Michael Hoffen is a new author, and like him, the main character of his book is a teenager. But there’s quite an age gap between them — about 4,000 years. That’s because Hoffen brought to life the story of a young Egyptian from ancient times named Pepi, whose father, Kheti, is intent on getting his son a job in the royal court.
Hoffen, who has been translating ancient texts since middle school, became fascinated by a 4,000-year-old or so piece of literature from ancient Egypt’s Middle Kingdom known as The Instruction of Khety. The Instruction was written on papyrus, one of the earliest writing materials, that was typically made from reeds (芦苇). Papyruses have yielded vast amounts of information about ancient societies from the Judean tribes, Egypt, Greece, and Classical Rome.
Under the guidance and teamwork of his two co-authors, Egyptologists Casey and Jen Thum, Hoffen spent three-and-a-half years translating hieroglyphics (象形字) into modern-day prose and gathering images to tell the story of Kheti and Pepi. Put together, he published a book called Be A Scribe! Working for a Better Life in Ancient Egypt.
This young author, a scribe (抄写员) himself, shows just how little the human condition has changed in thousands of years. Parents still want the best for their children, and teenagers face important decisions as they set out on their career paths — all of which readers can enjoy with impressive illustrations and imagery direct from Egyptian antiquities (古物).
Amy Chua, Yale Law professor, called the book a “marvel” and said she “could not put it down.” “Young people will wolf it down without realizing they are learning. And even adults with advanced degrees will find themselves absorbed, educated, and fascinated by this story of an Egyptian father giving life advice to his teenage son — and astonished at how little parenting has changed for thousands of years.”
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