LITERATURE & LEARNING : Embracing AI for Creativity

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on February 3, 2024 at 11:31am: In the following guide, I will lay out what I have learned from both my personal experiences and through years of conversations with friends who have either published books or worked as literary agents. This guide is intended to help people at any stage of developing a book they would like to see in the world. — Joanna Ebenstein

What is a book proposal?

A book proposal is a document intended to convince a publisher that your project is economically viable for their publishing house. It needs to persuade its reader that your idea has enough commercial potential that the publisher should take the risk of putting money and resources into your book.

Beyond that, book proposals are also wonderful developmental tools. The act of writing one will help you clarify your thoughts and find a way to express your book idea clearly and succinctly. It will also help you understand the essence of your project so that you can communicate it with more ease.
When writing your proposal it is important to think about your audience. It is very likely that your proposal will be read by someone who does not know you or anything about your subject. With this in mind, how can you describe your project in such a way that it sounds interesting and compelling, and above all, economically viable? And remember, convincing this reader is only the first step. If they get behind your project, they will then have to convince the publisher’s sales team and/or finance department that it is worth the risk.

I have personally found it very valuable—before sitting down to write the proposal—to talk to friends about my book idea. I observe what I end up saying again and again, or how the story unconsciously changes over time in response to their questions and feedback. When do their eyes light up? When do they get excited? Pay attention, and note the way that even without consciously intending it, you are crafting a stronger, more rousing pitch. Really seek out the parts of your pitch that illicit passion, conviction, and persuasion. Once you have fine-tuned your argument in this way, it’s time to sit down to write your proposal.

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on February 2, 2024 at 8:29pm: What goes into a book proposal?

Before I begin, please note: The following guidelines are just that—guidelines. These are the contents of a sort of platonic ideal of a proposal, but in my experience, actual proposals can vary widely. So approach this as a set of suggestions, adding or removing elements as you see fit to make this the most persuasive document it can be for your project. If you know who will be reading your proposal, craft it with them in mind. If not, simply try to make it as clear and compelling as you possibly can.

As an example, I include here one of my own proposals, for my book The Anatomical Venus (click here to download the PDF). In this case, I had a relationship with the editor and they had solicited the proposal, so I was able to be a bit more casual and allusive than I generally would be. No sample chapter was necessary and, since an important part of the project was the visual aspect, I included lots of strong and enticing imagery to demonstrate the commercial appeal of the project.

What a book proposal should contain

1) Header

Start with the working title of the project along with your name, email, and phone number.

2) A brief synopsis of the book

Some people suggest a one-sentence synopsis; I have always used a one-to five-paragraph description of the project. This should essentially be your elevator pitch, so be sure to describe your book in a succinct and compelling way.

3) Longer synopsis of the book, if you feel it is necessary

This is a longer narrative description of the project. It should clearly answer the following questions:

What is the project?

Why are you the right person to write this book?
Do you have any special connections or access that is worth mentioning—for example, if this is a book about a museum, do you have a contact there? Have they agreed to work with you?
And, again, stress why this project is commercially viable. What is the audience for this book, and how can you reach them?

4) Chapter breakdown

Create a list of chapters with a few sentences describing what you will cover in each. If this will be an art book, you might also include a few images here; see my sample proposal for an example of how to include images. If you have an idea for a well-known person who might be a good fit for writing a foreword, include that, too. It helps sales to have a famous name attached to any book. And, you need not know the person—it can just be an idea for an appropriate person.

Note: Don’t worry about getting it all perfect at this stage. In my experience, the chapter breakdown often changes significantly between the proposal stage and the final book.

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on February 2, 2024 at 5:08pm: 5) Sample chapter (some editors will not require this)

For non-fiction, include the text you would use as your introduction along with one or two sample chapters. If your project is fiction, instead of sample chapters, you should submit the first 40 to 50 pages of your manuscript, or, if applicable, the entire manuscript. In either case, the quality of the writing is important, but much more so in fiction. Also in the case of fiction, be sure to craft your early pages well to grab the reader and make them want more.

6) Book details

Here is a place to describe the details of the project. You might include approximately how many words you imagine the final book will be. If you are in including images, you might include a list of how many images you envision, whether the book will be color or black and white, and whether the images will be free to use or require a budget (for acquiring the rights to use them). If an art book, include some of the strongest images up front in the proposal, and perhaps a few pages of small images at the end of the document; you might also want to pepper a few images throughout the proposal to illustrate the text (see sample proposal).

7) About the author/biography

This should explain who you are, and make an argument for why you are the right person to do this project. Again, demonstrate that you can reach a buying audience with this book idea. This section should list any relevant articles or books you’ve already published, preferably with view counts and/or sales figures; a list of the magazines and other press outlets that have reported on your work; lectures you have given—basically anything that supports your argument that this book should exist and you are the right person to write it.

Remember, the reader of this document probably does not know you, and you want to make sure they can see that you are capable of doing this project and of effectively getting it out into the world. For this reason, you’ll need to be a bit braggy. I personally find it very hard to write such self-aggrandizing text; my solution has been to show a first draft to a friend who knows me and my work well, and ask them for suggestions of how to make it more convincing.

Publishers are also interested to know if you’ll be willing and able to do public speaking or television appearances to promote your book. This will inevitably come up later, so make sure to mention your experience here if applicable.

8) Platform/audience

Increasingly, publishers want to know that their authors will be able to reach an audience who will buy the book. This section should demonstrate your reach. List here your stats for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, a website or blog if you have one, etc. Also include the number of people on your mailing list, if applicable, and detail any other way you have of engaging with an audience.

9) Market profile

Begin with a narrative: What is the market for this book? Establish that this particular book does not already exist, but similar books do. Now make a list of similar books and note the date of publication. For each book, write a brief synopsis, and what makes it similar or different from yours. The goal here is to demonstrate that your book is filling a gap in a viable market.

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on February 1, 2024 at 3:29pm: 10) Format (if an art book)

Describe how you imagine the book will look. What size is it? What is the design like? You might use an existing book, preferably by that publisher, as a starting point. Do you see the book as full color or black and white? If you have design skills, you might also include a few sample spreads (a spread is two pages of a book side by side) showing how you imagine the general layout will look. If a photo book, be sure to include images as well, and detail if you have permission to use them, what kind of camera you used, and what resolution/quality the images are.

11) Selling venues outside of traditional bookstores

Do you know of specialty shops that would be likely to stock this book? Eg. Museum shops, or other specialty shops of various sorts? If so, list them here.

12) People who might provide a blurb

Do you have any ideas for well-known, influential, or famous people who might provide a blurb? If so, include a list of your ideas.

13) Preliminary schedule

How long after signing the contract would you need to deliver the final manuscript and, if applicable, all of the images?

The proposal is drafted: Now what?

Now that you have finished a first draft of your proposal, your book idea is solidified and clarified. So what’s next?

The next step I have always taken is to think about the right publisher. To come up with some publishers that might be a good fit for your project, you will need to do some brainstorming and research. Ask yourself: Are there similar books to yours out there? If so, who publishes them? Or perhaps you are already a fan of a publisher who you think would be perfect for your book?

Either way, once you determine an idea for an appropriate publisher (or two or three), try to find a way to connect 1:1 with someone who works there. I have always done this through friends-of-friends or colleagues, but many people use LinkedIn or other social media for this purpose. This outreach is worth the effort, as it helps immensely to have a human who you know will actually read your proposal. If this fails, you can always send the proposal by mail or email via the publisher’s website. But again, always strive to make a personal connection at any publisher over cold-emailing your proposal over.

You could also consider working with an agent to help you find a publisher. I work with an agent on some but not all projects. I found her through a good friend who worked as a literary agent. You can also find an agent by pinpointing similar books and skimming the acknowledgements for mention of an agent.

Having an agent has many advantages: they have personal contacts at publishing houses, ensuring your proposal will be seen and read. They can also help you craft a more convincing (and commercially appealing) proposal, negotiate a better deal for you (more money, better terms), and act as a middleman/buffer in interactions with the press. The disadvantage is, of course, they will take part of your earnings. （Con't below）

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on January 31, 2024 at 3:59pm: You might also consider self-publishing. The quality of self-published books has gotten very good, and online platforms like Amazon (love it or hate it) make it easy to get your book out into the world.

Another option is crowdfunding platforms. We used Kickstarter to fund our self-published Morbid Anatomy Anthology to great success, but this works best if you or your collaborators have solid design, production, and editing expertise, as you’ll be responsible for creating and distributing the book all on your own.

For those with no publishing knowhow, there is also UnBound, which is a crowdfunding platform that, if you raise the money, will design, produce, and distribute the book for you. Both Kickstarter and UnBound work on the subscription/pre-order model, in which you pre-sell copies of the book to fund the production and printing.

One final option is to use a service like Lulu to create and print one copy of your book exactly as you envision it. You can then present this beautiful, professionally printed piece to publishers in lieu of your proposal. I was hired to do this for a photographer friend, and it totally worked.
In summary…

To recap: A book proposal is a persuasive document created with the intent of convincing a publisher to take a chance on your book. It is also a wonderful tool for clarifying your project’s vision. In order to craft the most effective pitch possible, talk to people. Notice how you tell the story, and what people respond to. Lastly, the list of things I’ve noted a proposal should contain is not inflexible—rather, it’s totally up to you to be creative with it.

Before I sign off, here’s one final piece of advice: don’t give up! I wrote about five proposals before I published a book. Keep trying, and keep thinking and fine tuning your ideas. Be alert and responsive to what is around you, and if your proposals don’t get accepted right away, try to use each rejection as a learning opportunity.

Good luck! And thanks for reading.

About the Author

Joanna Ebenstein：Writer, Photographer, Curator

Joanna Ebenstein is a Brooklyn-based writer, curator, photographer, and graphic designer. She is the creator of the Morbid Anatomy blog, library, and event series, and was cofounder (with Tracy Hurley Martin) and creative director of the recently shuttered Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn. Her books include Death: A Graveside Companion, The Anatomical Venus, The Morbid Anatomy Anthology (with Colin Dickey), and Walter Potter’s Curious World of Taxidermy (with Dr Pat Morris). She is currently working on a book about Dutch “artist of death” Frederik Ruysch for MIT Press, and a coffee table book about art and anatomy for Laurence King. She worked as an art director and editor for Alta Mira Press, and as a designer and production artist for Scholastic Publishing. She works regularly with such institutions as The Wellcome Collection and Amsterdam’s Vrolik Museum, and her writing and photography have been published and exhibited internationally.

Today Morbid Anatomy can be visited seasonally in a 1870s former gatehouse at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. You can find out about upcoming events and happenings here.

(This article written by Joanna Ebenstein with illustrations by Darren Shaddick；Source: https://thecreativeindependent.com)

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on January 22, 2024 at 11:03am: Creative Europe: Books and Publishing

Overview of the sector

Publishing is one of the largest cultural industries in Europe, with a total market value estimated at €36-38 billion. According to a 2022 report of the European Publishers Federation, the entire book value chain is estimated to employ more than half a million people. The European book sector is incredibly rich and diverse, with more than 575,000 titles published annually.

However, many readers across Europe do not have access to the richness and diversity of European literature. The primary reasons for this are the linguistic and geographical fragmentation of the market. Literature from many European countries are rarely able to translate into the wide array of languages that make up its landscape.

The book sector has also accelerated its digital transition to address the changing habits of the market, so that it can broaden its readership and make the diversity of European literature more accessible.

Like many other culture and creative sectors, the publishing and book industry is working to contribute to the European Green Deal transition and rethink the ways industry contributes to the ongoing climate crisis.

The COVID-19 crisis has further amplified these trends and the need to support the recovery and competitiveness of the book sector.

Support for the book sector in the Creative Europe programme

The main objectives of the Creative Europe programme regarding the book sector is to reinforce the circulation of works in Europe, diversify the audience for European literature and strengthen the competitiveness of the publishing sector.

Creative Europe supports the book sector through horizontal funding schemes (cooperation projects, European platforms, European networks, Culture Moves Europe) and through sector specific actions such as support to Literary translation/Circulation of European literary works, the European Union prize for Literature and more recently the Day of European Authors.

In addition, policy actions such as the Open Method of Coordination (on Multilingualism & Translation in 2020-2021 and on Libraries in 2024) enable discussions with the sector, stakeholders and with EU member states and provide policy orientation on key issues.

Literary translation support (Circulation of European Literary Works)

The Creative Europe programme provides funding to organisations operating in the book and publishing sector to encourage the translation, publication, promotion and distribution of European works of fiction, mainly from less-represented European languages. The financial support covers 60% of the total costs of the projects. Most of the promotional activities (authors’ visits, festivals, readings…) are organised in cooperation with booksellers, libraries or literature festivals to reinforce the local/national book ecosystem.

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on January 22, 2024 at 11:02am: The first Creative Europe programme (2014-2020) supported more than 400 projects in the book and publishing sector, with over 3000 translations of literary works, from more than 40 source languages into more than 30 target languages. More than 2/3 of the supported translations are from lesser-used languages (European languages other than English, Spanish, German and French), which shows the real value of the Programme to safeguard, develop and promote European cultural and linguistic diversity.

Read more about Creative Europe support to literary translation (2021-27)

Since the beginning of the 2021-2027 programme, 90 projects have been selected for the translation and promotion of more than 1,000 books across Europe.

Find out more about the funding scheme “Circulation of European Literary Works”

Cooperation, networks and platforms

In addition to supporting literary translation, the programme co-finances a variety of cooperation, networks and platforms funding schemes’ projects. The following past or ongoing projects are some examples of how Creative Europe supports the book sector throughout the value chain from the author to the reader.

Talent development

CELA (Connecting Emerging Literary Artists) trains and connects 30 emerging authors, 80 emerging translators and 6 emerging literary professionals offering a bigger opportunity to small languages and to drive change.

Poetry promotion

The Versopolis platform created in 2017 has grown over the years to include 23 poetry and literary festivals in Europe. Together they have promoted more than 200 poets from 32 different European languages and over 1,800 of their poems have been published on the website.

Book fairs

The project ALDUS (European Book Fairs’ network) is an international network of the largest book fairs in the world (Frankfurt and Bologna), several national fairs and publishing associations, with the ultimate goal of further professionalising the fast-changing European landscape of publishing.

Booksellers

The project RISE by the International and European federation of booksellers is a three-year project aiming to upscale, reinforce and maximise the capacity and resilience of the European bookselling sector.

Reading

The project Libraries of Emotions brings together various organisations from across Europe to promote a new and innovative way of reading and encourage bibliotherapy sessions in European public libraries.

Inclusion

Every story matters is a project whose aim is to increase the creation, availability and promotion of inclusive books for children and young adults in the EU.

Multilingualism

The main objective of the LEILA project is to create tools and structural dynamics to promote the discoverability of works published in the Arabic language.

（Source: https://culture.ec.europa.eu）

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on November 3, 2023 at 8:02pm: 閱讀的活力與藝術

這是一本為閱讀的人，或是想要成為閱讀的人而寫的書。尤其是想要閱讀書的人。說得更具體一點，這本書是為那些想把讀書的主要目的當作是增進理解能力的人而寫。

這裏所謂“閱讀的人”(readers)，是指那些今天仍然習慣於從書寫文字中汲取大量資訊，以增進對世界了解的人，就和過去歷史上每一個深有教養、智慧的人別無二致。當然，並不是每個人都能做到這一點。即使在收音機、電視沒有出現以前，許多資訊與知識也是從口傳或觀察而得。但是對智能很高又充滿好奇心的人來說，這樣是不夠的。他們知道他們還得閱讀，而他們也真的身體力行。

現代的人有一種感覺，讀書這件事好像已經不再像以往那樣必要了。收音機，特別是電視，取代了以往由書本所提供的部分功能，就像照片取代了圖畫或藝術設計的部分功能一樣。我們不得不承認，電視有部分的功能確實很驚人，譬如對新聞事件的影像處理，就有極大的影響力。收音機最大的特點在於當我們手邊正在做某件事（譬如開車）的時候，仍然能提供我們資訊，為我們節省不少的時間。但在這中間還是有一個嚴肅的議題：到底這些新時代的傳播媒體是否真能增進我們對自己世界的了解？

（Source：Reader's Aesthetic）

或許我們對這個世界的了解比以前的人多了，在某種範圍內，知識(knowledge)也成了理解(understanding)的先決條件。這些都是好事。但是，“知識”是否那麼必然是“理解”的先決條件，可能和一般人的以為有相當差距。我們為了“理解”(understand)一件事，並不需要“知道”(know)和這件事相關的所有事情。太多的資訊就如同太少的資訊一樣，都是一種對理解力的阻礙。換句話說，現代的媒體正以壓倒性的泛濫資訊阻礙了我們的理解力。

會發生這個現象的一個原因是：我們所提到的這些媒體，經過太精心的設計，使得思想形同沒有需要了（雖然只是表象如此）。如何將知識分子的態度與觀點包裝起來，是當今最有才智的人在做的最活躍的事業之一。電視觀眾、收音機聽眾、雜誌讀者所面對的是一種復雜的組成—從獨創的華麗辭藻到經過審慎挑選的資料與統計—目的都在讓人不需要面對困難或努力，很容易就整理出“自己”的思緒。但是這些精美包裝的資訊效率實在太高了，讓觀眾、聽眾或讀者根本用不著自己做結論。相反的，他們直接將包裝過後的觀點裝進自己的腦海中，就像錄影機願意接受錄影帶一樣自然。他只要按一個“倒帶”的鈕，就能找到他所需要的適當言論。他根本不用思考就能表現得宜。

※ 主動的閱讀

我們在一開始就說過，我們是針對發展閱讀書的技巧而寫的。但是如果你真的跟隨並鍛煉這些閱讀的技巧，你便可以將這些技巧應用在任何印刷品的閱讀上—報紙、雜誌、小冊子、文章、短訊，甚至廣告。

既然任何一種閱讀都是一種活動，那就必須要有一些主動的活力。完全被動，就閱讀不了—我們不可能在雙眼停滯、頭腦昏睡的狀況下閱讀。既然閱讀有主動、被動之對比，那麼我們的目標就是：第一提醒讀者，閱讀可以是一件多少主動的事。第二要指出的是，閱讀越主動，效果越好。這個讀者比另一個讀者更主動一些，他在閱讀世界裏面的探索能力就更強一些，收獲更多一些，因而也更高明一些。讀者對他自己，以及自己面前的書籍，要求的越多，獲得的就越多。

雖然嚴格說來，不可能有完全被動閱讀這回事，但還是有許多人認為，比起充滿主動的寫跟說，讀與聽完全是被動的事。寫作者及演說者起碼必須要花一點力氣，聽眾或讀者卻什麼也不必做。聽眾或讀者被當作是一種溝通接收器，“接受”對方很賣力地在“給予”、“發送”的訊息。這種假設的謬誤，在認為這種“接收”類同於被打了一拳，或得到一項遺產，或法院的判決。其實完全相反，聽眾或讀者的“接收”，應該像是棒球賽中的捕手才對。[艾德勒·《如何閱讀一本書》（1）]

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on November 1, 2023 at 9:13pm: 陳煒·互聯網時代感受閱讀的意義：新語·讓好聲音成爲最強音

互聯網時代的閱讀，是開放體系的閱讀，它把個人選擇和算法推介相結合，形成了基於人的有效判斷的大數據體系，是開放的、可變的、動態的

中國互聯網絡信息中心（CNNIC）發佈的第五十二次《中國互聯網絡發展狀況統計報告》顯示，截至2023年6月，中國網民規模達10.79億人，互聯網普及率達76.4%，其中即時通信、網絡視頻、短視頻用戶規模分別達10.47億人、10.44億人和10.26億人。可以説，互聯網已經成爲人們獲取信息、汲取內容的主要途徑。

時代在變，閱讀方式在變，閱讀的産品形態也在發生改變。我們常常自問，互聯網時代，還需要閱讀嗎？

閱讀是社會進步的重要推動力，不僅有助於我們了解社會、歷史、文化和人類的智慧，從而促進文化交流和跨文化理解，推動人類文明的發展和進步，更能使我們保有科學精神和思考能力。

一體兩面地看，互聯網時代的閱讀，是開放體系的閱讀，它把個人選擇和算法推介相結合，形成了基於人的有效判斷的大數據體系，是開放的、可變的、動態的。這種開放式的閱讀可以幫助我們了解不同的文化、思想和價值觀，從而讓我們更加開放、包容，也有助於我們更好認識世界。

互聯網時代的閱讀邏輯，決定着出版行業何去何從。對從業者而言，保持專業性是必須的堅持。

在互聯網時代，出版工作者需要積極應對流量本身對於出版業內容的影響、組織架構的影響以及受衆對於傳播形式的理解和影響，堅持專業性是保障信息質量的基礎，讓讀者能夠獲得真實、可靠的信息。

同時，在信息傳播日益全球化的今天，出版行業需要面對各種文化的交流互鑒。堅持出版專業性，可以更好地把握信息傳播的風向和社會需求，保証出版行業的可持續發展，讓讀者獲得更好的閱讀體驗和服務。

雖然行業面臨着發展的十字路口，但我們堅信，隻要高質量的知識是被社會所需要的，出版工作就有意義。

今年，中信出版提出了“聲音出版”的理念來回應行業變化。最主要的原因，是我們發現讀者雖然每天在手機上花費大量時間，但閱讀質量和思考能力逐漸下降，對於複雜的學術文獻和長篇小説更是難以專注。這需要我們保持警惕，不能沉迷於短時間的碎片化閱讀，要堅持深度閱讀，提高思考能力和閱讀質量。

出版是一個古老而常新的行業，中信出版一直有一句口號：我們提供知識，以應對變化的世界。這包含着我們對於出版的理解，以及對於行業使命的期許。無論從哪個角度來説，閱讀的重要性都不言而喻。當前，網絡的發展、技術的進步讓享受閱讀、獲得知識更加便利。希望有更多人走進書的世界，在日益多樣的方式和愈發豐富的選擇中，感受閱讀的樂趣和文字的力量。

（作者爲中信出版集團股份有限公司總經理；2023年10月30日《人民日報》 10 版）

Comment by 誰還記得北婆羅州？ on September 13, 2023 at 5:07pm: 孔子晚年之時，傾力整理國故，相傳「刪詩正樂」，顯然是指《詩經》。基於《詩經》的詩教，屬古代教育的基礎科目之一，在襄助人文化成的實踐中，意義重大，備受推崇。孔子的詩教思想，首先關注的是「興、觀、群、怨」四個向度和與其相應的社交、外交、倫理和審美等多重功能，①其次是「邇之事父」的家庭倫常功能和「遠之事君」的朝政職責功能，再就是「多識於鳥獸草木之名」的致知功能。已往對孔子詩教的研究，大多偏於思理闡發，看重道德本位和審美價值，比較忽視致知作用。這種致知，實際上是博聞多識的一種途徑，或者說是「格物致知」的一項內容，是君子人格修養過程中不可或缺的重要環節。

從《詩經》中看，古代的先民，生活多以農耕為主，與大自然甚為親近，對環境物象十分敏感。因此，在言志、抒情、記事之時，或比、或興、或賦，物我互動，彼此映襯，經常達到渾然合一的境界。由此生成的詩歌意象，鳥獸草木等因素占有很大比重，除了自身所寄寓的象征或顯隱喻示之類的意味外，也順理成為輔助性的致知之源(sources for cognitive investigation)。這裏所言的「輔助性」，主要是指通過了解相關鳥獸草木的特征與習性，進而輔助人們擴展知識廣度和提升讀詩釋義深度，以便上達「博文約禮」的崇高目的。

據三國吳人陸璣的《毛詩草木鳥獸蟲魚疏》統計，全《詩經》所涉及的動植物共有150種，其中草類52種，木類36種，鳥類23種，獸類9種，蟲類20種，魚類10種。②後來清代學者徐雪樵作了進一步的研究，發現《詩經》所載的動植物總數共計355種。[1]5-6按其六大分類，鳥類計有38餘種：

黃鳥、鵲、雀、燕、雁、流離、烏、鶉、雞、鳧、鴇、晨風、鵜、鵯、鸛、脊、令、隼、鶴、桑扈、鶯、鳶、鴛鴦、鷹、鳳凰、鷺、桃蟲、雎鳩、斑鳩、布谷、(有冠長尾)雄雉、(無冠短尾)雌雉等。

獸類計有29餘種：

馬、麟、鼠、麇、鹿、牛、羊、兔、虎、豹、盧(獵犬)、碩鼠、貉、狐、貍、熏鼠(地鼠)、兕(野牛)、熊、羆(大而黃色之熊)、豺、狼、長毛猿、豕(小豬)、貓、狴、象等。

蟲類計有27餘種：

螽斯、草蟲、阜螽、蝤蠐、螓、蛾、蒼蠅、蟋蟀、浮遊、蠶、莎雞、伊威、蛸、宵行、蜴、螟蛉、蜮、螟、蟊、賊、青蠅、蜂等。

魚類計有19餘種：

魴、鰥、鯉、鱒、鰭、鯊、嘉魚、鱉、龜、黿、蛇、貝、鰷等。

草本類計有88餘種：

荇、葛、卷耳、苜、蘩、蕨、薇、藻、茅、葭、蓬、瓠、葑、菲、荼、薺、苓、茨、唐、麥、綠、竹、瓠、芄蘭、草、黍、稷、蕭、艾、麻、荷、龍、茹、蘆、芍藥、莠、莫、稻、梁、蘞、蒹、菅、苕、蒲、萇楚、葵、菽、瓜、壺、韭、蘋、蒿、芩、臺、萊、莪、芑、蓄、莞、蔚、蔦、女蘿、芹、藍、荀、蓼、茆等。

其中「荼」分三種：一是苦菜之荼，見邶風《谷風》篇「誰謂荼苦，如甘如薺」；二是白色茅花，見鄭風《出其東門》篇「有女如荼，雖則如荼，匪我思且」；三是陸上穢草，見周頌《良耜》篇「荼蓼朽止，黍稷茂止」。凡此三者，同名而異形。[2]138

木本類計有54餘種：

桃、楚、甘棠、梅、唐棣、李、棘、榛、栗、椅、桐、梓、漆、桑、檜、松、柏、翟、杜、木瓜、杞、檀、舜、柳、樞、栲、椒、栩、楊、條、棗、常棣、枸、柞、椐、梧桐、喬木、扶蘇等。

其中「棘」分兩種：一為多刺難長的叢生小樹，見邶風《凱風》篇「凱風自南，吹彼棘心」；二為小酸棗樹，見魏風《園有桃》篇「園有棘，其實之食」。另外，「杞」亦分三種：一指澤柳，見鄭風《將仲子》篇「將仲子兮，無逾我裏，無折我樹杞」；二指枸杞，見小雅《四牡》篇「翩翩者騅，載飛載止，集於苞杞」；三指可以做藥材的「枸骨」，見小雅《南山有臺》篇「南山有杞，北山有李；樂之君子，民之父母；樂之君子，德音不已」。[2]138

以上所舉，並非總括無遺。陳大章所撰的《詩傳名物集覽》，就「列有飛潛動植三百六十條」，的確達到「旁蒐博攬，萃薈兼該」的程度，但其同代學者認為並不盡然。③據當代學者胡樸安的統計結果，全《詩經》中所涉及的動植物總數高達336種。其中「言草者一百零五，言木者七十五，言鳥者三十九，言獸者六十七，言蟲者二十九，言魚者二十；其他言器者約三百餘」。[3]

實際上，《詩經》所載的名物種類，遠不止鳥獸草木蟲魚，還有其他許多器類。譬如禮樂器具、農具、日常生活器具與資料、自然現象中的日月星辰與風雨雷電、歷史地理中的山川河流與行政區域名稱，以及當時各國的風俗習慣和不同稱呼，等等。若詳加考釋，再加上「飛潛動植三百六十條」，總數或許逾千。

【注釋】

①參見王柯平《流變與會通——中西詩樂美學釋論》「一孔子詩教思想發微」，北京：北京大學出版社，2013年，第1-25頁。

②轉引自康曉城《先秦儒家詩教思想研究》，臺北：文史哲出版社，1988年，第188頁；陸璣、毛晉《毛詩草木鳥獸蟲魚疏廣要》，上海：商務印書館，1936年。

③陳大章《詩傳名物集覽》，上海：商務印書館，1937年。見丘良驥《序》

（見：王柯平·詩教的致知功能——「多識於鳥獸草木之名」疏解）