鄧永鏘（DavidTang）中國會、上海灘創辦人
IamalwayshorrifiedwhenImeetpeoplewhotellmetheyneverread.Ialwaysask,"Areyousure?Haveyouneverreadabookinyourentirelife?"."Never.Ihaveneverreadabookinmylife,"theywouldreply.Ifindthispropositionsimplyunbelievable.Once,averywell-knownpersonalityinHongKongwasshowingmehisnewhome.Itwasvast.Hehad10bedrooms,4diningrooms,3sittingrooms,gamesroom,cinema,sauna,steam-bath,swimmingpool,tenniscourt-thewholelot.YetInoticed,tomyutterastonishment,thathedidnothaveonesinglebookonashelf.Heonlyhadobjectsonshelves.Hedidhaveacoupleofbrandnewcoffeetablebooksonacoupleofcoffeetables.Buthedidnothaveanyproperbooksaround.SoIaskedhimwhy."Why?Ineverread.Idon'thavethetime.Ihaveneverreadabookinmylife."Thefirstthoughtthatcameacrossmymindwasutterdisbelief,followedalmostimmediatelywithahugesenseofnauseaandcontempt;thenintenseirritationatthethoughtthatherewasamanrichenoughtohaveabigschlossliketheonehewasshowing(off)tome,yetsodesperatelypoorinhisgraspofbooks.
Iwouldneverhaveafriend,letaloneagoodfriend,whodoesn'tread.Allofmybestfriendsread.Ifyoudon'tread,youaredead,asfarasIamconcerned.Forhowelsecanyourimaginationbeexcited?Howelsecanyourexperienceexperiencesallthethingsyouwouldneverexperience?Howelsecanyoubestimulatedandexcitedbythingsaboutwhichyoudonotknow.Thephilistineswillofcoursestupidlyandmoronicallyarguethatyoucangetallthatontelevision.Whatuttertosh.Readingabookisanentirelysuperioractivitytowatchingsomethingontelevision.Inreading,youhavetobepro-activeallthetime.Youneedtomakeanefforttogetthroughthepages.Youneedtoconcentrateandsoakuptheimagesandlanguageoftheprint.Youpauseandyouthink;sometimesyoure-readandre-think.Youholdthebookinyourhandandyougoaroundwithit,half-thinkingaboutitandhalf-openingitandreadingit.Thewholeritualisenjoymentitself.Sometimes,wewouldcomeacrosspageswhichwecannotputdownormarvelatthebeautyoftheprose.Intelevision,bycontrast,youdon'thavetobepro-activeatall.Youcanbetotallypassive,switchedoff,anemic,senseless,andyetyoucouldstillcatchwhatflashesbeforeyoureyes.Becauseofthislower,muchlowerlevelofconcentration,wenaturallydonotlearnasmuchfromwatchingthetellyaswithreadingabook.
Ifindanyhomewithoutbooksahomenotworthlivingin.InHongKong,Iseesomanyfancyhomes,costingbillionsofdollars,yetinsomanyofthem,notasinglebookinsight;orinsomecases,evenworse,lotsofbookswhicharethereobviouslyformeredecoration.Thatphoninessisperhapsevenworse.Booklesshomesreallyturnmeoff.IphysicallygosickwhenIthinkthatpeoplecangothroughlifewithoutreading.Andtheyareoftentheoneswhoareboredeasily.Forme,mybookismybestcomparison(nexttomywifeanddogs,just!),andIwouldregardlifeasnotworthlivingifIwerenotabletoread.WhenIdied,Ilikethefollowingonmytombstone:
"WhenIamdead,Ihopeitmaybesaid:
Hissinswerescarlet,buthisbookswereread."
P.S. ReaderswillrememberthatbackinOctober,IchallengedtheGovernmenttoemployjustoneDownSyndromeperson,becauseIthoughtitwasverybadoftheGovernmentnevertohavehadaDownSyndromeemployee.Sincethen,wehavehadexchangesofletters,formalandinformalmeetings,telephonecallsandmuchdiscussion.Butnoemploymentsofar.Itisalarmingtomethatsomuchexecutivetimehasbeenspentwithnoresult.IchallengetheGovernmentagaintoemployjustoneDownSyndromepersonbeforeChristmas.Iwillnotletthisrestuntiltheydo.Ifnothingelse,itwillhighlightthewayinwhichourGovernmentworks.OrshouldIsaynotwork.