Reading Reflection
这一章主要讲的是王安石变法，但林语堂先不紧不慢地将王安石个人形象，时人评论娓娓道来，比如苏洵的那篇《辨奸论》，“凡事之不近人情者，鲜不为大奸”，毫不留情地指出王安石的弊病和预测日后他将对大宋带来的祸端。总体来说熙宁新政以发展生产，富国强兵，挽救宋朝政治危机为目的，以"理财"、"整军"为中心，涉及政治、经济、军事、社会、文化各个方面。在一定程度上也改变了北宋积贫积弱的局面。
但是，变法在推行过程中如保马法和青苗法等不合时宜的政策以及执行不当，也造成了百姓利益受到不同程度的损害，加之凡是变法，必定触动大地主阶级的利益，因此神宗去世之后变法告终也是必然。我觉得王安石可以称得上奇人，他在经济上的想法虽然理想了些，但是也是当时人之不敢想，他的抱负远大，但他以常人所不能及的专注去全身心投入，这种毅力也是让人佩服。只不过作为少数的“异类”，获得的理解要远比承认少得多。看待历史人物，除了关注他的成就以及性格，也要考虑时代的局限性吧。
Guiding Question
What kind of person Wang Anshih was and what did he do for Sung dynasty?
Wang Anshih was an industrious scholar, extraordinary in mind and fiance, but he was a impractical idealist with negligence of food and external look. He bided his time and when it came, he implemented an fiancial and economic policy on society and had emperor backed up.
Words & Expressions
1. deplorable (P76)
Unfortunately, he combined a Messianic sense of mission with a deplorable lack of tact and inability to get along with anyone but himself.
deplorable: If you say that something is deplorable, you think that it is very bad and unacceptable. 糟糕的；可叹的；应受谴责的
这一句可以学习lack of sth, 指王安石缺乏与别人交往的圆滑能力，他只能在自己的世界里和自己和谐相处。前面还有一个单词Messianic，“以救世主自居的使命感”，十分地道的表达，如果是我自己写的话，我可能就对messianic这个形容词的安放不知所措。
2. negligent (P76)
If by idealist we mean a man who was negligent of his food and appearance, Wang Anshih was certainly one.
Whether Wang Anshih loved that distinction or not we do not know, but it is easy to believe that a man so absorbed in his ideas was naturally negligent of his external looks.
negligent: If you describe a person's movements or manner as negligent, you mean that they look relaxed and informal. 不修边幅的；随便的
这个词在形容王安石时候出现了两次，都是用来说王安石醉心工作和学习而丝毫不在意自己的衣食住行这些外在的东西。其中也可以学到它的用法是 be negligent of sth.
3. aflectation (P80)
Whether Wang's strange habits were an aflectation or not it is impossible to decide; but when a person overdoes a thing, people are inclined to suspect there is an element of conscious self-advertisement in it.
aflectation: If you say that someone's attitude or behaviour is an affectation, you disapprove of the fact that it is not genuine or natural, but is intended to impress other people. 矫揉造作
十分赞同这个句子，的确是当一个人过度做某件事情的时候，外界会觉得这是种博眼球的噱头，尤其是在网络时代，即是一种aflectation。这里的conscious self-advertisement也让我想到了一句歇后语：王婆卖瓜——自卖自夸。
