【英语生活】王岐山最爱读《理智与情感》

What sort of books do China's leaders like to curl up with after a hard day of governing? For Vice Premier Wang Qishan, escape apparently comes in the form of Jane Austen novels.

Wang, one of China's top leaders, disclosed his liking for the 19th-century novelist, during a meeting with Britain's newly minted chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne.

Austen, renowned for her depictions of love amid the rarefied world of the English country gentry, was hardly prolific, publishing six novels during her lifetime.

So which is Wang's favorite? British journalists based in Beijing were keen to know.

'Sense and Sensibility,' published in 1811, in which two sisters learn the importance of balancing logic and emotion when it comes to matters amorous, is, according to Osborne, the vice premier's pick of the Austen oeuvre.

Not a bad title, perhaps, for a political leader to take as his watchword: Certainly better than 'Pride and Prejudice,' though maybe a close runner-up to 'Persuasion.'

中国的领导人在辛苦工作一天之后喜欢阅读哪一类图书？对中国副总理王岐山而言，显然简•奥斯汀(Jane Austen)的小说能够让他逃离俗世的尘嚣。

作为中国高级领导人之一，王岐山在与英国新任财政大臣奥斯本(George Osborne)会面时透露了他对这位19世纪小说家的喜爱。

奥斯汀以其对英国乡下贵族的纯净世界中的爱情描写而闻名于世。她不是个高产的作家，一生只发表了六部小说。

哪一本才是王岐山的最爱？英国驻北京记者们渴望知道答案。

奥斯本称，在奥斯汀的全部作品中，1811年发表的《理智与情感》(Sense and Sensibility)是王岐山的首选。小说中的两姐妹认识到在遇到感情问题时平衡理智与情感的重要性。

或许对一位政治领导人来说，把这本书名当做自己的格言是个不错的选择，显然要好过《傲慢与偏见》(Pride and Prejudice)，但或许仍稍逊于《劝导》(Persuasion)。