生活的艺术（英文版）

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    《生活的艺术》是林语堂旅美专事创作后的第一部书，也是继《吾国与吾民》之后再获成功的又一英文作品。该书于1937年在美国出版，次年便居美国畅销书排行榜榜首达52周，且接连再版四十余次，并为十余种文字所翻译。林语堂在该书中将旷怀达观，陶情遣兴的中国人的生活方式，和浪漫高雅的东方情调予以充分的传达，向西方人娓娓道出了一个可供仿效的“生活最高典型”的模式，以致有书评家称：“读完这书后，我真想跑到唐人街，一遇见中国人，便向他们个鞠躬礼。”

    林语堂擅长对外国人讲中国文化。这本介绍中国人生活方式的书出版后，一位西方书评家说：我真想跑到唐人街，遇见一个中国人，便向他行个鞠躬礼。本书用英文写成，如果你可以，最好也读读这个原汁原味的英文版。

    

PREFACE
Chapter One The Awakening
Chapter Two Views of Mankind
Chapter Three Our Animal Heritage
Chapter Four On Being Human
Chapter five Who Can Best Enjoy Life?
Chapter Six The Feast of Life
Chapter Seven The Importance of Loafing
Chapter Eight The enjoyment of the Home
Chapter Nine The Enjoyment of Living
Chapter Ten The Enjoyment of Nature
Chapter Eleven The Enjoyment of Travel
Chapter Twelve The Enjoyment of Culture
Chapter Thirteen Relationship To God
Chapter Fourteen The Art of Thinking

One should listen to the sounds of birds in spring, to the sounds of cicadas in summer, to the sounds of insects in autumn and Ihe sounds of snowfall in winter; he should listen to the sounds of playing chess in the daytime, the Sounds of flute under the moonlight, the sounds of pine trees in the mountains, and the sounds of ripples on the waterside. Then he shall not have lived in vain. But when a young loafer starts a racket in the street or when one's wife is scolding, one might just as well be deaf.
It is absolutely necessary that flowers should have butterflies, hills should have springs, rocks should have moss, water should have water-cress, tall trees should have entwining creepers, and human beings should have hobbies.
One should enjoy flowers in the company of beauties, get drunk under the moon in the company of charming friends, and enjoy the light of snow in the company of highminded scholars.
Planting flowers serves to invite butterflies, piling up rocks serves to invite the clouds, planting pine trees serves to invite the wiad, keeping a reservoir of water serves to invite duckweed, building a terrace serves to invite the moon, planting banana trees serves to invite the rain, and planting willow trees serves to invite the cicada.
One always gets a different feeling when looking at hills from the top of a tower, looking at snow from a city wall, looking at the moon in the tamp-light, looking at colored clouds in a boat,and looking at beautiful women in the room.
Rocks lying near a plum tree should look "antique," those beneath a pine tree should look "stupid," those by the side of bamboo trees should look "slender," and those inside a flower basin should be exquisite.
Blue waters come from green hills, for the water borrows its color from the hills; good poems come from flavory wine, for poetry begs its inspiration from the wine.
When the mirror meets with an ugly woman, when a rare ink-stone finds a vulgar owner, and wh ……