お肉、大好きなんです。週に１回か２回は、完全肉食の料理を注文します。中国の場合、完全肉食でなくても、お野菜とお肉がミックスされていたりするから、それもあわせたらものすごい量のお肉を食べているんじゃないですかね。

旦那さんとの出会いにも、お肉が思い出になっています。
当時の私は北京大学の大学院生だったんですけど、学校の近くにすっごくおいしい広東料理のレストランがあったんです。そのお店の「食神飯」という、ご飯の上にチャーシューと目玉焼きとお野菜をのせる料理が私の大好物で、その日も幸せだなぁと思いながら食べていたんですね。そしたら隣りのテーブルにいた彼が「私は悪い人ではない。あなたに興味がある」と英語で話しかけてきて。私は日本語を専攻していたのですけど、同じ学科の友達からかかってきた電話には日本語でしゃべって、中国の友達からの電話では広東語だったので、ナニ人かわからなかったんでしょう（笑）。彼としては、あやしい人と思われたくなかったのか、身分証まで見せてくれて。お話したら彼も肉好きだとわかって盛り上がって、しかも彼は彼で「食神飯」を頼んでいたんですよ。いまでも、「食神飯」を食べると、あの時のことを思い出します。

I just love meat. Once or twice a week, I would absolutely order the meat-only diet. Considering that in China, vegetables are also cooked with meats, it seems to me clear that I eat a lot of meats every day.

One of my first memories of my husband is also connected with meats.

At that time, I was a master student at Beijing University, and there was a great Cantonese cuisine restaurant near the school. The 'God of Cookery Rice (食神飯),' which has a braised pork, fried egg and vegetables on the top of the rice, was my favorite menu, and one day I was eating it, experiencing a moment of pleasant fullness of the food. My husband was next to me at that time, and all of a sudden he started talking to me in English, saying "I am not such a stranger. I am interested in you." As I majored in Japanese, sometimes I answered the phone in Japanese for friends from the same department, and the other time I spoke Cantonese for Chinese friends, so he might have no idea where I was from (laughter). Showing his ID card, it seemed like he wished I would have not regarded him as a stranger. Having a conversation together, I was excited to figure out that he also loves the meat, and that he even ordered the menu I like the most: 'the God of Cookery Rice.' Whenever we eat the food, it reminds me of the moment.

なぜこんなにも、お肉が好きなのか？
せっかくの機会なので、人生をお肉で振り返ってみます。
「おいしい」にまつわる一番古い記憶は、小学校５年生の時でした。おばあちゃんのおうちへ遊びに行った時に出会ってしまったんです、フライドチキンというかつてないおいしい食べ物に。ひとくち目を味わった瞬間に「今後、これ以外のものは食べない！」と思えたほどでした。以来、鶏肉が一番好きですけど、牛も豚も鴨肉も全部好き。羊肉ぐらいですね、ちょっと苦手なのは。

日本に来た時の楽しみは、もちろん「和牛」です。昨日も焼肉屋さんへ連れて行ってもらったんですけど、中国の牛肉に比べると信じられないぐらいやわらかいです。ハラミにワサビを付けて食べた時なんて、「うはー！」ってなっちゃいました（笑）。

日本はお肉だけでなく、書籍や書店も素敵です。
私の仕事は出版関係で、オリジナル書籍を発行しつつ、夏目漱石や芥川龍之介といった日本人作家の名著を中国語に翻訳してリリースしてもいます。日本の作家の言葉で一番好きなのは、宮沢賢治さんの「雨ニモマケズ」。がんばろうって思える素敵な言葉です。人生で負けそうになったことですか？　あります。ネギがダメ。あれを食べると気分が悪くなる。ネギにだけは絶対に勝てる気がしません（笑）。

日本の書店では、店頭POPが好き。中国の書店でもおすすめコーナーのような場所はあるのですが、出版社の人間が売ろう売ろうとしている棚なんです。温度で言うと冷たい。でも、日本の店頭POPは、書店員さんが実際に読んで本当に感動したことをお客さんに伝えようとしている。その気持ちがあの手書き文字から伝わってきます。あたたかい。

Why am I such an avid fan of meat?

Well, I got a chance, so I will reflect back my life and meat.

My greatest food moment of all time was back in 5th grade in elementary school. When visiting my grandmother's house, I happened to run into the fried chicken - It was the best I have ever tasted in my life. After one bite of the food, I even thought like "I would want to eat nothing but this!" Since then, chicken has been my favorite all the time - beef, pork and duck, these meats are all fabulous, except lamb, which I don't like the most.

As for me, a culinary journey to Japan was to taste Wagyu (Japanese beef), of course. Yesterday, I also went to Yakiniku restaurant, and it was so tender I couldn't believe it was a beef, comparing to the Chinese beef. Seasoning with Wasabi, the skirt steak was so delicious I couldn't resist.

While Japan has a superb meat, the books as well as the bookstores are also spectacular.

Working for a publishing company, I involved in translating Japanese famous novels, such as Sosuke Natsume and Ryunosuke Akutagawa, to Chinese ones.
Involved in publishing the books, I work for a publishing company, and publishing the books. The epigram I like the most is Kenji Miyazawa's「Be not defeated by the rain.」This remarkable quotation keeps me motivated and inspired. Have I ever felt defeated in my life? Yes, I have - Green onion, which makes me feel bad. I will never win the game with a green onion (laughter).

Of the bookstores located in Japan, 'Store's POP (Point of Purchase Advertising)' would be my number one choice. Although the recommendation sections can be found in Chinese bookstores, it is like written by a salesman from a publishing company. Speaking of temperature, it is very cold. However, Japanese POP is different - they convey the meaningful messages to express the heartfelt feelings of the employees for each recommended book. You can sense the feelings from the handwriting. It has a warm heart.

もし、お肉と本のどちらかひとつだけを選ばなきゃいけないとしたらですか？　残酷な質問ですね（笑）。でも、選べないですよ、そのふたつは。お肉も本も私は本当に大好きですし、「栄養」という共通点があると思うんです。いい本にめぐりあえると、頭に栄養がいきわたるように感動するし、おいしいお肉は体が元気になって栄養になる。素敵な装丁の本に出会うと読む前からわくわくできますし、日本式の焼肉が目の前でジュウジュウと音を立ててくれると、心から癒されますから。

Should I make a choice between meat and book?

How cruel of you (laughter)! Nevertheless, I won’t be able to make up my mind.Meat and book are my favorite things, and they have in common in terms of「nutrition.」 When running into the outstanding book, I am very touched and impressed like it optimizes the flow of nutrients to my head, just as eating a delicious meat delivers vital nutrients to keep my body healthy. The book cover intrigued me, making my heart flutter, just as sizzling noise of the Japanese Yakiniku grilled in the pan in front of me heals my soul.