{"id":3457,"date":"2016-08-03T09:21:31","date_gmt":"2016-08-03T01:21:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/2016\/08\/03\/bo_te_xiao_20160803\/"},"modified":"2016-08-03T09:21:31","modified_gmt":"2016-08-03T01:21:31","slug":"bo_te_xiao_20160803","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2016\/08\/03\/bo_te_xiao_20160803\/","title":{"rendered":"Miss Pot\u00adter\u2019s Growth Story\u2014\u2014Afterword to the Trans\u00adla\u00adtion of \u201cMiss Pot\u00adter and Peter Rab\u00adbit\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had the great hon\u00ador of trans\u00adlat\u00ading the Pen\u00adguin edi\u00adtion of Beat\u00adrix Pot\u00adter\u2019s \u201cThe World of Peter Rab\u00adbit,\u201d and I\u2019m also hon\u00adored to have trans\u00adlat\u00aded David MacPhail\u2019s \u201cMiss Pot\u00adter and Peter Rab\u00adbit.\u201d Like MacPhail, Miss Pot\u00adter is a hero of mine, and I\u2019m grate\u00adful to him for cre\u00adat\u00ading this pic\u00adture book about Miss Pot\u00adter\u2019s com\u00ading-of-age sto\u00adry for chil\u00addren (it\u2019s also the first one I\u2019ve ever read). I could\u00adn\u2019t resist shar\u00ading some more infor\u00adma\u00adtion with old\u00ader read\u00aders. You can delve deep\u00ader into this book, and if you\u2019re inter\u00adest\u00aded, share it with your chil\u00addren.
\n<\/p>\n

Although Miss Porter was born in the mid\u00addle of the Vic\u00adto\u00adri\u00adan era in Eng\u00adland and died dur\u00ading World War II, and her life span is quite long ago, many peo\u00adple still remem\u00adber her because of her many remark\u00adable con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtions to the world. They have col\u00adlect\u00aded and com\u00adpiled a lot of rel\u00ade\u00advant infor\u00adma\u00adtion. There are at least three rig\u00ador\u00adous biogra\u00adphies alone. Her diaries, let\u00adters, and works have been pre\u00adserved quite well. Her farm, old house, and fur\u00adni\u00adture in the Lake Dis\u00adtrict of Eng\u00adland have also been pre\u00adserved very well. There\u00adfore, we can basi\u00adcal\u00adly have a pret\u00adty clear under\u00adstand\u00ading of the out\u00adline of her life. If nec\u00ades\u00adsary, we can go there to see it in per\u00adson.
\n<\/p>\n

The book opens by men\u00adtion\u00ading that Miss Porter was born into a wealthy fam\u00adi\u00adly, but her par\u00adents did\u00adn\u2019t spend much time rais\u00ading their chil\u00addren them\u00adselves, instead leav\u00ading them to nan\u00adnies and gov\u00aderness\u00ades. Indeed, Miss Porter lat\u00ader described the large house at 2 Bolton Gar\u00addens in Lon\u00addon where she and her broth\u00ader were born as a \u201clove\u00adless birth\u00adplace.\u201d While their par\u00adents did love them and pro\u00advid\u00aded them with excel\u00adlent mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal con\u00addi\u00adtions, the lack of parental com\u00adpan\u00adion\u00adship still left them feel\u00ading a sense of loss.
\n
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nNum\u00adber 2 Bolton Gar\u00addens (pho\u00adto tak\u00aden by Miss Porter\u2019s father Rupert in 1889)<\/p>\n

\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nMiss Porter\u2019s birth\u00adplace, 2 Bolton Gar\u00addens, Lon\u00addon
\nThe orig\u00adi\u00adnal man\u00adsion was destroyed by bomb\u00ading in World War II and has now been con\u00advert\u00aded into a pri\u00adma\u00adry school.
\n<\/p>\n

Miss Porter\u2019s par\u00adents, both orig\u00adi\u00adnal\u00adly farm\u00aders in north\u00adern Eng\u00adland, rose to wealth through tire\u00adless hard work, becom\u00ading emerg\u00ading indus\u00adtri\u00adal tycoons in the Man\u00adches\u00adter area. Her grand\u00adfa\u00adther, a major play\u00ader in Man\u00adches\u00adter\u2019s tex\u00adtile indus\u00adtry, lat\u00ader became an MP in Lon\u00addon and active\u00adly par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpat\u00aded in pol\u00adi\u00adtics. Her mater\u00adnal grand\u00adfa\u00adther, through his suc\u00adcess\u00adful over\u00adseas trade, also achieved inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal influ\u00adence. Both placed great empha\u00adsis on their chil\u00addren\u2019s edu\u00adca\u00adtion and pos\u00adsessed artis\u00adtic taste, includ\u00ading avid art col\u00adlec\u00adtors. Her mater\u00adnal grand\u00adfa\u00adther\u2019s col\u00adlec\u00adtion includ\u00aded numer\u00adous land\u00adscapes by the Impres\u00adsion\u00adist mas\u00adter Turn\u00ader. Miss Porter\u2019s father, Rupert, was a Lon\u00addon lawyer and a skilled investor, accu\u00admu\u00adlat\u00ading con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adable wealth through both per\u00adson\u00adal accu\u00admu\u00adla\u00adtion and inher\u00adit\u00aded wealth. Her moth\u00ader, Helen, also amassed a sub\u00adstan\u00adtial for\u00adtune, pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly through inher\u00adi\u00adtance. When Miss Porter was born, the fam\u00adi\u00adly, with a but\u00adler, house\u00adkeep\u00ader, cook, groom, and sev\u00ader\u00adal ser\u00advants, was con\u00adsid\u00adered a dis\u00adtin\u00adguished fam\u00adi\u00adly. How\u00adev\u00ader, with\u00adout a title and lim\u00adit\u00aded social cir\u00adcle, they were still con\u00adsid\u00adered upper-mid\u00addle class.
\n
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nMiss Porter\u2019s par\u00adents
\n<\/p>\n

A child liv\u00ading in such a home should nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly feel hap\u00adpy, but Miss Porter recalls her child\u00adhood as one of rigid\u00adi\u00adty and lone\u00adli\u00adness. Her father was away on busi\u00adness, often on busi\u00adness trips, while Rupert was active in var\u00adi\u00adous social clubs. Her moth\u00ader was busy direct\u00ading ser\u00advants, enter\u00adtain\u00ading guests, and social\u00adiz\u00ading at oth\u00ader homes. The child, cared for by a surly Scot\u00adtish nan\u00adny, spent most of her time in the chil\u00addren\u2019s play\u00adroom on the third floor, away from the adult world down\u00adstairs. Miss Porter usu\u00adal\u00adly played alone, occa\u00adsion\u00adal\u00adly see\u00ading the chil\u00addren of vis\u00adit\u00ading rel\u00ada\u00adtives. This sit\u00adu\u00ada\u00adtion did not improve until her younger broth\u00ader Bertram arrived, when she was almost six. It was indeed a rather lone\u00adly child\u00adhood! Miss Porter\u2019s first biog\u00adra\u00adph\u00ader was so moved that he even imag\u00adined the nurs\u00adery win\u00addow barred with iron bars. In fact, there were no bars at all, and the view from there was breath\u00adtak\u00ading.
\n
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nMiss Porter in her child\u00adhood<\/p>\n

\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nPho\u00adto of Miss Porter and her broth\u00ader
\n<\/p>\n

For\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly, Miss Porter had a pas\u00adsion for paint\u00ading from a young age. This soli\u00adtary activ\u00adi\u00adty must have helped alle\u00advi\u00adate much of her lone\u00adli\u00adness. Her artis\u00adtic nur\u00adtur\u00ading came pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly from her fam\u00adi\u00adly. From a young age, she often vis\u00adit\u00aded her grand\u00adpar\u00adents and her grand\u00admoth\u00ader\u2019s home, though her grand\u00adfa\u00adther sad\u00adly passed away five years before she was born. Both homes were filled with their col\u00adlec\u00adtions of famous paint\u00adings, and the fur\u00adnish\u00adings and fur\u00adni\u00adture were ele\u00adgant and antique. Miss Porter lat\u00ader became a col\u00adlec\u00adtor of these works. How\u00adev\u00ader, even as a young girl, it was the nat\u00adur\u00adal sur\u00adround\u00adings of the coun\u00adtry estate that most cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00aded her. Her grand\u00adfa\u00adther\u2019s Cam\u00adfield Estate spanned over 300 acres and even fea\u00adtured a cave! He hired a lead\u00ading land\u00adscape archi\u00adtect of the time to design and trans\u00adform it into a renowned scenic spot. In that envi\u00adron\u00adment, Miss Porter devel\u00adoped a close con\u00adnec\u00adtion with nature and a love for observ\u00ading beau\u00adti\u00adful things.
\n<\/p>\n

Her par\u00adents also passed on to her the abil\u00adi\u00adty to feel and express beau\u00adty. Rupert and Helen already had a deep artis\u00adtic back\u00adground: Rupert loved paint\u00ading in his ear\u00adly years, often sketch\u00ading in his sketch\u00adbook even while study\u00ading at law school. Lat\u00ader, he became fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00aded with pho\u00adtog\u00adra\u00adphy and became a skilled ama\u00adteur pho\u00adtog\u00adra\u00adph\u00ader; Helen excelled in water\u00adcol\u00ador land\u00adscapes in her youth, and her works are still auc\u00adtioned and col\u00adlect\u00aded. Some crit\u00adics believe that her paint\u00adings have beau\u00adti\u00adful com\u00adpo\u00adsi\u00adtion, but are \u201ctoo sub\u00adjec\u00adtive.\u201d The two of them always car\u00adried sketch\u00adbooks with them when they went out, and would write and draw in them at any time. Rupert would often draw while telling his daugh\u00adter inter\u00adest\u00ading things. Miss Porter devel\u00adoped this habit nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly. It is said that once some\u00adone gave them a rare pineap\u00adple, she quick\u00adly drew it before the ser\u00advants could cut it.
\n
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nLand\u00adscapes paint\u00aded by Miss Porter\u2019s moth\u00ader when she was young<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The book recounts one of Miss Porter\u2019s hap\u00adpi\u00adest child\u00adhood moments, when Helen gave her water\u00adcol\u00ador box to her daugh\u00adter. She kept the box through\u00adout her life. Var\u00adi\u00adous sources indi\u00adcate that Miss Porter\u2019s rela\u00adtion\u00adship with her moth\u00ader was strained, even dis\u00adtant. How\u00adev\u00ader, her moth\u00ader\u2019s encour\u00adage\u00adment and affir\u00adma\u00adtion of her daugh\u00adter\u2019s paint\u00ading played a sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant role in her future suc\u00adcess in this field.
\n<\/p>\n

By com\u00adpar\u00adi\u00adson, her father, Rupert, had a more direct and pro\u00adfound influ\u00adence on her. Although he was often away from home, he was incred\u00adi\u00adbly kind and patient with his daugh\u00adter and son. He also had a won\u00adder\u00adful habit of writ\u00ading down inter\u00adest\u00ading things he saw upon their request. Rupert and his daugh\u00adter often exchanged notes. When his daugh\u00adter asked him if he had seen any\u00adthing inter\u00adest\u00ading out\u00adside, he would patient\u00adly write down a long para\u00adgraph. Rupert\u2019s pho\u00adtog\u00adra\u00adphy required mod\u00adels. At the time, cam\u00aderas took a long time to process, requir\u00ading him to sit fac\u00ading the lens for sev\u00ader\u00adal min\u00adutes before tak\u00ading a sin\u00adgle shot, which required repeat\u00aded adjust\u00adments. Most peo\u00adple would\u00adn\u2019t have endured this, but Miss Porter loved being her father\u2019s mod\u00adel because it allowed her to spend more time with him. Even bet\u00adter oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adties includ\u00aded fish\u00ading trips with her father or out\u00addoor pho\u00adtog\u00adra\u00adphy ses\u00adsions, where they had more time to inter\u00adact freely. This was how Miss Porter learned pho\u00adtog\u00adra\u00adphy from her father, and also how to observe like a pho\u00adtog\u00adra\u00adph\u00ader.
\n<\/p>\n

Rupert was well-con\u00adnect\u00aded in the art world of his time, asso\u00adci\u00adat\u00ading with numer\u00adous artists, most notably Mil\u00adlais, one of the three great Pre-Raphaelite artists. Miss Porter\u2019s favorite paint\u00ading was \u201cOphe\u00adlia.\u201d Mil\u00adlais fre\u00adquent\u00adly vis\u00adit\u00aded the Porter fam\u00adi\u00adly\u2019s farm in Scot\u00adland, where they vaca\u00adtioned, and asked Rupert to pho\u00adto\u00adgraph him. He also fre\u00adquent\u00adly invit\u00aded them to his stu\u00addio in Lon\u00addon. As a child, Miss Porter was ter\u00adri\u00adfied of this painter, who often teased her, but she grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly learned from him and received numer\u00adous prais\u00ades and encour\u00adage\u00adment from the mas\u00adter. Mil\u00adlais once remarked to Miss Porter, \u201cMany peo\u00adple can paint, but you and my son know how to observe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nMil\u00adlais\u2019s Ophe\u00adlia<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Although Miss Porter\u2019s par\u00adents did not suc\u00adceed in mak\u00ading their chil\u00addren feel ful\u00adly loved, they did a lot of things with\u00adin their abil\u00adi\u00adty, con\u00adscious\u00adly or uncon\u00adscious\u00adly. One of the most won\u00adder\u00adful things was to take their chil\u00addren on vaca\u00adtion to the coun\u00adtry\u00adside in north\u00adern Eng\u00adland every sum\u00admer, which often last\u00aded four or five months.
\n<\/p>\n

Orig\u00adi\u00adnal\u00adly, the Pot\u00adters had longed to join Lon\u00addon\u2019s upper crust, but their thick\u00adly accent\u00aded Yan\u00adkees, their upstarts from a fam\u00adi\u00adly of farm\u00aders, and their mem\u00adber\u00adship in the niche Uni\u00adtar\u00adi\u00adan sect (which did\u00adn\u2019t believe in the Trin\u00adi\u00adty) made this dif\u00adfi\u00adcult. Despite this, when\u00adev\u00ader the warm Eng\u00adlish sum\u00admer breezes blew, they could\u00adn\u2019t help but yearn for the earthy aro\u00adma of the north. They quick\u00adly packed their bags, gath\u00adered their chil\u00addren and ser\u00advants, and head\u00aded for their farms in north\u00adern Eng\u00adland or Scot\u00adland. For now, they could for\u00adget all about Lon\u00addon soci\u00adety. The peas\u00adant blood cours\u00ading through their veins flowed irre\u00adsistibly into their daugh\u00adter and son, who, as adults, chose to leave Lon\u00addon behind and set\u00adtle down in the rur\u00adal coun\u00adtry\u00adside of north\u00adern Eng\u00adland. Miss Pot\u00adter even made remark\u00adable efforts to become a true coun\u00adtry bump\u00adkin. But that\u2019s anoth\u00ader sto\u00adry.
\n<\/p>\n

Before she was 16, Miss Porter spent most of her sum\u00admers in the Scot\u00adtish coun\u00adtry\u00adside. In her \u201caes\u00adthet\u00adic dic\u00adtio\u00adnary,\u201d beau\u00adty was syn\u00adony\u00admous with the Scot\u00adtish coun\u00adtry\u00adside. When she was 16, her fam\u00adi\u00adly spent their first sum\u00admer in the Lake Dis\u00adtrict in north\u00adern Eng\u00adland, and she fell hope\u00adless\u00adly in love with the Lake Dis\u00adtrict, espe\u00adcial\u00adly the vil\u00adlage of Thor\u00adley, west of Lake Win\u00adder\u00admere. Many years lat\u00ader, it was there that she com\u00adplet\u00aded the pre-pub\u00adli\u00adca\u00adtion revi\u00adsions for The Tales of Peter Rab\u00adbit, and lat\u00ader bought Hill\u00adtop Farm, where she grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly set\u00adtled down.
\n
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nMiss Porter\u2019s for\u00admer home at Hill\u00adtop Farm (pho\u00adto tak\u00aden by Ajia in the sum\u00admer of 2013)
\n<\/p>\n

Dur\u00ading their sum\u00admers in the coun\u00adtry\u00adside, Miss Porter and her broth\u00ader Bertram enjoyed a free\u00addom they had\u00adn\u2019t enjoyed in Lon\u00addon. They could go out and play on their own, and when they were old\u00ader, they could go boat\u00ading or ride in a horse-drawn car\u00adriage. In this beau\u00adti\u00adful nat\u00adur\u00adal envi\u00adron\u00adment, their par\u00adents relaxed, often play\u00ading and inter\u00adact\u00ading with their chil\u00addren. Vis\u00adi\u00adtors, many of whom were promi\u00adnent fig\u00adures from var\u00adi\u00adous social cir\u00adcles, also nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly engaged in con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion with the chil\u00addren, which broad\u00adened their hori\u00adzons. Miss Porter\u2019s broad per\u00adspec\u00adtives in lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture, art, and sci\u00adence were in part due to these con\u00adnec\u00adtions. For exam\u00adple, the vis\u00adit\u00ading Mil\u00adlais gave her a lot of artis\u00adtic guid\u00adance; and the post\u00adman she met in Scot\u00adland was actu\u00adal\u00adly a folk nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adist. Miss Porter\u2019s inter\u00adest in fun\u00adgi and her out\u00adstand\u00ading achieve\u00adments in this area were large\u00adly due to his help, and he also became the pro\u00adto\u00adtype of Mr. McG\u00ado\u00adna\u00adgall in \u201cThe Tale of Peter Rab\u00adbit\u201d; and the pas\u00adtor and writer Mr. Rawns\u00adley, whom she met in the Lake Dis\u00adtrict, spared no effort in encour\u00adag\u00ading her to pub\u00adlish \u201cThe Tale of Peter Rab\u00adbit\u201d, and his sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic and rig\u00ador\u00adous atti\u00adtude and almost fanat\u00adi\u00adcal piety to pro\u00adtect the Lake Dis\u00adtrict envi\u00adron\u00adment also influ\u00adenced Miss Porter\u2019s entire sec\u00adond half of her life.
\n<\/p>\n

Miss Porter was often ill while in Lon\u00addon, suf\u00adfer\u00ading sev\u00ader\u00adal seri\u00adous ill\u00adness\u00ades between the ages of 16 and 19, includ\u00ading eight months in which she did\u00adn\u2019t write a sin\u00adgle word in her secret diary. This lit\u00adtle book also recounts this expe\u00adri\u00adence. Inter\u00adest\u00ading\u00adly, how\u00adev\u00ader, once in the coun\u00adtry\u00adside, Miss Porter\u2019s ail\u00adments van\u00adished, leav\u00ading her feel\u00ading strong and ener\u00adgetic. In this healthy, free air, she hiked exten\u00adsive\u00adly, paint\u00aded every\u00adwhere, and observed with great inter\u00adest. The Vic\u00adto\u00adri\u00adan era, dur\u00ading which she lived, was Britain\u2019s most glo\u00adri\u00adous era. Sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adcy was wide\u00adspread, and even young ladies enjoyed read\u00ading sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic jour\u00adnals, col\u00adlect\u00ading fos\u00adsils, and prepar\u00ading spec\u00adi\u00admens in their spare time. Joy\u00adful\u00adly immersed in nature, Miss Porter devel\u00adoped a deep inter\u00adest in nat\u00adur\u00adal his\u00adto\u00adry. Rupert, notic\u00ading his daugh\u00adter\u2019s par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar inter\u00adest in bird\u00adwatch\u00ading, gift\u00aded her a beau\u00adti\u00adful copy of \u201cBird Sketch\u00ades\u201d on her tenth birth\u00adday. Miss Porter loved it and trea\u00adsured it for the rest of her life.
\n<\/p>\n

When she and her broth\u00ader had to return to the nurs\u00adery in Lon\u00addon (which lat\u00ader served as a class\u00adroom), they not only brought back numer\u00adous fos\u00adsils and spec\u00adi\u00admens but also raised numer\u00adous small ani\u00admals. Besides the more domes\u00adti\u00adcat\u00aded dogs, rab\u00adbits, lizards, sala\u00adman\u00adders, tor\u00adtois\u00ades, canaries, par\u00adrots, mice, and guinea pigs, they also kept wild ani\u00admals like ring-necked snakes, wild ducks, bats, hedge\u00adhogs, kestrels, and grouse. This reflect\u00aded both their bound\u00adless curios\u00adi\u00adty and their par\u00adents\u2019 aston\u00adish\u00ading tol\u00ader\u00adance for this hob\u00adby. Many of these ani\u00admals became char\u00adac\u00adters in Miss Porter\u2019s pic\u00adture books.
\n
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nMiss Porter\u2019s child\u00adhood draw\u00adings
\n<\/p>\n

The book also men\u00adtions Miss Porter\u2019s paint\u00ading stud\u00adies, thanks to her father\u2019s arrange\u00adment. Rupert, increas\u00ading\u00adly impressed by his daugh\u00adter\u2019s tal\u00adent in this area, urged her to pur\u00adsue for\u00admal paint\u00ading train\u00ading. She stud\u00adied for five years with a Miss Cameron and lat\u00ader took the Nation\u00adal Art Train\u00ading School exams, achiev\u00ading dis\u00adtinc\u00adtions in all of them. How\u00adev\u00ader, her enthu\u00adsi\u00adasm for this kind of art edu\u00adca\u00adtion waned as she grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly devel\u00adoped her own per\u00adspec\u00adtive and stan\u00addards for judg\u00ading art\u00adwork, often find\u00ading them at odds with her teacher\u2019s. Under the guid\u00adance of a men\u00adtor, Rupert arranged for his daugh\u00adter to take expen\u00adsive oil paint\u00ading lessons with a renowned teacher. Miss Porter reluc\u00adtant\u00adly com\u00adplet\u00aded the course, almost instinc\u00adtive\u00adly rebelling against the tech\u00adniques being taught. This rebel\u00adlion, how\u00adev\u00ader, led her to dis\u00adcov\u00ader a pas\u00adsion for water\u00adcol\u00ador and grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly devel\u00adop her own style. While these lessons did\u00adn\u2019t direct\u00adly ben\u00ade\u00adfit her, they did pro\u00advide a win\u00addow for the young artist to emerge.
\n
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nMiss Porter\u2019s paint\u00adings of fun\u00adgi
\n<\/p>\n

The book men\u00adtions her broth\u00ader Bertram pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly as a com\u00adpan\u00adion grow\u00ading up, but he was also an artist. Miss Porter admit\u00adted that his broth\u00ader far sur\u00adpassed her in land\u00adscapes and por\u00adtraits. She her\u00adself pre\u00adferred to paint ani\u00admals and plants in water\u00adcol\u00ador, with a cer\u00adtain sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic rig\u00ador. She cre\u00adat\u00aded dozens of water\u00adcol\u00adors of fun\u00adgi, which are still includ\u00aded in author\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtive ency\u00adclo\u00adpe\u00addias. She also had a deep admi\u00adra\u00adtion for sev\u00ader\u00adal of the lead\u00ading chil\u00addren\u2019s book illus\u00adtra\u00adtors of the time, such as Wal\u00adter Crane, Kate Green\u00adaway, and Rudolph Calde\u00adcott, espe\u00adcial\u00adly Calde\u00adcott. Rupert him\u00adself was deeply fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00aded by Calde\u00adcott and col\u00adlect\u00aded some of his orig\u00adi\u00adnal illus\u00adtra\u00adtions. Miss Porter was a great admir\u00ader of Calde\u00adcott, even \u201ctry\u00ading in vain\u201d to copy many of his works. Calde\u00adcot\u00adt\u2019s pro\u00adfound influ\u00adence can be seen in many of her lat\u00ader works.
\n<\/p>\n

Although Miss Porter nev\u00ader attend\u00aded school, she received a well-round\u00aded edu\u00adca\u00adtion. Even before she was six, her can\u00adtan\u00adker\u00adous Scot\u00adtish nan\u00adny read her count\u00adless Scot\u00adtish nurs\u00adery rhymes, fairy tales, and folk tales, all of which per\u00adme\u00adate her lit\u00adtle book. From the age of six until she was nine\u00adteen, she stud\u00adied under three gov\u00aderness\u00ades, tak\u00ading spe\u00adcial\u00adized assess\u00adments and achiev\u00ading excel\u00adlent grades in every sub\u00adject. Home\u00adschool\u00ading allowed her to ful\u00adly pur\u00adsue her inter\u00adests. She devot\u00aded near\u00adly half her time to paint\u00ading, and much of her time to nat\u00adur\u00adal his\u00adto\u00adry research, Eng\u00adlish lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture, French, and Ger\u00adman. She wrote flu\u00adent\u00adly in French and con\u00adversed quite com\u00adfort\u00adably in Ger\u00adman. At one point, she became a fer\u00advent Shake\u00adspeare fanat\u00adic, assign\u00ading her\u00adself assign\u00adments and assess\u00adments, mem\u00ado\u00adriz\u00ading entire plays in a mat\u00adter of months.
\n
\nIn short, when Miss Porter wrote The Tale of Peter Rab\u00adbit at the age of 27, she was well pre\u00adpared in every way.
\n<\/p>\n

That famous illus\u00adtrat\u00aded let\u00adter was writ\u00adten on Sep\u00adtem\u00adber 4, 1893, while she was spend\u00ading the sum\u00admer on a farm in Scot\u00adland, busy with paint\u00ading and her fun\u00adgal research (which lat\u00ader cul\u00admi\u00adnat\u00aded in a valu\u00adable sci\u00aden\u00adtif\u00adic paper). She had heard that her friend\u2019s (and her last Ger\u00adman tutor\u2019s) son, Noel, was ill, and she felt com\u00adpelled to write to com\u00adfort him. Remem\u00adber? Miss Porter\u2019s father often wrote amus\u00ading anec\u00addotes to com\u00adfort his absent chil\u00addren, so Miss Porter nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly fol\u00adlowed suit. But since she had noth\u00ading else to tell him, she decid\u00aded to tell him the sto\u00adry of the four lit\u00adtle rab\u00adbits. As she wrote and illus\u00adtrat\u00aded, a beau\u00adti\u00adful and love\u00adly sto\u00adry emerged.
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nThe recip\u00adi\u00adent of this famous let\u00adter: Noel Moore<\/span><\/p>\n

\u3000\u3000
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A few sum\u00admers ago, my fam\u00adi\u00adly and I vaca\u00adtioned in Eng\u00adland\u2019s Lake Dis\u00adtrict. On the fer\u00adry across Lake Win\u00adder\u00admere, the cap\u00adtain, upon hear\u00ading we\u2019d come from Chi\u00adna to vis\u00adit Miss Porter, was delight\u00aded and proud\u00adly asked, \u201cDo you know the three things Miss Porter should be remem\u00adbered for?\u201d I almost guessed the answers, but I was eager to hear his response. He said, first, she was a remark\u00adable writer and artist, the author of so many beau\u00adti\u00adful books; sec\u00adond, she was a remark\u00adable envi\u00adron\u00admen\u00adtal\u00adist, and the Lake Dis\u00adtric\u00adt\u2019s beau\u00adty today is large\u00adly due to her years of hard work; and third, and this is often over\u00adlooked, she was also a sci\u00aden\u00adtist, whose vast knowl\u00adedge instilled in her a deep love for this land. Yes, I hap\u00adpi\u00adly shook the cap\u00adtain\u2019s hand; what he said was exact\u00adly what I had in mind.<\/p>\n

In 1913, Beat\u00adrix Pot\u00adter mar\u00adried Mr. Hillis, a local Lake Dis\u00adtrict lawyer, and became Mrs. Hillis. The Hilliss were deeply in love and pas\u00adsion\u00adate\u00adly com\u00admit\u00adted to pre\u00adserv\u00ading the Lake Dis\u00adtric\u00adt\u2019s envi\u00adron\u00adment. They lived togeth\u00ader for 30 years until Mrs. Hillis\u2019s death in 1943; Mr. Hillis, unable to bear the grief of his wife\u2019s death, fol\u00adlowed two years lat\u00ader. Dur\u00ading their life\u00adtime, they donat\u00aded all their farms in the Lake Dis\u00adtrict to envi\u00adron\u00admen\u00adtal char\u00adi\u00adties to pro\u00adtect them from future overde\u00advel\u00adop\u00adment. As a result, to this day, the Lake Dis\u00adtrict where they lived retains the nat\u00adur\u00adal beau\u00adty of its 140-year his\u00adto\u00adry.
\n\u3000\u3000
\nWrit\u00adten in Bei\u00adjing on March 7, 2016
\n
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nThe inn next to Hill\u00adtop Farm
\n
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nLake Esth\u00adwaite, Miss Porter\u2019s favorite
\n
\n\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u7684\u6210\u957f\u6545\u4e8b\u2014\u2014\u300a\u6ce2\u7279\u5c0f\u59d0\u4e0e\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\"<\/a>
\nPeter Rab\u00adbit\u2019s Adven\u00adture in the Veg\u00adetable Gar\u00adden
<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u3000\u3000\u6211\u975e\u5e38\u6709\u5e78\u7ffb\u8bd1\u4e86\u4f01\u9e45\u6388\u6743\u7248\u7684\u6bd4\u963f\u7279\u4e3d\u514b\u65af\u00b7\u6ce2\u7279\u7684\u201c\u6bd4\u5f97\u5154\u7684\u4e16\u754c\u201d\uff0c\u4e5f\u5f88\u6709\u5e78\u7ffb\u8bd1\u4e86\u8fd9\u672c\u5927\u536b\u00b7\u9ea6\u514b\u8d39\u5c14\u7684\u300a\u6ce2\u7279 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[5,25,6,26],"class_list":["post-3457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-timemachine","tag-5","tag-25","tag-6","tag-26"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy73KNh42wLc7.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}