With respect to the practice, now popular in the mass media, of substituting a few scholars＇ individual text readings for widespread reading by the general public, a practice spearheaded by the CCTV program ＂Lecture...With respect to the practice, now popular in the mass media, of substituting a few scholars＇ individual text readings for widespread reading by the general public, a practice spearheaded by the CCTV program ＂Lecture Room,＂ we have in this essay come up with the term ＂second-hand reading of the classics＂ as a core concept characterizing this phenomenon. The cultural deficiencies symbolized by such ＂second-hand reading＂ t＇md their expression in three phenomena： first, the audience, eager to become culturally enlightened, find themselves in the passive role of mere receivers of scholars＇ interpretations of the classics, lacking the role of autonomous readers. Second, the media, motivated by commercial aims, opt for an inappropriate cultural strategy and over-reach their proper role. Third, scholars, taking their orientation from the powerful mass media and following the commercial logic that ＂the audience is king,＂ settle for a misplaced role and degenerate from being ＂guides to the best in culture＂ into merely catering to mass taste. To redress such a situation, our strategy should be to coordinate the universities, public libraries, the media and other public resources in a concerted effort to switch from ＂second-hand reading＂ led by the media to self-initiated ＂autonomous reading,＂ so as to rebuild a public intellectual sphere.展开更多
文摘With respect to the practice, now popular in the mass media, of substituting a few scholars＇ individual text readings for widespread reading by the general public, a practice spearheaded by the CCTV program ＂Lecture Room,＂ we have in this essay come up with the term ＂second-hand reading of the classics＂ as a core concept characterizing this phenomenon. The cultural deficiencies symbolized by such ＂second-hand reading＂ t＇md their expression in three phenomena： first, the audience, eager to become culturally enlightened, find themselves in the passive role of mere receivers of scholars＇ interpretations of the classics, lacking the role of autonomous readers. Second, the media, motivated by commercial aims, opt for an inappropriate cultural strategy and over-reach their proper role. Third, scholars, taking their orientation from the powerful mass media and following the commercial logic that ＂the audience is king,＂ settle for a misplaced role and degenerate from being ＂guides to the best in culture＂ into merely catering to mass taste. To redress such a situation, our strategy should be to coordinate the universities, public libraries, the media and other public resources in a concerted effort to switch from ＂second-hand reading＂ led by the media to self-initiated ＂autonomous reading,＂ so as to rebuild a public intellectual sphere.
