In order to present the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the seventh edition of "Cihai" is about to come out.
Reading this news, I couldn't help but think of a recent biographical film called "The Professor and the Madman," which impressed me deeply about the ups and downs behind the writing of the first edition of the Oxford Dictionary.
I don't know what logic is based on the interpretation and definition of all the words included in "Ci Hai", but "The Professor and the Madman" clearly reveals in the language of the lens that this is a huge project full of hardships, persistence, confusion and pain. . It is no exaggeration to say that the entire compilation process is burning life, even if the fuel runs out.
So I have to be in awe of the two key characters in The Professor and the Madman. In the 19th century without computer assistance, one could only rely on manual review, screening and excerpting, and finally determine the meaning of the entry in the vast sea of classics. Therefore, editor-in-chief James Murray and volunteer contributor Miner have made invaluable contributions to the inheritance of English.
One is a linguistics professor who learns to be rich, and the other is a mental patient who accidentally murdered. Two people who seem to be irrelevant, but because of the "Oxford Dictionary" are closely connected, under the double line of self-proof and self-redemption. , deduced a scene of song and cry. It is precisely with this real story background that the world has noticed the preciousness of reference books - not only a book, but also a collection of spirits.
"The Professor and the Madman" is not a mainstream entertainment film, and you need a little patience when watching it, but if you really put your heart into the plot, maybe you will be as moved as I am, feeling the cleansing of the soul by culture, and the effect of civilization on life. sublimation.
I'm going to buy a new set of "Ci Hai", I think, this may be the most direct way for me to express my respect to all the editors.
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