Mini Book Excerpts (节选)

    Biography

    When Salinger learned that a car park was to be built on the land, the middle-aged writer was shocked and quickly bought the neighboring area to protect it… The townspeople never forgot the rescue and came to help their most famous neighbor.

    J. D. Salinger: A Life by Kenneth Slawenski (Random House, $ 27)

    Mystery

    “You're a smart boy. Benny's death was no accident, and you're the only one who saw it happen. Do you think the murderer should get away with it?” The boy was staring stubbornly at his lap again.

    A thought suddenly occurred to Annika, “Did you... You recognized the man in the car, didn't you?”

    The boy hesitated, twisting his fingers. “Maybe,” he said quietly.

    Red Wolf by Liza Marklund (Atria Books, $ 25.99)

    Short Stories

    She wants to say to him what she has learned, none of it in class. Some women are born stupid, and some women are too smart for their own good. Some women are born to give, and some women only know how to take. Some women learn who they want to be from their mothers, some who they don't want to be. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won't. Some mothers suffer so their daughters won't.

    You Are Free by Danzy Senna (Riverhead Books, $ 15)

    Humor

    Do your kids like to have fun? Come to Fun Times! Do you like to watch your kids having fun? Bring them to Fun Times! Fun Times's “amusement cycling” is the most fun you can have in the United States right now. Why spend thousands of dollars flying to Disney World when you can spend less than half to that within a day's drive in most cities?

    Happy And Other Bad Thoughts by Larry Doyle (Ecco, $ 14.99)

阅读下面的文字，完成小题。

    中国历史上的乡村治理实际上走的是一条“二元化”的路线，公权力和自治权长期共存，其中以唐宋乡官职役化为分界彼此消长，这种独特的乡村治理方式甚至对乡村的近代化过程也产生了诸多影响。自秦汉以来，历代都曾试图对乡村社会进行直接管理，但国家对乡村社会的治理主要依靠乡官及律令与儒家纲常，国家对乡村的组织原则是地缘优于血缘，基层社会已经存在早期自治组织。

    唐宋之际的社会变革被学界概称为“唐宋之变”。在乡村治理上，这种转变就表现为：其一，乡官制度退出历史舞台，从此，乡村基层管理人员的身份是民而不是官，社会地位很低，没有固定的办公衙门和俸禄，上为士大夫鄙视，受上级盘剥，下又徘徊于是否侵渔乡里之间，这种两难困境在后世乡村管理中变成常态；其二，自治组织在唐宋进一步发展，中央政府愈来愈多地借助他们来稳固统治。国家通过乡绅、信仰、乡约、宗族等各种形式和力量对乡村实行间接控制在唐宋之际渐渐成为现实或者完成了制度准备。

    中国乡村治理方式的转变是传统国家以最小成本维持社会运转的必然。自郡县制建立以来，帝国人口不断增加，县级区划的数目却维持了相对稳定。以农业税为收入主体的传统国家不可能负担如此庞大的官僚系统。因此，各朝代不得不以最低行政配置来应对扩大的人口，政府效率下降，基层行政职能缩减，县以下交给各种社会组织进行自治就是不可避免的。

    但是，与此同时，乡村治理的难度却在增加。中唐以后从两税法开始了征税原则由“税丁”向“税产”的转变，财产的隐匿比起人丁的隐匿更难发现，乡村催征赋税参与管理的乡役人数和工作量大增。地方政府职役人数、工作量的变化，同时其地位愈来愈低，从秦汉时期的有望跻身卿相，到明清时期的被视为“至因至贱”之役。这些问题导致乡官职役化、政府乡村管理虚化。

    这是中国历史上“强干弱枝”的一个表现，也是社会基础不稳、治乱频仍的一个原因。乡村治理方式转变的目的本是以最小成本来控制基层、获取赋税，实际上却令中央王朝取得税收的效率进一步降低。乡村治理方式的转变令基层社会更易于“军事化”，乡族控制的民团、乡兵既可帮助维持地方治安，也可能带来械斗民乱。乡村治理方式的转变使得乡村职役地位低下的同时又权力大、责任大，赋税征收不足时还需要自己赔补，极易为了满足国家的赋税要求或上司、自身的贪污要求而徇私舞弊、危害乡里，宗族、乡绅则往往站在他们的对立面。

    同时，乡村社会管理方式的转变带来了明清时期蓬勃发展的宗族等各类乡村自治组织，它们不仅进行自我管理，到近代还提供了本应由国家提供的公共产品和服务。总之，传统中国的乡村社会一直存在一定的自主性，中国很早就存在类似于西方“公共领域”的国家与民间同时发挥作用的公共空间。

（摘编自蒋楠《历史视野下的中国乡村治理》）

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