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One-Foot-Deep Passion
《一尺深的热爱》
A friend of mine met with good fortunes in quick succession after he was signed as a writer with The Readers, a highly popular magazine in China. He was admitted, first of all, into the provincial Writers' Association. And then, a cashier as he had been, he was offered a position to teach in an institute of literature. That year he was only 28 years old, but had already published literary works of about 600,000 Chinese characters.
一位朋友成为《读者》杂志的签约作家之后，好运接二连三，先是被省作家协会吸收为会员，然后，从一名小出纳，摇身一变，成了文学院的教师。那一年，他28岁，已有近六十万字见诸报刊。
Many students were filled with admiration for his achievement. Quite a few literature fans went to him for advice. "Sir, would you share with us your secret for writing so successfully?" He relied candidly, "Yes. Just one word – passion." "Then, how much passion do we need if we want to write as well as you do?" they pressed him. "One foot deep," answered my friend.
很多学生对他所取得的成绩极为欣赏，赞叹不已。不少文学爱好者向他求教：“老师，你的写作那么出名，一定有什么秘诀吧？”他向学生坦言：“两个字：热爱。”学生进一步打探：“如果要达到你现在的水平，到底要热爱到什么程度？”他回答说：“一尺深。”
One-foot-deep passion? A perplexed look appeared on their faces. My friend took them home and fetched out a bundle of used writing paper from under his bed: all the sheets were filled with small and closely-written characters. Those were his rejected manuscripts, a good foot in thickness.
一尺深的热爱？同学们纷纷向他投去疑惑的目光。朋友带他的学生来到家里，从床底下搬出一捆纸，纸上密密麻麻写满了字，那都是他从未发表过的废稿；足足有一尺厚。
"If you want to achieve something in writing, you must maintain a passion that's one foot deep. In other words, you should keep on writing until your rejected manuscripts accumulate to one foot thick. During this period, you must not become impatient or sink into despair. Only with expectation and passion can you have confidence and hope for the future," he told his students.
他告诉学生：“如果想在写作上有所建树，就要保持一尺深的热爱，也就是说，坚持写完一尺厚废稿。其间，不心急，不绝望，心中总有期待和热爱，对前途充满信心和希望。”
Enlightened by his words, the students came to realize that success in writing is not something easy to come by. On the contrary, it requires painstaking efforts. They looked enthusiastic and eager to have a try right away.
学生们恍然大悟，这才知道，文满芳华，不是唾手可得，而是非得下一番苦功夫不可。他们激情满怀，个个跃跃欲试。
But my friend continued, "There is one thing you must bear in mind: The passion can only be one foot deep! If after practicing countless times and your writing still remains at the level of a high school student, you might as well try something else, lest you get into a blind alley. Any further attempt will just mean a waste of your time and talent."
朋友接着说：“千万记住，热爱也只能是一尺深！如果写了一尺厚的废稿之后，还停留在中学生的作文水平，那注定此路不通，不如改事他行，省得文章误我，蹉跎岁月。”
Indeed, whatever we do, we should do it with deep, persevering passion. However, if our exertion has proved to be fruitless, we should quit as soon as possible and try something different while we are young. Success may be at the corner just when we switch over to a new direction.
其实，做任何事情都是这样，保持一尺深的热爱。爱要深沉执著，但是，如果爱得辛苦无着，请及早抽身而退，趁青春，另寻出口。成败，就在转身之间。
