Anthem

Ayn RandChongqing Publishing House2016

Rating 3.9
Word count
44K words
Chapters
4
Series
Re-encountering the Classics
ISBN
9787229105082

Tags

Literature Foreign LiteratureWorld Classics IndividualismIndividual ValueObjectivismNovellasAllegoryDystopia

Summary

Anthem, originally titled Anthem (literally "hymn"), is a short allegorical novella written by Ayn Rand in 1937. The author herself considered it closer to a poem than a novel. The story is set in a highly centralized future society: there are no individuals, only the collective; people have no names but are distinguished by "slogan plus number" designations; any concept of "I" must be replaced by the plural "we"; solitude, preference, and independent thought are sins, and schedules, work, and even marriage are arranged by the collective. The protagonist, Equality 7-2521, is intensely curious from childhood but, for being different, is assigned to be a street sweeper for life. He conducts secret research at night, independently rediscovers the secret of electricity, and builds an electric light. When he presents his achievement to the Council of Scholars in hopes of entering a research institution, he is found guilty of "transgression," his device is destroyed, and he is hunted. He flees into an unmapped primeval forest, where he reunites with his beloved Liberty 5-3000; there he finally writes and speaks the long-forbidden word—"I." He gives the two of them new names and resolves to rebuild, in his own way, a world that recognizes individual worth. The book is narrated in the first person, and the shift in pronoun from "we" to "I" is itself the central symbolic device of the plot; it is regarded as an entry point to Ayn Rand's thought system.

Editor's review

如果说《源泉》是安·兰德表达自我精神的大幅油画，那么《一个人》就是为它准备的草图，两者主题、精神与意图一脉相承。这部小书在她写完《源泉》的间歇中一气写成，因此格外凝练，几乎每句话都指向同一个命题：个体是目的，而不是手段。 它的好看之处在于寓言式的极端化。作者干脆抽掉“我”这个字，让读者跟着主人公一点点把语言里被删除的部分找回来。随着叙述者从“我们”变成“我”，阅读体验本身就成了个人意识的觉醒过程。这是这本书最精巧的设计，也是它比许多同类作品更轻、更锋利的原因。 重庆社版本保留了张林的译文，另附安·兰德手迹复印件与相关附录材料，对读她的书信、访谈和思想札记很有帮助。篇幅短，两三个小时就能读完，但其中的问题会留得比篇幅久得多。

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Reading tips

  1. 先把它当作一个故事读，不必急着对号入座，留意叙述人称从“我们”到“我”的变化
  2. 读完后可与《1984》对读，两者同样描绘极权，但关注点一个在权力，一个在“自我”本身
  3. 附录与序言可在正文之后读，能帮助理解这部作品在兰德思想体系中的位置
  4. 篇幅很短，适合一次读完；摘抄几句关于“我”的段落，能把感觉留得更久

About the publisher

Chongqing Publishing House China · Founded in 1950

Chongqing Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher known for its titles in the humanities, social sciences, literature and arts, with about 940 books in its catalogue. Its publishing areas cover world history, science fiction, foreign literature, architecture and philosophy. Representative titles include Xiang Da's A History of Communications Between China and the West, Liang Sicheng's Rules of Qing-Style Construction, Liu Cixin's The Three-Body Problem II: The Dark Forest and III: Death's End, Ann Rand's The Fountainhead (25th Anniversary Edition), and Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series. Its authors include Xiang Da, Liu Cixin, Liang Sicheng and Ann Rand. The press has developed distinctive strengths in historical source editing, the introduction and creation of science fiction, the translation of foreign literature, and architecture and philosophy titles, balancing scholarly value with general readership. As public information is limited, this profile outlines its publishing directions based only on the books in the catalogue.

Contents

  1. Preface
  2. Anthem
  3. Facsimile of Ayn Rand's Manuscript
  4. Appendix

FAQ

这本书和《颂歌》《一个人的颂歌》是同一本书吗？ 是同一部作品。英文原名 Anthem，直译为《颂歌》。中文世界另有台湾方智出版社的译本《一个人的颂歌》（徐诗思译）。重庆出版社2016年版书名作《一个人》，译者为张林，附安·兰德手迹。
这是安·兰德的代表作之一吗？ 它是安·兰德的中篇小说，写于1937年，1938年在英国首次出版，美国版于1946年问世。篇幅远小于《源泉》《阿特拉斯耸耸肩》，但被普遍视为她个人主义思想的雏形，适合作为入门读本。
需要先读《源泉》才能读这本吗？ 不需要。故事独立完整，人物很少，几乎不依赖其他作品的背景。反而是先读这本，再去读《源泉》，会更容易看懂后者中反复出现的自我与创造主题。
这本书有多少字，多久能读完？ 正文规模约四五万字，属于中篇，普通阅读速度下两到三小时可以读完；若加上序言、附录和手迹材料，半天足够。

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About the author

Ayn Rand Author · American · 1905–1982

Ayn Rand (1905–1982) was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher, the founder of Objectivism, best known for her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Her work spans both literature and thought, often using social novels and classic works to explore the tension between individual will, reason, and creativity; essays such as The Romantic Manifesto set out her literary views. Her writings are classed under foreign literature, social fiction, and inspirational growth, have sold tens of millions of copies worldwide, and have had a profound influence on twentieth-century American thought. Beyond fiction and essays, her writing also touches on ideals and individual value, and Chinese readers can gain a fairly complete picture of her literary and intellectual profile through the many available translations.