for two years in Hunan, China in the 1970s.

我在中國湖南練過兩年體操

When I was in the first grade, the government

當我上小學一年級時

wanted to transfer me to a school for athletes,

政府想讓我轉學去體校

all expenses paid.

一切免費

But my tiger mother said, "No."

但我虎媽說「不行」

My parents wanted me to become

我父母希望我長大後

an engineer like them.

像他們一樣當工程師

After surviving the Cultural Revolution,

在文革中倖存下來後

they firmly believed there's only one sure way to happiness:

他們堅定地認為通往幸福的路 只有一條

a safe and well-paid job.

即是一個穩定高薪的工作

It is not important if I like the job or not.

至於我喜不喜歡那個工作並不重要

But my dream was to become a Chinese opera singer.

但我的夢想卻是成為黃梅戲演員

That is me playing my imaginary piano.

那是我在彈假想的鋼琴

An opera singer must start training young

戲曲演員必須從小開始

to learn acrobatics,

學身段功夫

so I tried everything I could to go to opera school.

我想盡了一切辦法 希望能去黃梅戲學校

I even wrote to the school principal

甚至寫信給戲校校長

and the host of a radio show.

和一個電台節目主持人

But no adults liked the idea.

但沒一個大人喜歡那個主意

No adults believed I was serious.

沒一個大人相信我是認真的

Only my friends supported me, but they were kids,

只有朋友們支持我 但他們也是小孩

just as powerless as I was.

和我一樣無能為力

So at age 15, I knew I was too old to be trained.

十五歲時 我知道自己要學戲已經年紀太大

My dream would never come true.

我的夢想再也不能實現

I was afraid that for the rest of my life

我擔心在餘下的一生裡

some second-class happiness

自己的使命

would be the best I could hope for.

就是得到些二流幸福而已

But that's so unfair.

那太不公平了

So I was determined to find another calling.

我暗下決心要為自己尋找另一個使命

Nobody around to teach me? Fine.

周圍無人賜教？沒什麼大不了

I turned to books.

我從書中學習

I satisfied my hunger for parental advice

《傅雷家書》滿足了我對長輩教誨的期盼

from this book by a family of writers and musicians.["Correspondence in the Family of Fou Lei"]

寫書的傅家是一個作家、 音樂家薈萃的家庭

I found my role model of an independent woman

我從《簡愛》這本書中找到了 獨立女性的榜樣

when Confucian tradition requires obedience.["Jane Eyre"]

儘管儒家傳統教人聽話順從

And I learned to be efficient from this book.["Cheaper by the Dozen"]

我從《效率專家爸爸》這本書中 學會高效率

And I was inspired to study abroad after reading these.

這幾本書燃起了我對出國深造的渴望

["Complete Works of Sanmao" (aka Echo Chan)] ["Lessons From History" by Nan Huaijin]

（《三毛全集》、 南懷瑾的《歷史的經驗》）

I came to the U.S. in 1995,

我1995年來美國

so which books did I read here first?

在美國我首先讀什麼書呢？

Books banned in China, of course.

當然是中國的禁書

"The Good Earth" is about Chinese peasant life.

《大地》講的是中國農民的故事

That's just not convenient for propaganda. Got it.

真實得不方便用來做政治宣傳， 懂了吧

The Bible is interesting, but strange.

《聖經》很有趣，但也很奇怪

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

That's a topic for a different day.

那個話題他日再聊

But the fifth commandment gave me an epiphany:

但十誡中的第五誡給了我靈感：

"You shall honor your father and mother."

「你應榮耀你的父母」

"Honor," I said. "That's so different,

我心裡一動，「榮耀」不等於

and better, than obey."

而且遠勝於「服從」

So it becomes my tool to climb out

它成為我爬出

of this Confucian guilt trap

儒家負罪感的工具

and to restart my relationship with my parents.

讓我重建與父母的關係

Encountering a new culture also started my habit

來到一個新文化環境

of comparative reading.

也促成我比較閱讀的習慣

It offers many insights.

它讓人讀得更深刻

For example, I found this map out of place at first

舉個例子，第一次看到這幅地圖時 我覺得它有些怪

because this is what Chinese students grew up with.

因為這才是中國大陸學生 從小到大使用的世界地圖

It had never occurred to me,

我之前從未意識到

China doesn't have to be at the center of the world.

原來中國不一定非要位於 世界地圖中央

A map actually carries somebody's view.

原來地圖帶著某種視角

Comparative reading actually is nothing new.

比較閱讀並不新鮮

It's a standard practice in the academic world.

它是學術界裡的一種標準做法

There are even research fields

比較文學、比較宗教學

such as comparative religion and comparative literature.

甚至成為專門的研究領域

Compare and contrast gives scholars

對比對照讓學者們

a more complete understanding of a topic.

對一個課題有更全面的了解

So I thought, well, if comparative reading

我琢磨著，既然比較閱讀對研究有用

works for research, why not do it in daily life too?

為什麼不把它用於日常生活中呢？

So I started reading books in pairs.

我開始把書成對來讀

So they can be about people --

它們可以是關於

["Benjamin Franklin" by Walter Isaacson]["John Adams" by David McCullough] --

（《本傑明•富蘭克林》、 《約翰•亞當斯》）

who are involved in the same event,

同一事件的不同當事人

or friends with shared experiences.

或兩個有共同經歷的朋友

["Personal History" by Katharine Graham]["The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life," by Alice Schroeder]

（凱瑟琳·格雷厄姆的《個人歷史》、 巴菲特傳記《雪球》）

I also compare the same stories in different genres -- (Laughter)

我還把故事相同但 文體不同的書做對比

[Holy Bible: King James Version]["Lamb" by Chrisopher Moore] --

（《聖經》、小說《羔羊》）

or similar stories from different cultures,

或對比那些來自不同文化的相似故事

as Joseph Campbell did in his wonderful book.["The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell]

象約瑟夫·坎貝爾在其傑作 《神話的力量》中所做的那樣

For example, both the Christ and the Buddha

舉個例子，耶穌和佛祖

went through three temptations.

都經歷了三大誘惑

For the Christ, the temptations

耶穌經歷的是

are economic, political and spiritual.

經濟、政治和精神誘惑

For the Buddha, they are all psychological:

佛祖經歷的則都是心理誘惑

lust, fear and social duty -- interesting.

慾望、恐懼和社會責任 — 有意思

So if you know a foreign language, it's also fun

如果你懂外語

to read your favorite books in two languages.

把你喜歡的書的兩個語言版本 對比讀也很有意思

["The Way of Chuang Tzu" Thomas Merton]["Tao: The Watercourse Way" Alan Watts]

（托馬斯·默頓翻譯的《莊子》、 阿倫·瓦特翻譯的《道德經》）

Instead of lost in translation, I found there is much to gain.

人們常說翻譯總有缺失 我卻發現翻譯也可以帶來收穫

For example, it's through translation that I realized

舉個例子，是翻譯使我意識到

"happiness" in Chinese literally means "fast joy." Huh!

原來中文「快樂」一詞的字面意思 可解為「快速歡樂」，呃！

"Bride" in Chinese literally means "new mother." Uh-oh.

中文「新娘」一詞的字面意思 可解為「新媽媽」，天啊！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Books have given me a magic portal to connect with people

書已成為我與古人今人溝通的

of the past and the present.

一個神奇門戶

I know I shall never feel lonely or powerless again.

讓我再不會覺得孤單無助

Having a dream shattered really is nothing

與其他人的苦難相比

compared to what many others have suffered.

夢想破滅算不了什麼

I have come to believe that coming true

我漸漸意識到

is not the only purpose of a dream.

美夢成真並非夢想的唯一目的

Its most important purpose is to get us in touch

它最重要目的是讓我們

with where dreams come from,

與夢想來源的地方

where passion comes from, where happiness comes from.

熱情來源的地方和快樂來源的地方 保持聯繫

Even a shattered dream can do that for you.

哪怕一個破滅的夢想也能讓你做到

So because of books, I'm here today,

因為書，我今天得以在此

happy, living again with a purpose and a clarity,

在大部分時候，快樂地活著

most of the time.

生活的目標和意義重新變得明確

So may books be always with you.

希望書永遠與你相伴

Thank you.

謝謝

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Thank you. (Applause)

謝謝（掌聲）

Thank you. (Applause)

謝謝（掌聲）