Newsletter No. 434

2 No. 434, 19.3.2014 詩 人雪萊妻子瑪麗，1816年夏天於日內瓦湖畔寫出 驚世傑作《科學怪人》，書中科學家製造出來的 怪胎無意拾得幾本書，對他的混沌感性產生莫大衝擊。 這幾本書是密爾頓的《失樂園》、普魯塔克的《希臘羅 馬名人傳》和歌德的《少年維特之煩惱》。 《名人傳》已經絕版，《失樂園》與《少年維特》可在大 學書店當眼的Signet Classics專櫃找到，西方經典化 身學生平裝本，價廉物重。 2012 – 13學年，中大把大學書店的經營權交託商務印書 館，並成立書店管理委員會協商運作情況，自此校園的 讀書文化展現新的一頁。今天逛大學書店，目的幾乎不 是買教科書或文具，而是愛書人一次進出中外古今書海 的寫意徜徉。 在這裏的新書推介架上，筆者便曾見過在外國書評刊物 上剛被評介過的書，如意大利小說家Italo Calvino的書 信集，還有美國女詩人Sylvia Plath的手繪本，後者不是 以畫為人捧讀研究，備售她的純畫集，足見書商的訂書 策略兼顧小眾口味，有識見及有膽量。 書店其實由愛書、熟悉書業的人打理。商務印書館董事 總經理 葉佩珠 是中大校友，她說中大書店的規模比商務 經營的其他大學書店更大，要求更高，除了一些專科書 如醫學、建築和人文學科的，她們也要盡量提供更多其 他學術、文化及社會性的書種。但她強調，她們並不全 以生意角度營辦中大書店，而是認同中大的全人教育理 念，希望共同達到這個使命。 前陣子喬布斯的傳記熱賣，在這裏看到W a l t e r Isaacson的 Steve Jobs 絕不為奇，但筆者還看到近年 已少為人提的Karl Popper與Bertrand Russell的書， 甚為折服，而且書不是只有一兩本，而是應有的都有了。 雖然學術、思想跟服飾一樣也有潮流，但像Popper與 Russell般的思想巨人，實應長據年輕人啟蒙著述的流 行榜。 商務門市統籌部副經理 劉美兒 同意某些書或作者可能 比較冷門，但只要是有價值的，就算銷量不會好到哪 裏，她們也堅持應該可以在書店中佔上一方位置。 筆者購買 Steve Jobs 當天，也一道買了歷史書架上一 冊 Postwar ，作者Tony Judt有條不紊地縷析歐洲自二 次大戰至二十一世紀的歷史，這部巨著筆者聞名已久， 當日在大學書店遇上，立刻知道是進補當代歷史的時候 了。與好書結緣，真的要多謝稱職的書媒。 葉佩珠和劉美兒不約而同認為，中大師生都是上佳的讀 者，他們通常都不光是逛逛而已，而是認真找尋和選讀 原典，在書店逗留的時間不短，提出對書籍的查詢也是 非常當行和有見地的。 大學書店有專櫃擺陳其他著名大學出版社的專書，學 術氣氛濃而不膩。書店以影音設備重點推介海內外新 書，有收藏欲的也會找到名家簽名本，加上不定期舉辦 的新書發布會、讀者交流會、圖片展、特賣場等，着着都 為了令愛書的知識分子多留一會，一所大學的書店便該 如此。 一個愛書人的自白 A Book Lover’s Discourse I t was in the summer of 1816, by Lake Geneva, that Mary Shelley, wife of the poet, wrote her masterpiece Frankenstein . In the story, the hideous progeny of Dr. Frankenstein stumbles across three books that stir his fledgling sensibility. They are Milton’s Paradise Lost , Plutarch’s Lives , and Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther . While Lives is out of print, Paradise Lost and Young Werther can be conveniently found in the Signet Classics shelves in the University Bookstore. Such paperback avatars of Western classics are made available to young readers at very affordable prices. Starting from 2012–13, the University Bookstore has been under the management of The Commercial Press. The University has also set up the Bookstore Management Sub-committee to help supervise its operation. Since then, a visit to the bookstore has come to mean different things on campus. Today it is rare that visitors to the University Bookstore would come away with only textbooks or stationery. Very often, book lovers come here for communicating with great minds past and present, East and West. At the bookstore this writer came across new arrivals that had just been reviewed by academic journals, including a collection of letters of the Italian novelist Italo Calvino and Drawings by the American poet Sylvia Plath. The latter is known more for her poetry than her drawings. Putting Drawings on the shelf shows how knowledgeable, open-minded, and bold the bookseller is. The bookstore is run by people who are both book lovers and professionals. Ms. Janice Yip , general manager of The Commercial Press, is an alumna of CUHK. She said that the CUHK store is bigger than other university bookstores they run and more demanding. They have been striving to source specialized titles in, say, medicine, architecture and the humanities, as well as stocking a wider spectrum of academic, cultural and social titles. However, she stressed that they are not entirely motivated by profit, but share the University’s idea of whole-person education and want to help realize its mission. The life of the late Steve Jobs was a hot topic a while ago, so it was not surprising to see Walter Isaacson’s bestseller Steve Jobs in prominent places in the store. But this writer was pleasantly surprised to discover the works of Karl Popper and Bertrand Russell, and not just one or two volumes but a whole range of what should be made accessible to the general reader. Academic trends and thoughts have their ebbs and flows like fashion. Popper and Russell may have, unlike a generation or two ago, fallen out of favour with intellectually curious youngsters who do not necessarily read philosophy. But great minds like Popper and Russell should always stay at the top of the bestsellers list for readers of a young and impressionable age. Ms. Eli Lau , deputy manager of the Retail Management Department, was aware that certain books and authors may not be in sufficient demand for stocking up. But as long as they are considered worthwhile, she insists that the bookstore will always have room for them. This writer bought Steve Jobs and Postwar on the same day. Having heard so much about how the author of Postwar , the late Tony Judt, had given a highly readable account of the history of Europe from WWII to the 21st century, the moment this writer spotted this tome sandwiched between others on the history shelves, he knew he had no excuse not to give himself a makeup lesson on contemporary European history. A reader’s serendipitous discovery of a good book depends very much on the biblio-matchmakers. Both Janice and Eli observed that CUHK staff and students make the best readers. They do not just browse but stay long to look for and read original texts. Their wide knowledge, genuine interest and appetite for food for thought can be gauged from the enquiries they made of the shopkeepers which were often not easy to handle. The University Bookstore also houses publications of other university presses, creating a reading ambience as academic as it is relaxed. It has used audio-visual devices to recommend new books from around the world. Book collectors may sometimes find a signed copy of value. From time to time the store organizes book launches, book club meetings, photo exhibitions, and special sales to cater for every need of a bibliophile. This is what a university bookstore should be like. 左起：葉佩珠、劉美兒 From left: Janice Yip, Eli Lau 邊註邊讀 Marginalia 人類不斷從各種角度分析自己的行為，心理、社會、文 化……。1992年諾貝爾獎得主 加里．貝克爾 從經濟學觀點 分析經濟學家一般不會考量的社會議題，包括婚姻、家庭、 生育。他的論述啟發了不少後學，早前榮膺計量經濟學會 院士的 張俊森 教授是其一。張教授接受「……如是說」訪 問，向讀者縷述求學路、為學心得和教研抱負。 經營書店當然也是經濟行為，然經營一所大學書店又如何？ 本期專題〈一個愛書人的自白〉介紹了也是由愛書人管理的 校園書店。正如貝克爾在其諾貝爾講座所言，人類行為，包 括經濟活動在內，動機不純是利己或收益，而是由各種價 值觀所驅動的優化選擇。 《中大通訊》請得大學保安及交通事務處處長 黃柏年 略談 校園安全須知，並匯報幾宗校園發生的罪案。罪的風險與 罰的代價，經濟學家自有公式表述。為免成為罪案受害者先 付出代價，在相對安全的校園還是提高警惕吧。 Social scientists analyse human behaviour using different approaches—psychological, social, cultural…. Nobel Laureate in Economics 1992 Gary Becker applied economic analysis to social issues that economists normally do not scrutinize, such as marriage, family, giving birth. His work inspired many young scholars, including Prof. Zhang Junsen who was recently elected Fellow of the Econometric Society. Professor Zhang tells readers about his academic path and latest research in ‘Thus Spake…’. Operating a bookstore is an economic activity but is it always purely so? This issue’s feature ‘A Book Lover’s Discourse’ introduces a campus bookshop that’s managed by book lovers. As Becker iterated in his Nobel speech, human behaviour including economic activities is motivated by a much richer set of values and preferences than self-interest and financial gain. Are criminal activities motivated by selfishness then? Mr. Philip Wong , director of the Transport and Security Office, gives an update of the crime situation on campus. Committing crime and being the victim of it both entail costs to the individual—Mr. Wong also warns the campus community against certain risks and scams. ———————■■■——————— 目錄 Contents 一個愛書人的自白 A Book Lover’s Discourse 2 共建安全校園 Tips for Staying Safe on Campus 3 校園消息 Campus News 4 人事動態 Ins and Outs 7 宣布事項 Announcements 8 藝文雅趣 Arts and Leisure 8 博文貫珍 The Galleria 9 舌尖上的中大 CUHK f+b 9 張俊森如是說 Thus Spake Zhang Junsen 10