Written by (作者): Jojo Chen 陈姣姣
Photos by (图片来源): Red Dowry Bookstore 十里红妆书店
World Reading Day is coming up again this April and in this regard bookstores, as carriers, have made great contributions to promoting reading nationwide. Even though today’s bookstore industry is rather stagnant, there still exist a few decent physical bookstores in Ningbo, one of which is the Red Dowry (Shi Li Hong Zhuang) Bookstore, located in Ningbo Cultural Plaza. Ask any Ningbo ren about the bookstore and its owner Hao Li (aka Brother Hao) and they’ll most certainly know what you’re talking about.
It was last spring that I first met Brother Hao when my friend and I participated in an activity held in the Cultural Plaza. During the activity, the idea of visiting Red Dowry Bookstore suddenly hit us. Unfortunately, we failed to find the location of the bookstore since we had never been to it before, so we gave them a call. We ultimately got the information we needed to find the place. When we arrived we were welcomed by Brother Hao in the hall and with a smile he said he had sent a salesclerk out to find us, but it seemed that we had missed each other. We felt flattered by such a thoughtful gesture but also ashamed for causing the bookstore trouble. Brother Hao thought it didn’t matter and said with great sincerity, “You are the ones we were waiting for.” I guess that is a kind of self-cultivation and bearing possessed by a scholar.
At that time the bookstore had just been opened, so there were not many visitors inside. Still, three to five people were standing in front of the bookshelves just browsing or sitting and reading books while drinking tea, cultivating a warm and homelike atmosphere. The majority of books in the store were new and unopened. Brother Hao told us we could open any of them to read and it didn’t matter whether we ended up buying it or not. Brother Hao is very generous and even allowed a reader to borrow and take a book home after she had already read half of it.
Before leaving, I bought a book named Reaching the Brink of Life written by well-known Chinese writer and translator Jiang Yang when she was 96-years-old. At that time I got the book, I didn’t expect to hear the news of her death a month later. Suddenly, various social media were flooded with information about her and her works. I didn’t come along for the ride, but thinking of my encounter with this book that night felt like some sort of fate.
From then on, I began to listen to Brother Hao’s recordings from when he was an announcer reading books for readers with his mellow voice on the official WeChat account Red Dowry Bookstore Channel. Later on I also started watching a local financial talk show called San Ge Yan Yi which Brother Hao was involved in creating, and I learned a lot from it. It seems that he has done these kinds of things with an enterprising spirit, but there is no doubt that his efforts are supported by rich knowledge and experience. Since following his work I sought another opportunity to sit down and have a talk with him, asking him to share his story with me. It was only recently that I was able to get the opportunity, close to World Reading Day. After all, Brother Hao is definitely the right person to ask about reading.
Ningbo Focus: As a 30-year media veteran who once worked in a broadcasting station, TV station and newspaper office, do you think print media still has relevance in the era of new media?
Brother Hao: The media is not superior to what it used to be, but they still mustn’t become vulgar and cater to basic wants and the desire for entertainment. The proliferation of all kinds of information channels won’t lead to the recession in print media, but rather provide a golden opportunity for it to flourish. Unlike new media, print media doesn’t have the advantage of speed, but that means there’s adequate time for print media professionals to write more elaborate, in-depth and reliable stories which don’t just serve their current readers, but evaluate life, social changes, ideologies, ethics and future trends, making them necessary as conduits and critics of information. What’s more, people’s lifestyles will be more diversified in the future, and print media, as a symbol of an elegant, classic and high-quality lifestyle, will have a promising future.
NF: E-books have replaced physical books thanks to a demand for a more fast-paced lifestyle. In light of this, do you think the existence of physical books is still valuable?
BH: I think it’s fair to say that both psychical books and electronic books have their own virtues and faults. I confess that I also read e-books and listen to audio books. In my view, reading physical books is more of a lifestyle. Studies have shown that compared with information acquired from screens, information acquired from physical books leaves much more of a lasting impression. But this is just superficial data, as physical books not only provide you with reading contents, but also synchronously contribute to an experience, leaving physical evidence to show your attitude and hobbies over a certain period of time. Additionally, for various reasons like environmental protection, publishing physical books, printed magazines or newspapers will become a rather extravagant action, so the exquisite books you collect now probably will acquire more value in the future.
NF: With more and more people turning to digital books and reading, is it inevitable that problems like the fragmentation of information and shallow reading will become more prominent?
BH: Now the phrase “fragmented reading” is a neutral term, but I think in time it will become an obstacle. It seems to be very convenient since there are overly abundant channels for people to acquire a wide range of information, but actually the interference brought by drivel mixing with legitimate information and news is becoming more of a burden. Modern people should learn to manage their own information channels, retaining a few high-quality and effective sources while clearing up those that are insignificant.
NF: In this age of online shopping and with the convenience of public libraries, community libraries, mobile libraries and electronic libraries, do you think its still necessary for physical bookstores to exist? How can they keep up with the times?
BH: A physical bookstore is like a field or a container, it can be combined more closely with various kinds of economic models and people’s life demands in the future. The owners of physical bookstores also should improve their own professional competences to better serve customers, not just putting books on bookshelves. For example, when I am reading books and recommending a list of books on our official WeChat account, I need to incite readers to be willing to listen to the books I read and believe that the books I recommend deserve to be read. Nowadays, book lending in public libraries has definitely become more convenient, but whether you go to the library or not is a matter of individual choice. Forming a trend of nationwide reading needs a group of people’s efforts, and only having hardware is not enough. That is what we, as the operators of physical bookstores, are doing.
NF: We’ve been focusing a lot on how physical bookstores have suffered in recent years. How did you muster the courage to open a bookstore while so many people are anxious about investing in such ventures due to the state of the industry?
BH: There are a handful of people who are fond of reading that hold a dream of opening a bookstore when they become older. There was a mania of bankruptcy in physical bookstores around 2010, which made me feel pity and think our dream was to be destroyed by such a phenomenon. However, thanks to my acute insight as a media professional, I believed that physical bookstores had not come to a dead end. On the contrary, I saw that they could survive in various ways. So I started to go to places like Taiwan and Shanghai to investigate physical bookstores and then returned to Ningbo to build Red Dowry based on the aesthetic tastes and selection I found in major bookstores around Asia. I believe the operation of physical bookstores should be market-oriented, but should not be so at the cost of scholarliness. As long as they are resilient and have ways on bringing customers in, there are many ways for physical bookstores to survive, because every person is willing to pay for these wonderful things.
NF: How were things for the bookstore in 2016? Did anything interesting or significant occur that helped the operation along?
BH: Last year the bookstore ran well. The Cultural Plaza provided great support for us. Besides, through promotion on our official WeChat account, the bookstore has gained more attention around Ningbo. Institutions like the voluntary service center 81890 and the Bank of Ningbo always turn to us to provide professional services for their reading sessions; each Saturday’s 12-people salon has expanded to fifteen or sixteen people since there are so many wanting to sign up, and now we are preparing to divide groups. Furthermore, our bookstore is always thought of as a travel destination when people such as medical experts from Huangshan ?and the producer of the film A Chinese Odyssey came to Ningbo on business; and many readers who live in other cities insist on buying our books and ask us to send to them via express delivery after watching our recommended booklists. Not long ago, the studio of Xin Ye, who is the vice-chairman of the China Writers Association, opened in Ningbo. It’s not only a bookstore, but also a teahouse and coffee shop. Lastly, we chose the name “Red Dowry” as it is an auspicious title, harkening to ancient Chinese culture and inspiring people to come have a look.
四月，我们又迎来了一年一度的“世界读书日”。在推广全民阅读的过程中，书店作为载体功不可没。在书店业比较不景气的今天，幸运的是，甬城还是有一些不错的实体书店存在，其中一家就是位于文化广场的“十里红妆”书店。如今，提到这家书店和它的老板李皓（江湖人称“皓哥”），相信许多宁波人都已经不再陌生。
初见皓哥是在去年春天，我和朋友在文化广场参加一场活动，中途开了小差，跑去“十里红妆”书店。心血来潮加上初次到访，俩人一时不太找得着北。朋友自告奋勇拨通书店电话，一通询问之后豁然开朗。到时，皓哥亲自在大厅迎接，笑说已经派店员出去找寻我们，看样子是错过了。这待遇让我们顿时受宠若惊，也很为给书店添了麻烦感到不好意思。皓哥却不在意，非常诚恳地说：“你们就是我们要等的人呀！”我想这就是一种读书人的涵养和气度吧。
当时书店开得不久，人流量也没有现在大，但三五个人或在书架前挑书，或坐着喝茶翻书，感觉温馨、自在。店里的书大多是全新未拆封的，皓哥告诉我们可以随意打开来看，买不买都没有关系。甚至当有人拿着本看了一半的书询问能不能借回家去时，皓哥稍稍一想，竟然也就同意了。
临走前，我买下了一本杨绛先生在96岁高龄上的著作《走到人生边上》。没想到一个多月之后传来先生过世的消息，各大社交媒体上铺天盖地都是她和她生前的著作。我没有去凑这个热闹，但想来那晚与这本书的邂逅，也算是一种奇妙的缘分吧。
此后，我就开始在“十里红妆小栈”的微信公众号上听播音员出身的皓哥用醇厚的嗓音为大家读书，再后来又关注了皓哥参与制作的一档很接地气的本土财经类脱口秀节目《三哥演义》，感觉颇有收获。皓哥做这些事情，看起来得心应手、并不费力，但在背后作为支撑的，无疑是丰富的知识积累和生活阅历。因此我一直默默盘算着，哪天再找机会专门约皓哥坐下来聊聊，让他好好做次分享。这个想法由来已久，但一直拖延至今，才借“国际读书日”之机得以实现。毕竟，关于“读书”的事儿，问皓哥准是错不了的。
那么，下面就让我们一起来听听吧。
《宁波聚焦》：您作为从业30多年的资深媒体人，在广播、电视和报社都有过工作经历。在您看来，新媒体时代，纸媒是否仍有前景？
皓哥：首先，当下所有媒体都面临平等的机会，并不以存在形式的不同而有所区分。媒体也不再像以前那么高高在上，但同样不能落入俗流，而是应该回到大家共同的认知和愿景上，成为内容供应商。基于这一点，各种信息渠道的泛滥不但不应该导致纸媒的衰退，反而是提供了一个难得的好时机。虽然纸媒没有新兴媒体所具备的速度优势，但它有冷静的思考时间，可以做详尽、深入、可靠的报道，不仅服务于当下的读者，而且成为未来人们考量今天的生活、社会变迁、思想、伦理、价值观、潮流的“呈堂证供”，从而具备资料性和收藏价值。此外，未来人们的生活样式将更加多元化，纸媒作为一种优雅、经典的高品质生活方式的符号性存在，前景值得期待。
《宁波聚焦》：如今，数字阅读以其存储量大、检索便捷、便于保存、信息即时更新、不受时空限制、成本低廉等优点迎合了现代人快节奏生活的需求，深受年轻一代的欢迎和追捧。在这种大趋势下，纸质书的存在是否仍有其价值？
皓哥：应该说，纸质书和电子阅读各有利弊。我自己也会看电子书、听有声读物。在我看来，阅读纸质书更多的是一种生活方式。有研究表明，相比从屏幕上获取的信息，从纸质书中获取的信息给人留下的印象更深。但这还只是表面的数据，纸质书不单是为你提供阅读内容的书，它更是你生活的同步经历者，为你某一时期的态度、喜好留下物证。此外，未来由于环保等各种原因，拿纸出书出杂志出报纸都会成为一种比较奢侈的行为，现在收藏的精品版本，在以后可能会更具价值。
《宁波聚焦》：数字阅读风潮下，不可避免的是信息碎片化甚至浅阅读，很多人已经意识不到系统化阅读的重要性。关于这一点，您怎么看？
皓哥：现在“碎片化阅读”是个中性词，但我认为以后它会成为一种障碍或麻烦。获取信息的渠道过于丰富，表面上看非常便捷，实际上其中混杂的大量垃圾信息带来的干扰会成为生活的负累。现代人应该学会管理自己的信息渠道，保留少数高质量的、有效的来源，清理那些可有可无的。
《宁波聚焦》：身处网购时代，当当、亚马逊、京东等电商平台为我们提供了非常便捷的购书渠道，且选择丰富、折扣低廉。与此同时，国内很多城市的公共图书馆建设得越来越好，拿宁波来说，不仅有市图书馆、区图书馆，甚至很多社区都有社区图书馆、流动图书馆和24小时自助图书馆。实体书店的存在是否仍是必要？怎样才能做到与时代同行？
皓哥：实体书店是一个场、一个容器，它可以跟各种经济模型以及未来人们生活的需求结合得更密切。经营者也应该提升专业能力，做好服务人员，而不光是把书上架，例如我在微信公众平台上读书、推荐书单，要让大家愿意听、愿意信。现在的公共图书借阅确实变得更加便捷，但选择阅读是一种个人行为，要形成大众阅读的风潮则需要一批人的推动，不是光有硬件就够的，这就是我们这些实体书店经营者在做的事。
《宁波聚焦》：以上提到的种种其实都是近年来实体书店所遭受的冲击，也难怪书店倒闭的消息层出不穷。人家都争着做风口上的猪，您怎么会有勇气在行业如此不景气的时候开书店呢？
皓哥：读书人十之八九都有老了开家书店的梦想。2010年左右的时候，正值书店倒闭狂潮，我在心疼的同时也觉得梦想受到了冲击。但出于媒体人的敏锐，我觉得实体书店并没有走向穷途末路，而是还有各种办法和途径。于是我开始到台湾、上海等地考察书店，然后回来按照年轻人的审美需求打造了这家“十里红妆”。我相信，书店经营应该面向市场，但不该丢了书卷气，守护好人心头美好的东西，路就会很宽，因为谁都愿意为美好的东西买单。
《宁波聚焦》：2016年书店的经营状况如何？经营过程中有哪些印象比较深刻的事情可以跟我们分享？
皓哥：书店去年的经营状况还是可以的。文化广场对我们非常支持。通过公众号的推广，也受到了来自社会各界更多的关注，81890、宁波银行等单位都找到我们为他们的读书会提供专业服务；每周六的十二席沙龙，由于报名太过火爆，不得不扩张到了十五六人，现在正在准备分组；黄山医学专家、大话西游制片人来宁波出差，都把我们书店作为一个旅行目的地专门到访；还有不少外地读者看了我们推荐的书单，坚持要买我们的书让我们快递过去；不久前，中国作协副主席的“叶辛文艺大师工作室”也落在了这里……很多很多。这儿既是书店，也是茶室、咖啡店，还有国家级非遗“十里红妆”文化的加持，寓意吉祥，大家有空也可以多来坐坐。