101 On Writing (49) "Reading Broken 10,000 Volumes and Writing Like
"Reading more than 10,000 volumes, writing like a god" is a famous sentence of the great poet Du Fu in the Tang Dynasty. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info
Later generations have made different interpretations of these two poems, and Qiu Zhaoao's "Detailed Notes on Du Poems" in the Qing Dynasty has three sayings for the word "broken" in "reading more than 10,000 volumes".
One said: "The chest is full of thousands of volumes, so there is a god in the left and right sources."
The second said: "The book is broken, and Yu Wei compiles the meaning of three uniques." If the cover is familiar, the volume is easy to grind."
The third said: "Recognize the truth of ten thousand volumes".
These three theories reflect in a concentrated way the different understandings of the word "broken". To sum it up: breakthrough, wear out, and recognize it.
The so-called "breakthrough" means reading more and "having a lot of books", which means reading a wide range of books.
Wang Chong, a famous thinker in the Han Dynasty, said: "People who are not well-read, who do not hear the ancient and modern, do not see things, do not know whether it is or not, and those who are blind, deaf and have carbuncles." "In ancient and modern times, all scholars with outstanding achievements in China and abroad are diligent and well-read. Wang Chong himself read nearly 13,000 volumes in his lifetime, "the words of a hundred schools of thought", so he was able to write the great work "On Balance".
The so-called "wear out" means that the book is "broken" due to familiarity.
Confucius read "Zhou Yi" in his later years, and even made the cowhide rope of the bamboo slips worn out many times, that is, "the so-called Wei compilation of three uniques". According to the actual needs, select a part of the books to read repeatedly, in-depth understanding, and deepen memory, which is an effective reading method. Su Dongpo has a poem: "Therefore, the book is not tired of reading a hundred times, and I know it by reading it carefully." "It's a matter of experience. If you don't read a book, you will put it on the shelf, and the book will be like waste paper; if you read a book, you can swallow the dates at a glance, and "you will be there according to the booklet, and you will forget the booklet when you cover it." What good is it to read more?
The so-called "discernment" refers to intensive reading and a thorough understanding of the principles in the book.
In intensive reading, first, we must grasp the key points and prefer to be fine rather than mixed; second, we must delve into in-depth study and strive to be proficient.
"Books are as rich as the sea, department stores are available, and people's energy cannot be taken at the same time", so we should be good at choosing and taking the essence of reading, and not reading indiscriminately. After choosing the key points and determining the main direction of attack, it is necessary to study deeply and assiduously until we really understand and understand it. Lu Jiuyuan, a philosopher of the Song Dynasty, said: "There must be nothing to hide from learning." This means that learning must be to the point where there is no confusion. If you don't pay attention to consciousness and reason, you are aimless, and you blindly read more, it will inevitably be as Zheng Banqiao said: "If you read more than 10,000 volumes, there is no suitable master in your chest."
No matter what the meaning of the word "broken" is, "reading more than 10,000 books" is suitable for people who specialize in academic research.
For those who do learning, it is "ten thousand volumes although there are many eyes". The books of the Tang Dynasty ranged from a few thousand words to tens of thousands of words, and ten million words per volume, and only 100 million words per 10,000 books. It is equivalent to the amount of text in 300 books of 32 folios and 500 pages. For people who specialize in academic research, this reading is far from sufficient. Therefore, the word "10,000" in Du's poem should take its very many meanings, that is, "read more and have a book in your chest". "Read more than 10,000 books", don't blindly "break 10,000 books", but pay attention to "eat one book thoroughly, touch the analogy".
101 Friendly Tips: Read more, read well, read intensively, have you learned?