Gorky once said: 'Books are the ladder of human progress.' This statement is indeed very true. Books have played an irreplaceable and important role in the history of human civilization. Through written records, language, characters, and illustrations can be relatively well preserved, and they can also be printed in large quantities, making it convenient for humans to read and learn, which is beneficial for the transmission of human knowledge. However, in recent years, fewer and fewer people in China are reading. According to survey statistics, the proportion of people reading in China dropped by 8 percentage points between 1999 and 2001. So, what are the reasons for not reading? Are we missing steps on the ladder of progress?
Modern people have their reasons for not reading. Middle-aged people say they don't have time, young people say they are not accustomed to it, and some people say they can't afford books. On the contrary, the number of people reading online is increasing. Indeed, middle-aged people rush about day and night for family and career; young people have multiple ways to obtain information in the era they grow up, so not everyone is fond of reading; due to copyright protection in our country, book prices have been rising with the cost of living; and nowadays, the Internet, which can transmit information resources in real time and has a powerful presence in the human world, can to some extent justifiably replace the role of books.
But does this constitute a reason for modern people not to read?
'Reading extensively makes writing effortless and inspired.' This has been proven by the spirit of the ancients who hanged their heads to study and pricked themselves with awls to endure pain. Chinese ancients, precisely because they possessed this persistent spirit of reading, produced literary geniuses like Su Shi, Wang Anshi, Du Fu, and Li Bai who stood out from countless students, and left timeless classical theories through thinkers like Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi. Books accompanied our ancestors through thousands of years of history, bringing the Chinese nation not only knowledge and wealth but also a spiritual civilization that outsiders cannot take away or learn. Centuries of history have recorded centuries of achievements; can the role of books be easily erased in the history of the new era?
Indeed, in the new era, life's pace has accelerated, the pressures of work and study are great, and people are gradually dazzled by the complexity around them, slowly forgetting the value of books.The advent of the Internet has indeed made it more convenient for us to access information, but the Internet is after all just a simple reading tool. Nothing can completely replace the role and value of books, because books carry so much of our historical civilization. There is still so much we need to explore and think about through books.
Books are the ladder of human progress; this is a truth we all acknowledge. The journey we have to take on this ladder is still long, perhaps even endless. No matter what kind of environment we are in, we must not give up reading, because giving up reading is giving up the pursuit of truth.
