介绍:
Premier Li Keqiang recently vowed that china would encourage its citizens to read more. The statement was made during the recent National People's Congress (NPC). This event marked the first time that reading had been mentioned during the work report at the NPC.
Premier Li's suggestion was well received with many NPC representatives offering suggestions on how to achieve this goal, including assisting the publishing industry, encouraging innovation in communications and distributing books in smaller cities and rural areas. The head of the Shanghai Yuandong Publishing house was particularly pleased with the Premier's proposal and said that books are still irreplaceable in the new media era, and should be re-popularized.
During 2013 the China Academy of Press and Publication released survey results that showed during the course of 2012 the average Chinese person read 6.74 books and e-books. Putting this into perspective, Koreans were reported to get through 10 books a year and Russians went through an average of 20 books.
I caught up with Chinese author Ren Xiaowen, whose work includes the book: On The Island, to discuss the importance of reading.
"Novels are a fantastic way to give us further insight in to human behavior. I feel that reading novels alters the way people think and react to situations in real life. I would not recommend any specific novels to readers. I believe that books we read should be based on our personal tastes, interests and lifestyle."
The lack of motivation in reading can be partially attributed to the advancements in technology. Ironically, iPads and galaxy tablets have the potential to revolutionize reading, hosting apps such the iBook store which give the users the power to instantly access the world's largest reading database without leaving their living room. The problem with the advancements in technology is opportunity cost, whilst mobile tablets have unparalleled reading resources, they also offer the user alternatives such as access to video games, video streaming and internet browsing.
Over use of electronic tablets also reportedly have negative medical effects; over starring at computer screen can lead to a condition called 'dark eye'. It occurs when the user focuses on a screen for too long, causing them to omit from blinking. The symptoms of this condition include gritty, itchy, inflamed eyes. The long term symptoms of this include further deterioration of one's eye sight due to excess 'wear and tear'.
Premier Li's campaign therefore would not just benefit the imagination, vocabulary and literary skills of the nation but would also evidently have positive medical benefits. I popped down to the Wangfujing book store to get some opinions from China's bookworms.
"I prefer reading paper back books to e-books, because e-books can be very damaging to your eyes. I originally preferred using my mobile to read because it was a lot more convenient, I only stopped because my eyes were becoming very dry. I enjoy reading a wide range of foreign and Chinese literature."
"I prefer reading paper back books. Reading on your phone is a lot more convenient however paper back books have the huge advantage of being able to make notes on the page whilst you read. Although traveling to the library can be inconvenient, the reading resources offered here have been really useful for my work."
Increasing the amount of reading by adults will also set a strong example for the younger generation. Personal reading can be crucial to developing the written skills of young minds. Reading to young children can encourage them not only to grasp the basic foundations of reading and writing but also aids in improving their concentration and as a result their academic studies in the long run.
The Children's Technology Review released a report in 2011 entitled Baby Brains and Video Games showing the negative effects of young children over using electronic devices. Over usage can lead to developmental problems and in severe circumstances attention deficit disorder.
The Long term and short term advantages of reading a good old fashion paper back book are universal regardless of age and gender. Although a certain level of convenience is given up in using this old fashion method of entertainment, it is still an investment well worth making.
For Studio+, I'm Sam Duckett
