Translation: Day 6

蒙巴纳斯也以文学咖啡馆众多而著称。“丁香”“精英”等咖啡馆是诗人波德莱尔、美国作家米勒、海明威等人经常光顾的地方。

许多这些当年的“文艺青年”曾是咖啡馆内不可或缺的一部分，他们在这里交谈切磋，相互影响，思想和激情常常碰撞出灿烂的艺术火花，创作出不同凡响的艺术作品。

时至今日，即便是深夜走进这些咖啡馆，常常能看到坐在某个角落埋头写作的知名或不知名的作家。有人打趣说，只要在圣日耳曼的咖啡馆喝上一杯咖啡，就可以大致了解巴黎文学界一天的生活。

咖啡馆与法国文学紧密相连。咖啡馆不嫌弃这些经济拮据、消费少的穷作家。“双偶”“利普”“花神”等咖啡馆还设立了自己的文学奖项，每年奖励并鼓励那些埋头创作的年轻作家。
法国人曾对外国旅行家作过一个调查，被问及巴黎最吸引人之处是什么时，许多人的回答不是卢浮宫、埃菲尔铁塔等风景名胜，而是散落在巴黎大街小巷的咖啡馆。

有人曾把咖啡馆比作法国的骨架，说如果拆了它们，法国就会散架。徐志摩曾说，“如果巴黎少了咖啡馆，恐怕会变得一无可爱。”

Montparnasse is also famous for having a lot of literary cafes. Cafes such as “La Closerie des Lilas” and “Le Select” were frequented by the poet Baudelaire, along with American writers Miller and Hemingway.

At that time, a lot of these “artistic youths” were indispensable parts of the cafe. They used to go there to chat and compare notes, and as they influenced each other, the clash of their ideologies and passion led to bright artistic sparks, creating extraordinary works of art.

Even today, if you venture into these cafes late at night, you can see famous authors or not so famous authors sitting in a corner furiously writing. Some people joke that all you have to do is drink a cup of coffee in a Bourg Saint-Germain cafe in order to understand what living a day in the literary world of Paris feels like.

Cafes are intimately connected with French literature. Cafes are certainly not averse to these poor writers who don't spend a lot of money. “Les Deux Magots”, “Lipp” and “Café de Flore” have even established their own annual literary awards to reward and encourage hardworking young writers. The French once conducted a survey of foreign tourists, asking them about Paris' most attractive feature. Instead of famous tourist attractions such as the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral, many people said it was the cafes that line the streets and alleys of Paris.

Some people have likened cafes to the backbone of France, and say that without them, the country would collapse. Xu Zhimo once said that “If Paris didn't have cafes, I'm afraid that it would lose its lustre”.