書的意義

書是甚麼呢？What is a book?

在這個扭曲變異的時代，我們應該如何看待「書」？我們又應如何把它定義？再者，「書」對我們來說又是甚麼呢？

中外學者對「書」作了不同的解讀，不論在用途上、語意上、形態上、心態上；他們也作了詳細、精確的定義。在我認知的範圍裡，我會把這些定義（規則與教條）一一列舉。我相信只有這樣做，我們才可以以一個比較GLOBAL的眼光去看「書」；也只有這樣，我們才可在這基礎上繼續建構我們對書的更深一層的研究與探討。

日劇《龍櫻》的以櫻木老師為首的一班老師曾經說過：「正是遵守規則的人才是有獨創性、有個性的人；在近代科學中，憑胡亂的想法是不可能有大發現的；大家都很好的理解基礎研究，在遵守這個學問中的規則的基礎上，研究才能得以進展；沒有遵循規則的精神，不可能有學問上的發現。」

在 Andrew Haslam 的 ‘Book Design’ 一書中，他有對「語意上」的 “Book” 作解釋：

The English word ‘book’ is derived from the Old English word bok, itself linked to the word for ‘beech tree’. Beech boards were written on by Saxons and Germans, and a literal definition of the book is ‘a board for writing’.

在語意上，“book” 只是一塊供寫作用的板。

另外，Andrew Haslam 也為 “book” 搜羅了幾本經典的一些「書的定義」：

The Concise Oxford Dictionary presents two simple alternatives:
1) ‘Portable written or printed treatise filling a number of sheets fastened together.’
2) ‘Literary composition that would fill a set of sheets.’

These simple definitions identify two key elements: the physical description of a portable printed set of bound sheets, and a reference to writing and literature. The Encycloaedia Britannica offers:
3) … a written (or printed) message of considerable length, meant for public circulation and recorded on materials that are light yet durable enough to afford comparatively easy portability.’
4) ‘Instrument of communication.’

These definitions introduce the ideas of readership and communication. In The Encyclopeidia of the Book (1996), Geoffrey Ashall Glaister puts figures to the notions of expense and extent:

5) ‘For statistical purposes the British book trade once assumed that a book was a publication costing sixpence or more.’
6) ‘Other countries define a book as containing a minimum number of pages; a UNESCO conference in 1950 defined a book as “a non-periodical literary publication containing 49 or more pages, not counting the covers”.’

These definitions are clearly born out of legal concerns and tax regulation. While the physical descriptions of sheets and fastening may be accurate, none of the above definitions seems to capture the influence or power of a book. It may prompt further discussion if I put forward a definition of my own:

7) Book: A portable container consisting of a series of printed and bound pages that preserves, announces, expounds, and transmits knowledge to a literate readership across time and space.

以上第七點就是Andrew Haclam 個人對「書」所下的定義。我現在先不作評論，再看看其他人怎麼看。

根據《現代漢語大詞典》(P.1168)，「書」這個字有五個解釋：
1) 寫字；記錄；書寫
2) 字體
3) 裝訂成冊的著作
4) 書信
5) 文件

「書」是一個多義的字，可作動詞；亦可作名詞。而在中文的字詞中，冊、典、本、藉亦可作「書」字(3)「裝訂成冊的著作」的意思。

我再翻開謝光輝主編的《漢字圖解》(Illustrated Account of Chinese Characters) (P.303) 一看，發現有對古文「冊」字的註解：

「在古代紙還沒有發明和大量製造以前，人們用於書寫的主要材料是竹簡（一種經過加工修整的窄長竹片）。通常一條竹簡只能寫一行字，而把許多條竹簡用繩子聯結起來，就成為冊。古文字的冊字，正是這種編簡成冊的形象描繪。後來的冊字，就被用為書籍之義。」

Before the invention of paper, one of the main materials used for writing in China was bamboo slips. And the slips bound together make a book. In ancient writing systems, the character 冊 has the shape of many bamboo slips bound together, hence its meaning “book” and “volume”.

而在嚴文郁先生的《中國書籍簡史》中，他提出了的又是幾部經典和與 Andrew Haclam 相似的論述（書的篇幅和價格）。

《說文解字》卷五兀部，「典」字下注「五帝之書也。」五帝時典冊所用何種材料，不得而知，但許慎仍稱之為「書」。書之本義作「箸」解，原係書寫的意思，後借用為典籍的通稱。

《大英百科全書》認為書籍有三種特徵：
1) instrument of communication 人類交換信息的工具
2) to convey a meaning 人類使用文字或他種符號（如圖畫及音符）傳達的意念
3) publication for tangible circulation 實地流傳的出版品
根據這三種特徵所下的定義是：「書籍是寫或印成相當長的（considerable length）——至少四十五頁——情報（message），為了流傳給大眾，並且需用一種輕而耐用的材料，以便攜帶和保存。」

在歐洲多以出版物的篇幅和價格作為書的定義。
1) 倫敦以定價六便士的出版品為書，六便士以下為小冊子。
2) 對於書頁多少，世界各國有其約家俗成的標準，如愛爾蘭、意大利、摩洛哥皆為一百頁，丹麥為六十頁，南非和黎巴嫩為五十頁，加拿大、芬蘭、挪威、比利時為四十頁，捷克三十二頁，冰島只須十七頁。

聯合國教科文組織（UNESCO）定了一個標準：「凡是不定期刊物，除封面外，有四十九頁以上的文字出版品就叫做書。」所謂文字出版品則包括甚廣，有政府官書、公文、報告、法令、甚至書目、索引等。（ Andrew Haclam 也提及這個定義，這只是中文詳細版。）

而 Keith A. Smith 在 ‘STRUCTURE OF THE VISUAL BOOK’ 對書的定義提出了非常有趣的問題：

Does a book have to be bound? If it weren’t, it would be a portfolio or a stack. Is a stack an unbound book?

The oriental fold book is created by folding a long sheet of paper alternately back and forth on itself. There is no sewing or gluing. The binding is mechanical. If an imaged book of this type were not folded, it would be a mural, not a book. However, if that mural is stored by rolling, it is s scroll. Is a scroll a book?

If I set out to make a photograph that is a foot tall and 10 feet long, the result is single picture. If I roll it up to store it, is it then a scroll, or does it have to be conceived as a scroll? Does convenient storage constitute any book?

Someone takes a large sheet of blank paper, wads it up, then throws it in a kitchen trash compactor. It is then compressed flat. The paper has been “folded” by a machine. Is it then an oriental fold book, or is it trash?

It depends upon intention. If that person declares it a book, it is a book! If they do not, it is not. Definitions are not ageless laws, but current understanding. They grow with usage through insight and error. We extend our knowledge, as well as our false assumptions, and both of these change the way we see, the way we think. Our definitions evolve; they are not cut in stone, like the rigidity of religion.

我也認同 Keith A. Smith 的說法，時代不斷在變遷，任何一個定義都不可能恆久不變，根本無可能一本通書睇到老。 可能我們只可以廣義地說，凡是文字記錄，無論抄寫、雕刻、印刷或攝錄在任何一種材料上，都可稱之為書。我們只能以內容，而非形體來斷定甚麼是書。「金石木竹帛的典冊」好，「紙本」好，「金屬／膠的電子書」也好；就算是「書 AS INSTALLATION」都好，根本不能說不是書；好像 Keith A. Smith 說，最重要的是 INTENTION，這也是書的EVOLUTION。

綜合以上定義，我們亦有一些重點值得留意的：
1) Meaning of word 'book'
2) Physical description (ie. a portable printed set of bound sheets or other materials)
3) Writing and Literature
4) Readership and Communication
5) Legal concerns and Tax regulation
6) Number of Pages
7) Influence or Power of a book

p.s.歡迎提供任何書藉的定義，再作討論。