在古代的中國，合夥去盜墓的經常是父子，行規是，
我最近告訴一個學生上面這個故事。事因他學校要求他寫一篇King Lear的讀後感，但他跟很多在英國讀書的香港學生一樣，
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學生的原文
I am very much impressed by King Lear, one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. The tragedy is outstanding in its accurate portrayal of human nature. No wonder why the playwright George Bernard Shaw once said “No man will ever write a better tragedy than Lear.”
Despite the fact that the play was written over 400 years ago, we can still achieve a deeper understanding of human nature through it. King Lear symbolizes greed and power and reminds us of the many dictators who have populated history. He is only interested in listening to advice that is pleasing to him, so when his daughter told him the truth, he banishes her from his kingdom. Instead, he gets taken in by his cunning daughters Goneril and Regan and transfers his power to them. They then treats him cruelly and he gets what he deserves.
In modern day society, families often fight over money, especially in rich families. Though the offsprings of rich people may not kill their parents so that they can have their inheritance, some are willing to betray their parents for their own interests the way Goneril and Regan did.
My rewrite
In ancient China, it was a custom among tomb raiders for fathers to pair up with sons, and for fathers to stand outside a tomb to keep watch while sons go deep into the crypt to fetch the treasures out one by one. The logic behind such a division of labour: in the event of a spectacular find, the party acting as guard is forever tempted to seal the tomb, make off with the loot, and be its sole beneficiary; it was thought that (1) if the looters are related by blood, one is much less likely to leave the other to die, and (2) it’s more likely for sons to abandon fathers than for fathers to abandon sons, so fathers should be the ones to keep watch outside.
It is a measure of the magic of Shakespeare that a central theme in King Lear – how greed can dismantle blood ties – can transcend not only time but also cultures. Just as Goneril’s and Regan’s lust for power prompts them to lose whatever natural affection they might once have harboured towards their father, a grave robber’s desire to have all the loot to himself may tempt him to bury his accomplice father alive. The sorry fate of King Lear demonstrates when wealth and power are part of the equation between family members, and when wealth and power change hands, family dynamics will change. To or not to seize, that is the question.
These aren’t palatable truths, and after reading King Lear, I gained a deeper understanding of Aristotle’s view that the function of tragedy is to help us purge our emotions of pity and fear. We develop pity for tragic figures like King Lear and Cordelia because Shakesepare helps us imagine how it’s like to be in their shoes. Yet we fear a similar fate would descend upon us one day, and so we finish reading (or watching) the play feeling relieved that it’s only fiction.
Michelle Ng
英國牛津大學畢業，前《蘋果日報》和《眾新聞》專欄作家，現在身在楓葉國，心繫中國大陸和香港。
聯絡方式： michelleng.coach@proton.me
個人網站： https://michellengwritings.com
逢周日英國時間晚上8時 / 周一香港時間凌晨4時刊出
