Cambridge Waterfall: A Journey through British Academia

Author: Liu Bing
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2003-01-01
Features: "There are already many travelogues about Britain. Here, I do not want to write ordinary travel records or repeat the contents that have been spoken about many times in common travelogues. The approach I have chosen is to stand with an academic background awareness, viewing, thinking, and writing about my own impressions and feelings from specific perspectives. An important criterion for this book is that the thoughts and records written should, at least indirectly, reflect a connection with a broad academic culture, especially scientific culture.
Excerpt: A Bit About the British Museum Many who have never been to Britain have heard of the renowned 'British Museum'. Therefore, before coming to Cambridge, I had already planned to visit it properly. Finally, on a Sunday, I carried out this plan. Indeed, the British Museum is very famous, but its fame is certainly not just out of thin air; it is closely related to its extremely rich collections. According to introductions, it currently has nearly 6 million artifacts, including countless treasures. Due to the vast number of collections, the exhibitions are always changing. Visitors, especially those who visit occasionally, can only see a tiny fraction of what is on display. But even this tiny fraction, if viewed over the entire day, still seems too rushed. Even without mentioning the specific exhibits, just reading through the books published by the British Museum about its collections would not be an easy task. Those books are densely packed in a large hall, naturally, at a high price. However, regardless of the circumstances, since I cannot visit frequently, or perhaps can only come here once in the near future, I will spend the entire day, visiting as seriously and proportionally planned as possible. But what is recorded here is still highly selective and cannot be the entirety of what is seen. By 2003, the British Museum will be celebrating its 250th anniversary, so its history is indeed very long. However, it is also continuously evolving. For example, the British Library (British Library) was originally located in the same place as the British Museum, until 1998 when it moved to a new location, leaving only the original reading room in the museum's center. Therefore, after entering, naturally, following the flow of people, I headed into this grand and magnificent reading hall."