去年春天，我开始每天早上五点起床。
Qùnián chūntiān, wǒ kāishǐ měi tiān zǎoshang wǔ diǎn qǐchuáng.
Last spring, I started getting up at five every morning.
这个决定不是因为谁劝了我。
Zhège juédìng bù shì yīnwèi shéi/shuí quàn le wǒ.
The decision did not come from anyone's advice.
它只是来自我读过的一本书。
Tā zhǐshì láizì wǒ dú guò de yī běn shū.
It came from a book I had read.
书里说，早晨的两个小时是自己的。
Shū lǐ shuō, zǎochen de liǎng gè xiǎoshí shì zìjǐ de.
The book said the two hours of early morning belong to you.
白天的八个小时是别人的。
Báitiān de bā gè xiǎoshí shì biérén de.
The eight hours of the day belong to others.
我想试试书里说的是不是真的。
Wǒ xiǎng shì shì shū lǐ shuō de shì bù shì zhēn de.
I wanted to test whether what the book said was true.
头一天，闹钟响了三次我才起来。
Tóu yī tiān, nàozhōng xiǎng le sān cì wǒ cái qǐlái.
On the first day, the alarm rang three times before I got up.
窗外还是黑的，路上一个人也没有。
Chuāng wài háishi hēi de, lùshang yī gèrén yě méiyǒu.
Outside the window it was still dark, and the road was empty.
我站在窗前，不知道自己要做什么。
Wǒ zhàn zài chuāng qián, bù zhīdào zìjǐ yào zuò shénme.
I stood by the window, not knowing what to do.
后来我给自己泡了茶。
Hòulái wǒ gěi zìjǐ pào le chá.
Then I made myself some tea.
那天的茶好像特别好喝。
Nà tiān de chá hǎoxiàng tèbié hǎo hē.
The tea that day tasted especially good.
一个星期后，我习惯了这个新的时间。
Yī gè xīngqī hòu, wǒ xíguàn le zhège xīn de shíjiān.
A week later, I had gotten used to the new schedule.
五点十五分出门，天才刚刚亮一点。
Wǔ diǎn shí wǔ fēn chūmén, tiāncái gānggāng liàng yī diǎn.
I left home at five fifteen, when the sky had just begun to lighten.
街上很安静，只有扫街的人在慢慢工作。
Jiē shàng hěn ānjìng, zhǐyǒu sǎo jiē de rén zài màn màn gōngzuò.
The streets were quiet, with only the sweepers working slowly.
他们穿着黄色的衣服，动作不快也不慢。
Tāmen chuānzhuó huángsè de yīfu, dòngzuò bù kuài yě bù màn.
They wore yellow clothes, moving neither fast nor slow.
我常常在桥上停下来看河。
Wǒ chángcháng zài qiáo shàng tíng xiàlái kàn hé.
I often stopped on the bridge to look at the river.
河水是灰的，天的颜色一点一点变淡。
Hé shuǐ shì huī de, tiān de yánsè yī diǎn yī diǎn biàn dàn.
The water was grey, and the sky paled little by little.
有一只鸟会从水面上飞过去。
Yǒu yī zhī niǎo huì cóng shuǐmiàn shàng fēi guòqù.
A bird would fly across the water.
这座城市醒来，是从这条河开始的。
Zhè zuò chéngshì xǐng lái, shì cóng zhè tiáo hé kāishǐ de.
The city woke up starting from this river.
六点左右，卖包子的小店开门了。
Liù diǎn zuǒyòu, mài bāozi de xiǎo diàn kāi mén le.
Around six, the little shop selling buns opened.
白色的热气从店里跑出来，带着面的味道。
Báisè de rè qì cóng diàn lǐ pǎo chūlái, dài zhe miàn de wèidào.
White steam ran out of the shop, carrying the smell of dough.
我总在同一个位子吃一碗粥和两个包子。
Wǒ zǒng zài tóngyī gè wèizi chī yī wǎn zhōu hé liǎng gè bāozi.
I always sat in the same seat for a bowl of congee and two buns.
老板娘认识我，不用我先开口。
Lǎobǎn niáng rènshi wǒ, búyòng wǒ xiān kāi kǒu.
The owner knew me, so I did not need to speak first.
她只会问一句，今天还是一样的吗。
Tā zhī huì wèn yī jù, jīntiān háishi yíyàng de ma.
She would only ask, the same as always today?
我说，一样的。
Wǒ shuō, yíyàng de.
I said, the same.
吃完早饭，我才慢慢走去坐地铁。
Chī wán zǎofàn, wǒ cái màn màn zǒu qù zuò dìtiě.
After breakfast I would walk slowly to the subway.
早上的公园是老人的世界。
Zǎoshang de gōngyuán shì lǎorén de shìjiè.
The morning park belongs to old people.
有人打太极，有人走路，有人只是坐着。
Yǒu rén dǎ tàijí, yǒu rén zǒulù, yǒu rén zhǐshì zuò zhe.
Some did tai chi, some walked, some just sat.
有一位老人每天在同一张椅子上看书。
Yǒu yī wèi lǎorén měi tiān zài tóngyī zhāng yǐzi shàng kàn shū.
One old man read on the same bench every day.
有一天他问我，年轻人，你怎么起这么早。
Yǒu yī tiān tā wèn wǒ, niánqīng rén, nǐ zěnme qǐ zhème zǎo.
One day he asked me, young man, why do you get up so early?
我说，我想把一天过成两天。
Wǒ shuō, wǒ xiǎng bǎ yī tiān guò chéng liǎng tiān.
I said, I want to live one day as if it were two.
他笑了，说他年轻时也是这么想的。
Tā xiào le, shuō tā niánqīng shí yě shì zhème xiǎng de.
He laughed and said he thought the same when he was young.
后来呢，我问。
Hòulái ne, wǒ wèn.
And then? I asked.
他说，后来他明白，一天就是一天。
Tā shuō, hòulái tā míngbai, yī tiān jiùshì yī tiān.
He said that later he understood a day is just a day.
能把一天过好，就已经很好了。
Néng bǎ yī tiān guò hǎo, jiù yǐjīng hěn hǎo le.
To live one day well is already good enough.
这一年里，我读完了十二本书。
Zhè yī nián lǐ, wǒ dú wán le shí èr běn shū.
During that year, I finished twelve books.
我学会了给自己做十几种早饭。
Wǒ xuéhuì le gěi zìjǐ zuò shí jǐ zhǒng zǎofàn.
I learned to make more than a dozen breakfasts for myself.
我的胃好了很多，人也没有那么累了。
Wǒ de wèi hǎo le hěn duō, rén yě méiyǒu nàme lèi le.
My stomach improved a lot, and I was no longer so tired.
我还在本子上记下了每一次看到的天亮。
Wǒ hái zài běnzi shàng jì xià le měi yī cì kàn dào de tiān liàng.
I also wrote down in a notebook every dawn I saw.
冬天是最难的。
Dōngtiān shì zuì nán de.
Winter was the hardest.
被子里很暖，外面又黑又冷。
Bèizi lǐ hěn nuǎn, wàimiàn yòu hēi yòu lěng.
It was warm under the quilt and dark and cold outside.
有好几次我想放弃。
Yǒu hǎo jǐ cì wǒ xiǎng fàngqì.
Several times I wanted to give up.
我就对自己说，只起来五分钟。
Wǒ jiù duì zìjǐ shuō, zhī qǐlái wǔ fēnzhōng.
I would tell myself, just get up for five minutes.
五分钟以后，人已经站起来了，就不回去了。
Wǔ fēnzhōng yǐhòu, rén yǐjīng zhàn qǐlái le, jiù bù huíqù le.
After five minutes, I was already up and would not go back.
这个办法对我很有用。
Zhège bànfǎ duì wǒ hěn yǒuyòng.
That trick worked well for me.
春天再来的时候，早起已经不需要理由了。
Chūntiān zài lái de shíhou, zǎo qǐ yǐjīng bù xūyào lǐyóu le.
When spring returned, getting up early no longer needed a reason.
它变成了我生活的一部分。
Tā biànchéng le wǒ shēnghuó de yī bùfen.
It had become part of my life.
像吃饭，像睡觉。
Xiàng chī fàn, xiàng shuìjiào.
Like eating, like sleeping.
朋友说我变了，脸上有了光。
Péngyou shuō wǒ biàn le, liǎn shàng yǒu le guāng.
Friends said I had changed; there was light on my face.
我不知道那是不是早起带来的。
Wǒ bù zhīdào nà shì bù shì zǎo qǐ dài lái de.
I do not know if early rising brought that.
我只知道，那一年我过得比哪年都清楚。
Wǒ zhī zhīdào, nà yī nián wǒ guò de bǐ nǎ nián dōu qīngchu.
I only know I lived that year more clearly than any other.
每一天我都记得，因为它们都有一个安静的开头。
Měi yī tiān wǒ dōu jìde, yīnwèi tāmen dōu yǒu yī gè ānjìng de kāitóu.
I remember every day, because each had a quiet beginning.
现在想起来，那亮得最早的一块天，是属于我的。
Xiànzài xiǎng qǐlái, nà liàng de zuì zǎo de yī kuài tiān, shì shǔyú wǒ de.
Looking back, that earliest patch of light belonged to me.
一年以后，我搬了家，也换了工作。
Yī nián yǐhòu, wǒ bān le jiā, yě huàn le gōngzuò.
A year later, I moved and changed jobs.
新工作很忙，常常要工作到很晚。
Xīn gōngzuò hěn máng, chángcháng yào gōngzuò dào hěn wǎn.
The new job was busy, and I often worked late.
早起的习惯慢慢丢了。
Zǎo qǐ de xíguàn màn màn diū le.
The habit of rising early slowly slipped away.
先是周末起不来，后来连平时也起不来。
Xiān shì zhōumò qǐ bù lái, hòulái lián píngshí yě qǐ bù lái.
First I could not rise on weekends, then not even on weekdays.
我又变回了睡到最后一分钟的人。
Wǒ yòu biàn huí le shuì dào zuìhòu yī fēnzhōng de rén.
I went back to being someone who sleeps to the last minute.
可是有些东西留了下来。
Kěshì yǒuxiē dōngxi liú le xiàlái.
But some things stayed.
我还是会在五点钟自己醒来。
Wǒ háishi huì zài wǔ diǎn zhōng zìjǐ xǐng lái.
I still wake up by myself at five o'clock.
不开灯，躺在黑暗里听外面的声音。
Bù kāi dēng, tǎng zài hēi’àn lǐ tīng wàimiàn de shēngyīn.
Without turning on the light, I lie in the dark listening outside.
先是鸟叫，然后是最早的一班公交车。
Xiān shì niǎo jiào, ránhòu shì zuì zǎo de yī bān gōngjiāochē.
First the birds, then the earliest bus.
那个时刻很安静，也很富有。
Nàge shíkè hěn ānjìng, yě hěn fùyǒu.
That moment is quiet, and also rich.
我不再起床了，可是我知道它在那里。
Wǒ bù zài qǐchuáng le, kěshì wǒ zhīdào tā zài nàlǐ.
I no longer get up, but I know it is there.
早起教我的不是管住自己这件事。
Zǎo qǐ jiāo wǒ de bù shì guǎn zhù zìjǐ zhè jiàn shì.
What early rising taught me was not self discipline.
是一天开始以前，世界原来是这个样子。
Shì yī tiān kāishǐ yǐqián, shìjiè yuánlái shì zhège yàngzi.
It was what the world looks like before the day begins.
今天早上，我又在五点钟醒了。
Jīntiān zǎoshang, wǒ yòu zài wǔ diǎn zhōng xǐng le.
This morning, I woke again at five.
我躺在床上，听见楼下有人在扫地。
Wǒ tǎng zài chuáng shàng, tīngjiàn lóu xià yǒu rén zài sǎo de.
Lying in bed, I heard someone sweeping downstairs.
一下，一下，不快，也不慢。
Yíxià, yíxià, bù kuài, yě bù màn.
One stroke, then another, neither fast nor slow.
我没有起来，可是我笑了。
Wǒ méiyǒu qǐlái, kěshì wǒ xiào le.
I did not get up, but I smiled.