班雅明論圖畫書：兒童圖畫書的美學與倫理面向

Benjamin Reads Picture Books: The Ethical and Aesthetical Dimensions of the Picture Book

Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) is now widely recognized as one of the most perceptive cultural critics of the modern society. Compared with many literary and cultural issues that Benjamin explores, however, his essays on children's picture books have received relatively little sustained scholarly attention in their own right. The paper proposes that there is a fitness about Benjamin's role as a thinker who theorizes children's picture books, evident in such notable examples as 'A Child's View of Color' (1914-1915), 'Notes for a Study of the Beauty of Colored Illustrations in Children's Books' (1918-1921),'Old Forgotten Children's Books' (1924), and 'A Glimpse into The World of Children's Books' (1926). The first two were unpublished notes, and the latter two were published in literary magazines of Benjamin's times. These notes or essays are indeed part of his early writings, in which Benjamin's reflections on picture books are not systematically theorized. They are, however, inseparable from Benjamin's other writings, and constitute part of the testimonies of the development of key concepts upon which he dwells in his exploration of knowledge of experience. Picture books are, as the paper indicates, not only essential in his childhood reading, but also take an integral part in his personal collection. It is important to note that picture books also become a telling indication of Benjamin's mediation between art and philosophical contemplation when the First World War obliges him to search for a new form of knowledge of experience. In his notes and essays, the paper argues, Benjamin demonstrates that picture books are by no means a mere tool designed for pedagogical purposes. Instead, Benjamin is concerned to explore the ethical and aesthetical dimensions of children's picture books. In order to shed light on his concern, the paper teases out the issues that engage Benjamin, such as language of picture book (particularly, colors in picture books), children's perception, and the social usage (or production) of picture books.論及現代社會的文化研究，德國思想家瓦特.班雅明（Walter Benjamin1892－1940）敏銳且多方位的觀察經常引發各界的注目。但是相較於他所探討的各種文學和文化議題，班雅明對於兒童圖畫書的討論，無論在英美國家或是臺灣，並未獲得應有的重視。透過哈佛大學出版的英文譯本，本文整理閱讀班雅明討論兒童圖畫書的四篇文字，包括〈兒童對顏色的看法〉（1914－1915）、〈童書中彩色插畫之美─研究筆記〉（1918－1921）、〈被遺忘的古老童書〉（1924）以及〈一窺童書的世界〉（1926）。前二篇是班雅明生前未出版的文稿，後二篇則分別發表於德國當時著稱的藝文期刊。雖然班雅明針對兒童圖畫書所寫的文章，屬於他個人早期的著作，而且也沒有提出系統化的圖畫書理論，但是，本文研究發現，這四篇文字實際上與他同時期的相關論述，特別是他的經驗論以及教育的觀點，密不可分。文中指出，圖畫書不只是班雅明兒時熟悉的讀物和他個人長時期珍愛的收品。在飽經第一次世界大戰對德國及其個人的衝擊之下，圖畫書也成為班雅明思索藝術與哲學的媒介之一。本文主張，班雅明拒絕將圖畫書單純視為一種教育或為了習文識字而設計的工具，他所關切的是圖畫書在美學與倫理面向的議題。就這二個面向，本文也剔出了班雅明針對圖畫書語言（特別是顏色）、兒童感知（children’s perception）、圖畫書閱讀以及圖畫書生產與消費等議題的討論。