内容简介
When the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Mieko's nearby village was turned into ruins. She and her parents were lucky to have survived, but Mieko's hand was badly injured. Mieko loves to do calligraphy more than anything, but now she can barely hold a paintbrush. And she feels as if she has lost something she can't paint without-the legendary fifth treasure, beauty in the heart. Then she is sent to live with her grandparents and must go to a new school where the children tease her about her scarred hand. But Mieko is brave and eventually learns that time and patience can help with many things, and may even help her find the fifth treasure... Staying with her grandparents after the atomic bomb has been dropped on Nagasaki, ten-year-old Mieko feels that the happiness in her heart has departed forever and she will no longer be able to produce a beautiful drawing for the contest at school.
精彩书评
Publishers Weekly The devastating effects of the bombing of Japan described in Coerr's Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes are evoked here in the stirring story of Mieko, a gifted calligrapher and artist. After her hand is badly injured in the bombing, the frightened and embittered girl is sent to stay with her grandparents in the country. Mieko fears she has lost the fifth treasure, the ``beauty in the heart'' which holds the key to her artwork. At her new school, she is taunted by some cruel classmates, and the anger she feels only deepens her sense of misery and loss. Eventually, she is lifted from her dark state by the patience and wisdom of her comforting grandparents and through the friendship of Yoshi, a gentle classmate. Mieko's recovery is further aided by Yoshi's Aunt Hisako, a stern but generous woman who goads Mieko into picking up her brushes once more. (Hisako's disappearance from the story proves mildly confusing, leaving her more of a device than a fleshed-out character.) Overall, this is a sensitively and beautifully crafted story that juxtaposes the strength of Japanese art and philosophy with the complex emotional wake of the bombing. Once again, this author has created a vivid portrait of courage, drawn from a time that deserves to be remembered. Ages 7-11. (Apr.) Children's Literature Mieko and the Fifth Treasure finds a heroine whose hand is crippled by the Nagasaki bomb. A skillful word-picture artist, Mieko, can work with brush, ink stick, ink stone and rice paper, but she struggles to find the fifth treasure "beauty in the heart." It is the friendship and loving support of those around her that allow Mieko to escape her bitterness and draw with her heart. Fewer Reviews School Library Journal Gr 3-5-- The four treasures of traditional East Asian calligraphy are brush, inkstick, inkstone, and paper. The ``fifth treasure,'' as Mieko's art teacher has told her, is beauty in the heart, which breathes life into writing word-pictures (characters). Mieko lived in a village outside Nagasaki when the atom bomb was dropped. Flying glass badly damaged her writing hand and now, a few months later, she has been sent to live with her grandparents. Ashamed of her scars and certain she has lost the fifth treasure, Mieko withdraws into herself, rejecting school and her grandparents' efforts to help her heal psychologically. It is the subtle, beneficial influence of her new friend, Yoshi, and her overbearing aunt that helps Mieko overcome her fears and start to face life again. The child's inner and outer conflicts are believably handled, and readers will identify with her struggle towards normalcy after trauma. Much of the plot is obvious, but satisfying. The meeting with Yoshi's aunt is especially heavy-handed. With the plot unfolding in the months immediately after surrender, with Tokyo in ashes, rationing for nearly a decade, the collapse of the economy, and U. S. occupation forces just settling in, the fact that she blithely orders (and receives) luxury writing paper is a strain on credibility. Otherwise, this is a warm, sensitive, and well-written story with wide appeal. --John Philbrook, San Francisco Public Library
前言/序言
寻找失落的技艺:古老卷轴的秘密 在一个以精湛手工艺闻名于世的国度,时间似乎凝固在了那个黄金时代。然而,随着新时代的浪潮袭来,那些需要耐心、专注和独特天赋才能掌握的古老技艺正面临失传的危机。这片土地上的故事,围绕着一个名叫阿清(Akira)的年轻人展开。阿清并非出身于那些世代相传的工匠世家,他只是一个在旧城区长大的孤儿,对周围那些被遗忘的作坊和空气中弥漫的木屑、金属粉末的气味怀有一种莫名的亲近感。 阿清的心中一直有一个挥之不去的谜团:他的父母是谁?他唯一的线索,是一枚雕刻着奇异花纹的黄铜徽章,和一本用极其罕见的植物纤维纸张装订的残破日记。日记中记载着一系列晦涩难懂的笔记,提到了“五重和谐”的理论——这被认为是古代最伟大的工匠们用于平衡材料、精神和自然力量的终极秘密。 故事的开端,阿清在清理一间即将被拆除的古老图书馆地下室时,偶然发现了一个隐蔽的暗格。暗格里没有金银财宝,只有一卷用油布包裹的“光影之卷”。卷轴上描绘了一系列复杂的机械结构和星象图,似乎与日记中提及的“五重和谐”有着某种关联。卷轴的边缘,用一种几乎消失的墨水写着一行字:“寻其四,方知五之真谛。” 这句谜语将阿清推上了一条充满挑战的旅程。他必须找到四件与“五重和谐”传说相关的“元素信物”,才能真正理解那失传的技艺以及自己身世的真相。 第一件信物:风的颂歌——琥珀音螺 阿清的第一站,将他引向了位于北方高耸入云的“风语山脉”。传说,那里居住着一群与自然融为一体的隐士——“云端编织者”。他们掌握着一种用特殊处理过的海螺与山间冷风共鸣,制造出能影响人心情绪的“声音雕塑”的技术。 在艰难的攀登过程中,阿清结识了莲(Ren),一位表面冷漠但技艺精湛的制图师。莲正在寻找一种罕见的矿石,用以修正一张据称能绘制出“非物质领域”的古老地图。两人目标不同,却在共同对抗山间的恶劣环境和一些觊觎山脉资源的盗猎者时,建立了初步的信任。 最终,在山顶一座被闪电击中的古老祭坛下,阿清发现的第一件信物——琥珀音螺。这枚音螺晶莹剔透,内部似乎流动着凝固的光芒。当阿清轻轻吹拂时,它发出了超越任何乐器的和谐之音,瞬间平息了山谷中一场即将爆发的雪崩。卷轴上的地图似乎也因此被激活了一小部分,显现出更多的线条。 第二件信物:土的沉静——磐石之心 根据音螺的共鸣指引,阿清和莲的旅程转向了南方广阔的“寂静平原”。这片土地上遍布着被遗忘的古代采矿场,以及那些曾用特殊方法开采珍贵金属的“大地铭刻者”。 然而,这里的状况并不乐观。采矿场因为过度开采,地基结构变得极其不稳定,随时有塌陷的危险。更糟的是,一个名为“铁壁集团”的商业实体,正试图用现代机械粗暴地开采剩余资源,这不仅破坏了环境,也破坏了隐藏在岩石深处的古代平衡。 阿清必须运用卷轴上关于“结构共振”的知识,与当地的矿工后裔合作,设计出一套无需破坏地基的疏导方案。在这段与时间赛跑的过程中,阿清展现了他惊人的直觉和对材料特性的深刻理解。他不再仅仅是阅读卷轴,他开始“感受”它们。 在一次深入地下隧道的探险中,他们找到了第二件信物:磐石之心。它并非一块普通的石头,而是一块被古老工艺淬炼至极致的、具有自我修复能力的玄铁核心。当阿清将它放置于一个古老的基座上时,周围因开采而产生的细微裂缝竟缓缓愈合。莲也在这里找到了她需要的矿石——它生长于磐石之心周围的微小生态系统中。 第三件信物:水的记忆——不灭之墨 第三个目标,指向了东方一片终年弥漫着浓雾的“迷失之泽”。这里是古代抄写员和炼金术士的圣地,他们相信“水”拥有记录一切信息的能力,而他们要做的,就是从中提取并保存这些“水的记忆”。 在这个湿润、充满迷幻气息的环境中,阿清和莲遇到了纱织(Sari),一位孤独的,负责维护泽中“记忆池”的女性。纱织的任务是防止记忆池中的信息因为时间的流逝而腐败。然而,一股邪恶的力量正在污染记忆池,试图抹去某些重要的历史片段。 这股力量与阿清日记中提到的一种“认知侵蚀术”极为相似。阿清意识到,这个污染者显然也在追寻“五重和谐”,目的是为了掌握控制历史叙事的力量。 在与污染源的斗争中,阿清领悟到,真正的技艺并非是创造,而是“清晰的重现”。他必须用自己的精神力去净化被污染的水体。最终,在即将被记忆的洪流吞没之际,他成功提炼出了第三件信物:不灭之墨。这种墨水一旦书写,便能永久保留当时情境下的真实波动,不受任何修改或遗忘的影响。 第四件信物:火的净化——永恒之芯 最后一个信物,似乎隐藏在最危险的地方——“熔炉废墟”,一座被古代灾难摧毁的火山城。这里曾是古代最高级金属冶炼大师的所在地,他们以火焰为工具,创造出可以抵御时间腐蚀的合金。 熔炉废墟不仅环境极端恶劣,更充满了未知的陷阱和古代防御系统的残余。阿清发现,这里的火焰与他所知的任何火焰都不同,它们是“有意识的”。 在探索中,阿清终于明白了“五重和谐”的意义:它不是五件独立的宝物,而是五种“驾驭基本力量的哲学体现”。风、土、水、火,加上他自己所代表的——“人与意图的结合”。 为了取得第四件信物,阿清必须通过一个考验:他必须在不使用任何外力的情况下,徒手引导一股失控的等离子火焰,将其塑造成一个完美的几何形状。这考验的不是力量,而是绝对的专注与内心的平静。 在纱织(她也精通古代的炼金术)和莲的帮助下,阿清成功通过了考验。第四件信物——永恒之芯,一颗散发着柔和、稳定光芒的金属球体,出现在他面前。这代表着对“变化”的掌控,能够将任何物质形态固定在最优美的瞬间。 终极的揭示:第五重宝藏 当阿清集齐了四件信物,并将它们放置在他父母留下的那枚黄铜徽章旁时,徽章和四件信物一同激活。它们并非指向一个地点,而是指向阿清的内心。 第五件宝藏,“第五重和谐”,不是一个物体,而是一种技艺的完整继承。 原来,阿清的父母并非失踪,而是为了保护这项技艺,将它分解并藏于四种基本元素的象征物中,等待一个心性纯净、且具备足够理解力的人来重组。他们留下的日记,是启动这一切的关键钥匙。 随着“五重和谐”的理念在他脑中成型,阿清获得了融合这四种力量的能力。他可以像风一样流动,像土一样坚韧,像水一样洞察,像火一样塑形。 最终,阿清和他的伙伴们决定,他们不会将这项力量据为己有。他们要做的,是利用这份知识,在新的时代里,以更负责任、更可持续的方式,重建那些失落的、充满敬意的工艺传统。他们的故事,成为了一个关于传承、责任与发现自我真正潜能的史诗。这不仅仅是关于古代宝藏的发现,更是关于如何将古老的智慧融入一个快速变化的现代世界。他们开始建立一个“学徒联盟”,致力于将对材料的尊重和对平衡的追求,重新播撒在这片土地上。