论城市间的相似性与不相似性
On the Universal and Distinctive Elements in Counties
Humans have largely overlapping biologies and live in fairly similar social structures and physical environments, which create major similarities in the way they form cultures. But within the framework of similarities there are differences.
人类在生理上有很大部分是重叠相似的,生活的社会结构以及物理环境相当相似,创造了很大部分文化形成方式的相似性。但在相似性的框架之中存有不相似性。
因此,一方面城市生活是相似的人类社会结构以及物理环境的微缩,另一方面也是不相似的,在数字生活的平面化和目前阶段。文化由城市间的相似性与不似性带来差别,并成为文化的载体,中国不同城市代表了不同的文化氛围,城市间的相似性与不相似性间的比较带来了居住者对其的自豪感以及厌恶感,并将这一感觉扩展延申至国家机构。黑石一雄在其小说《被掩埋的巨人》(the buried giant)中以冰山一角的方式描述了:
you would have reached the next settlement, and to your eyes, this one would have seemed identical to the first. But to the inhabitants themselves,there would have been many distinguishing details of which they would have been proud or ashamed.
你应该就会看到第二个村庄,在你眼里,和第一个没什么不同。但对村民自己来说,肯定有很多细微的差别,有的让他们骄傲,有的让他们羞愧。