In today’s Internet age, there is a widespread concern that the Internet has caused a crisis of reading. The usual expression is that reading presents the characteristics of fragmentation and low quality, and it is no longer even real reading. In this worry, there are two judgments. First, printed books are a suitable medium for serious reading, and the Internet is not. Second, cultural elites will still insist on reading printed books, while a large number of people who are addicted to the Internet are just consumers.

By combing through the history of reading and reading viewpoints, the author of this book Fulidi pointed out to us: In fact, similar worries and controversies have existed since ancient times, and have never subsided, only changing their forms with the changes of the times. His combing provides us with a broad historical perspective, citing representative oppositional remarks around reading problems in different eras, and helps us to think about the problems we are facing today.

The subtitle of the book is “From Socrates to Twitter”, implying that from ancient Greece to the Internet age, reading has always been a controversial issue. From the perspective of Western history, there are several key nodes. First, in ancient Greece, due to the preciousness of written materials, only a few people had the opportunity to read written texts. However, Socrates was already worried that the indirectness of written texts would lead to misunderstandings and advocated that only direct oral dialogue could ensure correct understanding. The second is that after Gutenberg introduced printing technology to Europe in the 15th century, the spread of books increased the reading population, and the debate on the pros and cons of reading also increased, but all parties acknowledged that reading has a major impact on the mind. The third is the rise of novels in the 19th century. Focusing on Goethe’s “The Troubles of Young Werther”, the influence of fictional works on people’s real lives caused moral panic, while the readers who indulged in novels were criticized by morals. Fourth, since the 1960s, with the rise of digital technology, the pros and cons of the Internet have become the focus of attention. Those who abide by the tradition take a critical stand, while those who oppose the tradition cheer the arrival of another reading revolution, claiming that readers have gotten rid of the oppression of books and have truly become The master of reading.

So, what is the author’s position? When narrating various or even opposite opinions, his attitude is cautious, and he often does not clearly indicate whether it is acceptable or not. As far as our problem today is concerned, the dispute occurred in two aspects. The first is about the media, that is, the relationship between online text and printed books. He admitted that reading culture faces severe challenges, but the reason is not in the technical field. He criticized the Internet and Acura Internet as one-sided. The second is about the subject of reading, the relationship between elite reading and public reading. He opposes going to extremes and obviously does not approve of elitism. I agree with these two points. The pros and cons of reading do not depend on the medium and identity, but on the purpose, content and method of reading. The author’s conclusion is that reading is a kind of cultural cultivation with its own value, and we should revive this spirit. This revival should start with the cultivation of dolls. (Zhou Guoping)

Activity site

This event officially opened in the singing of “Youth Walk” from the children of the primary school affiliated to Beijing Dayu Middle School. The host recited the relevant fragments of Shen Congwen’s “Miscellaneous Notes of Ji Qing Xuan” at different scenic spots in Ji Qing Xuan. The real scene and the text echoed each other, showing the unique charm of the new space for reading culture in the Summer Palace-“Yi Qing Xuan” The audience experienced the in-depth reading pleasure of cultural and tourism; Lin Chen, the representative inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage project, performed the classic guqin song “Flowing Water” in Qingqin Gorge, adding the humanistic beauty of mountains and flowing water to the peaceful natural scenery. The purpose of this activity is to let reading go out of the traditional study and library, so that readers can not only feel the book fragrance of the garden, but also appreciate the beauty of history, speculation and reading.

Activity site

On the same day, 20 titles including “Prehistoric Modernization: From Hunting and Gathering to the Origin of Agriculture”, “Shallow Deep Sea”, “Button Soldiers”, etc., were announced at the 16th Wenjin Book Award. 49 titles were recommended.

Award-winning books

The selection of this Wenjin Book Award was officially launched on December 10, 2020. The selection range includes from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 (according to the time recorded on the copyright page), and is managed by the national publication administration The Chinese version of books that are officially published and publicly distributed (including restricted to domestic distribution) in the country by the publishing agency approved by the department does not include reprints and reprints that have won the Wenjin Book Award. As of January 15, 2021, a total of 1,991 books (including 1,008 social sciences, 388 popular sciences, and 595 children) have been recommended by libraries, publishers, readers, judges, etc. There are 1,873 kinds of books, a record number. In this year’s Wenjin Book Awards, 206 publishers participated in the recommendation; 97 libraries participated in the recommendation and preliminary evaluation, an increase of 43% compared with last year. After preliminary evaluation and final evaluation, the award-winning books and recommended books are finally selected.

Zhu Yongxin, Wang Yusheng, and Zhuang Jian reviewed the selection of this year’s Wenjin Book Awards from the three categories of children, science popularization and social sciences. Zhu Yongxin and Wang Dongbo presented awards to the children’s award-winning book authors and publisher representatives, and Ding Mei and Wang Yusheng contributed to the science popularization. The award-winning book authors and publisher representatives presented awards. Rao Quan and Yu Jiannan presented awards to the social science award-winning book authors and publisher representatives. The award-winning author representatives Li Donghua, Shi Jun and Chen Shengqian gave wonderful acceptance speeches.

Activity site

Starting from April 23, the National Library of China will hold an award-winning book exhibition in the north area of ​​the main library, and set up a special shelf for the 16th Wenjin Book Awards and recommended books in the Chinese book area.

Activity site

The event site also displayed representative Beijing park reading spaces and national library special theme reading spaces. Among them, Kuixue Hall in Beihai Park displays more than forty calligraphy stone carvings including Wang Xizhi’s “Quick Snow and Clear Stickers”; Shuangqing Villa in Xiangshan Park prepares rich revolutionary history books for visitors; Youxian Mountain in Zizhuyuan Park The library relies on the rich cultural resources of the National Library to create a comprehensive public cultural space with a strong reading culture.

It is reported that the Chinese Library Association and the provincial library science (association) associations have recommended 53 special reading spaces explored and constructed by libraries outside the library area, including Zhejiang Province, which combines the themes of the library and the homestay. Qingtian County Library “Sit and Forget Worry” Homestay Book House; The Lighthouse Library of Yantian District, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, which superimposes the shape of a lighthouse and a ship; Built at an altitude of 275 meters, Tianjin “Tianta West Bank Study House” can be rotated 360 degrees ; Located in the world cultural heritage of Henan Songyang Academy, it is both an archaeological site and a royal palace. In addition, there are dozens of other special reading spaces with different styles, diversified functions and suitable for different reading needs, making reading pleasing to the eye.

The 16th Wenjin Book Award Winning Books

Title: Prehistoric Modernization: From Hunting-Gathering to Agricultural Origins

Author: Chen Shengqian

Publisher: Life·Reading·Xinzhi Sanlian Bookstore

ISBN: 978-7-108-06876-7

Publication time: September 2020

Title: The Power of Reading: From Socrates to Twitter

Author: (English) Frank Furidi; Xu Tao, Li Sifan

Publisher: Peking University Press

ISBN: 978-7-301-31672-6

Publication time: November 2020

Title: Tinder: Searching for China’s Rejuvenation

Author: Liu system with

Publisher: Shanghai People’s Publishing House

ISBN: 978-7-208-16537-3

Publication time: December 2020

Title: Great Civilization Scene: Follow the front-line archaeological team through history

Author: Li Ling, Liu Bin, Xu Hong waiting

Publisher: Life·Reading·Xinzhi Sanlian Bookstore

ISBN: 978-7-108-06796-8

Publication time: July 2020

Title: The Temperature of Medicine

Author: Han Qide

Publisher: Commercial Press

ISBN: 978-7-100-18986-6

Publication time: October 2020

Title: Who is looking at Chinese paintings

Author: (English) Colige; Translated by Liang Xiao

Publisher: Guangxi Normal University Press

ISBN: 978-7-5598-2329-8

Publication time: April 2020

Title: Story of Han Painting: Memory Carved on Stone

Author: Zhang Daoyi

Publisher: Zhonghua Book Company

ISBN: 978-7-101-14226-6

Publication time: May 2020

Title: The Academic Life of Qian Zhongshu

Author: Wang Shuizhao

Publisher: Zhonghua Book Company

ISBN: 978-7-101-14729-2

Publication time: November 2020

Title: Deep Sea and Shallow Talk

Author: Wang Pinxian

Publisher: Shanghai Science and Education Press

ISBN: 978-7-5428-7335-4

Publication time: October 2020

Title: Breaking the Sky: The Amazing Power of Gene Editing

Author: (United States) Jennifer Dudna, (United States) Samuel Sternberg; translated by Fu He; proofread by Yuan Duanduan

Publisher: Hunan Science and Technology Press

ISBN: 978-7-5710-0328-9

Publication time: November 2020

Title: Six-pole Physics

Author: Yan Bojun

Publisher: Relay Publishing House

ISBN: 978-7-5448-6602-6

Publication time: May 2020

Title: The Beauty of Formula

Author: Edited by the Quantum School

Publisher: Peking University Press

ISBN: 978-7-301-31449-4

Publication time: September 2020

Title: A Brief History of the Human Body: Your Body Is 3 Billion Years Old

Author: (English) by Bill Bryson; translated by Lu Jia

Publisher: Wenhui Publishing House

ISBN: 978-7-5496-3178-0

Publication time: June 2020

Title: Actually you don’t understand evolution

Author: Shi Jun

Publisher: World Book Publishing Company

ISBN: 978-7-5192-7673-7

Publication time: August 2020

Title: Button Soldier

Author: Jiuer

Publisher: Guizhou People’s Publishing House

ISBN: 978-7-221-15581-8

Publication time: March 2020

Title: Everyone is important

Author: (Norway) Christine Roshift Text/Picture; Translated by Zou Wenyan

Publisher: Tomorrow Publishing House

ISBN: 978-7-5708-0666-9

Publication time: June 2020

Title: Xiaoman

Author: Li Donghua

Publisher: Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House

ISBN: 978-7-5702-1266-8

Publication time: May 2020

Title: So fun, Peking Opera!

Author: Zhang Daxia · Painted

Publisher: Guizhou Education Press

ISBN: 978-7-5456-1307-0

Publication time: April 2020

Title: That’s how Chinese characters come: Enter the world of Chinese characters

Author: Meng Zhuozhu

Publisher: Hunan Children’s Publishing House

ISBN: 978-7-5562-5191-9

Publication time: August 2020

Title: Tiangong Kaiwu: An Encyclopedia of Ancient Chinese Science and Technology for Children

Author: edited by Long Yi; painted by Fu Fang; edited by Tongqu Publishing Company

Publisher: People’s Posts and Telecommunications Publishing House

ISBN: 978-7-115-54064-5

Publication time: August 2020