内容简介
Rudyard Kipling's Just So stories about animals and their antics have delighted readers for years. Now, Ladybird brings these stories alive for very young children. Meet the lazy camel, grouchy rhinoceros, hungry leopard, curious elephant and many other eccentric animals in these enchanting stories. Narrated simply and accompanied by rich and detailed illustrations that children love, these retellings will introduce a new generation to the magic and whimsy of Kipling's genius.
作者简介
Joseph Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936) was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature. He was born in Bombay, in the Bombay Presidency of British India, and was taken by his family to England when he was five years old. Kipling is best known for his works of fiction, including The Jungle Book, Just So Stories (1902) (1894) (a collection of stories which includes "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"), Kim (1901) (a tale of adventure), many short stories, including "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888); and his poems, including Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The White Man's Burden (1899) and If— (1910). He is regarded as a major "innovator in the art of the short story"; his children's books are enduring classics of children's literature; and his best works are said to exhibit "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in England, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known."[3] In 1907 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and to date he remains its youngest recipient.[6] Among other honours, he was sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, all of which he declined.
Kipling's subsequent reputation has changed according to the political and social climate of the age and the resulting contrasting views about him continued for much of the 20th century. George Orwell called him a "prophet of British imperialism". Literary critic Douglas Kerr wrote: He [Kipling] is still an author who can inspire passionate disagreement and his place in literary and cultural history is far from settled. But as the age of the European empires recedes, he is recognised as an incomparable, if controversial, interpreter of how empire was experienced. That, and an increasing recognition of his extraordinary narrative gifts, make him a force to be reckoned with."
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前言/序言
好的,这是一本关于远古神话与自然奥秘的图书简介,与您提到的那本《How the Kangaroo Got His Jump》无关。 --- 《星辰之蚀与大地回响:失落的文明与神祇的低语》 史诗序章:混沌初开的低语 在时间尚未被清晰划分的纪元,世界被无尽的迷雾与原始的洪流所笼罩。这本书并非描绘特定物种的诞生,而是深入探索那些在人类记忆边缘摇曳的、关于“最初的秩序”的宏大叙事。它搜集了散落在全球各地、几乎已成绝响的口头传说、晦涩的碑文残片以及难以被主流历史学家证实的考古发现,试图重构一幅关于世界之初的壮丽图景。 我们探讨的不是单个神祇的功绩,而是“原型”的碰撞——光明与黑暗、创造与毁灭、秩序与熵增,这些宇宙基本力量如何首次在物质界显现,并塑造了我们今天所感知的现实结构。书中详细分析了被称为“巨石时代”或“神灵纪元”的时期,一个物质与精神界限模糊不清的时代,那时山脉是活着的,河流拥有思想,而天空中的星辰被认为是尚未完全固化的意志的投影。 第一部:失落的巨塔与时间的迷宫 本书的第一部分,将带领读者穿越那些被时间和沙土掩埋的宏伟遗迹。我们关注的焦点是那些在已知的历史记载中被忽略或解释为“自然现象”的巨型人工奇迹。这些奇迹,如南美洲某处深山中发现的、与已知天文历法完美吻合的几何结构,或是北极圈内冰封之下探测到的、超越当时科技水平的能量场残余。 我们追溯了关于“原型建筑师”的传说。他们不是神,也不是凡人,而是介于两者之间的存在,他们利用尚未被人类掌握的“物质与意志耦合技术”,在世界各地筑起能够与宇宙能量共振的结构。这些结构的目的,据推测是为了稳定当时狂暴的自然力量,或是为了在“大循环”中保存某种关键的知识火种。书中将呈现对这些遗址的符号学解构,试图破译其墙壁上镌刻的、被误认为是装饰的复杂数学公式和宇宙模型。 重点将放在对一个名为“阿卡迪亚(Arcadia)”的理论性失落文明的重构上。这个文明据称掌握了“聆听大地之声”的方法,他们能够预知地壳的变动和气候的极端变化。他们的覆灭,并非源于战争或瘟疫,而是因为他们试图超越自身存在的界限,触碰了宇宙中更深层次的、不应被凡人窥视的秘密,从而导致了“内爆式遗忘”。 第二部:元素之魂与自然的律法 本书的第二篇章,转向了对世界基本构成元素的“人性化”解读。在远古的认知中,风、火、水、土并非抽象的化学物质,而是具有性格和目的的生命体。我们详细剖析了关于“风之主宰者”和“深海守卫者”的传说,这些传说描绘了早期人类如何与这些强大力量进行谈判、献祭与共存。 特别值得关注的是对“活水哲学”的探讨。在许多早期文化中,河流被视为知识与记忆的载体,它们流向何方,就意味着知识的传承或遗失。书中对比了多河流域文明(如美索不达米亚、印度河谷)对水的不同敬畏方式,并推测了这些差异背后的“水之意志”的不同表现。我们还将触及那些关于“元素共生体”的记载,例如某些沙漠部族相信,骆驼的耐力并非生理进化,而是与特定的地底水脉元素达成了古老的契约。 通过对这些神话的交叉比对,我们试图揭示一种“原始生态伦理”:即在人类出现之前,世界是如何通过复杂的、相互制约的生命力量体系维持平衡的。一旦这种平衡被打破,灾难——无论是洪水、地震还是漫长的冰封期——便会随之而来。 第三部:诸神黄昏前的知识传承 最后一部分聚焦于知识的“信息学流放”。当一个时代的力量衰退时,他们如何确保最重要的认知不会彻底消失?本书提出了“意识锚定”的理论。即某些远古的智慧并非通过文字记录,而是被编码进了特定的生物群落、特定的音乐频率,甚至是特定的梦境结构中。 我们分析了那些被后世奉为“圣歌”或“咒语”的复杂吟诵模式。这些模式在特定的宗教仪式中被重复激活,可能并非为了取悦神祇,而是为了在集体潜意识中唤醒那些被深埋的、关于宇宙运作方式的记忆碎片。书中详细研究了古代炼金术士和萨满巫师在接近这些“知识锚点”时所经历的极端精神状态,以及他们试图重现的那些超越日常经验的“维度转换”。 《星辰之蚀与大地回响》是一次对人类集体无意识的深潜,它邀请读者暂时放下既有的历史框架,以一个初生者的视角,去感受那些在文明兴衰的巨浪下,依然回荡着的、关于世界起源的、令人敬畏的低语。这不是一本提供明确答案的教科书,而是一份通往更宏大、更神秘的过往的“解读密钥”。它暗示着,我们所居住的这个世界,远比我们想象的更加古老、更加富有层次和未被发现的奥秘。