內容簡介
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.
作者簡介
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,這是一本關於遠古神話與自然奧秘的圖書簡介,與您提到的那本《How the Kangaroo Got His Jump》無關。 --- 《星辰之蝕與大地迴響:失落的文明與神祇的低語》 史詩序章:混沌初開的低語 在時間尚未被清晰劃分的紀元,世界被無盡的迷霧與原始的洪流所籠罩。這本書並非描繪特定物種的誕生,而是深入探索那些在人類記憶邊緣搖曳的、關於“最初的秩序”的宏大敘事。它搜集瞭散落在全球各地、幾乎已成絕響的口頭傳說、晦澀的碑文殘片以及難以被主流曆史學傢證實的考古發現,試圖重構一幅關於世界之初的壯麗圖景。 我們探討的不是單個神祇的功績,而是“原型”的碰撞——光明與黑暗、創造與毀滅、秩序與熵增,這些宇宙基本力量如何首次在物質界顯現,並塑造瞭我們今天所感知的現實結構。書中詳細分析瞭被稱為“巨石時代”或“神靈紀元”的時期,一個物質與精神界限模糊不清的時代,那時山脈是活著的,河流擁有思想,而天空中的星辰被認為是尚未完全固化的意誌的投影。 第一部:失落的巨塔與時間的迷宮 本書的第一部分,將帶領讀者穿越那些被時間和沙土掩埋的宏偉遺跡。我們關注的焦點是那些在已知的曆史記載中被忽略或解釋為“自然現象”的巨型人工奇跡。這些奇跡,如南美洲某處深山中發現的、與已知天文曆法完美吻閤的幾何結構,或是北極圈內冰封之下探測到的、超越當時科技水平的能量場殘餘。 我們追溯瞭關於“原型建築師”的傳說。他們不是神,也不是凡人,而是介於兩者之間的存在,他們利用尚未被人類掌握的“物質與意誌耦閤技術”,在世界各地築起能夠與宇宙能量共振的結構。這些結構的目的,據推測是為瞭穩定當時狂暴的自然力量,或是為瞭在“大循環”中保存某種關鍵的知識火種。書中將呈現對這些遺址的符號學解構,試圖破譯其牆壁上鎸刻的、被誤認為是裝飾的復雜數學公式和宇宙模型。 重點將放在對一個名為“阿卡迪亞(Arcadia)”的理論性失落文明的重構上。這個文明據稱掌握瞭“聆聽大地之聲”的方法,他們能夠預知地殼的變動和氣候的極端變化。他們的覆滅,並非源於戰爭或瘟疫,而是因為他們試圖超越自身存在的界限,觸碰瞭宇宙中更深層次的、不應被凡人窺視的秘密,從而導緻瞭“內爆式遺忘”。 第二部:元素之魂與自然的律法 本書的第二篇章,轉嚮瞭對世界基本構成元素的“人性化”解讀。在遠古的認知中,風、火、水、土並非抽象的化學物質,而是具有性格和目的的生命體。我們詳細剖析瞭關於“風之主宰者”和“深海守衛者”的傳說,這些傳說描繪瞭早期人類如何與這些強大力量進行談判、獻祭與共存。 特彆值得關注的是對“活水哲學”的探討。在許多早期文化中,河流被視為知識與記憶的載體,它們流嚮何方,就意味著知識的傳承或遺失。書中對比瞭多河流域文明(如美索不達米亞、印度河榖)對水的不同敬畏方式,並推測瞭這些差異背後的“水之意誌”的不同錶現。我們還將觸及那些關於“元素共生體”的記載,例如某些沙漠部族相信,駱駝的耐力並非生理進化,而是與特定的地底水脈元素達成瞭古老的契約。 通過對這些神話的交叉比對,我們試圖揭示一種“原始生態倫理”:即在人類齣現之前,世界是如何通過復雜的、相互製約的生命力量體係維持平衡的。一旦這種平衡被打破,災難——無論是洪水、地震還是漫長的冰封期——便會隨之而來。 第三部:諸神黃昏前的知識傳承 最後一部分聚焦於知識的“信息學流放”。當一個時代的力量衰退時,他們如何確保最重要的認知不會徹底消失?本書提齣瞭“意識錨定”的理論。即某些遠古的智慧並非通過文字記錄,而是被編碼進瞭特定的生物群落、特定的音樂頻率,甚至是特定的夢境結構中。 我們分析瞭那些被後世奉為“聖歌”或“咒語”的復雜吟誦模式。這些模式在特定的宗教儀式中被重復激活,可能並非為瞭取悅神祇,而是為瞭在集體潛意識中喚醒那些被深埋的、關於宇宙運作方式的記憶碎片。書中詳細研究瞭古代煉金術士和薩滿巫師在接近這些“知識錨點”時所經曆的極端精神狀態,以及他們試圖重現的那些超越日常經驗的“維度轉換”。 《星辰之蝕與大地迴響》是一次對人類集體無意識的深潛,它邀請讀者暫時放下既有的曆史框架,以一個初生者的視角,去感受那些在文明興衰的巨浪下,依然迴蕩著的、關於世界起源的、令人敬畏的低語。這不是一本提供明確答案的教科書,而是一份通往更宏大、更神秘的過往的“解讀密鑰”。它暗示著,我們所居住的這個世界,遠比我們想象的更加古老、更加富有層次和未被發現的奧秘。