早晨从中午开始——路遥      

In my writing career, I’ve hardly ever had a real morning. My mornings always begin at noon. It’s a habit that’s formed over many years. I know it’s not a good one and I’ve tried to change it lots of times, but I just can’t seem to succeed. As the old saying goes, old habits really do die hard. Since I can’t break it, I might as well just leave it as it is. In some ways, I’m the kind of person who likes to let things be.    

 Usually, I go to sleep between 2 and 3 in the morning, and sometimes it can even be as late as 4 or 5 o’clock. There are also times when I don’t go to bed until daybreak.

在我的创作生活中，几乎没有真正的早晨。我的早晨都是从中午开始的。这是多年养成的习惯。我知道这习惯不好，也曾好多次试图改正，但都没有达到目的。这应验了那句古老的话：积习难改。既然已经不能改正，索性也就听之任之。在某些问题上，我是一个放任自流的人。

通常情况下，我都是在凌晨两点到三点入睡，有时甚至延伸到四点五点。天亮以后才睡觉的现象也时有发生。

I get up an hour before lunch, and that’s when my morning kicks off.

The hour before lunch is really busy. First of all, I have to smoke three to five cigarettes one after another. When I’m working, I smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. Sometimes, my mouth and tongue get so bitter and numb that I can hardly taste the cigarettes at all. Even when I’m really focused on thinking or writing and don’t have time to smoke, I’ll still hold a lit cigarette in my hand. So, those few cigarettes after waking up are like a kind of wonderful pleasure.I wash my face thoroughly with hot water and then drink a strong cup of coffee, trying to make myself feel like I’m having a normal morning just like everyone else. By then, I’m wide awake.

Almost right after lunch, I start working at my desk. I've never had the habit of taking a midday nap, just like many Westerners. I even find it quite strange that the Chinese government has set such a long nap time. When I think that at noon, 1.1 billion Chinese people all fall asleep at the same time,it seems a bit odd. But then, considering that it’s a traditional national characteristic and also falls into the category of “old habits die hard”, I feel okay with it, just like I understand my own habit.

午饭前一个钟头起床，于是，早晨才算开始了。

午饭前这一小时非常忙乱。首先要接连抽三五支香烟。我工作时一天抽两包烟，直抽得口腔舌头发苦发麻，根本感觉不来烟味如何。有时思考或写作特别紧张之际，即使顾不上抽，手里也要有一支燃烧的烟卷。因此，睡眠之后的几支烟简直是一种神仙般的享受。用烫热的水好好洗洗脸，紧接着喝一杯浓咖啡，证明自己同别人一样拥有一个真正的早晨。这时，才彻底醒过来了。

午饭过后，几乎立刻就扑到桌面上工作。我从来没有午休的习惯，这一点像西方人。我甚至很不理解，我国政府为什么规定了那么长的午睡时间。当想到大白天里正是日上中天的时候，我国十一亿公民却在同一时间都进入梦乡，不免有某种荒诞之感。又想到这是一种传统的民族习性，也属“积习难改”一类，也就像理解自己的“积习”一样释然了。

The whole afternoon is the best time for work. Except for going to the toilet, I hardly    look up from my desk. I stay focused on my work until dinner. After dinner, there’s an hour or two of free time. I watch the 30-minute News Broadcast on China Central Television     and read the main newspapers of the day. This is the most relaxing moment of the day. I   don't turn away visitors during this time either.

At night, when other people are going to sleep again, my mind becomes active once   more. If I haven’t finished the tasks for the day in the afternoon, I’ll sit back down at my  desk and keep working until I’m done. Then, I’ll either read (I often read several books at  the same time), or carefully think about what work I need to do tomorrow and all kinds of never-ending issues related to the whole book. I’ll write down the key points on paper and in various special notebooks for further in-depth thinking later. In many cases, my thoughts will wander away from work and the present reality, traveling through the deep and quiet  night, through the tunnel of time, flowing freely in all directions. I must read before going  to sleep. It’s like the best sleeping pill for me, until the book slips out of my hand when I    fall asleep.

When I wake up at noon the next day, it’s another new morning.

整个下午是工作的最佳时间，除过上厕所，几乎在桌面上头也不抬。直到吃晚饭，还会沉浸在下午的工作之中。晚饭后有一两个小时的消闲时间，看中央电视台半小时的新闻联播，读当天的主要报纸。这是一天中最为安逸的一刻。这时也不拒绝来访。

夜晚，当人们又一次入睡的时候，我的思绪再一次活跃起来。如果下午没有完成当天的任务，便重新伏案操作直至完成。然后，或者进入阅读（同时交叉读多种书），或者详细考虑明天的工作内容以至全书各种各样无穷无尽的问题，并随手在纸上和各式专门的笔记本上记下要点以备日后进一步深思。这时间在好多情况下，思绪会离开作品，离开眼前的现实，穿过深沉寂静的夜晚，穿过时间的隧道，漫无边际地向四面八方流淌。入睡前无论如何要读书，这是最好的安眠药，直到睡着后书自动从手中脱离为止。

第二天午间醒来，就又是一个新的早晨了。

Throughout the whole process of writing “The Ordinary World”, my mornings always started like this at noon. For me and for this book, it seems to be a kind of symbol. When   life reaches its midpoint, work requires me to dive into it with the youthful energy of the morning sun.

在《平凡的世界》全部写作过程中，我的早晨都是这样从中午开始的。对于我，对于这部书，这似乎也是一个象征。当生命进入正午的时候，工作却要求我像早晨的太阳一般充满青春的朝气投身于其间。