加薩日記

 

（點此前往博客來購書）

之前路過台北車站時，總會看到無國界醫生的志工們擺著攤位，不知道是要向路人募集個資還是有其它目的。當時對這個團體單純只覺得大概和綠色和平組織一樣，是某種宣揚理念的非政府組織（NGO, Non-Governmental Organization）。在讀過《加薩日記》後，藉由洪上凱醫師第一手的紀錄，讓我了解並欽佩這個跨國組織為人類福祉的盡心盡力。看來本書確實間接促成了無國界醫生的核心使命—「見證與發聲」。

作者於2023年7月啟程前往加薩走廊參與無國界醫生在當地的任務，沒料到10月便發生實際控制當地的武裝團體哈瑪斯攻擊以色列的阿克薩洪水行動，導致以色列全面封鎖並反擊加薩地區，使得作者於11月終止當地的任務，撤離至鄰近的埃及後返國。本書內容為這近五個月來，洪上凱醫師在歷程中的心情記事。讀者能從中對巴勒斯坦和以色列兩國的紛爭，以及對身處加薩地區的居民們帶來的苦難與無奈，有著近乎第一手的觀察與省思。

先前透過新聞媒體接觸到的第一印象，哈瑪斯是一個盤據加薩走廊的極端武裝團體，然而其源起卻是基於公益互助理念的地方兄弟會。只能說戰爭令人瘋狂，以色列對加薩居民長期進行經濟管制與軍事騷擾，試圖蠶食鯨吞地擴張國土，數十年來在國際社會的默許下日益劇烈。對抗只會帶來更多的仇恨與報復，以巴問題始終未能逐步改善與化解，光靠人道救助團體的無私義舉終究只是杯水車薪。《加薩日記》替讀者點出了目前主流媒體不曾傳播的敘事角度，從當地居民的生活中看待以色列對加薩施加的壓迫，讓人體會到國際正義一詞的空洞，以及戰爭所帶來的破壞是多麼無情與非人道。

When I walked past Taipei Main Station before, I often saw volunteers from "Doctors Without Borders" (MSF) setting up booths. I wasn't sure if they wanted to collect personal information from passersby or had other goals. At that time, I simply thought they were like "Greenpeace"—just another non-governmental organization (NGO) promoting their ideas. However, after reading Gaza Diary, Dr. Hung Shang-kai's first-hand accounts helped me understand and admire this international group's hard work for human well-being. It seems this book indirectly helped fulfill MSF's main mission: "to bear witness and speak out."

The author traveled to the Gaza Strip in July 2023 to join MSF's mission there. Unexpectedly, in October, Hamas, the armed group controlling the area, launched the "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" attack on Israel. Israel then completely blocked and fought back against Gaza. As a result, the author had to end his mission in November, evacuate to nearby Egypt, and return home. This book shares Dr. Hung's feelings and thoughts during those five months. Through his writing, readers can get a first-hand look at the conflict between Palestine and Israel, and think deeply about the suffering and helplessness of the people in Gaza.

My first impression from the news was that Hamas was just an extreme armed group in Gaza. However, it actually started as a local group based on community service and mutual help. War truly makes people crazy. For decades, Israel has controlled Gaza's economy and used military force to expand its territory bit by bit. With the international community staying quiet, these actions have gotten worse over time. Fighting only brings more hatred and revenge. The problem between Israel and Palestine has never improved. Relying only on the selfless work of humanitarian groups is simply not enough. Gaza Diary shows readers a fresh perspective that mainstream media often misses. Seeing the pressure from Israel through the daily lives of local people makes us feel how empty the words "international justice" can be, and how cruel and heartless war really is.

偽裝的改革者：破解鄧小平和蔣經國神話

 

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在台北市長選舉前哨站開始烽煙四起之際，時任北市市長的蔣萬安又因為他蔣家子弟的身分，興起一波網民之間的唇槍舌戰。說實在的，台灣走出蔣介石、蔣經國兩代強人統治數十年，在六年級以上的多數國民都是經過忠黨愛國的填鴨式洗腦教育長大，因此對於蔣家，特別是蔣經國的個人評價多半是正面，甚至能庇佑子孫，為選情加分。但是，如果有空翻閱這本《偽裝的改革者》，或許能替你摘下粉紅色的眼鏡，更客觀地思考蔣家、國民黨對於治理政府的能力與功過。

對於中國大國崛起、幾乎可以和美國比肩的當下，在共產中國喊出改革開放、打開市場經濟的鄧小平，無人敢否定他的歷史定位。然而，就如同退居台灣一方的蔣經國，這兩位是否真如普羅大眾認知般，是洞燭機先的改革者？本書是直接給了否定的大叉叉。就像日本漫畫《刃牙》曾經提出的共時性，觀察全球的政治局勢時，常常會在某個特定的時間點上，由具有相似人格特質的政治人物所主政。近的來說，英國前首相鮑里斯．強生和美國總統唐納．川普就非常雷同，書中提及的鄧小平和蔣經國又是一例。他們的前任都是擁有領袖魅力的政治強人毛澤東和蔣介石，而且都曾遠赴蘇聯學習共產主義思想，在史達林眼皮下過著共產黨員的日子。而蔣經國從蘇聯共產政體所學到的統治手法，例如以黨領政、特務機關等，之後也深遠地影響了台灣中華民國的政治制度。不論是軍隊的政戰體系以及法務部調查局，當初都是源自於國民黨主席的專制統治需要而成立。相較於中國走向馬克斯主義的極權政體，蔣家父子則是打造出牢不可破的威權政體，隔海相對。

在經濟政策上，他們本質上都是計劃經濟的信徒，認為私人企業的價值不能高於國營企業，自由市場經濟應該要受到國家監理、管制。王家衛電影《一代宗師》裡的台詞有一段：「人活一世，有的成了面子，有的成了裡子，都是時勢使然。」相當適合用來形容世事變化。其實不論是鄧小平還是蔣經國，他們所身處的，都是經歷千辛萬苦才能安穩活下去的亂世。一方面要伴君如伴虎地成為領袖最信賴的接班人，另一方面得面對各方派系、大老，將自身勢力深入黨政軍，以確保自己不被推翻。

有趣的是，這兩位領袖都是打從心裡反美，但又是從美國獲得最大的助益，最終成就了當下台灣的經濟成就以及中國的大國崛起。就結果論，在中國近代史上，兩位領導人是成功的。但誠如作者余杰所言，破除這些治國神話的迷思，其實更能讓讀者理解那些看似不合理的歷史片段究竟從何而來，還能察覺當初他們基於個人私心排除異己與改變體制，反而阻礙了國家朝向更正面的發展契機。

As the Taipei mayoral election begins to heat up, the current mayor of Taipei, Chiang Wan-an, has once again become the center of heated arguments among internet users because of his family background as a member of the Chiang family. To be honest, Taiwan spent several decades under the rule of two strongmen, Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo. Most people who are now in their 60s or older grew up with an education that strongly emphasized loyalty to the ruling party and love of the country. As a result, many people still have a positive view of the Chiang family, especially Chiang Ching-kuo. In fact, his reputation can even help his descendants gain support in elections. However, if you have time to read this book, *The Fake Reformer*, it may help you take off those rose-colored glasses and think more objectively about the Chiang family and the KMT, including what they did well and what they did wrong in governing Taiwan.

Today, as China has grown into a major world power that can almost stand alongside the United States, few people would deny Deng Xiaoping's place in history for launching "reform and opening up" and opening China's economy to the market. However, just like Chiang Ching-kuo, who moved to Taiwan, were these two really the great reformers that most people believe they were? This book gives that idea a big red X. As the Japanese manga *Baki* once introduced the idea of "synchronicity," when we look at political situations around the world, we often find similar types of political leaders coming to power at certain points in history. A recent example would be former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and U.S. President Donald Trump, who are surprisingly similar in many ways. Deng Xiaoping and Chiang Ching-kuo, mentioned in this book, are another example. Their predecessors were both powerful leaders with strong personal charisma: Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek. Both Deng Xiaoping and Chiang Ching-kuo also went to the Soviet Union to study communist ideas and spent time there as members of the Communist Party under Stalin's rule. Chiang Ching-kuo later brought some of the governing methods he learned from the Soviet communist system to Taiwan, such as the party's control over the government and the use of intelligence and secret police organizations. These methods had a deep influence on Taiwan's political system. Both the political warfare system in the military and the Investigation Bureau of Taiwan's Ministry of Justice were originally created to meet the needs of the KMT's authoritarian rule. While China developed into a Marxist totalitarian state, the Chiang family built a strong authoritarian state in Taiwan. The two sides were almost like two different versions of the same system across the Taiwan Strait.

In terms of economic policy, both leaders were essentially believers in a planned economy. They believed that private companies should not be more important than state-owned companies, and that the free market should be supervised and controlled by the government. There is a line from Wong Kar-wai's movie *The Grandmaster*: "In life, some people become the face, while others become the inside. It all depends on the times." I think this line is quite suitable for describing how history changes. In fact, both Deng Xiaoping and Chiang Ching-kuo lived through turbulent times when simply surviving safely was already extremely difficult. On one hand, they had to become the leaders' most trusted successors, while on the other hand, they had to deal with different political groups and powerful figures. They also had to build their own influence throughout the party, government, and military to make sure they would not be overthrown.

Interestingly, both leaders were strongly anti-American, yet they also received some of their greatest benefits from the United States. In the end, this helped create Taiwan's economic success and China's rise as a major world power. Judging by the results, both leaders were successful in modern Chinese history. But as the author, Yu Jie, points out, breaking down these political myths can actually help readers better understand where those seemingly unreasonable parts of history came from. It can also help us see that their personal interests, efforts to remove political opponents, and attempts to change the political system may have actually blocked opportunities for their countries to develop in a more positive direction.

Spring Boot：建置與執行

 

（點此前往博客來購書）

在漫長的 Java 語言開發平台發展路途中，自從由官方主導的 Java EE 被開源社群擁護的 Spring 攻城掠地後，長期不動如山的 Servlet 網頁程式開發技術，也逐步被 Spring MVC 取代。然而，Spring 框架越來越龐大的類別庫相依性，卻成為 Java 工程師建置開發環境時的夢魘。Spring 開發團隊敏銳地發現，如此龐大的開發成本將會阻礙框架的普及，因此推出了 Spring Boot。其簡化的依賴性管理、簡化的部署以及自動組態三大特性，讓 Spring Boot 重新成為 Java 開發者喜愛的程式框架。

其實之前就已經看過兩本 Spring Boot 的專書，也已經將手上的專案全數改成 Spring Boot 框架。因此，閱讀這本《Spring Boot：建置與執行》的原意，只是單純想湊齊看完市面上這一主題的書。特別是由O'REILLY出版的電腦叢書，早期在 Java 領域裡幾乎等同於官方教材般的尊榮地位。雖然隨著網路興起，類似資訊隨手可得，讓系列叢書逐漸變得乏人問津，不過這兩年開始發現，碁峯和O'REILLY聯手出版的新書，有著充實的技術說明，輔以實用的程式範例，相當類似我最欣賞的Manning出版社In Action系列書籍。而在看完這本《Spring Boot：建置與執行》後，一方面吸收到之前兩本書中所沒有的內容，另一方面也重新溫習了已經學過的技術。

書中從最基礎的Spring Initializr專案建置工具講起，先用最單純的 Hello World 程度 REST API 程式，向讀者展示 Spring Boot 是如何簡化網頁程式開發的複雜度。接著再話說從頭，細數應用程式組態在 Spring Boot 框架下的規則，以及如何靈活運用。有如JMX 的致動器（Actuator）便是這本書獨有的章節；其他像是如何打包、部署成容器，也都是其他書裡沒提過的內容。和資料操作有關的 Spring Data 幾乎是必講的重頭戲，書中一次展示如何連接關聯式資料庫、MongoDB、Redis 三大儲存體，讓讀者不論挑選哪一種儲存技術，都可以找到參考範例。

全書我覺得最值回票價的部分，是學到了 Spring WebFlux 的反應式網頁程式（Reactive Programming）技術，以及之前一直沒有實作的 WebSocket 應用。也因此茅塞頓開地弄懂了 React、Reactive、WebSocket 三種常同時被提及，卻又截然不同、用來改善網路程式瓶頸的技術。甚至讓我破除了單一主機 TCP 連線只能到 65,535 條的迷思，可說是收穫滿滿，開卷有益莫過於此。

Throughout the long history of Java development platforms, Java EE was once the official choice for Java developers. However, after Spring, supported by the open-source community, gradually became more popular, the long-standing Servlet-based web development technology was also gradually replaced by Spring MVC. However, the growing number of library dependencies in the Spring Framework became a nightmare for Java engineers when setting up their development environments. The Spring development team quickly realized that such a high development cost could prevent the framework from becoming more popular. So, they introduced Spring Boot. With three major features — simplified dependency management, simplified deployment, and auto-configuration — Spring Boot once again became one of the most popular frameworks among Java developers.

Actually, I had already read two books about Spring Boot and had also migrated all of my current projects to the Spring Boot framework. Therefore, my original reason for reading *Spring Boot: Build and Run* was simply to complete my reading of the books available on this topic. In particular, computer books published by O'Reilly once had an almost official-textbook-like status in the Java field. However, as the Internet became more popular and similar information became easily available online, these book series gradually became less popular. Over the past two years, however, I have noticed that the new books jointly published by CITE Publishing and O'Reilly provide detailed technical explanations along with practical programming examples. They are quite similar to the *In Action* series published by Manning, which is one of my favorite book series. After finishing *Spring Boot: Build and Run*, I learned some new things that were not covered in the previous two books. At the same time, I also reviewed some technologies that I had already learned.

The book starts with the basic project creation tool, Spring Initializr. It first uses a very simple Hello World-level REST API example to show readers how Spring Boot can simplify the complexity of web application development. The book then goes back to the basics and explains the rules of application configuration in Spring Boot and how to use them flexibly. The Actuator likes JMX is one of the topics that I had not seen in the other books. Other topics, such as how to package an application and deploy it as a container, are also not covered in the other books I have read. Spring Data, which is related to data access, is naturally one of the major topics in the book. It demonstrates how to connect to three major types of data storage: relational databases, MongoDB, and Redis. No matter which storage technology readers choose, they can find useful examples in the book.

The part of the book that I found most valuable was learning about reactive web application development with Spring WebFlux and finally getting some hands-on experience with WebSocket, which I had never implemented before. Because of this, I finally understood the differences between React, Reactive, and WebSocket. These three terms are often mentioned together, but they are actually completely different technologies that can be used to address different kinds of problems in web applications. The book even helped me get rid of my old misunderstanding that a single host can only have 65,535 TCP connections. I learned a lot from this book. This is probably the best example of how reading a good technical book can be truly useful.

名偵探柯南 空想科學讀本

 

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推理小說長久以來都是日本娛樂產業的長青題材，由青山剛昌創作的《名偵探柯南》，以中小學生喜愛的畫風，搭配單元劇節奏的故事編寫，開創出擁有跨世代粉絲的驚人成績。每年的劇場版電影都能拿下日本票房第三名左右的佳績，漫畫本篇更已破百本，聲勢幾乎可以比肩《航海王》。不過，由於推理故事的主軸總是離不開OO殺人事件，也讓長期連載故事裡的江戶川柯南，因為不間斷地遭遇各種命案，在網路上獲得「米花市小學生死神」的異名。這麼具有知名度的動漫作品，加上人物、劇情設定充斥著滿滿的吐槽漏洞，當然引來了傳說中的那個男人—柳田理科雄。他擅長用科學數據考證動漫內容裡的奇異設定，開創出空想科學讀本系列。而這本《名偵探柯南 空想科學讀本》便是一次夢幻的跨界合作，讓柯南迷們可以用另一個角度重溫經典名作，盡情享受這位「討厭的大人」，如何用左手物理、右手數學的科學雙臂，推翻屬於你我的童年回憶。

故事打從一開始，黑衣組織強灌工藤新一毒藥，導致他變成小學生體型，就已經開始不科學了。後續由阿笠博士發明的各項輔助辦案道具，更是超越當今科技的水準，無法由目前的科學能力重現。像是可以即時變聲成任何人的蝴蝶領結型變聲器，難處在於幾乎可以瞬間生成各種聲音；目前若要生成聲紋，至少需要數十秒，而且還得收集足夠的聲紋資訊。手錶型麻醉槍的功能，則比靜脈全身麻醉的效果強上萬倍，令人不禁對每次破案都得挨上一針的毛利小五郎之身心健康感到擔心。增強腳力鞋只是利用刺激腳部穴道的原理，就能增進十萬倍的踢力，人類的潛能真的是無限啊！這些為了能順利推進劇情而誕生的便利發明，可比擬哆啦A夢手中來自未來的神奇道具。

除了柯南過目不忘、觀察入微的推理能力外，劇中的各個知名配角，也都是逆天級的存在。像是可以空手破壞水泥電線桿的毛利蘭；能光速變裝，又擁有超強力撲克牌槍的怪盜小子；雖然住在關西，卻三天兩頭就出現在東京，和新一擁有同等能力與知名度的服部平次；世界空手道冠軍，速度快到可以閃避子彈的京極真；以及可以預判對手動作，提早三秒開槍並精確命中目標的狙擊神人赤井秀一。這些角色的能力如果對照真實世界的紀錄，每個人都可以加入復仇者聯盟吧。

話說回來，動漫作品本來就是天馬行空，讓讀者休閒娛樂之用。太認真地吹毛求疵，指正哪裡不夠真實、絕對不可能發生這種事，簡直就是在對愛好者潑冷水。不過，這正是《空想科學讀本》一直在做的事，也是它想藉由人氣爆棚的動漫領域，間接推廣科普知識的用心所在。對於真正熱愛柯南的粉絲來說，這本《名偵探柯南 空想科學讀本》才不會澆熄自己的熱情。頂多把它當成茶餘飯後的讀物，跟著作者一同虧一下柯南故事裡的盲點，依舊追著《名偵探柯南》看下去。

Mystery novels have long been one of the most popular and lasting genres in Japan's entertainment industry. Created by Gosho Aoyama, *Detective Conan* has achieved amazing success with a style of drawing that appeals to elementary and middle school students, combined with stories written in the rhythm of a TV series, where each episode has its own case. The series has attracted fans from different generations. Its theatrical movies have regularly ranked around third at the Japanese box office each year, while the manga has already passed 100 volumes, making its popularity almost comparable to *One Piece*. However, since mystery stories can hardly escape the familiar formula of "the XX Murder Case," Edogawa Conan has had to encounter one murder after another throughout the long-running series. As a result, he has even earned the nickname "the elementary school Grim Reaper of Beika City" on the Internet. Such a famous anime and manga series, combined with its many characters and plot settings that are full of things to make fun of, naturally attracted the attention of that legendary man—Rikao Yanagita. He is well known for using scientific data to examine the strange settings and impossible situations found in anime and manga. He created the *Hypothetical Science Reader* series. This book, *Detective Conan: The Hypothetical Science Reader*, is therefore a dream collaboration. It allows Conan fans to revisit this classic series from a completely different point of view and enjoy watching this "annoying adult" use physics with his left hand and mathematics with his right to scientifically tear apart the childhood memories we all share.

The story becomes unscientific right from the beginning. The Black Organization forces Shinichi Kudo to take a poison, causing him to turn into an elementary school student. The various gadgets invented by Professor Agasa to help Conan solve cases are even more unbelievable. Their technology is far beyond what modern science can currently reproduce. Take the Bow-Tie Voice-Changer, for example. It can instantly make Conan sound exactly like anyone he wants. The difficult part is that it can generate different voices almost instantly. With current technology, generating a person's voiceprint takes at least several dozen seconds, and enough voice data must first be collected. Then there is the Watch Tranq Gun. Its effect is supposedly tens of thousands of times stronger than intravenous general anesthesia. This makes me seriously concerned about the physical and mental health of Kogoro Mouri, who has to take a shot every time Conan solves a case. The Power-Enhancing Kick Shoes are even more amazing. Simply by stimulating certain pressure points on the feet, they can increase the power of a kick by 100,000 times. Human potential really is unlimited! These convenient inventions, created mainly to keep the story moving forward, are almost as magical as the futuristic gadgets carried by Doraemon.

Conan is not the only character with extraordinary abilities. Many of the famous supporting characters in the series are also ridiculously powerful. For example, there is Ran Mouri, who can destroy a concrete utility pole with her bare hands; Kaito Kid, who can change his appearance at lightning speed and has an extremely powerful playing-card gun; Heiji Hattori, who lives in Osaka but somehow shows up in Tokyo every few days and has abilities and popularity comparable to Shinichi; Makoto Kyogoku, a world karate champion who is fast enough to dodge bullets; and Shuichi Akai, a legendary sniper who can predict his opponent's movements, fire three seconds ahead of time, and hit his target with incredible accuracy. If we compared the abilities of these characters with real-world records, every one of them could probably join the Avengers.

That said, anime and manga are meant to be imaginative and entertaining. Taking them too seriously and constantly pointing out that something is unrealistic or absolutely impossible would simply ruin the fun for the fans. But that is exactly what the *Hypothetical Science Reader* series has always done. It uses the incredibly popular world of anime and manga as a way to indirectly introduce scientific knowledge to the public. For true Conan fans, a book like *Detective Conan: The Hypothetical Science Reader* will hardly kill their enthusiasm. At most, it is a fun book to read in your spare time, allowing you to join the author in making fun of the flaws and impossible details in Conan's stories—while continuing to follow *Detective Conan* as always.

六神磊磊讀金庸：金庸文學－沒明說的戀愛學、成功學與處世智慧

 

（點此前往博客來購書）

功夫和武俠小說是華人獨有的文化資產，而五、六年級生想必都曾聽過武俠小說大師金庸。他撰寫的系列著作，早就被改編、重製成數不清的影視作品、動漫與遊戲，可以說是全球華人文創的共同資產，也像是活水源頭。擁有如此地位的文字作品，當然隨之而來的就是不斷地被研讀、解析。而這本《六神磊磊讀金庸》正是一本內容豐富、觀點獨到的評論作品，指點金庸迷們如何看出門道，瞧出故事情節中的言外之意。

其實解析作品就像時下的二創一般，非常考驗作者本身是不是有料，能在雅俗共賞的大眾文學中，看出別人沒有察覺的隻字片語，而這點筆名六神磊磊的王曉磊確實是做到了。全書內容涵蓋了《射鵰英雄傳》及《神鵰俠侶》、《倚天屠龍記》、《書劍恩仇錄》、《雪山飛狐》及《飛狐外傳》、《連城訣》及《俠客行》、《天龍八部》、《笑傲江湖》、《鹿鼎記》，挑了金庸武俠系列中最知名的作品。評論的角度相當五花八門，從最單純的兩性關係／戀愛學，到職場處事／成功學，甚至討論到組織管理／企業文化等。其實這些觀點與智慧，都是王曉磊本身肚子裡的墨水，只能透過金庸文學的內容牽引出來，讓讀者們更能心領神會。

能讓評論者各抒己見、自由發揮，又顯出原作小說的人物個性塑造何等生動、深刻，有如真人般活靈活現。如同王曉磊在書中所言，一流的小說家是由書中人物帶動故事走向，相反地，二、三流的小說家才會以故事當主體，角色只是像表演般唸台詞推進劇情。書中講到武當派和少林寺對武學研究的經營，有著形式主義和實用主義的分別，完全能帶入企業經營裡有沒有積極進取的研發精神。最後也提到《鹿鼎記》的故事中，金老爺子在角色的描述上，已經超脫正邪兩派的非黑即白，絕大多數的人都是黑裡摻灰的灰色地帶，些許透顯出後期他對人間世事的體悟。

隨著短影音、網路文學的普及與興盛，新一代的年輕人是否願意給金庸文學一個機會，好好坐下來享受這些經典巨作，是個大問哉。但可以肯定的是，要充分享受閱讀《六神磊磊讀金庸》的樂趣，讀者非得是下過功夫看過一回金庸作品，並且有點年歲、有點社會經驗，才能體會出評論裡講的觀點和道理。那不是流於空想和好發議論，而是踩過人生中種種的雷，才累積出的點滴心得。

Kung fu and martial arts novels are unique cultural treasures of Chinese people. People who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s have probably heard of Jin Yong, one of the most famous writers of martial arts novels. His works have long been adapted and remade into countless movies, TV shows, anime, and video games. They can be seen as a shared cultural treasure of Chinese people around the world, and also as a source of endless creative inspiration. Works of literature with such an important place in Chinese culture are naturally studied and analyzed again and again. This book, *Liu Shen Lei Lei Reads Jin Yong*, is a rich and interesting collection of essays with many unique ideas. It shows Jin Yong's fans how to look deeper into his stories and discover the hidden meanings behind the plots.

Actually, analyzing a work is a lot like today's "fan creations." It really tests whether the writer has something to offer. The writer needs to find things that other people have not noticed in popular literature that can be enjoyed by both serious readers and ordinary readers. And Wang Xiaolei, who writes under the pen name "Liu Shen Lei Lei," has certainly done that. The book covers some of Jin Yong's most famous works, including *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber*, *The Book and the Sword*, *Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain*, *The Young Flying Fox*, *A Deadly Secret*, *Ode to Gallantry*, *The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*, *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer*, and *The Deer and the Cauldron*. The topics discussed are also very diverse, ranging from simple topics such as relationships between men and women and love, to dealing with people at work and the secrets of success. The book even talks about organizational management and company culture. In fact, these ideas and insights all come from Wang Xiaolei's own knowledge and experience. Jin Yong's stories simply provide the material that brings these ideas out, allowing readers to understand them more deeply.

The fact that commentators can freely express their own opinions and develop their own ideas also shows how vivid and deep the characters in the original novels are. They feel almost like real people. As Wang Xiaolei says in the book, a first-class novelist lets the characters drive the story forward. In contrast, second- and third-rate novelists make the story the main focus, while the characters simply say their lines and move the plot along like actors on a stage. The book also discusses how the Wudang School and Shaolin Temple approach the study and development of martial arts. One represents more of a formalistic approach, while the other is more practical. This can easily be compared with whether a company has an active and progressive spirit when it comes to research and development. The book also talks about *The Deer and the Cauldron*. In this story, Jin Yong's descriptions of his characters have moved beyond the simple idea of good versus evil. Most people are neither completely good nor completely evil. Instead, they exist somewhere in the gray area between black and white. This seems to show some of Jin Yong's later thoughts and understanding of human nature and the world.

With the growing popularity of short videos and online literature, it is a big question whether the younger generation will give Jin Yong's works a chance and sit down to enjoy these classic masterpieces. But one thing is certain. To fully enjoy reading *Liu Shen Lei Lei Reads Jin Yong*, readers need to have spent some time reading Jin Yong's works themselves. It also helps to have some age and some experience in life. Only then can they truly understand the ideas and lessons discussed in the book. These are not simply ideas made up in one's head or empty opinions. They are small pieces of wisdom gained from going through all kinds of difficulties and problems in life.

奇異衰敗學：百年企業為何從頂峰到解體？

 

（點此前往博客來購書）

由湯瑪斯·愛迪生創立的奇異公司，是一家超過百年的跨國工業公司。該公司在發電設備、航空引擎以及醫療放射性儀器等領域，都是領頭羊的角色。奇異公司的渦輪發電機被廣泛運用在世界各國的火力、水力與核能電廠中，可以說全球能源能夠穩定供應，有大半是仰賴奇異公司在幕後提供保固維修服務。這樣一家動見觀瞻、大到不能倒的巨型企業，卻在 2010 年後開始經歷一連串的營運波折，營運和股價逐步走下坡。《奇異衰敗學》便是整理出橫跨近十年的奇異公司經營高層關鍵策略與背景故事，內容特別著重在前後三任奇異執行長的描寫，以及他們推動的策略與後續成效。

全書讀來有如身歷其境般，讓讀者看到奇異決策者面對營運挑戰時所做的決定。從事後諸葛的角度來看，這些不夠睿智的決策累積下來，便足以讓奇異公司的營運逐步陷入泥沼，直到無力回天，奇異集團被迫拆分、出售旗下事業體以求生存。商場競爭變化莫測，但奇異集團的殞落卻了無新意，踩中了台灣許多公司一樣的地雷—「想賺快錢」。因為大型工業、工程計畫背後需要長期、穩定的資金供給，因此奇異公司早早就成立奇異金融服務公司，因應企業營運的需要。後期更因企業經營得當、手中持有大量現金流，所以進一步融資給外部企業，以獲得利息收益。

自此，金融服務成為奇異集團中的營收與成長動能的新秀與潛力股，一味重視營運成效的執行長與股東們，反而樂見開拓出新的商機。奇異金融的好日子隨著 2008 年次貸風暴發生而結束了。在美國政府開始嚴管捅出大婁子的華爾街時，發現奇異公司在執行金融服務時，根本不符合銀行法規。它以工業集團的角色取得低利資金，轉頭再以向市場發行高利率的短期商業本票，藉此賺進利差。這些近乎無本生意的獲利，全數用來變成奇異每年配發高股利給股東的本錢。這些快錢更是日漸腐蝕奇異公司專注於工業產品創新與競爭的迫切感，讓公司安於表面上年年順遂成長的營收。

在奇異金融公司成為眾矢之的，讓營業收益收斂的當下，全球綠色能源產業的浪潮，更打擊了長期穩定獲利的發電機部門。加上中國工業、發電產業的日益成長，逐漸進入中低階市場成為競爭對手，奇異集團的營運便進入迷航階段。在當時執行長想力保企業名聲，堅持發出高股利的命令下，奇異做出一連串進退失據的決策，終究讓這個幾乎等於美國夢的工業巨人，走向黯淡無光的局面。在 AI 時代，穩定的電力供應等於國力的延伸，因此奇異公司若能回歸企業核心競爭力的發電設備市場，成為主導全球的電力設備供應商，那肯定能再次發出耀眼的光芒。

Founded by Thomas Edison, General Electric (GE) is a multinational industrial company with more than 100 years of history. The company has long been a leading player in fields such as power generation equipment, aircraft engines, and medical imaging equipment. GE's turbine generators are widely used in thermal, hydroelectric, and nuclear power plants around the world. It would not be an exaggeration to say that a large part of the world's stable energy supply depends on the maintenance and warranty services provided by GE behind the scenes. Such a huge company, with a strong reputation and a size that made it almost impossible to fail, began to experience a series of business problems after 2010. Its business performance and stock price gradually went downhill. *The Rise and Fall of General Electric* looks back at the key strategies and stories behind GE's top management over nearly ten years. The book focuses especially on the three CEOs who led GE during this period, the strategies they introduced, and the results that followed.

Reading the book feels almost like being there, watching GE's decision-makers make difficult choices when facing business challenges. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, these less-than-wise decisions gradually pushed GE's business into deeper trouble. In the end, the company had no way to turn things around and was forced to break up and sell off its businesses in order to survive. Business competition is always unpredictable, but GE's decline was actually nothing new. It fell into the same trap that many Taiwanese companies have faced—the desire to "make quick money." Large industrial and engineering projects require long-term and stable funding. That was why GE established GE Capital early on to support its business operations.

Later, because the company was doing well and had a large amount of cash flow, GE Capital began providing financing to outside companies in order to earn interest income. From that point on, financial services became a new source of revenue and growth for GE. The CEOs and shareholders, who were increasingly focused on business performance, were happy to see this new business opportunity grow.The good days of GE Capital came to an end with the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis. As the U.S. government began to tighten regulations on Wall Street after the financial industry caused such a huge mess, it discovered that GE's financial business did not fully comply with banking regulations. GE used its position as an industrial company to obtain low-cost funding. It then issued high-interest short-term commercial paper to the market and made money from the difference in interest rates. These almost risk-free profits became the money GE used to pay high dividends to its shareholders every year. This easy money gradually weakened GE's sense of urgency when it came to innovation and competition in its core industrial businesses. The company became too comfortable with its seemingly steady year-after-year revenue growth.

As GE Capital became the target of criticism and its profits began to shrink, the global growth of the green energy industry dealt another blow to GE's power generation business, which had long been a stable source of profits. At the same time, China's growing industrial and power generation industries gradually entered the mid- and lower-end markets and became new competitors. GE's business operations then entered a period of confusion and uncertainty. At the time, the CEO wanted to protect GE's reputation and insisted on maintaining high dividend payments. As a result, GE made a series of poor strategic decisions. In the end, this industrial giant, which was almost a symbol of the "American Dream," gradually lost its former glory and entered a dark period. In the age of AI, stable electricity supply has become an extension of national power. Therefore, if GE can return to its core strength in the power equipment market and become a leading global supplier of power equipment, I believe it can shine brightly once again.

梅乾與武士刀：在傳統文化中的古老智慧，揭開大和民族創新獨步的關鍵

 

（點此前往博客來購書）

在日圓不斷貶值、引發美日政府聯手救市的今天，全世界已經對日本國力留下衰退的印象。即使日本首相高市早苗不斷以大破大立的手段，試圖扭轉自泡沫經濟以來積弱不振的日本國內景氣，但壓在頂頭的少子化和僵固的形式主義，依舊像烏雲般籠罩在日本國運上空。

與上述唱衰觀點截然不同，《梅乾與武士刀》一書是由真心熱愛、讚揚日本文物的考古學者樋口清之所著。藉由他窮盡一生的文物探索和歷史考證所累積的發現，向讀者分享日本人獨創、有別於西方科學的、與大自然共生共榮的奇思巧技。身處在地震、颱風等災禍環繞的土地上，加上東方特有的敬天惜物風俗民情交互影響下，日本傳統的科學精神，不是歐美人所持的人定勝天，而是取法自然、順應環境的天人合一。

書中提及許多例子，像是運用石頭、原木所築成的河壩，相較於現代普通的水泥結構，更加環保、耐用，又相當美觀，能呈現出河川自然的風貌。在衣著方面，傳統的蓑衣、木屐，特別適合多雨潮溼的氣候，由自然素材製作，更有著極佳的透氣性和零汙染。反觀今日以塑膠材質製作的雨衣、鞋款，穿著過久容易讓人產生皮膚濕疹等困擾，不禁令你我省思，哪邊才是真正的進步呢？

書中舉出許多看似老掉牙，實際卻優於現代作法的人事物，涵蓋飲食、衣著，甚至是都市規劃等。作者主張，這些證據證明日本民族擁有優秀的開創性思維，能因地制宜地發明出像武士刀一樣兼具美感和實用性的生活用品，獨步全球。在世界各國一味追求經濟發展的今天，人類對自然環境持續造成不可逆的傷害，人和土地、森林和海洋的距離是越拉越遠，只能生活在由水泥、金屬打造而成的現代叢林。對比書中提及的古老智慧，人們真的是更進步嗎？

Today, as the Japanese yen continues to lose value and the Japanese and U.S. governments work together to stabilize the market, people around the world have begun to see Japan as a country in decline. Even though Japan’s Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, has repeatedly tried to turn the country’s struggling economy around with major reforms, Japan still faces serious problems such as a declining birth rate and a rigid culture of formalities. These problems continue to hang over the country like dark clouds.

However, *Umeboshi and the Samurai Sword* presents a very different view of Japan. The book was written by Kiyoyuki Higuchi, an archaeologist who deeply loved and admired Japanese cultural artifacts. Based on what he discovered through a lifetime of studying artifacts and researching history, Higuchi shares many unique ideas and practical skills developed by the Japanese. These ideas are different from Western science in some ways and focus on living in harmony with nature. Living in a land surrounded by natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, and influenced by the traditional Eastern values of respecting nature and avoiding waste, the Japanese developed a traditional scientific spirit that was different from the idea of “conquering nature.” Instead, they learned from nature and adapted themselves to their environment.

The book gives many examples. For instance, some river dams were built using stones and logs. Compared with ordinary modern concrete structures, these traditional methods can be more environmentally friendly and durable, while also looking more natural and fitting better into the landscape of the river. When it comes to clothing, traditional rain capes made from natural materials and wooden sandals were especially suitable for Japan’s rainy and humid climate. They were highly breathable and produced almost no pollution. In contrast, modern raincoats and shoes made from plastic materials can cause problems such as skin irritation when worn for too long. This makes us stop and think: **What is real progress?**

The book introduces many things that may seem old-fashioned but can actually be better than some modern methods, including food, clothing, and even urban planning. The author argues that these examples show the Japanese people’s creativity and ability to adapt to their environment. They were able to create practical everyday products, such as the samurai sword, that combined beauty and usefulness in a way that was unique in the world. Today, countries around the world continue to pursue economic growth, while human beings are causing irreversible damage to the natural environment. We are becoming increasingly distant from the land, forests, and oceans, and are left living in a modern jungle made of concrete and metal. Compared with the ancient wisdom described in the book, **are we really more advanced than people in the past?**