關注社會:中國擬立法推動國人閱讀

Roughly a month after passing a law requiring adults to regularly visit their elderly parents, Chinese policy makers are considering legislation to encourage another activity the country’s people have neglected: reading.

在出臺成年子女須定期探望年邁父母這一法律大約一個月後，中國決策者開始考慮通過立法鼓勵另一項被國人忽視的活動：閱讀。

The General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television announced that it had drawn up the first draft of a new Regulation on Public Reading Promotion, which it planned to submit to the country’s cabinet, the State Council, for approval by the end of the year.

中國國家新聞出版廣電總局宣佈，草擬了《全民閱讀促進條例》初稿，打算在年底前將其提交給國務院審批。

The regulation, which has been in development since the country’s annual legislative conclave in March, is motivated by new research showing Chinese people reading books at a relatively low rate despite the country being one of the world’s most prolific book producers.

自從今年3月中國召開年度立法會議以來，該條例便一直在醞釀中，而這麼做的動力來自一份新研究調查。調查顯示，儘管中國是世界上最多產的圖書生產國之一，但中國人的閱讀率偏低。

Chinese people between the ages of 18 and 70 read 6.7 books on average last year, including paper books and e-books, an increase of roughly one book per year compared with 2011, according to a national public reading survey conducted by the state-affiliated Chinese Academy of Press and Publication.

國有機構中國新聞出版研究院對全國公衆閱讀情況的調查結果顯示，去年年齡在18歲至70歲的中國人平均讀了6.7本書（包括紙書和電子書），比2011年增加了一本左右。

American readers consumed an average of 15 books per year in 2012, according to a survey by Pew. Three-quarters of Americans read at least one book last year, Pew found, which means that Americans read 10.5 books on average in 2012 when nonreaders are factored in.

皮尤(Pew)調查顯示，2012年美國讀者平均一年閱讀15本書。調查發現，四分之三的美國人去年至少讀了一本書，這意味着如考慮那些不讀書的人，2012年美國人平均讀了10.5本書。

China publishes more than 400,000 different book titles last year ─ a 14.4% increase from 2011 ─ according to official statistics.

據官方統計，以不同的書名來看，中國去年出版的書籍數量超過40萬種，較2011年增加了14.4%。

Such a low reading rate is disturbing to leaders in a country that once chose its officials according to how well-read they were. Yet social-media users haven’t taken kindly to the announcement of the law, details of which have yet to be released.

對於曾經根據博學程度來選拔官員的中國來說，如此低的閱讀率令中國領導人不安。但社交媒體用戶並未對有關“閱讀法”消息持歡迎態度。相關法律細節尚未公佈。

“I totally agree with promoting reading, but doing it by law is totally crap and useless,” wrote one user of Sina Corp.’s popular Weibo microblogging service.

一位網友在新浪公司(Sina Corp.)旗下人氣頗高的微博上寫道：我極度贊同全民讀書，但是用立法推動閱讀，純屬扯淡！淨整沒用的！

“Will people get sentenced for not reading enough?” asked another.

另一位網友問道：看不夠書要判刑嗎？

Even the Communist Party’s mouthpiece newspaper was skeptical about legislating better reading habits, though it defended the spirit of the proposed regulation.

就連作爲中共喉舌的報紙也質疑是否能通過立法培養更好的閱讀習慣，儘管該報爲這一條例的用意進行了辯護。

“No matter whether (the law) can really improve the reading rate, it is true that more and more Chinese don’t read,” People’s Daily said in on its verified Weibo feed.

《人民日報》在新浪微博的認證賬戶發帖說，姑且不論能否提高閱讀率，但“不閱讀的中國人”的確越來越多。

Given China’s long history of valuing scholarly pursuits, it isn’t clear why Chinese people have such a weak appetite for the written word, though some say it is precisely the country’s obsession with education and stiff competition on the college entrance exams ─ that’s too blame.

考慮到中國人長久以來就有重視求學的傳統，當下的中國人爲什麼對讀書如此提不起興趣還沒有明確的解釋，不過有些人說，正是中國人對教育的投入以及考大學競爭激烈造成了這種現狀。

“To score high in exams, we are forced to read something outdated and valueless,” said Kang Kai, editor of CS-BOOKY, a Beijing-based publishing company. “The painful experience leaves a negative impression on people’s mind and later leads to the popular idea that ‘reading is useless.’”

位於北京的出版企業中南博集天卷文化傳媒公司(CS-Booky)的編輯康慨說，爲了高分，我們被強迫讀一些沒有價值的，過時的內容，這種痛苦的經歷給人們留下消極的影響，之後導致了讀書無用論的盛行。

Others point to censorship. The publishing regulator maintains strict control over the issuance of book numbers, which are required for a book to be published or sold legally, denying them to books it deems inappropriate. Topics that allude to violence, religion, sex and politics are strictly controlled. Some publishers say this year, novels about Chinese officialdom an immensely popular genre widely embraced by Chinese readers in recent years have been unable to get book numbers.

還有一些人把矛頭指向了審查機制。出版監管機構嚴格控制書號的發放，不給其認爲不適合出版的書發放書號，而一本書要合法出版、合法銷售就必須要有書號。與暴力、宗教、性和政治有關的主題更是受到了嚴格的控制。一些出版商說，今年，官場小說也拿不到書號了。近些年來，官場小說在中國讀者中大受歡迎。

“It’s not that Chinese don’t like to read,” said Wang Xiaodong, president of China Pioneer Culture & Media Co., whose company has many published books that later were adapted into films and dramas, including “The Flowers of War.” “It’s that Chinese don’t like to read what the government publishes.”

新華先鋒文化傳媒有限公司總裁王笑東說，並不是中國人不喜歡讀書，而是中國人不喜歡讀官方出版的書。新華先鋒文化傳媒有限公司出版的很多書後來被改編成了電影和電視劇，包括《金陵十三釵》(The Flowers of War)。

The wide availability of pirated books online is another problem, according Mr. Wang. “It will be more meaningful for the government to try harder to curb online piracy and protect writer’s rights,” he said.

在王笑東看來，盜版書在網上氾濫是另一個問題。王笑東說，政府應該做打擊互聯網盜版以及保護作者的權利這樣更有意義的事情。

Finally, there are the bad memories many Chinese have of the last time Beijing tried to force its citizens to read.

而且，對於上一次中國政府強迫人們閱讀的事，很多人還有着不好的記憶。

“It is fine to recommend good books to the public, but compelling people to read may lead to mental oppression,” said Mr. Kang, referring to the Cultural Revolution when the public was commanded to read works by Mao Zedong.

康慨說，向公衆推薦好書是好的，但是強迫閱讀會導致打壓思想。他指的是文革中，人們曾被命令讀毛澤東的文章。