写作与思考2018newyorker.com
为什么犹太历史如此难写
Why Jewish History Is So Hard to Write
导读
这篇《纽约客》文章讨论的是：写犹太历史为什么格外困难——跨越数千年、散居多地、宗教与族群身份交织，史料与叙事又常被现实政治拉扯。对写作者的价值在于它触及一个普遍难题：当你写的对象连"是什么"都无法达成共识时，如何下笔、如何保持持平、如何处理作者自身的立场。评论区也恰好演示了这种分歧本身。
可以直接用的写作要点
- 01
写跨时空、跨群体的题材，先把关键概念定义清楚：你说的"X"到底指什么，否则读者会各自带着定义阅读，争论取代理解。
- 02
不要只写两个极端（同化与隔离），把中间那种"身在某地却不属于此地"的模糊状态写出来，故事张力往往就在这里。
- 03
写历史人物时先让读者理解他们的动机，而不是急着评判——持平不等于没有观点，而是先把各方逻辑讲透。
- 04
读者对"有议程"的叙述高度警觉；与其假装中立，不如坦承自己的立场与材料局限，反而更可信。
HN 评论精选
好的历史叙事要持平地还原各方动机，并关注同化与分离之间的中间状态，而非只写两个极端。
推荐 MartyrMade 播客关于早期现代锡安主义与以巴冲突起源的系列节目，认为它做到了持平，并能让人在情感上理解历史当事人的动机。他还指出，犹太散居史的有趣之处在于同化与分离之间存在一个既混乱又稳定的中间状态——"身处某地"却不总是"属于此地"；希伯来语的现代复兴、不同社会规则（如是否允许放贷收息）的微小差异所累积的社会后果，以及各地驱逐犹太人的模式，都是理解族群互动的微型样本。
DanAndersen查看英文原文
Anyone interested in this topic should definitely check out Darryl Cooper's "MartyrMade" podcast, which had a Dan-Carlin-style series of episodes about early modern Zionism and the origins of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict: http://www.martyrmade.com/fear-loathing-in-the-new-jerusalem/ It does a great job of being even-handed and emotionally connecting the listener with the motivations of the people in history. The history of the Jews (and the Jewish diaspora in particular) is fascinating. Between the typical opposing endpoints of assimilation/integration and separation there is this curious in-between state that seems both chaotic and stable over time -- the state of being "in a place" but not always being "of that place." The aforementioned podcast describes well the urge to assimilate or to remain distinct, positions held by both those in the Jewish community and those outside of it. The modern revival of the Hebrew language into a living tongue, both as a method of crystallizing identity and distinctiveness, is one example. Also interesting to consider how even small differences in "rules" between societies (like allowing usury or not, and to whom) leads to complex social consequences over time -- sort of a cellular automata analogy. Historical patterns of Jewish expulsion from various societies also make for interesting microcosms to understand tribe-based interactions: when the Jewish people were invited or allowed into a region, who was behind that change in policy and why? When pogroms or expulsions happened afterward, what were the causes and which segments of the population were the catalyst and why? It's an endlessly dynamic system that resists our efforts to create a simple static narrative -- and I suppose if anything it helps reveal that all of history is like that.
当叙述者都有立场时，读者会感到信息无法辨读——这正是写作者必须处理的可信度问题。
我一直对公元 35 年到 1948 年之间那片土地上发生了什么感到好奇，但似乎每个可能有见解的人都带着自己的议程，使他们提供的具体信息变得难以辨读。
commandlinefan查看英文原文
I've always been idly curious as to what happened in Israel (as in the geographic area) between, say, 35 A.D. and 1948. It seems, though, as if everybody who might have some insight there also has an agenda that makes any concrete information they might have to share indecipherable.
核心概念本身缺乏共识，是这类题材难写的根本原因，而讨论现场正好印证了这一点。
读了 Adam Kirsch 的这篇评论。也许犹太史难写的原因就在于：似乎没有人能就"犹太"到底是什么达成一致——本贴的讨论串本身就是证据。
olivermarks查看英文原文
I read Adam Kirch's review 'Why Jewish History Is So Hard to Write'. Perhaps it is because no one can ever seem to agree on what 'Jewish' actually is, as evidenced by some of the discussion threads here...
宗教与族群身份的捆绑，是这一群体长期维持认同的关键机制。
宗教与族群的结合竟能让人存续数千年并保持身份认同，实在令人惊叹。
oyvey查看英文原文
Wow amazing how the bound of religion and ethinicy can led people to survive thousands of years and still maintain an identity.
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