Writers and Chefs

By Yu Hua

Many years ago, I had a chat with a chef who asked me, “What makes a good writer?”

I replied, “To be a good writer, you have to be a good reader.”

He asked again, “What makes a good reader then?”

I said, “First of all, you need to read masterpieces, instead of mediocre books.If you keep reading great books, you’ll develop a good taste and understanding, and when you write yourself, you will naturally have a fairly high standard towards your own work.However, if you spent a lot of time reading mediocre writing, your taste and understanding will also become mediocre, and your own writing will be immersed in mediocrity.Secondly, every piece of writing has its own f laws, including those great ones.Hence, don’t care too much about the flaws when you read a book, cast your eyes upon its merits, for the flaws of others have nothing to do with you, but their merits will help you improve.”

He nodded saying, “The same goes for a chef.Those who have tasted masterful cooking are able to make good dishes themselves.I often send my cooks to eat in other restaurants to improve their cookery skills.And I found those who often criticize other restaurants’ dishes stay where they are, while those who appreciate others’ dishes improve quickly.”

(FromI Only Know What a Human Is, Yilin Press.Translation: Jessie White)

作家和廚師

文/余華

很多年前，我和一位廚師長聊天，他問我：“怎樣才能成為一個好作家？”

我說：“要想成為一個好作家，先要成為一個好讀者。”

他又問：“怎樣才能成為一個好讀者？”

我說：“第一，要去讀偉大的作品，不要去讀平庸的作品。長期讀偉大作品的人，趣味和修養就會很高，寫作的時候自然就會用很高的標準要求自己；長期讀平庸作品的人，趣味和修養也會平庸，寫作時不知不覺沉浸在平庸里。第二，所有的作品都存在缺點，包括那些偉大的作品，讀的時候不要去關心作品中的缺點，應該關心優點，因為別人的缺點和你無關，別人的優點會幫助你提高自己。”

他點點頭，對我說：“做廚師也一樣，品嘗過美味佳肴的能做出好菜。我經常派手下的廚師去其他餐館吃飯來提高他們的廚藝，我發現總說其他餐館菜不好的廚師沒有進步，總說其他餐館菜做得好吃的廚師進步很大。”

（摘自《我只知道人是什么》譯林出版社）