Expanding one’s taste

Photo:VCG

Editor's Note:

"Read ten thousand books, and your pen will be guided as if by the gods" is an ancient Chinese idiom that can be seen in students' textbooks. China's Ministry of Education has published an action plan to further promote reading among students across the nation. With new and diverse book recommendations, the reading scene is expected to be revived not only at schools, but also across society. To contribute to this endeavor, the Global Times launched "My Reading Life" essay contest for middle school students.

Please pick up a pen and share your stories with us at [email protected]

Participants will be rewarded once the article has been selected.

"I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book," joked Groucho Marx, the US comedian and actor. I could not agree more. It is high time that we reflect on reading, this time-honored invaluable tradition, especially in an era with shallow recreational short videos occupying people's minds.

About two months ago, I became crazy about reading, specifically in English. I went all out to search for as many reading materials as I could find. Just cast a glance at the sofa - Global Times, China Daily, Qiu Shi (English version), China Today, China Pictorial, and China News Release... All these newspapers and magazines piling up are witness to my uncontrollable urge to read more. 

I still remember the days when I cut down on my sleep just to read, the nights (after night self-study) when I rushed to my computer for a piece of news (mainly from NBC News), and the noon naps when I played "hide and seek" with dorm supervisors - we're not allowed to do things other than sleep during nap time, including reading. 

I have to admit, that craziness was not sustainable at all. But I had a great fun, not only in learning about major affairs at home and abroad, but also by having my mounting curiosity about the beautiful world - such as how the economy is run or how we're connected to the world - satisfied. I was grateful to the Global Times, for it provided me with an insight into the world, and most importantly, the awareness of global citizenship. In light of my own experience, I concluded that enthusiasm about reading was human nature, whatever the reasons.

To be honest, I'm probably not a qualified reader. I am often fearful of reading daunting classics, instead preferring modern books. For example, the latest book I finished was Hsu Cho-yun's American Life: A Chinese Historian's Perspective, which I chose because it has much to do with the present. 

However, Albert Einstein, the renowned theoretical physicist, once criticized, "Somebody who only reads newspapers and at best books of contemporary authors looks to me like an extremely near-sighted person who scorns eyeglasses. He is completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of his times, since he never gets to see or hear anything else." 

What a sharp and incisive comment! Maybe I need to take his criticism seriously and make changes. What really deserves our effort is for us to make a classic no longer "a book which people praise and don't read" (Mark Twain). In a word, we need to promote reading classics, which requires the joint efforts of individuals, NGOs and governments.

I have great faith in the value of reading. From my perspective, reading itself embodies depth and wisdom. Every time you open a book, the breathtaking views inside it start approaching you. Thus whenever I travel, among the top destinations are without a doubt bookstores and libraries, which I regard as perfect places to make our minds both serene and strong. 

We need to integrate reading into our daily life, making it as natural as breathing, rather than only attach importance to it briefly on World Book Day.

The writer is a student at Yantai No.1 High School of Shandong Province