TECH2IPO/创见
「 等待新的科技故事 」
宜家是如何一步一步征服世界的（上）
在快速的全球性扩张中，这家来自瑞典的家居巨头公司已经悄无声息的将自己蓝***的旗子插满了全世界，有一些地方可能都超出了你的想象范畴。也许沃尔玛，以及所有进行全球化战略的公司都能够从它的身上学到一些东西。
创见干货：瑞典的家居公司宜家如今誉满全球。它于 1943 年创建，一路走的沉稳扎实，一步步的将自己的品牌种到消费者的心中。它是如何做到这一切的？在全球性扩张的版图中，它又是通过做好哪些方面来保证自己的版图能够越来越大？本文从三个角度对宜家的全球化战略进行了剖析。它们分别是：细致入微的市场调研；追求极致的成本压缩；以及不断创新的产品设计。这三点围绕着一个核心：即通过不断的压缩成本，充分实现规模经济的巨大优势。在量上取胜。细心的读者如果读到这里，肯定会产生疑惑。既然一个公司实行了全球化，何以能够通过标准化的生产流水线作业，大规模的生产出大量的商品满足不同地区、不同文化的消费者的需要呢？回答了这个问题，即把握住了宜家一步步征服世界的核心原因。今天，就让我们走进宜家的世界。那个挥舞着蓝黄旗帜的家居巨人在快速的全球性扩张中，宜家，这家来自瑞典的家居巨头公司已经悄无声息的将自己蓝***的旗子插满了全世界，有一些地方可能都超出了你的想象范畴。也许沃尔玛，以及所有开始全球化战略的公司都能够从它的身上学到一些东西。其实，要在韩国找出那家购物大厦是需要花费点儿时间的。就在离首尔不远，下了高速公路交汇口，坐落着一个占地 624,000 平方米的商店，那就是宜家。这个店面是沃尔玛门市店平均占地面积的三倍有余。另外，你也许还需要花费更多的时间才能理解在韩国，在这个孩子在家庭中拥有充裕生活空间的的国度里，这家公司是如何设计出购物中心的特色儿童区的；也需要花费更多的时间去了解这家公司是如何展示厨房，使得它能够容纳「朝鲜泡菜电冰箱」（一款非常具有韩国特色的电器）；甚至你还要花更多的时间去明白宜家是如何适应海外市场上的种种奇奇怪怪的生活习惯，比如韩国人对于金属筷子的偏爱。总而言之，宜家花了 6 年的时间将店开到了韩国光明（Gwangmyeong）。12 月，宜家举行了开业典礼，它并没有采用大家习以为常的剪彩带的方式进行庆祝，而是选择种下一棵树。种树这种庆祝方式很明显带有宜家一步步成长起来的稳健风格。咨询公司 Kantar Retail 的大卫?马克托（David Marcott）表示：「他们在扩张方面表现的非常谨慎，一直在控制着扩张的速度。」而来自宜家的亚太区域的销售经理这么回答道：「当一家公司变得越来越全球化，它所面临的问题也就越来越复杂化。如果我们没有把所有的事情都做到位，那么我们将永远不会受人重视。」但即便是有着非常周密谨慎的计划，足够长的时间框架，但宜家还是难免会在某些环节出现一些小的疏漏。它错误的预计了停车场上车位的数量；看起来似乎很好的导购地图其实也着实让一些顾客郁闷起来；来自韩国东部的水（韩国人更喜欢东海的水)，错误的贴上了来自日本海的标签，但是这些都不是什么致命的问题，韩国人似乎已经谅解了瑞典人在这些小事情上出现的纰漏。如今，光明店，已经是宜家这家公司在世界上最大的一个门市店，并且很有可能在 2015 年的业绩榜单上名列榜首。宜家的成功很难说成是一次偶然的事件。这个家居品牌出现在全球的各个角落，其遍布的国家甚至超过了沃尔玛，家乐福。在中国，宜家十家最大的分店有八家都开在了那里，已经成为了宜家最为快速增长的市场。而在摩洛哥的分店也即将开业，有一些报道表示巴西的分店也很快跟上。同时，似乎宜家正在准备于印度大展手脚，计划在十年多的时间里投资大概 20 亿美金，开上 10 家分店。把握住诸如中国和印度这些发展中市场，是宜家能够在 2020 年能够实现销售额达到 500 亿欧元目标的关键因素。毕竟这些国家的中产阶级正在迅速崛起。如今，宜家集团已经拥有了 318 家分店，这其中还不包括品牌拥有的四十多家授权分销点。它计划在 2020 年将分店数量开到 500 家。净收入是 33 亿欧元（45 亿美元），在过去的 5 年时间里上涨了 31%，这条供应链似乎比巨头 Target 以及 Lowe's 更加具有盈利能力。它似乎掌握到了一些诀窍来应对很多公司在零售领域很难解决的问题：它能够将大量的存货商品以相对低的价格，在完全不同的市场环境，完全不同的语言和文化环境中进行成功的销售。宜家简直就是零售业的典范。这一切对于沃尔玛来说非常值得学习，尤其沃尔玛在某些时候于海外的事业拓展非常的不顺利。而曾经在 Fortune 3 月 1 号期刊中被推荐的 Target 也需要好好从宜家身上学习一下，如今的它在堪称「灾难级别」的扩张之后，决定从加拿大市场中撤退出来。宜家的商业模型主要是建立在量上，不断的制作出大量的完全相同的产品，一遍又一遍，使得它能偶从供货商那里拿到相当低的价格，进一步在市场向消费者展示的价签上展示出足够的竞争力。比如一款宜家经典的 Billy 书架，大概每十秒就售出一个。更多的商店意味着售出更多的商品，这也就进一步拉低了售价。但是对于公司而言，低价高量并不是商业模型的全部。它是有使命的：即服务于那些手头不是很宽裕的人们。这样一条使命被全世界各个国家的员工以各种语言说出。宜家集团的 CEO 皮特?安格菲尔（Peter Agnefj?ll) 已经供职在该公司 20 年了，他于 2013 年登上了 CEO 的位子，对于宜家他是这么评论的：「我们所有人都被一种愿景所鼓舞着，即能够给很多人创造一种更加优质的生活。这种愿景每天都激励着我们，鼓舞着我们，这就是我们应该扮演的角色。」调研为王不知道是有意还是无意，曾经宜家在扩张的时候总是表现的不合常理。当该公司于 1985 年第一次进驻美国市场的时候，它似乎忘记了自己是一家零售商，种种行为显得它更加像是一家出口商，以厘米来精确丈量每一款床和柜子，然后将它们投放到近费城的美国第一家店中。销售业绩突升，似乎也是因为一些别的想不到的原因，比如美国人疯狂地购买宜家的一种花瓶，拿它们当做自己喝水的水杯！曾经那些欧洲款式大小的杯子因为无法容纳足够多的冰，无法满足美国人对于冰水的偏好和渴望！曾经宜家的经理，现在掌管着 Kanter International 的高管斯蒂恩?康特尔（Steen Kanter）回忆当时宜家的扩张情况：「当时我们都觉得一切都会很顺利，其实我们完全不了解市场，预想之外的状况频频发生。」在 1992 年，董事会召集所有人开会，考虑退出美国这个市场。当时的 New York Times 还专门针对此事做了报道。但是会后的结果却是一个预料之外的决定：宜家决定做一件他们从来没有做过的事情，集中精力对市场进行调研！如今，市场调研已经成为了宜家扩张的核心工作。市场调研工作的领导人麦克尔?德尔墨（Mikael Ydholm）表示：「如果我们扩张到更远的地方，那里有着与我们截然不同的文化，那么我们就越需要了解，学习，以及适应。」不过，他的工作重心并不是仅仅研究两个文化之间的差别，而是要找出来文化之间相同的那部分内容。公司曾经在 8 个城市对 8,292 名消费者针对每天早上上班情况进行了一次调研。这其中上海人出门上班最快，用时最短，大概也就 56 分钟；而最慢的是孟买人，他们从起床到出门总计要花 2 小时 24 分钟，同时孟买人还是打瞌睡之王。纽约人以及斯特克赫尔墨人是最愿意在自己的浴室里面工作的，比例是 16%，并且，如果排除掉了城市这个类别，从性别上来看的话，女人在每天的着装打扮上比男人花的时间要多太多，同时这也是让女性同胞深感压力的一件事。有了数据在手，宜家就专门设计出来了一款独立式的镜子。这个镜子的背面是一个支架，可以用来放各种衣服和珠宝首饰。这款产品名叫 Knapper，设计的初衷就是能够帮助顾客很好的整理自己的衣饰和配件，在睡前轻松打理，而在第二天早上醒来后，处于紧张上班状态中不会手足无措，四处抓瞎。另外一个调查显示现在越来越多的人都涌入了城市生活，随之而来的是城市人越来越拥挤的生活空间。根据这样结果，宜家设计出来了一些多功能的产品服务于顾客。比如公司即将推出的落地灯以及床头柜都内置着可以给移动电子设备进行无线充电的设备。灯具板块的业务经理吉安特?斯克莫斯（Jeanette Skjelmose）表示：「让你的房间变得更棒的最重要的一个环节就是去除掉家里所有没有用的，或者丑陋不堪的东西。插线板以及四处蔓延开来的电线很明显是最应该抛弃的了。」但是，即便对 8,292 个人进行了调研也不能够让你获得足够正确的结论。问题的关键在于人们会说谎。市场调研工作的负责人德尔墨将其说的比较婉转一些：「有些时候我们并不知道我们自己的行为是怎样的，因此我们说出来的是我们头脑中想象的东西，而并不是事实。或者换句话说我们总是想要展示出一个更好的自己，所以有意或者无意，我们总是能够说出来一些不符合事实的东西。这是人性使然。」为了解决这个问题，宜家的研究者们想了很多办法。其中之一就是亲自走到第一线，而不会将调研工作层层转嫁给其他人。公司非常频繁的去做家访，这是一种有点儿像调研，又有点儿像真人秀的活动。曾经宜家甚至派人类学家到一个志愿参与调研的人员的住所住了一段时间。最近，宜家在斯特克赫尔墨，米兰，纽约，中国深圳的很多消费者的家中装了摄像头，当然这都是在消费者允许的前提下，从而更好的了解人们在不同的文化背景下是怎么使用沙发的。想知道宜家到底发现了什么结论吗？德尔墨表示：「他们压根不是坐在上面用来看电视的！」在深圳，绝大多数的受访者其实更愿意坐在地板上，将沙发作为一种靠背来使用。「我可以非常认真的告诉你，我们压根没有想到这一切，所设计出来的沙发从来没有考虑到人们是坐到地板上将其当做靠背来使用的！」但是，如果你觉得宜家的最终目的就是尽可能的做市场调研，从而获得最全面的文化了解，最终将产品打造修改的符合每一个市场的消费者的使用习惯，那么你就又错了。宜家的商业模型的核心永远是「量」，除了「量」还是「量」。它需要无限度的追求规模经济，使得无限度的压缩成本，这也就意味着一定不能走个性化设计道路，而是应该追求「一个东西能满足任何人需要」的思路上。这也就说到了宜家成功之道的根本：它在将同样一个产品嵌入到不同文化中，无论文化跨度是多么大，它总是能够通过某种方式的展示将一切都表现的那么完美，让每一个国家的人都愿意接受它，认可它，从自己的钱包里掏出信用卡来刷了购买它！让我们去看一看宜家卖场的展示区里它都是怎么搭配设计的吧。它巧妙的将宜家的每一款东西都嵌入到人们的日常生活中。无论是日本的仙台，阿姆斯特丹，你都能看到宜家卖场的同一张床和同一款柜子。但是，最重要的地方在于日本卖场中引入了榻榻米的设计，而在荷兰的卖场里面会有倾斜的天花板设计（这是当地的一种建筑特色）。而在美国的卖场，你肯定可以想象得到，那里的床上已经铺满了雪白的枕头……公司在统一部署协调下对不同地区，不同文化所开设的分店进行投资，它将其划分成了 67 个版本，32 种语言，每一版都顺应了当地顾客的消费习惯。比如在比利时就有两种风格完全不同的分店，这就算是两个版本。都是加拿大人，温尼伯湖人和卡尔加里人（加拿大西南部城市）所体验到的宜家设计，和蒙特利尔人所感受到的宜家是完全不一样的。在下一章节，我们会谈谈宜家所面临的挑战和机遇，同时更深入的讲讲它在压缩成本方面还有哪些让人吃惊的哑口无言的举动。当看完这一切介绍的时候，你也许会对宜家如今坐拥全球市场的局面感到心悦诚服。
请后参与评论英国人如何征服世界？
已有 1765 次阅读
|个人分类:|系统分类:
英国人如何征服世界？英格兰没有夕阳这是他们的文化。 什么文化？ 故事。 什么样的故事？
英国人宁可失去印度不失去莎士比亚。所以，这是他们的莎士比亚的故事。 现在呢？ 在指环王是一个史诗般的高幻想小说写的英国作家JRR托尔金。这个故事开始作为一个续集托尔金的1937年儿童幻想小说的霍比特人，但最终发展成一个更大的工作。这是写在阶段1937年和1949年之间，在第二次世界大战期间。这是第二个最畅销的小说，有超过1.5亿张的销量。[2] J. K.罗林'“哈利·波特”。How does British conquer the world?&It's their culture. What culture?Stories. What stories? the British people would rather lose India than lose Shakespeare. So, it's their Shakespeare's stories.Now?The Lord of the Rings is an & novel written by English author . The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during . It is the , with over 150 million copies sold.J. K. Rowlings' &Harry Potter&.The Lord of the RingsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThis article is about the novel. For the film series, see . For other uses, see .The Lord of the Rings is an & novel written by English author . The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during . It is the , with over 150 million copies sold.The title of the novel refers to the story's main , the &, who had in an earlier age created the
to rule the other
as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of. From quiet beginnings in the , a
land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across northwest Middle-earth, following the course of the
through the eyes of its characters, the hobbits , ,
and , but also the hobbits' chief allies and travelling companions: the &, a
and , a C , , and , a .The work was initially intended by Tolkien to be one volume of a two-volume set, the other to be , but this idea was dismissed by his publisher. For economic reasons The Lord of the Rings was published in three volumes over the course of a year from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955. The three volumes were titled , , and . Structurally, the novel is divided internally into six books, two per volume, with several appendices of background material included at the end of the third volume. Some editions combine the entire work into a single volume. The Lord of the Rings has since been reprinted numerous times and.Tolkien's work has been the subject of
and origins. Although a major work in itself, the story was only the last movement of a larger epic Tolkien had worked on since 1917, in a process he described as.[] Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of The Lord of the Rings, include philology, mythology, religion and the author's distaste for the effects of industrialization, as well as earlier fantasy works and Tolkien's experiences in .&The Lord of the Rings in its turn is considered to have had a great effe the impact of Tolkien's works is such that the use of the words &Tolkienian& and &Tolkienesque& have been recorded in the .The enduring popularity of The Lord of the Rings has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by , and the publication of many books about Tolkien and his works. The Lord of the Rings has , artwork, music, films and television, , and subsequent literature. Award-winning
have been made for , , and .Contents& [] []See also: , , and
plot summariesLong before the events of the novel, the Dark Lord
forges the
to rule the other
and corrupt those who wear them: the leaders of,
and Dwarves. He is vanquished in battle by an alliance of Elves and Men.
cuts the One Ring from Sauron's finger, claiming it as an heirloom for his line, and Sauron loses his physical form. When Isildur is later ambushed and killed by , the Ring is lost in the River
at Gladden Fields.Over two thousand years later, the Ring is found by one of the river-folk called . His friend Sméagol immediately falls under the Ring's influence and strangles Déagol to acquire it. Sméagol is banished and hides under the , where the Ring extends his lifespan and transforms him over the course of hundreds of years into a twisted, corrupted creature called . He loses the Ring, his &precious&, and, as recounted in ,
finds it. Meanwhile, Sauron re-assumes physical form and takes back his old realm of . Gollum sets out in search of the Ring, but is captured by Sauron, who learns from him that &Baggins& in the Shire now has it. Gollum is set loose, and Sauron, who needs the Ring to regain his full power, sends forth his powerful servants, the, to seize it.[]The story begins in , where the Hobbit
inherits the Ring from , his cousin and guardian. Neither is aware of its origin and nature, but , a
and old friend of Bilbo, suspects the Ring's identity. When he becomes certain, he strongly advises Frodo to take it away from the Shire. Frodo leaves, accompanied by his gardener and friend, , and two cousins,
and . They nearly encounter the Nazgûl while still in the Shire, but shake off pursuit by cutting through the , where they are aided by the enigmatic , who alone is unaffected by the Ring's corrupting influence. After leaving the forest, they stop in the town of
where they meet Strider, who is later revealed to be , Isildur's heir. He persuades them to take him on as guide and protector. They flee from Bree after narrowly escaping another assault, but the Nazgûl follow and attack them on the hill of , wounding Frodo with a Morgul blade. Aragorn leads the hobbits toward the Elven refuge of, while Frodo gradually succumbs to the wound. The Ringwraiths nearly overtake Frodo at the Ford of , but flood waters summoned by , master of Rivendell, rise up and overwhelm them.Frodo recovers in Rivendell under the care of Elrond. The
reveals much significant history about Sauron and the Ring, as well as the news that Sauron has corrupted Gandalf's fellow wizard, . The Council decides that the Ring must be destroyed, but that can only be done by returning it to the flames of
in Mordor, where it was forged. Frodo volunteers to take on this daunting task, and a && is formed to aid him: Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf,
the , and the Man , son of the Ruling Steward
of the realm of .After a failed attempt to cross the Misty Mountains via the pass below , the company are forced to try a more perilous path through the , where they are attacked by the
before the gate. Inside, they discover the fate of
and his colony of Dwarves. After repulsing an attack, they are pursued by orcs and an ancient and powerful demonic creature called a . Gandalf confronts the Balrog, but in their struggle, both fall into a deep chasm. The others escape and take refuge in the Elven forest of , where they are counselled by
and .With boats and gifts from Galadriel, the company travel down the River
to the hill of . Boromir succumbs to the lure of the Ring and attempts to take it from Frodo. Frodo escapes and determines to continue the quest alone, though Sam guesses his intent and comes along. The Fellowship of the Ring is broken.[]Orcs sent by Saruman and Sauron kill Boromir and kidnap Merry and Pippin. After agonizing over which pair of hobbits to follow, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas pursue the orcs bearing Merry and Pippin to Saruman. In the kingdom of , the orcs are slain by a company of the . Merry and Pippin escape into Forest, where they are befriended by , the oldest of the tree-like . Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas track the hobbits to Fangorn, and encounter Gandalf, resurrected as the significantly more powerful &Gandalf the White& after his mutually fatal duel with the Balrog. Gandalf assures them that Merry and Pippin are safe. They then ride to , the capital of Rohan, where they free , King of Rohan, from the influence of Saruman's henchman . Théoden musters his fighting strength and rides to the ancient fortress of , but en route Gandalf leaves to seek help from Treebeard.Meanwhile, the Ents, roused from their customarily peaceful ways by Merry and Pippin, attack , Saruman's stronghold, and trap the wizard in the tower of. Gandalf convinces Treebeard to send an army of
to Théoden's aid. Gandalf and Rohirrim reinforcements arrive at Helm's Deep just in time to defeat and scatter Saruman's army. The Huorns dispose of the fleeing orcs. Gandalf then parleys with Saruman at Orthanc. When Saruman rejects his offer of redemption, Gandalf strips him of his rank and most of his powers. Pippin looks into a , a seeing-stone that Saruman had used to communicate with Sauron and through which he was enslaved. Gandalf rides for , chief city of Gondor, taking Pippin with him.Frodo and Sam capture Gollum, who had been following them from Moria, and force him to guide them to Mordor. Finding Mordor's Black Gate too well guarded to attempt, they travel instead to a secret passage Gollum knows. Torn between his loyalty to Frodo and his desire for the Ring, Gollum eventually betrays Frodo by leading him to the great spider
in the tunnels of . Frodo is felled by Shelob's sting, but Sam fights her off. Sam takes the Ring and leaves Frodo, believing him to be dead. When orcs find Frodo, Sam overhears them say that Frodo is only unconscious, and chases after them.[]Sauron unleashes a heavy assault upon Gondor. Gandalf arrives at Minas Tirith to alert Denethor of the impending attack. The city is , and Denethor, deceived by Sauron, gives up hope and commits suicide, nearly taking his remaining son
with him. Aragorn feels he has no choice but to take the
in order to reach Gondor in time, accompanied by Legolas, Gimli and the Dúnedain Rangers from the North. There Aragorn raises an undead army of oath-breakers bound by an ancient curse. The ghostly army help them to defeat the
invading southern Gondor. Commandeering the ships of the Corsairs, Aragorn leads reinforcements up the Anduin to relieve the siege of Minas Tirith, and the forces of Gondor and Rohan defeat Sauron's army in the .Meanwhile, Sam rescues Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol, and they set out across Mordor. In order to distract Sauron from his true danger, Aragorn leads the armies of Gondor and Rohan in a march on the Black Gate of Mordor. His vastly outnumbered troops fight desperately against Sauron's forces. Reaching the edge of the , Frodo is unable to resist the Ring any longer, and suddenly and fiercely claims it for himself. But Gollum suddenly reappears, struggles with Frodo and bites off his finger, Ring and all. Celebrating wildly, Gollum accidentally falls into the fire, taking the R and so Frodo's mission is completed. With the destruction of the One Ring, Sauron is permanently shorn of his power, the Nazgûl perish, and his armies are thrown into such disarray that Aragorn's forces emerge victorious.With the end of the War of the Ring, Aragorn is crowned Elessar, King of
and Gondor, and marries his long-time love, , daughter of Elrond. Saruman escapes from Isengard and, seeking to carve out a new kingdom, enslaves the Shire. The four hobbits, upon returning home, raise a rebellion and overthrow him. Gríma turns on Saruman and kills him, and is slain in turn by hobbit archers. The War of the Ring thus comes to its true end on Frodo's very doorstep.Merry and Pippin are acclaimed heroes, while Sam marries
and uses his gifts from Galadriel to help heal the Shire. He later becomes mayor of the shire. Frodo, however, remains wounded in body and spirit after having borne the oppressive weight of the One Ring so long.Several years later, accompanied by Bilbo and Gandalf, he sails from the
west over the Sea to the
to find peace. After Rosie's death, Sam gives his daughter the , containing the account of Bilbo's adventures and the War of the Ring as witnessed by the hobbits. Sam is then said to have crossed west over the Sea himself, the last of the Ring-bearers.[]Protagonists:, bearer of the One Ring, given to him by , gardener and friend of the Bagginses (Merry), Frodo's cousin (Pip or Pippin), Frodo's cousin, a . He is a , an
being sent by the god-like
to fight Sauron. He bears Narya, the Ring of Fire, one of the three Elven rings, given to him by
the Shipwright of the Grey Havens., descendant of
and rightful heir to the thrones of
and , an Elf prince and son of King
of , son of , a , ruling Steward of Gondor and Lord of Minas Tirith., the eldest son of Denethor, younger brother of Boromir, Elf co-ruler of Lothlórien, and grandmother of Arwen Undómiel (Arwen Evenstar). Keeper of one of the three Elven rings, called Nenya., Elf co-ruler of Lothlórien, husband of Galadriel, and grandfather of Arwen Undómiel, Half-elven Lord of Rivendell and father of Arwen Undómiel. Keeper of another of the Elven rings, called Vilya., daughter of Elrond, love interest of Aragorn, Frodo's cousin, King of , ally of Gondor and father of the late Theodred., the 3rd Marshal of the Mark and Théoden's nephew. Later King of Rohan after Théoden's death., sister of éomer, who disguises herself as a male warrior named Dernhelm to fight beside Théoden., oldest of the Ents.Antagonists:, the Dark Lord and titular Lord of the Rings, a fallen Maia who helped the Elves forge the Rings of Power long ago. Lieutenant of Morgoth in the First Age.The
or Ringwraiths, men enslaved by Sauron when they accepted his treacherous gifts of Rings of Power.The , the Lord of the Nazgûl, and Sauron's most powerful servant, who commands Sauron's army., a wizard who seeks the One Ring for himself. Corrupted by Sauron through the palantír. Like Gandalf, he is a Maia., a secret servant of Saruman and traitor to Rohan, who poisons Théoden's perceptions with well placed &advice&., a river hobbit originally named Sméagol., a giant spider who dwells in the passes above Minas Morgul.The , a fire-demon dwelling beneath the Mines of Moria awakened by the digging and mining of Dwarves.[][]The Lord of the Rings started as a sequel to J. R. R. Tolkien's earlier work , published in 1937. The popularity of The Hobbit had led George Allen & Unwin, the publishers, to request a sequel. Tolkien warned them that he wrote quite slowly, and responded with several stories he had already developed. Having rejected his contemporary drafts for , putting on hold , and accepting , Allen & Unwin thought more stories about hobbits would be popular. So at the age of 45, Tolkien began writing the story that would become The Lord of the Rings. The story would not be finished until 12 years later, in 1949, and would not be fully published until 1955, when Tolkien was 63 years old.[]Persuaded by his publishers, he started &a new Hobbit& in December 1937. After several false starts, the story of the One Ring emerged. The idea for the first chapter (&A Long-Expected Party&) arrived fully formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, the significance of the Ring, and the title The Lord of the Rings did not arrive until the spring of 1938. Originally, he planned to write a story in which Bilbo had used up all his treasure and was looking for another ad however, he remembered the Ring and its powers and thought that would be a better focus for the new work. As the story progressed, he also brought in elements from '' mythology.Writing was slow, because Tolkien had a full-time academic position, and needed to earn further money as a university . Tolkien abandoned The Lord of the Rings during most of 1943 and only re-started it in April 1944, as a serial for his son , who was sent chapters as they were written while he was serving in South Africa with the . Tolkien made another concerted effort in 1946, and showed the manuscript to his publishers in 1947. The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not complete the revision of earlier parts of the work until 1949. The original manuscripts, which total 9,250 pages, now reside in the J.R.R. Tolkien Collection at .[]Mentioned at the beginning of The Lord of the Rings, the Ivy Bush is the closest public house to
which Tolkien attended while living near . is nearby.Main article: The influence of the , which Tolkien had learnt, is summarised in his essay : If I may once more refer to my work. The Lord of the Rings, in evidence: the names of persons and places in this story were mainly composed on patterns deliberately modelled on those of Welsh (closely similar but not identical). This element in the tale has given perhaps more pleasure to more readers than anything else in it.The Lord of the Rings developed as a personal exploration by Tolkien of his interests in , religion (particularly Roman Catholicism), ,
and general , and also ,&,,&, and . Tolkien acknowledged, and external critics have verified, the influences of and
and the &. The question of a direct influence of's
on Tolkien's work is .Tolkien included neither any explicit religion nor cult in his work. Rather the themes, moral philosophy, and cosmology of the Lord of the Rings reflect his Catholic worldview. In one of his letters Tolkien states, &The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and C unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism.&Some locations and characters were inspired by Tolkien's childhood in , where he first lived near , and later near .There are also hints of the , which is within easy reach of north west Edgbaston. This shows in such names as &Underhill&, and the description of Saruman's
of Isengard and The Shire. It has also been suggested that
and its surroundings were based on the countryside around in Lancashire where Tolkien frequently stayed during the 1940s. The work was influenced by the effects of his military service during , to the point that Frodo has been &diagnosed& as suffering from , or &shell-shock,& which was first diagnosed at the , at which Tolkien served.[]A dispute with his publisher, , led to the book being offered to
in 1950. Tolkien intended
(itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with The Lord of the Rings, but A&U were unwilling to do this. After Milton Waldman, his contact at Collins, expressed the belief that The Lord of the Rings itself &urgently wanted cutting&, Tolkien eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952. C and so Tolkien wrote to Allen and Unwin, saying, &I would gladly consider the publication of any part of the stuff.&For publication, the book was divided into three volumes:
(Books I, The Ring Sets Out, and II, The Ring Goes South), (Books III, The Treason of Isengard, and IV, The Ring Goes East), and
(Books V, The War of the Ring, and VI, The End of the Third Age, plus six appendices). This was due largely to post-war paper shortages, as well as being a way to keep down the price of the book. Delays in producing appendices, maps and especially indices led to the volumes being published later than originally hoped — on 21 July 1954, on 11 November 1954 and on 20 October 1955 respectively in the United Kingdom, and slightly later in the United States. The Return of the King was especially delayed. Tolkien, moreover, did not especially like the title The Return of the King, believing it gave away too much of the storyline. He had originally suggested , which was dismissed by his publishers.The books were published under a profit-sharing arrangement, whereby Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until the books had broken even, after which he would take a large share of the profits. It has ultimately become the second best-selling novel ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. Only
has sold more copies worldwide (over 200 million) while the fourth best-selling novel is Tolkien's .[]In the early 1960s , science fiction editor of the paperback publisher , claimed that The Lord of the Rings was not protected in the United States under
because , the U.S. hardcover publisher, had neglected to copyright the work in the United States.Ace Books then proceeded to publish an edition, unauthorized by Tolkien and without paying
to him. Tolkien took issue with this and quickly notified his fans of this objection.& pressure from these fans became so great that Ace Books withdrew their edition and made a nominal payment to Tolkien.Authorized editions followed from
to tremendous commercial success. By the mid-1960s the novel had become a cultural phenomenon. Tolkien undertook various textual revisions to produce a version of the book that would be published with his consent and establish an unquestioned US copyright. This text became the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings, published in 1965. Houghton Mifflin editions after 1994 consolidate variant revisions by Tolkien, and corrections supervised by , which resulted, after some initial glitches, in a computer-based unified text.[]From 1988 to 1992 Christopher Tolkien published the surviving drafts of The Lord of The Rings, chronicling and illuminating with commentary the stages of the text's development, in volumes 6–9 of his
series. The four volumes carry the titles , , , and .[]Main article: The novel has been translated, with various degrees of success, into at least 38 other languages. Tolkien, an expert in , examined many of these translations, and made comments on each that reflect both the translation process and his work. As he was unhappy with some choices made by early translators, such as the
by , Tolkien wrote a && (1967). Because The Lord of the Rings purports to be a translation of the fictitious , with the English language representing the
of the &original&, Tolkien suggested that translators attempt to capture the interplay between English and the invented nomenclature of the English work, and gave several examples along with general guidance.[]Main article: While early reviews for The Lord of the Rings were mixed, reviews in various media have been, on the whole, highly positive and acknowledge Tolkien's literary achievement as a significant one. On its initial review the
felt it was &among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century.&The
seemed to echo these sentiments when in its review it was stated that &the English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them.& The
also seemed to have an idea of how popular the books would become, writing in its review that they were &destined to outlast our time.&&, an admirer of Tolkien's writings, regarded The Lord of the Rings as a &masterpiece&, further stating that in some cases it outdid the achievement of &.New York Times reviewer Judith Shulevitz criticized the &pedantry& of Tolkien's literary style, saying that he &formulated a high-minded belief in the importance of his mission as a literary preservationist, which turns out to be death to literature itself.& Critic Richard Jenkyns, writing in , criticized the work for a lack of psychological depth. Both the characters and the work itself are, according to Jenkyns, &anemic, and lacking in fibre.& Even within Tolkien's literary group,, reviews were mixed.
complained loudly at its readings. However, another Inkling, , had very different feelings, writing, &here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here is a book which will break your heart.& Despite these reviews and its lack of paperback printing until the 1960s, The Lord of the Rings initially sold well in hardback.In 1957, The Lord of the Rings was awarded the . Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the
and paperbacks helped The Lord of the Rings become immensely popular in the United States in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as one of the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by both sales and reader surveys. In the 2003 && survey conducted in Britain by the BBC,The Lord of the Rings was found to be the &Nation's best-loved book.& In similar 2004 polls both Germany and Australia also found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite book. In a 1999 poll of
customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite &book of the millennium.&&The Lord of the Rings was awarded the
in 2009.[]Main article: Although The Lord of the Rings was published in the 1950s, Tolkien insisted that the One Ring was not an
for the , nor were his works a strict allegory of any kind, but were open to interpretation as the reader saw fit.A few critics have found what they consider to be racial elements in the story, generally based upon their views of how Tolkien's imagery depicts good and evil, characters' race (e.g. Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit, , , Orc); and that the character's race is seen as determining their behaviour. Counter-arguments note that race-focused critiques often omit relevant textual evidence to the contrary, cite imagery from adaptations rather ignore the absence of evidence of
attitudes or events in the author's personal life and claim that the perception of racism is itself a marginal view.Critics have also seen social class rather than race as being the determinant factor for the portrayal of good and evil. Commentators such as science fiction author
have interpreted the work to hold unquestioning devotion to a traditional
social structure. In his essay &&, science fiction and fantasy author
critiques the world-view displayed by the book as deeply conservative, in both the 'paternalism' of the narrative voice and the power-structures in the narrative.& cites the origin of this portrayal of evil as a reflection of the prejudices of European middle-classes during the inter-war years towards the industrial working class.Other observers have cited
themes in The Lord of the Rings.The book has been read as fitting the model of 's &&.[]Main article: The Lord of the Rings has been adapted for film, radio and stage.The book has been adapted for radio four times. In 1955 and 1956, the
broadcast , a 12-part radio adaptation of the story. In the 1960s radio station
produced a short . A 1979 dramatization of
was broadcast in the United States and subsequently issued on tape and CD. In 1981, the BBC broadcast , a new dramatization in 26 half-hour instalments. This dramatization of The Lord of the Rings has subsequently been made available on both tape and CD both by the BBC and other publishers. For this purpose it is generally edited into 13 one hour episodes.Two film adaptations of the book have been made. The first was
(1978), by animator , the first part of what was originally intended to be a two-part ada it covers The Fellowship of the Ring and part of The Two Towers. A three-issue comic book version of the movie was also published in Europe (but not printed in English), with illustrations by . When Bakshi's investors shied away of financing the second film that would complete the story, the remainder of the story was covered in an
by . Stylistically, the two segments are very different. The second and more critically and commercially successful adaptation was 's live action , produced by
and released in three instalments as
(2002), and (2003). All three parts won multiple , including consecutive
nominations. The final instalment of this trilogy was the second film to break the one-billion-dollar barrier and won a total of 11
(something only two other films in history, and , have accomplished), including ,
based on elements of the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, was released on the internet in May 2009 and has been covered in major media.In 1990,
published an
of The Lord of the Rings, with British actor
– who had previously starred in his own one-man stage productions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings – reading. A large-scale musical theatre adaptation,
was first staged in
in 2006 and opened in London in May 2007.[]Main article: []The enormous popularity of Tolkien's epic saga greatly expanded the demand for . Largely thanks to The Lord of the Rings, the genre flowered throughout the 1960s, and enjoys popularity to the present day. The opus has spawned many imitators, such as , which
called &the single most cold-blooded, complete rip-off of another book that I have ever read&.&, which popularized the
(RPG) genre in the 1970s, features many races found in The Lord of the Rings, most notably
(another term for hobbits), elves, dwarves (who are distinct from dark elves, following Tolkien's example), , , and dragons. However, , lead designer of the game, maintained that he was influenced very little by The Lord of the Rings, stating that he included these elements as a marketing move to draw on the popularity the work enjoyed at the time he was developing the game.Because D&D has gone on to influence many popular , the influence of The Lord of the Rings extends to many of them as well, with titles such as , the
series , , the
series, and the
series of games as well as
itself.Research also suggests that some consumers of fantasy games derive their motivation from trying to create an epic fantasy narrative which is influenced by The Lord of the Rings.[]In 1965, songwriter , who was best known for his collaboration with
as , set six poems from The Lord of the Ringsand one from
(&Errantry&) to music. When Swann met with Tolkien to play the songs for his approval, Tolkien suggested for && (Galadriel's lament) a setting reminiscent of , which Swann accepted. The songs were published in 1967 as , and a recording of the songs performed by singer William Elvin with Swann on piano was issued that same year by
as Poems and Songs of Middle Earth.In 1988, Dutch composer and trombonist
completed his , which encompassed 5 movements, titled &Gandalf&, &Lothlórien&, &Gollum&, &Journey in the Dark&, and &Hobbits&. In 1989 the symphony was awarded the , awarded biennially for best wind band composition. The Danish
have released a number of albums that feature the complete poems and songs of The Lord of the Rings set to music, with some featuring recitation by .Rock bands of the 1970s were musically and lyrically inspired by the fantasy embracing counter- British 70s rock band
recorded several songs that contain explicit references to The Lord of the Rings (&&, &&, &&, and &&). In 1970, the Swedish musician
released an & based on the book titled Sagan om ringen (translated as &The Saga of the Ring&, which was the title of the Swedish translation of The Lord of the Rings at the time). The album was subsequently released internationally as
in 1972. The songs &Rivendell& and &The Necromancer& by the progressive rock band
were inspired by Tolkien.
also paid homage to Tolkien on their &Pieces of Eight& album with the song &Lords of the Ring,& while 's song, &The Wizard&, which appeared on their , was influenced by Tolkien's hero, Gandalf. The
took their name from a .
paid homage to the text in their lengthy composition &Nimrodel/The Procession/The White Rider&, and Progressive rock band
was inspired by the character Galadriel to write a song by that name, and used &Bombadil&, the name of another character, as a pseudonym under which their 1972 single &Breathless&/&When the City Sleeps& there are other references scattered through the BJH oeuvre.Later, from the 1980s to the present day, many heavy metal acts have been influenced by Tolkien.
has written many songs relating to Middle-earth, including the full concept album . Almost all of 's songs and the entire discography of
are Tolkien-themed. and
take their names from an area of , and
take their name from the
of Mordor. The Finnish metal band
and the Norwegian metal band
have also incorporated many Tolkien references into their music. A Swedish metal band, , based their song &Shadows& on the nine ring wraiths. wrote an instrumental piece called &Lothlórien& in 1991, and composed two songs for the film —&& (sung in English and ) and && (sung in ).[]The Lord of the Rings has had a profound and wide-ranging impact on , beginning with its publication in the 1950s, but especially throughout the 1960s and 1970s, during which time young people embraced it as a
saga. && and &Gandalf for President& were two phrases popular amongst United States
during this time.Parodies like the 's , the
episode &&, the
episode &&, the
episode &Lights! Camera! Danger!&,
episode &The Precious Fragmentation&, and the
episode &The Return of the Bling& are testimony to the work's continual presence in popular culture.In 1969, Tolkien sold the merchandising rights to The Lord of The Rings (and The Hobbit) to
under an agreement stipulating a lump sum payment of ￡10,000 plus a 7.5% royalty after costs, payable to Allen & Unwin and the author. In 1976, three years after the author's death, United Artists sold the rights to
Company, who now trade as . Since then all &authorized& merchandise has been signed-off by Tolkien Enterprises, although the of the specific likenesses of characters and other imagery from various adaptations is generally held by the adaptors. Outside any commercial exploitation from adaptations, from the late 1960s onwards there has been an increasing variety of original licensed merchandise, from posters and calendars created by illustrators such as
and the , to figurines and miniatures to ,
and games. Recent examples include the
(for best use of literature in a game) board game
and the &,
转载本文请联系原作者获取授权，同时请注明本文来自李胜文科学网博客。链接地址：
上一篇：下一篇：
当前推荐数：0
评论 ( 个评论)
扫一扫，分享此博文
作者的精选博文
作者的其他最新博文
热门博文导读
Powered by
Copyright &