Dimly lit

 　　Although the world's famous bookstores are not the same and have their own advantages, they also share key similarities: with their own distinctive style, independent quality and sincere attitude, they attract cultural elites in the society, and the two complement each other, making Bookstores have an indestructible power that can maintain a free and independent stand in this increasingly commercialized impetuous society, leading more people to pursue spiritual peace and spiritual purification—this is their soul! It is precisely because of the existence and comfort of such a noble soul that people in the secular society can seek a transcendental beauty from the Holy Land under the eternal charm and inspiration of great books!

　　

　　Free and uninhibited rage - San Francisco "City Light" The bookstore

　　

　　"If you go to San Francisco, remember to put a flower in your hair" - the singers in the 1960s sang this way, which can be said to express the essence of San Francisco's spirit - the pursuit of freedom. There, there is a "cityLights Books" bookstore (cityLights Books) located between Chinatown and the Italian Quarter, which flaunts the courage and individuality of the city's pursuit of art and freedom.

　　"City Lights" was founded in 1953 by the American poet and publisher Lawrence Flingerty, named after Chaplin's film of the same name. Miya meeting place. Today, it has become one of the cultural landmarks permanently protected by the U.S. government.

　　In the past 50 years, the bookstore has expanded several times, and has expanded from a small room to an entire building, with three floors up and down, each about 100 square meters, selling the latest hardcover and paperback books from major publishers across the country. . As soon as you enter the store and you are in the sea of ​​books, people suddenly feel that they are as small as a drop in the ocean. There are compact rows of bookshelves around, and they are filled with books from top to bottom: although there seems to be a sense of oppression, but the spatial arrangement has its own skills. You can see the display of the cover, which brings great convenience to readers. On the walls of the bookstore are posters of writers and signboards printed with various statements, making full use of every possible space, making them stand out against the books and making the whole bookstore full of artistic sense.

　　The first floor of "City Lights" can best reflect its characteristics: novels and other new literary and artistic books are exhibited here, such as biographies of political figures, art history, music, film and photography books. Literature and art books carry the spiritual ideals of human beings. In their world, human imagination can wander freely and freely, and they are the benchmark for the freedom of the soul.

　　Despite its current features, the history of "City Lights" can also reveal its desire for freedom.

　　After the end of the "World War II", the "Beat Generation" appeared in the United States, which is a spiritual portrayal of a generation that was deeply disappointed and troubled by the post-war social conditions and eager to seek a new way of liberation. The "City Lights" founded by Flingerty in the 1950s responded to the requirements of the times and social trends. Indeed, so far, no one here can map the history of the "Beat Generation" better than it.

　　Flingerty is definitely a person who has to be looked at differently: he is one of the few bookstore owners listed in the "Encyclopedia Britannica", has a master's degree from Columbia University and a doctorate from the University of Paris, is proficient in literature and art, and is passionate about In current affairs, we never work behind closed doors. Instead, we step out of the ivory tower and advocate giving literature and art the responsibility of intervening in current affairs and actively applying what we have learned. With such an identity and taste, the bookstore will not disappoint. Due to Flingerty's own artistic temperament and pioneering ideas, "City Lights" has attracted a group of literary youths with similar tastes, such as "Beat". Generation" representatives such as Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsburg, Kenneth Rexroth and Gary Snyder. A large group of young people who rebelled against the established social status quo, demanded a new understanding of the world, liberated their minds, and pursued freedom gathered together, triggering the "Beat Movement" in the future and transformed into the "Hippie Movement" in 1960. Movement). "City Lights" provided a platform for this rebellious movement of poets in search of an ideal country.

　　But what really gave the bookstore its sensational reputation was Ginsburg's radical epic poem, "Howl." When the poem was first published at the Six Gallery, Flingerty sent Ginsburg a note expressing his desire to have his work published. Because "Howl" symbolizes the anger against social norms, its content expresses the great anger and fierce indictment of a series of social crises that occurred after the "World War II", which is tantamount to a blockbuster for social stability and order; but Undaunted by pressure from the authorities, Flingerty finally published the bombastic and challenging Howl and Other Poems in 1956. Afterwards, Flingerty was arrested because of this, on the charge of publishing and selling obscene books; however, after a lengthy approval, the judge was forced to acquit Freund under the public's protest.

　　Since then, "City Lights" has become synonymous with artistic freedom, and its prestige and appeal have grown day by day. In 1988, the City of San Francisco passed the "City Lights" proposal, in the name of outstanding writers and artists who once resided in San Francisco (including Jack London, Mark Twain, Jack Kerouac and twelve others) , renamed twelve streets in the urban area, and the opening ceremony was selected on the thirty-fifth anniversary of the bookstore (October 2), and the mayor also declared this day as "City Lights Day". A few years later another street was renamed after Flingerty.

　　Facing the "City Lights" now, we can easily feel a sense of temporal and spatial trance: recalling the history, the time that has passed but will remain in people's hearts forever, has engraved such a fine imprint in every corner here, as if Jack Kerouac, Alan Ginsburg and others are behind a bookshelf, in a corner, their passionate and clear eyes are quietly watching us from behind the books, inadvertently they Will come out to meet us; and witness the status quo, in the golden sunshine of San Francisco, a book is silent but seems to cover a thousand words, guarding us for a long time, and giving us the ordinary and trivial life unchanged. Injecting a ray of light of the dream country, fading away those daily troubles, and leading us to a world where human civilization and wisdom are accumulated - such moments always make people feel clear, full of steadfastness and courage to life.

　　In the "City Light" bookstore, the storage of a large number of classic modern literary works has made it famous; but it is not only limited to this, but more importantly, it dares to step out of the ivory tower and into the vast society outside. With the voice of literature, it conveys radical political propositions, fully demonstrating its spirit of freedom and calling on the public to pursue freedom. Because of this, it has deservedly become the vane, core and spiritual guide of San Francisco literature!

　　Today, the brilliance of "City Lights" continues. It is like an unrestrained gypsy girl, in the bright sunshine of San Francisco, under the vast blue sky, with a variety of styles, and this ancient and young city has achieved each other. The conscience of

　　

　　intellectuals - Tokyo Iwanami Bookstore

　　

　　The Trend There is a world-renowned bookstore street in Tokyo, Kanda Jimbo Street, which has been around for more than 100 years. Jimbo Street started out as an ordinary commercial street. In the early Meiji period, with the enlightenment of the social atmosphere and the introduction of the idea of ​​equality, universities representing enlightened ideas sprang up here one after another. The gradual formation of an academic atmosphere led to market opportunities, so the first bookstore came out in 1875, followed by a series of bookstores, which once increased to more than 300 in its heyday. Even now, there are more than 170 bookstores spread across the three streets of Kudan, Surugadai and Suidobashi. Among them, there are more than 140 used bookstores, almost two-thirds of the country's used books are concentrated, and it has become a veritable "old book kingdom"...

　　Among the numerous bookstores, there is a bookstore called "Iwabo" that stands out. On August 5, 1913, Shigeo Iwanami, who graduated from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Tokyo, founded this private bookstore mainly selling and publishing old books.

　　When the new bookstore opened, it was just an ordinary member of many similar stores.

It is not eye-catching, but Shigeo Iwanami just made a way out of it with his own unique ideas, and even brought far-reaching influence. Iwanami went against the prevailing rule of "all books, old and new, must be discounted" and insisted on selling them at the book's price, so he was boycotted, and the bookstore operated bleakly for half a year. However, the habitual perseverance of the Japanese nation supported Shigeo Iwanami to persevere. Later, the bookstore gradually opened up, which not only marked that the Iwanami Bookstore was on the right track, but also historically established the industry’s pricing based on books. Rules of sale. Shigeo Iwanami summed up his business philosophy in a simple and sincere sentence: "As a buyer, I have experienced the hardships of buying books, and I have learned from this that I must uphold an honest and sincere attitude." The bookstore has developed into a comprehensive publishing house with 230 employees and a registered capital of 90 million yen.

　　In addition to selling books, Yanbo Bookstore also invested considerable human and financial resources in publishing and distribution, forming an industrialized system, which greatly promoted the development of the bookstore itself and formed a major feature of the bookstore. Since the publication of Natsume Soseki's "Heart" in 1914, the bookstore has taken this opportunity to carry out a series of academic publishing activities, such as successively creating and publishing "Iwanami Bunko", "Iwanami Complete Book" and "Iwanami New Book" which have a great influence on later generations. "Wait. Even the raging wars failed to stop Iwanami from continuing to publish new books. Instead, the bookstore published a series of books that defied domestic political trends over the years, thus establishing its position in the Japanese publishing world. Today, Iwanami Shoten's publications cover the fields of humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, art, literature, children's literature, etc. It has contributed to the popularization of classic works and academic research results in Japanese society, and at the same time has played a significant role in the popularization of culture. big impact.

　　If the industrialized system chain is only an external feature of Iwanami, then its inherent nature, that is to say, what is truly respectable is that it adheres to the concept of truly leading the vision of scholars and maintaining the spirit of pioneering.

　　Among Iwanami's series of publications, "Iwanami New Book" is of special significance. Its birth is closely related to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression - it is a new academic library established by Shigero Iwanami in order to promote the correct understanding of China by the Japanese people after the Lugouqiao Incident broke out in 1937. On November 20, 1938, "Iwanami New Book" was officially published, and 20 volumes were published. The first edition printed 10,000 copies each, and all of them were sold out. In Shigeo Iwanami's concept, "Iwanami Bunko" is to popularize the classics, "Iwanami Quanshu" is to popularize the basic knowledge of modern academics, and "Iwanami New Book" focuses on the current focus issues and broadens the horizons of intellectuals. Contribute to fostering a sense of responsibility among citizens. Indeed, this series of books deeply and powerfully criticized Japan's narrow nationalism and deified nationalism at that time, and tried to introduce the world's vision and scientific thinking into the domestic reading circles.

　　Compared with "being poor and thinking about change" and "relying on hard work", "being rich and being polite" and "being prepared for danger in times of peace" are often more difficult things to adhere to, because it requires an extraordinary and strong spirit to support. And Iwanami Bookstore was precisely in the period when the country was prosperous and the people were strong. It has been adhering to the concept handed down from Mr. Shigeo Iwanami for many years. With an extraordinary pioneering acumen, it guided intellectuals and even ordinary citizens to become rich and not to be promiscuous. Open your eyes to see the world, always be in a state of self-examination and self-reliance, and assume the historical responsibility of criticizing the ills of the status quo to promote social progress. This invaluable sense of urgency and sense of responsibility makes Iwanami Bookstore worthy of the reputation of "the conscience of Japanese intellectuals"!