What kind of person should a writer be?
Let us look at how three great writers answered this question.
Lu Xun once said that, in his view, the first responsibility of a writer is neither to praise nor to take sides — but simply not to tell lies.
You don’t have to be a saint, but you must not write for falsehood.
You may not be able to solve problems, but at the very least, you should bring them into the light.
Ba Jin believed that writing is not about proving who is right, but about remaining true to the “human being” within one’s own conscience.
If the characters in a work are merely tools, and suffering is reduced to material, then no matter how correct the position may seem, it is not literature.
Wang Xiaobo argued that the most important quality of a writer is neither style nor passion, but independent thinking.
As for me, I hold this view:
A true writer is not merely writing — they are creating.
They strive to build works that endure like architectural wonders, yet spread far more widely and diversely. Unlike monuments, such works do not consume public funds or taxes; instead, they are constructed from a lifetime of a writer’s thought, effort, and conscience.
Teachers, doctors, lawyers, and journalists — though they all write in their professions — are primarily engaged in writing, not creating. Society holds them to strict professional ethical standards.
Writers, on the other hand, are often independent and free, and expectations toward them are frequently overlooked.
Yet it is precisely because writers are not athletes, not referees, not organizers, not propagandists, and not merchants that they should be something else:
They should be the ones who hold the bottom line of society.