What can a barber learn from fifty years of cutting hair? Turns out, quite a lot about human nature.
Key vocab
门口 – ménkǒu – entrance/doorway
客人 – kèrén – customer/guest
孙子 – sūnzi – grandson
简单 – jiǎndān – simple
年轻 – niánqīng – young
中年 – zhōngnián – middle-aged
剪刀 – jiǎndāo – scissors
湿 – shī – wet/moist
李师傅的五十年
李师傅是一个理发师。他今年七十岁了。他从二十岁开始剪头发，已经五十年了。
他的店很小。门口有一个旧的红白蓝的灯。窗户上写着三个字：”李师傅”。
客人坐下，李师傅就开始剪。他不问”你要什么样的”。他看一看，就知道了。
“你最近忙吗？”他会问。
或者：”你妈妈好吗？”
或者，他什么都不问。只是剪。
很多客人三十年前就来这里。现在他们带自己的儿子来。有的还带孙子来。
“李师傅，”一个老客人说，”五十年了。你看了多少人？”
李师傅笑了。”我没数过。”
“你学到了什么？”
李师傅想了想。
“我学到，”他说，”人很简单。”
“简单？”
“对。年轻人想变好看。中年人想变年轻。老年人——”
他停了一下。
“老年人只想有人听他们说话。”
老客人笑了，但是眼睛有一点湿。
“那你呢，李师傅？你想什么？”
李师傅看看自己的手。这双手剪了五十年的头发。
“我？”他说，”我想——明天还有客人来。”
外面，红白蓝的灯慢慢地转。
里面，李师傅又拿起了剪刀。
Master Li’s Fifty Years
Master Li is a barber. He is seventy years old this year. He started cutting hair at twenty, and it has already been fifty years.
His shop is very small. At the entrance, there is an old red, white, and blue lamp. On the window are written three characters: ‘Master Li.’
When a customer sits down, Master Li starts cutting. He doesn’t ask ‘What style do you want?’ He takes a look, and he knows.
‘Have you been busy lately?’ he would ask.
Or: ‘How is your mother?’
Or, he doesn’t ask anything at all. Just cuts.
Many customers started coming here thirty years ago. Now they bring their own sons. Some even bring their grandsons.
‘Master Li,’ an old customer said, ‘Fifty years. How many people have you seen?’
Master Li smiled. ‘I’ve never counted.’
‘What have you learned?’
Master Li thought for a moment.
‘I’ve learned,’ he said, ‘that people are simple.’
‘Simple?’
‘Yes. Young people want to look better. Middle-aged people want to look younger. Old people—’
He paused for a moment.
‘Old people just want someone to listen to them talk.’
The old customer laughed, but his eyes were a little wet.
‘What about you, Master Li? What do you want?’
Master Li looked at his own hands. These hands had cut hair for fifty years.
‘Me?’ he said, ‘I want—customers to still come tomorrow.’
Outside, the red, white, and blue lamp slowly turns.
Inside, Master Li picked up the scissors again.
