禁書

“禁書”一詞的奇妙之處在于，它總是讓人在望而卻步的同時產生無限的遐想與向往。縱觀歷史，書之被禁，雖原因各異，卻無一不是觸犯或挑戰了當時社會生活或宗教信仰的敏感“部位”。從1557年羅馬教皇保羅四世頒布《教廷禁書目錄》至1966年教皇保羅六世終止該目錄的出版發行，西方社會以教廷為代表的禁書制度前后延續了四個多世紀。然而，經歷了歷史長河洗禮的被禁之書，卻并未因此而銷聲匿跡。那么，究竟有哪些書曾歷經被禁的命運與焚燒的考驗而不“死”呢?我們且來略數一二——

This classic French satire lampoons1) all things sacred—armies， churches， philosophers， even the doctrine of optimism itself. In search of “the best of all possible worlds”， Voltaire’s ever-hopeful protagonist2) instead encounters the worst tragedies life has to offer and proceeds to describe each in a rapid， meticulous and matter-of-fact way. The effect is equal parts hilarious3) and shocking. The Great Council of Geneva and the administrators of Paris banned it shortly after its release， although 30，000 copies sold within a year， making it a best seller. In 1930， U.S. Customs seized Harvard-bound copies of the book， and in 1944， the U.S. Post Office demanded that Candide be dropped from the catalog for major retailer Concord Books.

這部法國經典諷刺小說對于所有神圣事物都加以鞭撻嘲諷，包括軍隊、教堂、哲學家，甚至對樂觀主義信條也毫不留情。伏爾泰筆下的主人公對于人生從來都是滿懷希望，苦苦尋覓“人世間最為美好的天地”。然而事與愿違，他遭遇到的卻是人生最為悲慘的境遇，而在之后講起這些遭遇時，他的描述竟能不加遲疑、纖毫入微、絲毫不帶個人情緒。這樣的效果是書的某些部分令人忍俊不禁，而某些部分卻令人震驚不已。書一面世，東正教教會和巴黎當局立刻下了禁令，盡管如此，該書一年內的銷量還是達到了三萬冊，成為年度暢銷書。1930年，美國海關沒收了哈佛版《老實人》。1944年，美國郵政局要求圖書零售巨頭康科德公司從其書目中去掉《老實人》一書。

In 1885， the Concord Public Library in Massachusetts banned this book for its “coarse language”—critics deemed4) Mark Twain’s use of common slang as demeaning and damaging. Little Women author Louisa May Alcott lashed out publicly at5) Twain， saying， “If Mr. Clemens [Twain’s original name] cannot think of something better to tell our pure-minded lads and lasses， he had best stop writing for them.” In 1905， the Brooklyn Public Library in New York followed Concord’s lead， banishing the book from the building’s juvenile section with this explanation: “Huck not only itched but scratched， and that he said sweat when he should have said perspiration6).” Twain enthusiastically fired back， and once said of his detractors7): “Censorship is telling a man he can’t have a steak just because a baby can’t chew it.” Luckily for him， the book’s fans would eventually outnumber its critics. “It’s the best book we’ve had，” Ernest Hemingway proclaimed. “All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.”

1885年，馬薩諸塞州的康科德公共圖書館因《哈克貝利·費恩歷險記》一書語言粗俗而將其查禁。評論家認為馬克·吐溫使用日常俚語有失體統，危害極大。《小婦人》的作者路易莎·梅·奧爾科特公開抨擊馬克·吐溫說:“如果克萊門斯先生(馬克·吐溫的本名)想不出用更好的東西來教導我們純真無邪的少男少女，那就最好放下筆別再為他們寫書了。”1905年，紐約布魯克林公共圖書館效仿康科德，將該書撤出了該館的青少區，并給出了這樣的理由:“書中不僅寫到哈克身上發癢，而且描寫他抓癢，該說‘汗水’的時候他偏說‘滿身大汗’。”馬克·吐溫對此給與了積極回擊。在一次說起那些詆毀者時，他說:“查禁的意思就是告訴人們，因為嬰兒嚼不動牛排，所以大人也不能吃。”所幸的是，這本書的擁護者眾多，其數量最終大大超過了反對者。厄內斯特·海明威說:“所有的美國文學都得益于這本書，之前從未有一本書能像它這樣，這是截至目前我讀過的最好的一本書。”

Huxley’s 1932 work—about a drugged， dull and mass-produced society of the future—has been challenged for its themes of sexuality， drugs and suicide. The book parodies8) H.G. Wells’9) utopian novel Men Like Gods and expresses Huxley’s disdain for the youth-and-market-driven culture of the American. Chewing gum， then as now a symbol of America’s teenybopper10) shoppers， appears in the book as a way to deliver sex hormones and subdue anxious adults. In Huxley’s vision of the 26th century， Henry Ford is the new God (worshippers say “Our Ford” instead of “Our Lord”)， and the carmaker’s concept of mass production has been applied to human reproduction. As recently as 1993， a group of parents attempted to ban the book in Corona-Norco， Calif.， because it “centered around negativity”.

赫胥黎的這部作品寫于1932年，描述了一個未來的社會，那個社會麻木不仁、呆滯乏味，那里的一切都是批量生產。這部作品一直因其主題涉及性、毒品和自殺而備受詬病。該書模仿威爾斯的烏托邦小說《人如神》而作，表達了赫胥黎對以年輕與市場為驅動力的美國文化的蔑視。嚼口香糖，不管是當時還是現在，都是美國頹廢少女消費者的象征，而在這本書中它卻成為一種產生性激素的方式，使焦慮不安的成年人甘受奴役。在赫胥黎所展望的26世紀里，亨利·福特是新的上帝(崇拜者口稱“我們的福帝”而非“我們的上帝”)，而且汽車制造商大批量生產的理念已經被應用于人類的繁殖。近在1993年，一群父母因其“中心思想太過負面”，曾試圖在加州的科羅納市和諾科市取締該書。

It’s both ironic and fitting that 1984 would join the American Library Association’s list of commonly challenged books， given its bleak warning of totalitarian11) censorship. Written in 1949 by British author George Orwell while he lay dying of tuberculosis， the book chronicles12) the grim future of a society robbed of free will， privacy and truth. The book spawned13) terms like “Big Brother” and “Orwellian”， which continue to appear in pop culture. The year 1984 may have passed， but the book’s message remains as relevant as ever.

《1984》一書對極權主義的審查制度發出了嚴正的警告，后來卻被列入美國圖書館學會的禁書名單，這實在是充滿反諷意味，卻又合情合理。該書由英國作家喬治·奧威爾1949年所著，當時奧威爾因患肺結核，臥病在床，已病入膏肓。書中記述了一個沒有自由意志、沒有個人隱私、沒有真理存在的社會的灰暗前景。該書創造了“老大哥”和“奧威爾式的”等詞，這些詞現在仍出現在大眾文化中。1984年已成歷史，但是這本書所傳遞的信息卻一直和人類社會息息相關。

The Catcher in the Rye

By J. D. Salinger

Within two weeks of its 1951 release， J.D. Salinger’s novel rocketed to No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list. Ever since， the book—which explores three days in the life of a troubled 16-year-old boy—has been a “favorite of censors since its publication，” according to the American Library Association. In 1960， school administrators at a high school in Tulsa， Okla.， fired an English teacher for assigning the book to an 11th grade class. Another community in Columbus， Ohio， deemed the book “anti-white” and formed a delegation14) to have it banned from local schools. One library banned it for violating codes on “excess vulgar language， sexual scenes， things concerning moral issues， excessive violence， and anything dealing with the occult15).”

塞林格的這本小說于1951年出版，上市不到兩周，就飆升至《紐約時報》暢銷書排行榜的榜首。這本書描繪了一個16歲叛逆少年三天內的生活;按照美國圖書館協會的說法，該書自出版之日起就一直是“審查機構的最愛”。1960年，俄克拉何馬州塔爾薩鎮一所高中的管理者解雇了一名英語教師，理由是他把這本小說布置給了11年級的學生閱讀。另外，俄亥俄州哥倫布市的一個社會團體認為這本書“與白人為敵”，他們組成請愿團，要求當地學校封殺此書。還有一家圖書館禁了這本書，理由是該書違反了社會常規，書中“充斥著粗俗語言、性愛場景以及引發道德爭議的種種事件，而且暴力描寫過多，還宣揚神秘主義”。

First published in France by a pornographic16) press， this 1955 novel explores the mind of a self-loathing and highly intelligent pedophile17) named Humbert， who narrates his life and the obsession that consumes it: his lust for “nymphets18)” like 12-year-old Dolores Haze. French officials banned it for being “obscene19)”， as did England， Argentina， New Zealand and South Africa. Today， the term Lolita has come to imply an oversexed teenage siren20)， although Vladimir Nabokov， for his part， never intended to create the association. In fact， he nearly burned the manuscript in disgust， and fought with his publishers over whether an image of a girl should be included on the book’s cover.

這本書最早由法國的一家色情作品出版社于1955年出版，小說的主人公名叫亨伯特，是個憎惡自己而又智商很高的戀童癖者。他講述了自己的一生，以及耗噬了他整個生命的那種迷戀——對于像12歲的多洛雷絲·阿澤這樣早熟的少女的欲望。法國官方因其離經叛道的色情描寫把該書列為禁書，英國、阿根廷、新西蘭和南非也封殺了此書。今天，“洛麗塔”已被用做極其性感妖媚的美麗少女的代名詞，但對納博科夫本人來說，他可從未想過要引起這種聯想。實際上，他差點兒出于厭惡燒掉這部書的手稿，他還曾就封面上是否應該放一個少女的形象這個問題，和出版商爭執不休。

This book sparked riots around the world for what some called a blasphemous21) treatment of the Islamic faith (throughout the book， the Prophet Muhammad is referred to as Mahound， the medieval name for the devil). In 1989， five people died in riots in Pakistan and a stone-throwing mob injured 60 people in India. Although Rushdie issued an apology， Iranian spiritual leader Khomeini publicly condemned the Indian-British author to death， putting a $1 million bounty22) on his head. While European nations recalled their diplomats from Tehran， some Muslim authors， like Nobel Prize–winner Naguib Mahfouz23)， defended Rushdie and accused the Khomeini of “intellectual terrorism”. Meanwhile， Venezuelan officials threatened anyone who owned or read the book with 15 months of prison. Two major U.S. booksellers—Walden Books and Barnes Noble—removed the book from their shelves after receiving death threats. And even Rushdie’s publisher， Viking Penguin， was forced to temporarily close its New York City office to improve security. Under the protection of British authorities， Rushdie lived in hiding for nearly a decade.

這本書引發了全世界的無數暴動，因為一些人認為它褻瀆了伊斯蘭教(在整本書中，先知穆罕默德被稱為魔罕德——中世紀時魔鬼的代稱)。1989年，巴基斯坦發生暴動，五人死亡;在印度，一伙暴徒扔擲石塊，致使60人受傷。盡管拉什迪公開發表聲明道歉，但伊朗精神領袖霍梅尼公開判處這位印度裔英國作家死刑，懸賞一百萬美元取他項上人頭。歐洲各國紛紛從德黑蘭召回自己的外交官，而一些穆斯林作家，如諾貝爾獎得主納吉布·馬赫福茲，則聲援拉什迪，指責霍梅尼搞“知識恐怖主義”。同時，委內瑞拉政府威脅，任何膽敢購買或閱讀該書的人，將會被處以15個月的監禁。美國兩大頂級連鎖書店——沃爾登書店和邦諾書店——皆因收到死亡恐嚇信，只得把該書從書架上撤下。甚至拉什迪的出版商維京企鵝公司書店也為安全起見，被迫短期關閉其紐約分部。在英國政府的保護下，在將近十年的時間里，拉什迪一直過著隱匿的生活。