A House of Treasures

By+SEBASTIEN+ROUSSILLAT

How does one become a writer？

Sitting in front of a 打字機 （dǎ zì jī）， typewriter， gives you the feeling of being a veteran. After lighting a cigar， you feel even more like a writer. But finally you just grab a piece of 草稿紙 （cǎo gǎo zhǐ）， scratch paper， on which to 起草構思 （qǐ cǎo gòu sī） draft ideas， before giving rein to your 創(chuàng)作 （chuàng zuò）， creativity， and 寫作 （xiě zuò）， writing.

Youve always dreamed of becoming a 作家 （zuò jiā）， writer， or 筆者 （bǐzhě）， author – a person who holds a pen. This has been your dream since childhood， because youve been always told that 腹有詩書氣自華 （fù yǒu shī shūqì zì huá）， knowledge makes a gentlemen， and 讀書破萬卷，下筆如有神 （dúshū pò wàn juàn， xià bǐ rú yǒu shén）， after poring over ten thousand volumes you can write like one inspired.

You plan to write 小說 （xiǎo shuō）， novels， 自傳 （zì zhuàn）， autobiographies， 散文 （sǎn wén）， prose， 詩集 （shī jí）， poetry anthologies … all manner of 文學作品 （wén xué zuò pǐn）， literary works. You even expect one day to publish your 全集 （quán jí）， complete collection of literary works.

As you briskly press the Enter key， you imagine being deemed a 文人 （wén rén）， man of letters， a 讀書人 （dú shū rén）， scholar， or a 知識分子 （zhī shi fèn zǐ）， intellectual. Meanwhile， others might describe you as一肚子墨水 （yí dù zi mò shuǐ）， fairly learned.

You imagine being invited to deliver speeches， and telling audiences with a serious air 讀書千遍，其義自見 （dú shū qiān biàn， qíyì zì xiàn）， that the meaning of a book is understood naturally after reading it a thousand times. You also tell the audiences that literature 包羅萬象 （bāo luó wàn xiàng）， embraces everything under the sun. You advise them 熟讀而靜思 （shú dú ér jìng sī）， to read a book thoroughly and to think about it deeply. Meanwhile， your behavior is always 溫文爾雅 （wēn wén ěr yǎ）， gentle and cultivated. Some of you tend to use 書面語 （shū miàn yǔ）， literary language， as opposed to colloquial language and so be considered as having 文采 （wén cǎi）， talent in literature. You are also versed in the use of 成語 （chéng yǔ）， idioms， and like to be called 大文豪 （dà wén háo）， a great writer.

To enrich your vintage style， you have bought some ancient Chinese books and you give your 書房 （shū fáng）， study， the poetic name 松風軒 （sōng fēng xuān）， a pavilion where you can hear the breeze rustling the pine trees. It is traditional for ancient Chinese scholars to give their studies gracious names. Moreover， you like writing the Chinese character 書 （shū）， book， in its traditional form 書， because this shows that you are well-educated. In fact， 書also refers to 寫 （xiě）， write， as in the phrase 書寫 （shū xiě）， write. Books can be compared with wealth. This perception is reflected in the phrase 書中自有黃金屋 （shū zhōng zì yǒu huáng jīn wū）， books contain treasure. Reading offers precious knowledge and enriches your spiritual world， and is at the foundation of a persons promotion to a high rank， lofty position and great wealth. In ancient China， scholars had the chance of becoming government officials solely by passing the imperial examinations. There were also people who believed that books are 心靈雞湯 （xīn líng jī tāng）， chicken soup for the soul. Either way， you know that the effect of reading should be 爛熟于心 （làn shú yúxīn）， of knowing the book thoroughly enough， to gain靈感 （líng gǎn）， inspiration， from it.endprint

Nevertheless， you worry you might turn into a書呆子 （shū dāi zi）， nerd. Mencius， the great philosopher of ancient China， once said 盡信書則不如無書 （jìn xìn shū zé bù rú wú shū）， we should rather be short of books than believe all that they say. Lets return to the topic of writing. If your work is impressive， 出版社 （chū bǎn shè）， publishing houses， will contact you asking to 出書 （chū shū）， publish your work. Youll then work with a 編輯 （biān jí）， editor， who might make some 批注 （pī zhù）， comments， and 修改 （xiū gǎi）， modifications. The book is ready to 發(fā)行 （fā xíng）， distribute， when it meets the publishing requirements.

One day， you find you 受不了 （shòu bù liǎo）， cannot bear it anymore. Your 自尊心 （zì zūn xīn）， self-esteem， as a writer， is frustrated. You abandon your typewriter and simultaneously decide to launch a 博客 （bó kè）， blog， and venture into the field of 網絡文學 （wǎng luò wén xué）， online literature， to become a 網絡作家 （wǎng luò zuò jiā）， online writer， and to publish 電子書 （diàn zǐ shū）， e-books. Though not equal to a paper book， at least youve got some readers， and， you are free！endprint