{"id":3599,"date":"2017-11-23T09:53:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-23T01:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/2017\/11\/23\/mi_ren_de_20171123\/"},"modified":"2017-11-23T09:53:00","modified_gmt":"2017-11-23T01:53:00","slug":"mi_ren_de_20171123","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2017\/11\/23\/mi_ren_de_20171123\/","title":{"rendered":"A Fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading Paper Archives: After\u00adword to the Trans\u00adla\u00adtion of \u201cA Year in an Amer\u00adi\u00adcan Small Town\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1Eb1cmv8b\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" name=\"image_operate_75521511402348642\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1Eb1cmv8b.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><br>\n&nbsp; &nbsp;<br>\nThese four pic\u00adture books real\u00adis\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly depict the basic land\u00adscapes of four dif\u00adfer\u00adent Amer\u00adi\u00adcan small towns\u2014a prairie town, a riv\u00ader town, a moun\u00adtain town, and a desert town\u2014and tell the sto\u00adries of their res\u00adi\u00addents through\u00adout the four sea\u00adsons. Cre\u00adative\u00adly, they are unadorned to the point of sim\u00adplic\u00adi\u00adty, while the nar\u00adra\u00adtive style is prac\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly a jour\u00adnal. Yet, what\u2019s fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading is that they\u2019re the kind of books you nev\u00ader tire of read\u00ading, dis\u00adcov\u00ader\u00ading new things with each reread\u00ading. Even more remark\u00adable, they keep you imag\u00adin\u00ading and might even inspire a desire to delve into the sto\u00adries behind them.<br>\n<br>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1Edx0knf7\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" name=\"image_operate_26081511402348009\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1Edx0knf7.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EdCx5Zd7\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EdCx5Zd7.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EdGquXa7\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EdGquXa7.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EdLSXCe0\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" name=\"image_operate_36071511402371647\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EdLSXCe0.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><br>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">&nbsp; &nbsp;<br>\nWhy do these sim\u00adple lit\u00adtle books have such fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading charm?<\/span><br>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><br><\/span><br>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">&nbsp;<br>\n&nbsp;<br>\nBon\u00adnie and Arthur Gazette, the mar\u00adried cou\u00adple who cre\u00adat\u00aded the book, like\u00adly had no idea it would cap\u00adti\u00advate read\u00aders of all ages. Ini\u00adtial\u00adly, these small books were like\u00adly meant to sat\u00adis\u00adfy their nos\u00adtal\u00adgia for their child\u00adhood home\u00adtowns and a sense of fad\u00ading tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal small-town life. When the first vol\u00adume, \u201cA Small Town on the Prairie,\u201d was pub\u00adlished in 1998, Bon\u00adnie, the writer, was already 56, and Arthur, the illus\u00adtra\u00adtor, was a year old\u00ader. They lived in Gale\u00adna, Illi\u00adnois, a small riv\u00ader town on the Mis\u00adsis\u00adsip\u00adpi Riv\u00ader in the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan Mid\u00adwest, with a pop\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion of just over 3,000.<\/span><br>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><br><\/span><br>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1Emc41Yca\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" name=\"image_operate_10001511402470942\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1Emc41Yca.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EmhoDq04\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EmhoDq04.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">&nbsp;<br>\n&nbsp;<br>\nBon\u00adnie and Arthur, both high\u00adly tal\u00adent\u00aded stu\u00addents with mas\u00adter\u2019s degrees from pres\u00adti\u00adgious uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adties, mar\u00adried after grad\u00adu\u00adat\u00ading from under\u00adgrad\u00adu\u00adate school and had a son named Noah\u2014yes, the Noah from Noah\u2019s Ark. Arthur had always been fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00aded by the Ark, lat\u00ader illus\u00adtrat\u00ading relat\u00aded sto\u00adries and even found\u00ading an Ark-relat\u00aded com\u00adpa\u00adny. Inter\u00adest\u00ading\u00adly, the cou\u00adple and their child set\u00adtled in a small town and became teach\u00aders at the local school. Bon\u00adnie taught for a long time, but in her late 50s, she real\u00adized she loved writ\u00ading more and became a colum\u00adnist. She then dis\u00adcov\u00adered she also loved pho\u00adtog\u00adra\u00adphy, so she took up the art from scratch and, a few years lat\u00ader, held a solo exhi\u00adbi\u00adtion. Arthur, on the oth\u00ader hand, dis\u00adcov\u00adered ear\u00adly on that his true pas\u00adsion lay not in teach\u00ading but in etch\u00ading, so he estab\u00adlished an etch\u00ading and print\u00ading work\u00adshop. He built a stone house on the site of an aban\u00addoned quar\u00adry. The fam\u00adi\u00adly lived upstairs, the top floor over\u00adlook\u00ading the majes\u00adtic Mis\u00adsis\u00adsip\u00adpi Riv\u00ader. The ground floor housed his work\u00adshop, hous\u00ading an old-fash\u00adioned 2,500-pound (over 1,100 kilo\u00adgrams) etch\u00ading press, the type said to have been used by 16th-cen\u00adtu\u00adry etch\u00aders. Arthur used this ancient, unwieldy machine to pro\u00adduce most of his work, includ\u00ading the illus\u00adtra\u00adtions for these four small-town pic\u00adture books. From a con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary per\u00adspec\u00adtive, the small-town life the Geis\u00aderts chose could be described as aus\u00adtere. Arthur described his son Noah\u2019s child\u00adhood as large\u00adly \u201cpoor and filthy,\u201d yet the fam\u00adi\u00adly seemed to enjoy it.<\/span><br>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><br><\/span><br>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">&nbsp;<br>\n&nbsp;<br>\nArthur was the first to enter the chil\u00addren\u2019s book indus\u00adtry. His etch\u00adings, seen at an exhi\u00adbi\u00adtion, cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00aded Wal\u00adter Lor\u00ading, the chil\u00addren\u2019s book edi\u00adtor at Houghton Mif\u00adflin in Boston. Lor\u00ading felt his draw\u00adings told sto\u00adries and pos\u00adsessed a nat\u00adur\u00adal child\u00adlike qual\u00adi\u00adty. Lor\u00ading was right: Arthur was indeed quite child\u00adlike. He spent his free time wan\u00adder\u00ading the farm near his home and loved farm ani\u00admals, espe\u00adcial\u00adly pigs. He also had a keen inter\u00adest in archi\u00adtec\u00adture and enjoyed draw\u00ading small town buildings\u2014a com\u00admon hob\u00adby among chil\u00addren. Lor\u00ading and Arthur hit it off imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly, and under Lor\u00ading\u2019s guid\u00adance, Arthur cre\u00adat\u00aded sev\u00ader\u00adal pic\u00adture books fea\u00adtur\u00ading pigs, which were gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly quite pop\u00adu\u00adlar.<\/span><br>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><br><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp;<br>\nIt\u2019s par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly note\u00adwor\u00adthy that Wal\u00adter Lor\u00ading was actu\u00adal\u00adly a high\u00adly expe\u00adri\u00adenced chil\u00addren\u2019s book edi\u00adtor. An art edi\u00adtor by train\u00ading, he had head\u00aded the chil\u00addren\u2019s book divi\u00adsion at Houghton Mif\u00adflin since 1965. He col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adrat\u00aded with H.A. Ray, cre\u00adator of \u201cCuri\u00adous George,\u201d on two stun\u00adning books about astrol\u00ado\u00adgy (includ\u00ading \u201cCon\u00adstel\u00adla\u00adtions, Let\u2019s Dis\u00adcov\u00ader Togeth\u00ader,\u201d now avail\u00adable in Chi\u00adnese). He also pub\u00adlished clas\u00adsic chil\u00addren\u2019s nov\u00adels such as \u201cIsland of the Blue Dol\u00adphins\u201d and \u201cThe Giv\u00ader.\u201d But he was most proud of dis\u00adcov\u00ader\u00ading and nur\u00adtur\u00ading James Mar\u00adshall, the tal\u00adent\u00aded cre\u00adator of the \u201cGeorge and Martha\u201d series. He also man\u00adaged oth\u00ader great pic\u00adture book artists, includ\u00ading David Macaulay (rep\u00adre\u00adsent\u00aded by \u201cBlack and White\u201d), Chris Van Alls\u00adburg (rep\u00adre\u00adsent\u00aded by \u201cThe Polar Express\u201d), and Alan Saye (rep\u00adre\u00adsent\u00aded by \u201cGrand\u00adpa\u2019s Jour\u00adney\u201d). Arthur was for\u00adtu\u00adnate to have met Lor\u00ading!<br>\n<br>\n&nbsp; &nbsp;<br>\nArthur\u2019s cre\u00adative path nat\u00adu\u00adral\u00adly grav\u00adi\u00adtat\u00aded toward the small town around him. Per\u00adhaps inspired by his child\u00adhood in rur\u00adal Texas, he was fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00aded by haystacks on farms and want\u00aded to draw a book about them. Per\u00adhaps dur\u00ading a con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion, he dis\u00adcov\u00adered that his wife, a writer, was even more famil\u00adiar with haystacks than he was, as Bon\u00adnie had helped her father farm as a child (Bon\u00adnie lat\u00ader wrote sev\u00ader\u00adal auto\u00adbi\u00ado\u00adgraph\u00adi\u00adcal nov\u00adels about her expe\u00adri\u00adences grow\u00ading up on the farm). Thus, the cou\u00adple, who had been togeth\u00ader for half their lives, became pic\u00adture book cre\u00adators. Their debut work, \u201cHaystacks,\u201d pub\u00adlished in 1995, was crit\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly acclaimed. This book about haystacks was a rare pic\u00adture book that cap\u00adtured farm life so real\u00adis\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly and engag\u00ading\u00adly. How\u00adev\u00ader, per\u00adhaps due to its over\u00adly per\u00adson\u00adal touch, it was\u00adn\u2019t wide\u00adly cir\u00adcu\u00adlat\u00aded. This did\u00adn\u2019t damp\u00aden Arthur\u2019s enthu\u00adsi\u00adasm, as he dis\u00adcov\u00adered a par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar fas\u00adci\u00adna\u00adtion with barns with ele\u00adva\u00adtors (part\u00adly because he him\u00adself had been trapped on the top floor of one), and he decid\u00aded to work with his wife on anoth\u00ader book, \u201cBarns with Ele\u00adva\u00adtors.\u201d When edi\u00adtor Lor\u00adraine first heard Arthur\u2019s idea, she near\u00adly exclaimed, \u201cA barn with an ele\u00adva\u00adtor? Give me a break!\u201d The idea was so per\u00adson\u00adal. Lor\u00adraine, how\u00adev\u00ader, held back, nei\u00adther reject\u00ading it out\u00adright. Instead, she patient\u00adly engaged Arthur in a con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion: Where are these barns typ\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly built? What\u2019s usu\u00adal\u00adly built next to them? What are the towns with these barns like? How are they locat\u00aded? What are the res\u00adi\u00addents? What\u2019s their charm? Arthur recount\u00aded every\u00adthing he knew about these prairie towns. His final ques\u00adtion was: Why not write a book called \u201cPrairie Towns\u201d?<br>\n<br>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EE0gqO7e\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" name=\"image_operate_30681511402751974\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EE0gqO7e.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><br>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">&nbsp;<br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n\u201cA Small Town on the Prairie\u201d was a bril\u00adliant idea for Bon\u00adnie and Arthur! Upon fur\u00adther explo\u00adration, Arthur dis\u00adcov\u00adered that his fas\u00adci\u00adna\u00adtion was\u00adn\u2019t sim\u00adply with farm ani\u00admals, haystacks, and barns; it was the small town itself! Bon\u00adnie, hav\u00ading been born and raised on a farm in a small Iowa prairie town, was more than famil\u00adiar with it. In her first auto\u00adbi\u00ado\u00adgraph\u00adi\u00adcal nov\u00adel, \u201cSum\u00admer on the Prairie,\u201d she recount\u00aded the com\u00adplex emo\u00adtions of grow\u00ading up: with no boys in her fam\u00adi\u00adly, her sis\u00adters began help\u00ading their father with man\u00adu\u00adal labor at a young age. She was a some\u00adwhat timid girl, espe\u00adcial\u00adly afraid to approach the far\u00adm\u2019s ill-tem\u00adpered cows. She was too embar\u00adrassed to speak about this, yet she longed to per\u00adform well in front of her father and make him proud. Ulti\u00admate\u00adly, through her hard work, she achieved her goal\u2026 Through \u201cA Small Town on the Prairie,\u201d the cou\u00adple found an out\u00adlet for their fond\u00adest pas\u00adsions and mem\u00ado\u00adries.<\/span><br>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><br><\/span><br>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">&nbsp;<br>\n&nbsp;<br>\nThus, this seem\u00ading\u00adly ordi\u00adnary and sim\u00adple book is imbued with a rich tapes\u00adtry of emo\u00adtion and pas\u00adsion. The illus\u00adtra\u00adtors present to read\u00aders not a present-day prairie town, but a town from the depths of his\u00adto\u00adry, per\u00adhaps most rem\u00adi\u00adnis\u00adcent of the town of their child\u00adhoods (in the mid-twen\u00adti\u00adeth cen\u00adtu\u00adry). We wit\u00adness the towns\u00adpeo\u00adple\u2019s hard work through\u00adout the year, as well as their leisure and play; we see the town\u2019s streets and build\u00adings, their respec\u00adtive func\u00adtions and inter\u00adcon\u00adnec\u00adtions; we see the impact of the chang\u00ading sea\u00adsons on peo\u00adple\u2019s lives, and the har\u00admo\u00adnious coex\u00adis\u00adtence of peo\u00adple with nature. Of course, this alone would make it a very prac\u00adti\u00adcal social his\u00adto\u00adry pic\u00adture book. But they don\u2019t stop there. They (espe\u00adcial\u00adly Arthur, the illus\u00adtra\u00adtor) have incor\u00adpo\u00adrat\u00aded many play\u00adful \u201cepisodes\u201d into the book\u2014weddings, funer\u00adals, small fires, minor acci\u00addents, a new\u00adly built tree house, a sold house, new pup\u00adpies, a run\u00adaway cow\u2026 A care\u00adful explo\u00adration of the small town\u2019s can\u00advas reveals the vibrant and live\u00adly life of a small town. Until you dis\u00adcov\u00ader it, life may seem \u201cjust so-so\u201d; but once you do, it becomes deeply fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading. Isn\u2019t this also true in our own dai\u00adly lives?<\/span><br>\n<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\"><br><\/span><br>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EM2kgN91\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" name=\"image_operate_44921511402833500\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EM2kgN91.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EM9jdv89\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" name=\"image_operate_61241511402893168\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EM9jdv89.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n&nbsp;<br>\nThis book, \u201cA Small Town on the Prairie,\u201d and the sev\u00ader\u00adal sub\u00adse\u00adquent small-town pic\u00adture books, remind me of Lau\u00adra Ingalls Wilder\u2019s \u201cLit\u00adtle House\u201d series, the most famous of which is undoubt\u00aded\u00adly \u201cLit\u00adtle House on the Prairie.\u201d The \u201cLit\u00adtle House\u201d series tells the sto\u00adry of the Ingalls fam\u00adi\u00adly\u2019s pio\u00adneer\u00ading life in the west\u00adern prairie around the 1870s. The writ\u00ading is sim\u00adple, yet the sto\u00adries are deeply mov\u00ading. The pio\u00adneers\u2019 per\u00adse\u00adver\u00adance in the face of harsh con\u00addi\u00adtions, their rich wis\u00addom, and their ever-opti\u00admistic atti\u00adtude leave a last\u00ading impres\u00adsion, and even a yearn\u00ading for that kind of life. Read\u00ading these four \u201cA Year in Small Town Amer\u00adi\u00adca\u201d pic\u00adture books has a sim\u00adi\u00adlar feel\u00ading. When it comes to con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary Amer\u00adi\u00adca, peo\u00adple tend to imag\u00adine it as a world of \u201cextrav\u00ada\u00adgance\u201d and \u201cmate\u00adri\u00adal\u00adism.\u201d That\u2019s part of the truth, but not the whole sto\u00adry. Pic\u00adture books like these reveal anoth\u00ader side of Amer\u00adi\u00adcan civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion, and indeed, anoth\u00ader side of human civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion, a side that per\u00adhaps we should cher\u00adish more.<br>\n<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\n&nbsp;<br>\nBecause of this, this series of pic\u00adture books has been hailed as \u201ca delight\u00adful Amer\u00adi\u00adcan doc\u00adu\u00adment\u201d and has been high\u00adly praised by Amer\u00adi\u00adcan librar\u00adi\u00adans and edu\u00adca\u00adtors. I believe the sto\u00adries they tell, the knowl\u00adedge they intro\u00adduce, and the spir\u00adit they hope to con\u00advey are also very suit\u00adable for young Chi\u00adnese read\u00aders; and the beau\u00adti\u00adful images and the count\u00adless lit\u00adtle secrets hid\u00adden in them will sure\u00adly fas\u00adci\u00adnate our chil\u00addren.<br>\n<br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n&nbsp;<br>\nSuch fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading paper archives are not exclu\u00adsive to Amer\u00adi\u00adcan chil\u00addren. Of course, shouldn\u2019t we also build more such beau\u00adti\u00adful and fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00ading Chi\u00adnese paper archives?<br>\n<br>\nWrit\u00adten in Bei\u00adjing on Octo\u00adber 15, 2016<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1ET2rqW92\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" name=\"image_operate_66771511403020984\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1ET2rqW92.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1ETv1MV95\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" name=\"image_operate_79761511403021348\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1ETv1MV95.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1ETOt7r61\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1ETOt7r61.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EU8bn543\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EU8bn543.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EUxvIkf0\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EUxvIkf0.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EUPwRh8f\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EUPwRh8f.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EVbeGM0c\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EVbeGM0c.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EVw5Kt25\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EVw5Kt25.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/album.sina.com.cn\/pic\/001Cukigzy7g1EVUUosdc\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\u8ff7\u4eba\u7684\u7eb8\u4e0a\u6863\u6848\u9986\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u300a\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u7684\u4e00\u5e74\u300b\u8bd1\u540e\u8bb0\" name=\"image_operate_12561511403031193\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1EVUUosdc.jpg\" style=\"margin: 0pt auto;display:block\" title=\"A Fascinating Paper Archives: Afterword to the Translation of &quot;A Year in an American Small Town&quot;\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u8fd9\u56db\u672c\u56fe\u753b\u4e66\uff0c\u4ee5\u5199\u5b9e\u7684\u624b\u6cd5\u63cf\u7ed8\u4e86\u56db\u79cd\u4e0d\u540c\u7684\u7f8e\u56fd\u5c0f\u9547\u2014\u2014\u8349\u539f\u5c0f\u9547\u3001\u6cb3\u5cb8\u5c0f\u9547\u3001\u5c71\u5730\u5c0f\u9547\u3001\u6c99\u6f20\u5c0f\u9547\u2014\u2014\u7684\u57fa\u672c [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3580,"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":[5,6,26,24],"class_list":["post-3599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-timemachine","tag-5","tag-6","tag-26","tag-24"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/001Cukigzy7g1Eb1cmv8b.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3599","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=3599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}