerful ministers, emperors), can not be fully believed even if there is some truth. As the slogan of various reading festivals, "opening books is beneficial" needs careful scrutiny-why, what, how and what effect? When it comes to reading, I prefer to ask this "bookworm" about his age, occupation, mood, goals and so on. Before making a statement. For example, Wang Guowei's "Three Realms Theory" is only suitable for experts and scholars to take it to the square to preach to the public that "the tall building is alone" and "the lights are dim", which they can't understand.
In contemporary China, there is still a thorny problem: reading good books does not necessarily have a good future. In the face of the "reading uselessness" in this new era, as a teacher, you have to respond. I have repeatedly criticized the "university enrollment expansion" that has been implemented for more than ten years. What really bothers people is not the "decline in teaching quality" that professors are worried about, but the increasingly difficult employment of college students will affect the "stability and unity" of the whole country.
What's the situation now? China Statistical Yearbook 20 12 shows that the number of college students in 1978 was 856,000, and it increased to 3.409 million 20 years later. The enrollment expansion began in the second year, and in 2008, ten years later, it became 202 1 10,000. By the end of last year, the number of college students was 25.447. We only say that it is a good thing to let more people go to college, but the pain of college graduates not finding jobs has not been really paid attention to. It is impossible for the government of any country to guarantee the employment of all college students-unless it returns to the era of planned economy; However, if a large number of college graduates are unemployed in a society, it is very unstable or dangerous.
"Specialization" and "Amateur"
After the spread of western learning to the east in the late Qing Dynasty, our whole education system has changed, and the imagination of the world about "learning" is also very different from before. It used to be said that scholars should be knowledgeable and thoughtful. As the saying goes, "Confucians are shameless". Now, specialization has become the mainstream. Related to this is the blind worship of "highly educated" by Chinese people. In the past, it was enough to find a job and graduate from college. Now that a rising tide lifts all boats, you need a master's degree, a doctor's degree or a postdoctoral fellow. This choice is a bit snobbish, but it is not unreasonable. Because in today's world, "specialization" is the general trend.
Max Weber1919 gave a lecture entitled "Taking Academics as a Career" to young students at the University of Munich, Germany. This speech has influenced several generations of scholars and is still receiving strong attention. There is a passage in Weber's speech: "The academic circle has reached an unprecedented stage of specialization, and this situation will continue." On the surface or in essence, only through the most thorough specialization can individuals have the confidence to achieve some truly perfect achievements in the field of knowledge "; Only strict specialization can convince a scholar that he has made truly lasting achievements at a certain moment, probably the only moment in his life. Today, any truly clear and valuable achievement is definitely a professional achievement. "
Nearly a century later, Weber's argument is still valid. Until today, "unprecedented specialization" is still the mainstream thought in academic circles. Of course, this kind of "specialization" emphasizes to the extreme, which will have great disadvantages. Especially for humanities scholars, it may limit their academic vision, affect their comprehensive judgment, and even dispel their social concern. So it is necessary to introduce Saeed's statement.
Edward said said in his book On Intellectuals that the first of the four pressures to challenge the integrity and will of intellectuals is "specialization": "The higher you climb in today's education system, the more restricted you are in a rather narrow field of knowledge." The author hopes to "use what I call amateurism to fight against" this pressure, that is, to engage in academic research "is not moved by interests or rewards, but only for love and indelible interest".
China people have a wonderful saying about how scholars go beyond the boundaries of specific majors, which is called "liberal arts", which corresponds to "specialization". Different from "literati" and "experts", it is not that there is no return, but that there is a profession but it is not restricted by it. If you have received higher education, whether you are studying at school today or going to work after graduation, the biggest dilemma is probably how to maintain the necessary tension between "specialization" and "amateur".
Faced with this dilemma, there are three choices: the first, "turn a deaf ear to things outside the window and concentrate on reading professional books" and go straight to academicians or nobel prizes; Second, free reading, not seeking Wen Da, pursuing the comfort of life, and having no intention or ability to become a professional; Third, I want to be an outstanding expert, but I also want to keep the fun of reading-this third way is the most difficult and worth looking forward to. Wandering between "specialization" and "amateur" is a lifelong thing; As for the period of study, there can be priorities, but I don't advocate giving up some "due significance" too early.
There is no unified answer to the dispute between "specialization" and "amateurism"; As a scholar, you must face this dilemma seriously. All discussions about "reading" should actually be targeted: compared with the trend of rejecting and respecting natural science, we emphasize the significance of humanities; Compared with paying too much attention to exam results, we emphasize humanistic cultivation more; Compared with experts showing off their professionalism, we flaunt our interest in reading; Compared with condescending moral education, we emphasize the thoughtfulness of humanistic education; Compared with utilitarian reading, we advocate "sneaking into the night with the wind and moistening things silently". Why do we do this? Because in my opinion, in China, if we want to talk about "enemies of reading", the focus should be "utilitarianism".
"problematic" and "interesting"
The same is "reading", there are two different attitudes and goals: one is to study related courses in universities and prepare for bachelor's, master's and doctor's degrees; The second is extracurricular study, self-study, or free reading after leaving school. The biggest difference is that the latter does not need to be "gradual" and there is no evaluation index of "progress" or "effectiveness".
Being willing to learn is one thing, and being able to learn is another. Some people have studied hard all their lives, but they have not gained much, and even a little "bookish" can't be shown. Why? There are many reasons, the biggest possibility is that the method is wrong. From my observation, most people who can read have obvious "problem consciousness". Know why you study, where to start, how to develop, and how to cross Qian Shan.
For those who have finished the basic training or left school, only by "learning with problems" can you choose the right target, concentrate your energy and mobilize your reading enthusiasm to the maximum extent, and it is easy to see results and encourage you to keep moving forward.
For "non-professional" people, it is better and more interesting to choose a topic related to their work or that they are particularly interested in, and then search up and down. 1922 In August, Liang Qichao was invited to give a lecture at Nanjing Southeast University Summer School. The topic of a speech is "interest in learning". Among them, it is mentioned that "life is valuable if you always live in fun"; The most interesting things include work, games, art and study. I believe that "reading" is easier to "start with fun and end with fun" in life. In recent years, I have found an interesting phenomenon. Many retirees study hard because of their beliefs, investment, travel, collection and other reasons, and have a lot of experience. There is no pressure in the exam and I don't want to be an expert. I just like it and even become obsessed. In the words of Zhang Dai in the late Ming Dynasty, stupid, flawed and addicted are lovely because of their "true colors". Reading is the same, no matter what kind of books you like to read, as long as you can read happily, it is a good thing. In my opinion, reading about fun is much more important than talking about methods and purposes.
"There is a problem", forcing you to study deeply; Talking about fun means sustainable development. The two complement each other, so reading becomes interesting.
Open the book "Colorful Theory"
Don't ask whether you read philosophical works or pornographic novels, physics textbooks or stock trading guides. Let's talk about the media for spreading information or knowledge, that is, are you reading books, newspapers, television, the Internet or mobile phones? It is very likely that you have been involved in all five media. In the face of these five kinds of media, which is the priority and which is the most important is related to readers' age, occupation and literacy. I reflect on myself. In the last ten years, the time spent on study has obviously decreased. Every day, I always spend an hour or two surfing the Internet. I generally read newspapers and periodicals, but I don't care about TV and mobile phones. Advertisements are hateful, greeting cards are unpopular, jokes are made in a unified way, and even more frightening is the anti-corruption warning. As for those who are 20 or 30 years younger than me, they have been exposed to the Internet since childhood, and they definitely spend more time online than me. Perhaps, for them, reading with dignity is far less comfortable than reading online. Not all books on the Internet are "light and short". Students tell me that many people download difficult philosophy books online. But I know "downloading" and "reading" are two concepts. You may be eager to collect, but have no time to read.
The revolution of information technology has really changed many people's reading habits. Seeing that the platforms of e-books are becoming more and more diversified, the price of hand-held readers is getting cheaper and the interface is becoming more and more friendly, and "indulging in the sea of books" has become readily available. You can buy a reader with large storage capacity, rich content and convenient retrieval. You think everyone is "reading", no, it is mainly used for collection or retrieval, and more people are playing games. The president and editor-in-chief of a big publishing house told me that I thought that e-books would become the "terminator" of paper books, but now it seems less pessimistic-"Never put the book down" is still the standard attitude of most people when they "study hard, study hard and play hard". I'm not so optimistic, because most of today's readers were educated when the Internet was not yet emerging or mature, and basically formed the habit of reading paper books; With the passage of time, it is a critical moment to decide the fate of paper books when the generation who started to contact the internet or e-books from kindergarten grew into the backbone of society.
For me who is used to reading paper books, e-books or online materials are only used for consulting and searching; As for the next generation of scholars, it is likely to go another way. I don't object to graduate students reading proofread e-books, and even ask them to be good at using various databases when studying. My only worry is that these five different media, which originally represented different stages on the road of knowledge dissemination, are now competing on the same stage, making college students see things in a blur and don't know how to choose. What I am most afraid of is wandering around the internet all day, seemingly busy, but in fact I get little. Not only the effect of reading, but also the mood-can you hold your breath and concentrate on reading and thinking in the face of overwhelming, varied and exciting information on the Internet? Tell a joke, the current China scholar is really "five colors make people blind".
In April 19 this year, Wen Wei Po published Thinking Behind Reading Survey, which stated that according to the 10th nationwide reading survey, the mobile phone reading rate of adult citizens in 20 10 was 27.6%, which was 4.6 percentage points or 20% higher than that in 2010. The average time people spend online is close to the sum of the time people spend reading books and newspapers. It should also be taken into account that people who read books and newspapers are older and those who surf the Internet are much younger. In the long run, reading in the traditional sense faces great difficulties. Many people understand the dilemma and are dissatisfied with their reading status. The question is, what should you and I do in the ever-changing Internet age?
I emphasize reading, because reading and thinking are not only to gain some specific knowledge, but also to broaden one's horizons, temper one's thinking and develop one's interest-even to prevent Alzheimer's disease. So I still insist that "reading" is very important and must be taken seriously. It used to be said that it is better to borrow books than to buy books, and it is better to copy books than to borrow books. Why? Because of that intense reading, you need to mobilize all your energy. Now, I move the mouse, read quickly, listen to music, drink coffee and chat with friends one by one. After this reading habit is formed, it is difficult to concentrate on one thing. Nowadays college students seldom take notes in class. Why don't you just give us class notes, teacher? But I understand that taking notes is mainly to force myself to concentrate, otherwise I can't keep up with the train of thought, grasp the key points and remember.
"Ballast Stone" in the Internet Age
In "Don't try to get rid of this book", Eco has a quip: "In fact, the speed of technological innovation forces us to rebuild our thinking habits at an unbearable speed ... It took the hen nearly a century to learn not to cross the road. They finally adapted to the new street traffic conditions, but we don't have that much time. " The story of the hen can't be tested, but it is full of interest. I agree with Eco that it is really not a good thing to pursue speed excessively. Everything from urban architecture to eating habits to reading tools is changing with each passing day.
People in the past, after a series of studies, reached the age of twenty, and their knowledge and experience were enough to last a lifetime-unless you wanted to be an expert in a certain field. Nowadays, people are very tired, constantly learning and never ending, and all kinds of knowledge, especially electronic products, are constantly updated. If they are not careful, they will fall behind. The elders in the past liked to say, "I ate more salt than you did, and I crossed more bridges than you did." At that time, "experience" was very important, and the old man was very authoritative; Now, poor old man. They have been busy all their lives. When they retire, they often ask their children and grandchildren how to use this appliance and what this switch is for. Children and grandchildren are very busy, and they don't think the old man is so wordy and stupid that he doesn't understand such a simple thing.
Sometimes I think, is it necessary to chase so hard all my life? Endless knowledge and endless work!
The latest manifestation of my backwardness is rejecting Weibo. Update information with the word 140 to realize real-time sharing. Since Weibo (Weibo) was introduced to China for several years, it has "swept through Kyushu". At present, the total number of users in Weibo is about 327 million, ranking first in the world. So many people ask when they meet, "Did you go to Weibo?" It seems that living in today's China, if you don't make Weibo, you will fall behind, be eliminated, have no future, and be sorry for this great era.
Self-publishing, real-time broadcasting, short and pithy, easy to write, low threshold, great business opportunities … I believe, but isn't it a sign that your knowledge and thinking are becoming more and more fragmented when you express your feelings anytime and anywhere? Originally, it was mainly to communicate information and contact feelings. Because of China's special national conditions, some people use it to show off their wealth, some people use it to fight corruption, some people use it to gather popularity, some people use it to "share new things around them anytime and anywhere", and some people use it to "grasp the marketing future". The most interesting statement is that "Weibo is good for health"-everyone lives a depressed life, and Weibo vented his dissatisfaction, gained his eyeballs and gained confidence, so he became one.
I think Weibo, as a form of expression, can entertain himself, make friends and expose the disadvantages. However, the writing style has obvious defects, the writing mentality is poor, and the communication effect is questionable. It's ok for college students and graduate students to play occasionally, but it's a pity if they indulge in it all day and are busy writing and reading, no matter how much time and energy they spend. Because, what I care about is the significance of such a prosperous Weibo to China's cultural construction. Many people rejoiced because "in Weibo, the restriction of the word 140 brought the common people to the same level as Shakespeare". So much emphasis on the grassroots, is this a good thing or a bad thing? Equality is equality, but is cultural creativity really stimulated? I'm worried that over time, if you don't indulge in fun, overemphasize timeliness and please the audience as much as possible, it will become a way of life and a habit of thinking. This is a fatal temptation for both scholars and literati. Of course, if it's mass entertainment, that's fine; It is also very effective for commercial marketing. As for rumors and rumors, it is "timely rain".
The reason why they are so alarmist and openly express their confusion is that many college students and graduate students in China enjoy it, regard it as the biggest fashion and overestimate its positive effect on human civilization. In the last decade, sturm und drang, a powerful internet country, has been "changing with each passing day", not to mention the city appearance, lifestyle and even accent. Young people are so complacent that they ignore all kinds of potential dangers-including reading, thinking and expressing.
Anyone with a little knowledge of navigation knows that when an empty ship sails, it must be loaded with "ballast stones", so when the center of gravity of the ship is above the water, it is easy to capsize. In my opinion, humanities (literature, history, philosophy, religion, ethics, art, etc. ) is the ballast stone of the whole human civilization. If you don't drift with the wind, you don't necessarily "keep pace with the times." It plays a role in rectifying various fashions and trends, and ensures that this big ship will not be completely capsized because of the whim of some heroes in a certain era. In an era when all kinds of new knowledge, new technology and new life are constantly emerging, please remember to keep some respect for "tradition". The "tradition" mentioned here also includes the long-standing reading habits of "embracing English and enjoying China" and "diving for fun".
Reading is a common thing, and what needs to be advocated is "reading good books". I'm not talking about reading a good book, but reading efficiently and deeply. It's not easy. On "reading", there is nothing more detailed than Zhu, a great scholar in the Song Dynasty. Thoughtful, especially the description of the reading state is particularly vivid, which is worth recommending to you: "It must be a stick and a scar, a slap and a palm of blood!" Look at people, you can ignore it if you want to! ""save your strength, such as fighting fire and treating diseases, and propping up a water boat. I can't slow down for a while. " "Save your strength, strengthen your bones and muscles, and don't feel sleepy, just like a sword behind you. "Not all books are worth reading, but people who haven't read such books must not be qualified' scholars'.
Finally, I suggest you read some good books seriously, as a foundation, as a criterion and as a spiritual pillar. I used to say "read more books and read good books". In my experience, if I pursue the quantity and speed of reading, I will probably "read badly". Growing up on the internet, it is easy for the younger generation to form the habit of browsing, which is what Zhu said: "I have never seen it, and I have never seen it." So I advocate reading less, reading slowly and reading carefully. It is not surprising that the world is so big, strange and ubiquitous, and there are many things you don't know, understand and appreciate. I said in the article "Stick to Your Reading Stand": "Based on your own position, you can consciously close some channels, reject some information, forget some knowledge and resist some trends, so that you can live a wonderful life." This is my basic position on "reading".