It isn't often that one has the chance to congratulate a noted woman writer on her 80th birthday.  So on October 5 last year, when I went to Bing Xin's house, I felt very excited.  I explained that I hoped she would tell me something about how she became a poet.  "I haven't written poetry for many years," she said smiling.  "But I still love to read good poetry."

    向一位著名的女作家祝贺她八十岁寿辰，这样的机会是不多的，所以我去年十月五日到冰心家里去的时候，心情非常激动。我解释说希望她给我讲一下她是怎样成为诗人的。“我已有多年没有写诗了，”她微笑说，“可是我还是爱读好诗。”

    Bing Xin was fortunate to have parents who encouraged her to study and write.  When she was attending a women's college in Beijing in 1919, an event occurred which changed the whole course of her life.  That was the May 4th Movement, a patriotic democratic movement started by students in Beijing.  The mass demonstrations made a deep impression on her.  She threw herself into the struggle and was put in charge of publicity by the Student Union.  She wrote poems, articles and stories, attacking imperialism and feudalism in its various forms.

    冰心很幸运地有鼓励她学习和写作的父母。一九一九年她在北京一所女子学院念书时，一个事件改变了她生命的整个道路。那就是五四运动，一个由北京学生发动的爱国民主运动。群众游行示威的场面给她以深刻的印象。她投身于斗争中，并被学生会任命负责宣传工作。她谢了诗歌、文章和故事，以抨击帝国主义和各种形式的封建主义。

    Going to the U.S. in 1923 to study literature, she wrote down her impressions on the way and during her stay there.  These were published in the collection To Little Readers.  The book brought her instant fame, not only because she was a woman writer, but also because of the noble sentiments in the book.  Quit a few younger writers say it was Bing Xin's writings that started them on the road they have since followed.

    她在1923年到美国去学文学，在旅途中和在美国居留中写下了她的感受。这些都收在一个集子里出版，就是《寄小读者》。这本书使她声誉突起。这不仅是因为她是一位女作家，而是因为书中的高尚的情操。有少较年轻的作家说，是冰心的作品使他们走上了其后所走的道路。

    Xinyi Translation Studio