尊敬的用戶您好，這是來自FT中文網的溫馨提示：如您對更多FT中文網的內容感興趣，請在蘋果應用商店或谷歌應用市場搜尋「FT中文網」，下載FT中文網的官方應用。
Last week, just an hour before I had to leave my apartment for the airport, I was still frantically packing. It was a short trip with a full schedule, but I spent about 10 minutes deciding which of the three books I was reading to take with me. I knew it was unlikely I’d have time to turn more than a few pages, but it never occurred to me to not take at least one book.
上週，就在我離開公寓去機場的前一個小時，我還在瘋狂地收拾行李。這是一次時間緊張的短途旅行，但我花了大約10分鐘決定帶上正在閱讀的三本書中的哪一本。我知道我可能沒有時間翻開幾頁，但從來沒有想過不帶至少一本書。
Reading has always been such an important part of my life that I can easily forget what a privilege it is, a luxury even, not only to be able to read but to have access to so many books across different genres and subject matter. When I stop to think about the value of reading, it strikes me that maybe it’s a luxury we can’t afford to not take advantage of, however busy our lives might be. I don’t think we can overestimate the role that reading plays in shaping our lives, especially when what we read invites us to reflect on unfamiliar stories and perspectives, those we have yet to make room for in our imagination, alongside the familiar.
閱讀一直是我生活中如此重要的一部分，以至於我時常忘記，這不僅是一種能力，甚至也是一種奢侈。不僅僅是能閱讀，更是有機會接觸到各類書籍和不同主題。當我停下來思考閱讀的價值時，意識到無論我們生活多麼忙碌，閱讀都是一種我們無法忽視的「奢侈」。閱讀在塑造生活中的作用是巨大的，尤其當我們閱讀的書籍邀請我們去反思那些陌生的故事和觀點時——這些故事和觀點也許尚未在我們的想像中佔據一席之地，但它們卻與我們熟悉的故事共同存在。
I love François Boucher’s 1756 painting of Madame de Pompadour, which is housed in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Gold curtains are pulled back as though to reveal Pompadour, mistress of the French king Louis XV, lounging on her chaise, centre stage. Her dress is almost a character in its own right, and seems to take over the canvas, yet her figure is in no way diminished. Behind her is an ornate bookcase with full shelves. An obedient dog sits at her feet, beside strewn flowers on the floor. A side table is arranged in the foreground of the painting, with its drawer open to reveal an inkwell and quill, while on the shelf beneath, books pile up and spill over. Placed right at the centre of Madame de Pompadour’s body is an open book, which she holds in her hand.
我喜歡弗朗索瓦•布歇1756年的《蓬帕杜夫人》畫作，該畫作收藏在慕尼黑的老繪畫館。金色的窗簾被拉開，彷彿要揭示法國國王路易十五的情婦蓬帕杜夫人正悠閒地躺在她的躺椅上，處於舞臺的中央。她的服裝幾乎成爲一個獨立的角色，似乎佔據了整個畫布，但她的形象絲毫沒有被削弱。在她身後是一個裝飾華麗的書櫃，書架上擺滿了書。一隻聽話的狗坐在她的腳邊，地板上散落著花朵。畫面的前景是一張邊桌，抽屜打開，露出墨水瓶和羽毛筆，而在下面的架子上，書堆積如山，溢出來。放在蓬帕杜夫人身體正中央的是一本打開的書，她正拿在手中。
We know that literacy grew significantly throughout 18th-century Europe, and that reading material became more widespread, available to people beyond the clergy and nobility. But books remained expensive, and reading, even for well-to-do women, was considered a luxurious pastime. Moreover, in France at this time, the state had tight control of reading materials.
我們知道，18世紀的歐洲的識字率顯著成長，閱讀材料也變得更加普及，不僅限於教士和貴族。但是書籍仍然昂貴，即使對於富裕的婦女來說，閱讀也被視爲一種奢侈的消遣。此外，在這個時期的法國，國家對閱讀材料有嚴格的控制。
This painting, in some beautiful way, suggests that reading can feel like returning home, and can offer a deep sense of nourishment
這幅畫以某種優美的方式暗示，閱讀就像回家一樣，能給人帶來深厚的滋養感
Although I am more than aware that few of Pompadour’s contemporaries enjoyed the luxury of books, what I love about this painting is how it places reading on a par with fine jewels or clothes as something worth aspiring to. Pompadour’s head is held high, as though reflecting for a moment on the contents of the book, and I like to imagine that in the privacy of her room she has managed to get a hold of whatever it is she wants to read, regardless of royal censorship.
儘管我清楚，蓬帕杜的同時代人中很少有人能享受書籍的奢侈，但我喜歡這幅畫，因爲它將閱讀與精美的珠寶或服飾相提並論，認爲閱讀是值得嚮往的事情。蓬帕杜昂首挺胸，彷彿在思考書中的內容，我喜歡想像她在自己的房間裏，不顧皇室的審查制度，想讀什麼就讀什麼。
It’s easy to forget that the reason why reading was controlled in the past, and is still controlled under some regimes today, is because people understand that books reveal a multiplicity of worlds. They show us the many different ways that a life can be caged or free. They offer us powerful access to knowledge, which can in turn expand our sense of agency. And once people have a sense of agency, almost anything seems possible. Besides the sheer pleasure of it, I have always recognised my access to books as a form of power. I learn how to do new things or how to approach different seasons or experiences in life. Reading invites me to contemplate both more expansive and intentional ways of being in the world.
很容易忘記過去對閱讀進行控制的原因，以及在一些政權下至今仍然進行控制的原因，那是因爲人們明白書籍展示了多樣的世界。它們向我們展示了生活可以被限制或自由的許多不同方式。它們爲我們提供了強大的知識獲取途徑，這反過來又擴展了我們的行動感。一旦人們有了行動感，幾乎任何事情都似乎是可能的。除了純粹的快樂之外，我一直將自己對書籍的接觸視爲一種權力形式。我學習如何做新的事情，或者如何應對生活中的不同季節或經歷。閱讀邀請我思考在世界中更加廣闊和有意識的存在方式。
The 1886 painting “Marie-Madeleine au Desert”, by the 19th-century French painter Emmanuel Benner, is on view at the Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. It shows a naked young woman draped on a blue cloth, engrossed in reading a large folio manuscript. She is alone in cave-like surroundings, yet she appears unafraid. The woman is supposed to be Mary Magdalene, known through the New Testament Gospel narratives as a devout follower of Jesus of Nazareth. Some believe her to have been wealthy and a financial supporter of Jesus’s ministry. Others believe she was a woman of ill repute. Regardless of interpretation, I love the reframing of her here as a reflective, literate woman, seemingly undisturbed by the opinions and perspectives of the outside world.
19世紀法國畫家埃馬紐埃爾•本納(Emmanuel Benner)於1886年創作的《沙漠中的抹大拉的瑪麗•瑪德琳》目前正在斯特拉斯堡現代與當代藝術博物館展出。畫中描繪了一位赤裸的年輕女子，身披藍布，專注地閱讀一本大型手抄本。她身處洞穴般的環境中，然而她看起來並不畏懼。這名女子被認爲是《新約》中記載的抹大拉的馬利亞，她是耶穌的虔誠追隨者。有人認爲她富有並資助了耶穌的傳道事業，而另一些人則認爲她是聲名狼藉的女人。無論何種解釋，我非常喜歡這裏將她重新刻畫爲一位深思熟慮、學識淵博的女性，她似乎完全不爲外界的看法所動搖。
Reading is such a significant part of my vocational life, and I think about the hours I can and often do spend on a weekend afternoon immersed in a book without thinking about anything else. The book can almost become a place of habitation. And this painting, in some beautiful way, suggests to me that reading can feel like returning home, and can offer a deep sense of nourishment. There is also the fact of Mary Magdalene’s nakedness, which I choose to see as symbolic of the exposure and vulnerability that any of us can bring to a text, a sense of openness to learning and to listening that can foster a dialogue with the author. Her posture implies that this exposure is not a threat, it’s not dangerous. Rather, that when we read with openness, we expose ourselves willingly to the possibility of being encountered ourselves.
閱讀是我職業生活中非常重要的一部分，我常常想到自己可以在週末的下午花上幾個小時沉浸在書本里，不去想其他任何事情。書籍幾乎成爲一個棲息之所。而這幅畫以某種美麗的方式讓我感受到，閱讀可以像回家一樣，帶來深刻的滋養感。至於瑪麗•瑪德琳的赤裸形象，我認爲它象徵着我們在閱讀時的開放與脆弱，一種面對學習和傾聽時的坦誠。她的姿態表明這種脆弱並非威脅，而是當我們以開放的心態閱讀時，願意自我暴露，甚至在過程中發現自己。
I am regularly drawn to the work of contemporary Kenyan artist Wangari Mathenge. Her 2021 painting “The Ascendants XIX (Her Things Are Here)” gives an overview of a green table with cosmetic items, make-up bags and flowers arranged on its surface. We also see a pair of women’s hands with slim fingers. The right hand stirs a cup of coffee and the left cradles a book, the thumb serving as a place marker.
我經常被肯亞當代藝術家王王加里•馬森格(Wangari Mathenge)的作品所吸引。她2021年的畫作《昇華者XIX（她的物品在這裏）》展示了一張綠色的桌子，上面整齊地擺放著化妝品、化妝包和花朵。我們還能看到一雙纖細的女性手。右手在攪拌一杯咖啡，左手輕輕託著一本書，拇指像書籤一樣標記著閱讀的進度。
It seems such a simple, commonplace scene. But what I like so much about this work is its sense of perspective. As we look from above we are given an intimate view of a small slice of this woman’s life. Perhaps we’ve caught her getting ready in the morning, grabbing just a few minutes to read a couple of pages of the book she can’t keep away from. And we see the book’s cover clearly enough to know that she’s reading Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, a striking and unforgettable memoir by Alexandra Fuller, about her chaotic upbringing in Rhodesia during the country’s civil war. Its inclusion is an interesting choice for Mathenge, who lives and works between African and western countries, and perhaps points to the ongoing ways in which a woman negotiates her relationship with writing, identity and place.
這似乎是一個簡單而普通的場景。但我非常喜歡這幅作品的透視感。從高處俯瞰，我們可以親密地看到這位女士生活中的一個小片段。也許我們看到的是她早晨準備的時刻，抓緊幾分鐘時間讀幾頁她無法割捨的書。我們清楚地看到書的封面，知道她正在讀《別讓我們去見狗狗們》，這是亞歷山德拉•富勒的一本引人注目且難以忘懷的回憶錄，講述了她在羅得西亞內戰期間混亂的成長經歷。對於在非洲和西方國家之間生活和工作的馬森格來說，選擇這本書是一個有趣的決定，也許這也表明了一位女性在處理與寫作、身份和地點的關係時所採用的方式。
I love that the artist lets us read the title of the book. It is almost an invitation for us to look for it ourselves in our own lives, and to spur our own thoughts, even if they may come into conflict with what we read. This, for me, highlights the value of reading as something that can open up ways to engage with stories vastly different from our own, and at the same time let others into the more intimate spaces of our lives, as with this painting. How many of us have been in a conversation in which we are either asked or we ask the other, “Are you reading anything you’d recommend?” or “What was the last book you read?” We love to hear about the books that other people read because they tell us something about who those people are, their interests and what excites them. There’s the hope that we might find something in common with one another. And the hope that we might find something new and interesting that might inspire our own lives.
我喜歡藝術家讓我們讀到書的標題。這幾乎是在邀請我們在自己的生活中尋找它，並激發我們自己的思考，即使這些思考可能與我們所讀的內容相沖突。對我來說，這突顯了閱讀的價值，因爲閱讀可以打開與我們自己截然不同的故事互動的方式，同時也讓他人進入我們生活中更私密的空間，就像這幅畫一樣。我們中有多少人在談話中被問到，或者我們問對方：「你在讀什麼值得推薦的書嗎？」或者「你最近讀的書是什麼？」我們喜歡聽別人讀的書，因爲它們告訴我們這些人是誰，他們的興趣以及什麼讓他們興奮。我們希望能找到彼此的共同點。我們也希望能找到一些新奇有趣的東西，能激發我們自己的生活。