Lucky subway and taxi passengers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai might stumble upon a hidden book during their commutes.
北上广三座城市的幸运乘客可能在上下班途中无意中发现藏在地铁和出租车上的书籍。
The Fair, an online entertainment and publishing company, has dropped 10,000 books in spots on subway networks, passenger planes and Didi carpooling vehicles in all three cities to spark an interest in reading among the masses as part of its "Mobook" movement. Another 10,000 quotas have been arranged on the basis of a QR code system for book donors to join the campaign to drop their own books around the Chinese cities.
新世相网络娱乐及出版公司为了激发大众阅读兴趣,在北上广的地铁、民航飞机和滴滴顺风车上“丢”了1万本书,作为其“丢书大作战”活动的一部分。新世相还为参与活动的捐书者准备了1万本捐赠名额,他们可以通过二维码系统在全国各地丢下自己的书。
The movement is inspired by "Books on the Underground," a community project in London that aims to promote reading during commuting hours, according to Zhang Wei, CEO of The Fair.
据新世相公司首席执行官张伟介绍,该活动是受到伦敦“地铁藏书”活动的启发,这是一个旨在促进通勤阅读的社会服务活动。
"Books on the Underground" was not well-known in China until British actress Emma Watson partnered with the UK-based project to hide 100 novels on the London tube, which drew worldwide attention.
此前英国的“地铁藏书”活动在中国并不出名,直到该国女演员艾玛.沃森加入其中,让它得到世界瞩目。艾玛在伦敦地铁中藏了100本小说。
"We had received multiple messages urging us to do something similar in China," said Zhang Wei.
张伟说,“我们收到很多信息,让我们在中国做类似的事情。”
After a week of preparation, he sent an email to Cordelia Oxley, director of "Books on the Underground," describing his plan and explaining the rules of "Mobook".
经过一个星期的筹备,他给“地铁藏书”活动的负责人科迪莉亚.奥克斯利发了一封电子邮件,描述自己的计划并解释“丢书大作战”的活动规则。
Zhang said Oxley replied to him in just two hours, saying that she thought the idea was great and offering help if needed.
张伟表示,仅仅两个小时后,奥克斯利就回复了他,她认为这个想法很好并且如果有需要的话愿意提供帮助。
"Mobook" is much more ambitious than its British predecessor. It aims to become a lasting book-sharing system rather than just a one-off campaign.
“丢书大作战”比英国的“地铁藏书”活动更加雄心勃勃。其目标不仅是举办一场活动,而是建立一个长久的图书共享系统。
The uniqueness of "Mobook" lies in its online system. Everyone who wants to donate books must submit their titles online. QR code stickers are then sent to their address, which they attach to each book, allowing donors to keep track of who is reading their picks.
“丢书大作战”的特色是其线上系统。每个想要捐书的人必须线上提交捐赠的书名。随后,新世相会将二维码标签寄送到他们的地址,捐书者要在每本书上贴上对应的二维码。这样他们就可以追踪到谁在读自己的书。
"We want to make reading a fun and cool thing," Zhang said.
张伟说,“我们想让阅读变成一件很有意思的、很酷的事情。”
Tens of thousands of bookworms have already participated. "Mobook" became a hot topic on Wechat, and the 10,000 QR codes available for book donors were snatched up in just 5 hours.
成千上万书迷参与了此次活动。“丢书大作战”成为微信热门话题,而为捐书者提供的1万个二维码在5小时内就被一抢而空。
Wen Ya, a brand manager, told Xinhua that he would like to hide a copy of "The Catcher In The Rye" on the subway. "It's a great idea and I am eager to share the book with strangers," he said.
品牌经理温亚(音译)对新华社表示,他想在地铁上藏一本《麦田里的守望者》。他说,“这个想法很好,我非常想和陌生人分享这本书。”
However, the movement has been met with mixed feelings. Some think it's a good move to nurture reading habits among Chinese people, but others suspect the campaign is just a publicity stunt for The Fair.
然而,“丢书大作战”活动的反响却是褒贬不一。有人认为这是培养国人阅读习惯的好方法,但也有人质疑这只是新世相公司的宣传噱头。
"It must be exciting to find something as wonderful as a new book on your journey," said a WeChat user posting under the name Zhao.
一位赵姓微信用户称,“在旅途中找到一本新书是多么美妙的事,这一定很令人兴奋。”
Another Wechat commenter, Jiang Yunmei, suspected the campaign is just a celebrity spectacle, wasting resources that should have been devoted to helping children in poor areas.
另一位微信评论用户蒋云美(音译)质疑此次活动不过是一场浪费资源的明星秀,这些资源本应用来帮助贫困地区的儿童。
Others were concerned that the floating library would just end up in recycling bins, as the books can be hard to spot in jammed subway cars.
还有人担心这种流动图书馆最终的归宿只能是可回收垃圾桶,因为人们很难在拥挤不堪的地铁车厢看书。
Pictures of discarded books have already gone viral online, and there were comments saying passengers have ignored the books by sitting on top of them.
一些被丢弃的书籍照片在网络上流传甚广,还有评论称,乘客们用书来垫屁股,根本无视。
Zhang, however, remains confident about the movement. "I can't say it's a 100 percent failure nor a 100 percent success, but I am going to build it into a long-term project."
不过,张伟对活动仍然充满信心。“我不认为活动彻底失败或百分百成功了,但是我会将它打造成一项长期活动。”
As for whether the movement will foster a love for reading among commuters, Zhang said that he is not an idealist, but it will make a difference if it becomes a long-running movement.
至于“丢书大作战”能否培养通勤者的阅读爱好,张伟表示他并非理想主义者,但如果“丢书大作战”能一直维持下去一切就会不同。
"Our dream at the very beginning was that if we could encourage at least one more person to read in each subway carriage, then it would be a success."
“我们最初的梦想是,只要能够鼓励多一个人在地铁车厢上阅读,那就是成功的。”