A Man and His Castle [一個大人物和他的城堡]
La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted[使用魔法迷惑] Castle) is one of the most remarkable displays of power and passion in the world. This marvelous tourist site now known as Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument is better known as Hearst Castle. It is located six hours south of San Francisco and five hours north of Los Angeles. Sheltered by the mountains in northern San Luis Obispo County, the complex of 165rooms and 127 acres of gardens, terraces(露台), pools, fountains and footpaths draws approximately 800,000 visitors annually. To understand the castle, you have to understand the man who built it, William Randolph Hearst. And to understand the man, you have to understand the land upon which he built his dream.
魔幻城堡是世界上最著名的展示才能與激情的名勝之一。這個奇迹般的遊覽地,就是現在著名的赫斯特聖西蒙國家曆史博物館,它作為赫斯特城堡,則更為有名。它位于舊金山以南6小時、洛杉矶以北5小時車程的地方。這座隐蔽在聖路易斯?奧比斯波郡北部群山之中的綜合建築有165個房間,占地127英畝,有花園、遊廊、水池、噴泉和小徑,每年吸引大約80萬名遊客來到這裡。要了解這座城堡,你就得了解建造它的那個人——威廉·倫道夫·赫斯特,而要了解這個人,你就得了解他把夢想建在其上的這塊土地。
Born on April 29, 1863, William Randolph Hearst was the only child of Gorge Hearst and his wife, Phoebe. George was a multimillionaire(千萬富翁) who amassed(積聚) his fortune through partnerships(合作關系) in three of the ever largest mining discoveries of copper, silver, and gold ores. In 1865, George began to accumulate parcels of land by obtaining 46,000 acres of the Piedra Blanco Ranch on California’s Central Coast. There he began a successful cattle ranch(大農場), eventually enlarging it to 250,000 acres stretching 50 miles along the coast.
威廉·倫道夫·赫斯,生于1863年4月29日,是喬治?赫斯特和他的妻子菲比唯一的孩子。喬治是一個千萬富翁,他通過合夥參與三個曾經是最大的銅礦、銀礦和金礦的發現和開采,積聚起大量财富。1865年,喬治得到了在加利福尼亞海岸的46000英畝的皮亞得拉布蘭可牧場,開始積聚大片土地。在那裡,他開始了對養牛場的成功經營,并最終将它擴大到沿着50英裡海岸的250,000英畝。
William loved the ranch where he spent his summer vacations as a youngster and a youth, playing in the rugged canyons(峽谷), descending the cliffs and camping in colorful Arab-style tents in the mountains with his family.
威廉熱愛這個青年時期渡過暑假的牧場。在崎岖不平的溪谷裡遊玩,攀登懸崖,和家人一起在山裡華美的阿拉伯式的帳篷裡野營。
Phoebe was delighted in exposing her darling child to the beauties and wonders of the world and spared no expense doing so. During one of their adventures, an 18-month tour of the historic palaces and castles of Europe, William began a lifelong love of collecting. With his first acquisitions, German picture books, he embarked(着手,開始工作) on a 78-year session of excessive spending. He confessed to a love of the finer things in life and, as he had a bottomless(不見底的) purse, would never deny himself anything he wanted.
菲比很喜歡讓她心愛的孩子去認識這個美麗而奇妙的世界,花費多少都無所謂。在一次冒險活動期間,他們用18個月遊覽了歐洲曆史上著名的宮殿和城堡,從那時起威廉開始養成收集的終身愛好。他從最初收集德國的圖畫書開始,進行了長達78年的超級消費。他承認一生中對精美物品的癡迷和熱愛,而且因為有一個用不完的錢包,他對想要的任何東西從不吝惜金錢。
In 1887, while William was at Harvard University, he decided to take over the small newspaper, the San Francisco Examiner, which his father had accepted as payment for a gambling(賭博) debt several years earlier. George would have preferred that his son be involved in the mining and ranching interests, but William declined this offer and was given ownership of the Examiner in March 1887. He was determined to increase the popularity(普遍,流行) of the paper and acquire the best equipment and writers available. William’s resolve to succeed inspired him to publish juicy(有趣的) tales of vice and stories full of drama and motivation(積極性,動機). In 1895, he purchased the New York Morning Journal, putting him in direct competition with the distinguished(傑出的) Joseph Pulitzer and a circulation(傳播,發行) war began.
1887年,當威廉在哈佛大學讀書時,他決定接管一家小報紙《舊金山問詢報》,幾年前他的父親将其作為一筆賭債接收了下來。喬治更希望他的兒子把興趣放在采礦和經營牧場上,但威廉拒絕了這個建議并于1887年3月接手成為《問詢報》的主人。他決定購置最好的裝置,邀請最好的作者撰稿,提升報紙的聲望。
威廉渴望成功的決心,促使他出版有趣的下流傳聞和充滿戲劇性、引人入勝的故事。1895年,他買下《紐約晨報》,與著名的約瑟夫?普利策展開直接的競争,開始了一場擴大發行量的商戰。
Both the Hearst and Pulitzer newspapers started to include sensational(聳人聽聞的) stories about the Cuban Insurrection(起義). The stories greatly exaggerated claims of Spanish troops placing Cubans in concentration camps, forcing them to live under substandard conditions, disease-ridden, starving and dying. This style of reporting became known as “Yellow Journalism(新聞事件)”. The newspapers were transformed as the scope of the news broadened and became less conservative. Circulation soared as the public could get enough of the banner headlines and abundant illustrations. At the time, many people believed William actually might have initiated(開始,發動) the Spanish-American War to encourage sales. According to one report, when one of his correspondents, Frederick Remington, requested to return from Havana, William responded that if Remington would furnish the pictures, William would furnish the war. He was once quoted in an editorial as saying, “Make the news thorough Print all the news. Condense it if necessary. Frequently it is better when intelligently(聰明的) condensed.”
赫斯特和普利策的報紙都開始刊登有關古巴起義的聳人聽聞的故事。這些故事極大地誇大了西班牙部隊的行為:他們把古巴人關進集中營,迫使他們在惡劣的條件下生活,飽受疾病、饑餓和死亡的折磨。這種報道形式成了有名的“黃色新聞”。報紙在向擴大新聞範圍方面轉變,并變得不那麼保守了。因為能夠使公衆獲得足夠的頭條新聞和豐富的插圖,發行量激增。那時,很多人相信威廉實際上可能會發動西班牙——美國戰争以增加發行量。據一篇報道說,當他的一個通訊記者弗雷德裡克雷明頓請求從哈瓦那回來時,威廉回答說如果雷明頓能提供圖檔,他就可以發起這場戰争。曾有一篇社論引用過他的格言:“跟蹤新聞到底。報道所有新聞。必要時濃縮新聞。濃縮後的新聞常常更出色。”
Another classic example of his influence occurred when; merely months after he advocated political assassination(暗殺) in an editorial, American President McKinley was assassinated.
As an intelligent and dynamic business man, William generated increased readership by employing some of the most talented(天才的) writers in the United States, recruiting figures from the literary community, like Mark Twain and Stephen Crane, and the previously mentioned illustrator, Frederick Remington. He also showed his initiative when he chartered a yacht(快艇), equipped it as a miniature(小型的) newspaper headquarters, anchored off the coast of Cuba, and led his army of reporters into the field.
關于受他影響的另一個典型例子是,他在一篇社論中鼓吹政治暗殺,僅僅幾個月後,麥金利總統就遇刺身亡。作為一個聰明能幹的商人,威廉通過雇傭美國最有才華的作者,從文學團體中聘用大人物,像馬克?吐溫和斯蒂芬·克萊恩,以及前面提到過的插圖畫家弗雷德裡克?雷明頓,造就了不斷增長的讀者群。他還顯示了他的創新能力。當時,他包租了一條遊艇,把裝備成一個小型的報社總部,停在古巴海岸邊,讓他的采訪隊伍進入戰場。
William’s interests led him to follow in his father’s footsteps, inspiring him to enter into politics. He was elected to the U.S. Congress as a senator representing the State of New York in 1902 and served until 1907. He was a candidate for the office of mayor of New York City and governor of New York State, but failed in both of these attempts.
威廉的興趣愛好引領他、激勵他繼承父業進入政界。1902年作為紐約州的代表,他以參議員的身份被選進美國國會,一起任職到1907年。他還是紐約市市長和紐約州州長職位的候選人,但兩次努力都失敗了。
While honeymooning in Europe after his marriage to Millicent Wilson in 1903, he expanded his publishing empire with Motor Magazine. The Hearst Corporation grew to comprise a total of 12 newspapers, including the Examiner, and 25 magazines, including Cosmopolitan. Not satisfied with just his publishing enterprises, he expanded his business operations into radio, and later produced movie newsreels(新聞紀錄片). (To Be Continued)
1903年與米莉森特?威爾遜結婚。在歐洲渡蜜月期間,他以《汽車雜志》擴張他出版帝國的疆土。赫斯特公司迅速成長以來,總共有包括《問詢報》在内的12種報紙,和包括《大都會》在内的25種雜志。他并不滿足于出版行業,還把他的事業擴充到電台,後來還生産新聞記錄片。(待續)