At first, I thought that "Boat Weaving" told a story about shipbuilding, but after reading it, I found that "boat" is a dictionary used to cross the vast sea of words, and "boating" actually refers to the compilation of dictionaries.
In 2012, the novel won the support of bookstore staff across Japan and won the first place in the bookstore award that year. Since then, it has become a popular IP in Japan, and has been adapted into a movie of the same name and an anime, and I myself have watched the movie of the same name first, and I have a great interest in the original book, and then I turned to reading the whole book.
Why is it that a novel that tells such an unpopular story as a dictionary has been so successful that it has been applauded by everyone? After reading the whole book, I understood why. Miura Aster's writing style is too soft, her words are as light as water, and the stories she tells are just as bland. But there are no twists and turns, and the story that does not have ups and downs is the closest to life, giving people a familiar feeling.
She used the general way of her old friends to peel back the experience of the dictionary compiler and show it to everyone. The calmer the surface, the more touching the hard work hidden behind it. The novel, which is only two hundred and fifty-five pages long, describes the fifteen years spent compiling Dadu Hai. I was deeply touched by such a contrast. Therefore, today I will deeply analyze the humanistic feelings, hermit style, and craftsman spirit of the dictionary compilers, and do my best to convey their spirit.
<h1>1. Weave a boat in the vast sea of words, so that everyone can communicate with each other</h1>
The whole novel revolves around the core event of compiling a dictionary, which naturally reveals the significance of the dictionary for us.
(1) Provide the wording of communication
At the beginning of the novel, after determining the goal of compiling "Dadu Hai", the people of the Dictionary Editorial Department decide to meet in The Shippo Garden to briefly introduce Ma Diguang, who has newly joined the Dictionary Editorial Department.
At the wine table, Araki asks Ma Di if he knows why he named the newly compiled dictionary "Dadu Hai", and Ma Di, who has just joined the editorial department of the dictionary, shakes his head, so Araki takes the opportunity to ask himself.
"Dictionary. It is a boat that crosses the ocean of vocabulary. People take the dictionary ship to collect the dots of starlight floating on the dark sea. Only in order to be able to use the most appropriate wording, accurately convey what you think to others. Without a dictionary, we can only stand in front of this vast sea and stop. ”
In our daily interactions with other people, the use of vocabulary is inevitable, as Miss Kishibe, a newcomer who later joined the newsroom, said: "Love or kindness, are all given form by words." ”
Vocabulary has become a tool for us to express our feelings and attitudes, and in the face of the vast sea of words, a meaning may have a variety of corresponding words, and it is debatable which word to choose to use in different situations. With a dictionary, people can accumulate vocabulary in the process of flipping through the dictionary, so as to express their meaning accurately and perfectly. Don't rely only on the limited vocabulary you are familiar with to communicate with others, only glimpse the tip of the vocabulary iceberg, without knowing its full picture.
(2) Expressing recognition of things
When compiling a dictionary, the compiler of the dictionary should make a certain selection of the entries included. In addition to the most basic vocabulary, it is also necessary to select some outdated words and newly popular words in light of the current actual situation.
Taking "westbound" as an example, in Japanese, the westbound has the meaning of "westbound kasa" (wearing the bucket on the back of the head) and "westbound bag" (carrying the baggage obliquely behind the back), both of which were often used in ancient times and are basically not mentioned in modern times.
For topics such as homosexuality that are newly popular, dictionary compilers should also be objective. When Ma Di wrote a detailed explanation of love, he interpreted it as the mood of the opposite sex. After seeing it, Miss Kishibe believes that having a concomitant sexual love for the same sex and cherishing the other party also belongs to the category of love.
The interpretation of vocabulary is updated in a timely manner with the development of society, which is not a kind of going with the flow. For dictionary compilers, they consider how people feel when they flip through the dictionary.
"Try to imagine how people who read the dictionary feel and whether they can empathize with the interpretation. Suppose a young man who doubts his sexuality uses "Dadu Hai" to look up the word love, but finds that the interpretation writes the mood of the opposite sex, how will he feel? ”
Taking this as an example, the interpretation modified on the basis of considering the feelings of the homosexual community represents a recognition of homosexual behavior by the compilers of the dictionary. Such recognition allows special groups such as these to open the dictionary and find that there is always such an interpretation for them. They are not weirdos abandoned by society, but normal people who can also be recognized.
Whether it's providing words for communication or expressing recognition of things. The starting point of the codification of the dictionary is basically not in themselves, they always consider whether the entire social group can get a suitable dictionary. This is essentially a manifestation of humanistic feelings.
On the one hand, the compilers of the dictionary have enabled the ancient vocabulary to always polish themselves in the development of the times, pass it on, and retain the cultural bloodline of human development; on the other hand, they advocate that everyone should have the consciousness and need for self-expression, and select the most appropriate vocabulary for them, while at the same time fully respecting the different value orientations of individuals, which is the maintenance of human dignity, value and destiny. It can be said that the work of compiling dictionaries is essentially a concern for culture and human beings.
<h1>2, the big hidden in the city, to meet the difficulty of fame and fortune</h1>
The old saying has clouds: small hidden in the wild, large hidden in the city. In my opinion, the dictionary editorial department has truly achieved "self-deviation from the heart", and in them, there is the most perfect embodiment of the hermit style.
First, hide in fame and fortune and follow your heart.
The hermit style of the dictionary compilers is first and foremost reflected in their ability to maintain self-integrity in the midst of fame and fortune, and not to go with the flow. Dictionary compilation is actually a thankless task, as Nishioka said: "It takes a lot of money and a lot of time to compile a dictionary." Regardless of the era, people's first choice was jobs that could make money quickly. ”
The completion of a dictionary takes decades. The "Great Ci Hai" edited by Ma Di and their editors lasted for fifteen years and even exhausted the life of Matsumoto Sensei. During this period, the income of the dictionary editorial department was basically nothing, and when he was poor, he could only eat simple fast food every day, and he did not even have the funds to go to the "Hidden moon" dinner at the restaurant "Moon Hidden" opened by Ma Di's wife. And fifteen years without showing up, only concentrating on compiling a dictionary, becoming famous is naturally not something that compilers need to worry about. It can be said that when the compilers choose to compile the dictionary, it means that they have to make a big gamble without fame and profit. How can such a gamble not be admirable when Japan's bubble economy is shattered and the market is depressed?
Second, the big hidden in the city, low-key behavior.
The hermit style of the dictionary compilers is also reflected in the fact that even though they are in the annex building of the Xuanwu Study, they are in their own way, which is completely different from the atmosphere of the main building. The construction of the main building is very modern, and the advertising department and the planning department have taken root in the main building, and only the dictionary editorial department is alone in the old annex building. Miss Kishibe, who had previously worked in the editorial board of a fashion magazine, had never set foot in the annex building, even though she had worked in the Xuanwu Study for three years. The annex building where the dictionary editorial office is located seems to be isolated from the hustle and bustle of the main building, becoming a quiet space that exists independently. Here, there is no noise or commotion, only mountains of book materials and the compilers of the writing.
"The knot is in the human realm, and there is no noise of cars and horses. Asked Jun He Neng'er, his heart was far away from himself. "Even if the dictionary compilers are close to the downtown, they can still insist on self-pursuit and isolate a pure land from the hustle and bustle. It is a model of great hidden in the city.
Unlike the hermits in ancient China, the hermits of the dictionaries are not out of nostalgia, and their ambitions are difficult to reward. On the contrary, their seclusion is to better serve their aspirations. They have the demeanor of not losing to the hermits of our country, and at the same time show us another possibility of the hermits.
<h1>3. Ten years of grinding a sword, with ingenuity to refine</h1>
In ancient times, Jia Dao sharpened a sword for ten years, and now there is a dictionary editorial department that has devoted fifteen years of time, just to achieve a dictionary of "Dadu Hai". This dictionary is impeccably perfect in both content and appearance. The various departments related to the production of this dictionary have not been hastily done, but have been refined and refined with ingenuity.
(1) Word example collection card
For dictionary compilers, which words to collect and what interpretations to use are the keys to a dictionary, and the word collection card is the best tool for them to accumulate material. The people in the dictionary editorial department can be said to have reached the state of oblivion, and Matsumoto Sensei listened to the sound of the TV in his ear as soon as he appeared, constantly recording unfamiliar words and uncommon usage on the word collection card. Even in the final stage of his life, when he was lying on his hospital bed due to illness, the word collection card in his hand was never put down.
(2) Sample
The so-called sample refers to the sample that is based on the completed manuscript and printed on a trial basis. In the initial stages of the dictionary compilation work, ask the factory to print samples according to the predetermined size, which helps to grasp the overall feeling of the page. To make a dictionary that is easy to consult, it is necessary to refer to the sample to improve the functionality of the dictionary and the aesthetics of the layout. Whether the font size, font, and line spacing are appropriate, whether the location of the illustration is beautiful, whether the numbers and symbols are concise and easy to understand, only if there is a general grasp of the whole can the smooth progress of the follow-up work be guaranteed.
(3) Proofreading
Unlike a normal magazine, which requires only one proofreading, dictionaries require five proofreadings.
"From one school to five schools, proofs are to be made five times between the newsroom and the printing house. The editorial department corrects the proof and returns it to the printing house, and after the revised version is printed, it is handed over to the newsroom for confirmation by the printing house, and this process is repeated five times. ”
For a dictionary containing hundreds of thousands of entries, it takes a lot of time and energy to proofread once, not to mention that it takes five proofs, and the degree of care used by the dictionary editorial department for the compilation of the dictionary can be seen.
During the process of the four schools, Araki found that the entry that must be included in the "blood tide" was not included when examining the four proofreading drafts. After learning of the situation, Ma Di risked delaying the publication of the dictionary and asked everyone to work overtime to check the four proofreadings from beginning to end. Because of the tight schedule and heavy tasks, the staff of the dictionary editorial department brought a change of clothes from home, stayed in the dictionary editorial department for a week, and finally completed the inspection work. This operation was even jokingly referred to at the time as the "Battle of The Hell Stay in the Genbu Study of Genbucho Castle".
(4) Paper
The Dadu Hai dictionary even has the characteristics of a paper company. For dictionaries, the use of paper is also very exquisite.
"The use of paper on the inner pages of the dictionary pays special attention to its thinness and whether it is ink-permeable. Compared to other books, the dictionary has a very large number of pages, and if you don't use tissue paper, it will be extremely thick. At the same time, it is also necessary to pay attention to lightness, because if the dictionary is heavy and cannot be carried, it will affect the practicality. ”
But even if Shuguang Paper Company produced a paper that does not penetrate ink, has a warm hue, and is very thin and light, it still does not meet the requirements of Ma Diguang, the editor-in-chief of the dictionary editorial department. Ma Di took "Guang ci yuan" as an example and proposed a new concept, lubrication.
"When you turn the page, you will have the feeling of paper adsorbing to your fingers!" Nevertheless, pages do not stick together, resulting in several pages being turned at the same time, which is called lubrication! ”
If there is no request from the ma director to be meticulous, I am afraid that the paper company will not produce a perfect work in the end. The behavior of paying attention to even the use of paper reflects the craftsmanship spirit of the dictionary compilers.
For those who compile dictionaries, dictionaries seem to be the only work of art in the world. On this, there are the imprints left by the strict control of the Taoist procedures, reflecting the pursuit of the ultimate by everyone, and flowing with everyone's painstaking efforts. Everyone involved in the compilation of the dictionary is a well-known craftsman.
It has been a long time since I finished reading the book, but my thoughts could not be calmed for a long time, only because I had seen too many hard-working people in this book. Fumihiko Otaki single-handedly compiled "Yan hai" and achieved the indiscriminate pursuit of The Japanese dictionary; Matsumoto sensei dedicated his life to the compilation of the dictionary, and when he fell on the hospital bed, he did not put down the word collection card in his hand; the still young Ma Diguang also gave up the job of making money quickly, and his mind was thrown into the compilation of the dictionary, fifteen years, the youth was middle-aged, such a large span of time, to achieve a dictionary.
Each dictionary embodies the painstaking efforts of its compilers, and even in today's highly developed electronic technology, we still miss that dictionary. Listening to the ear, the dictionary is calling softly, waiting for you to open it, waiting for you to gently touch each page of paper with your fingers.
One day the dictionary may fade in the face of rapidly developing technology, but I believe that the humanistic feelings, hermit style, and craftsman spirit left by the dictionary compilers will never dissipate.