How books can open your mind | Lisa Bu

Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Jacques du Plessis Reviewer: Ingrid Lezar

So I was trained to become a gymnast

Ek's opgelei om 'n gimnas te word

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

vir twee jaar in Hunan, Sjina in die 1970's.

When I was in the first grade, the government

In graad 1, wou die regering

wanted to transfer me to a school for athletes,

my na 'n skool vir atlete oorplaas --

all expenses paid.

alle kostes betaal.

But my tiger mother said, "No."

Maar my tier-ma het gesê: "Nee."

My parents wanted me to become

My ouers wou hê ek moes

an engineer like them.

'n ingenieur soos hulle word.

After surviving the Cultural Revolution,

Hulle't die Kulturele Rewolusie oorleef

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

en dus vas geglo aan één weg tot geluk:

a safe and well-paid job.

'n veilige en goed-betaalde werk.

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

Dis nie belangrik of ek daarvan hou nie.

But my dream was to become a Chinese opera singer.

Maar my droom was om 'n Sjinese operasangeres te word.

That is me playing my imaginary piano.

Hier speel ek my denkbeeldige klavier.

An opera singer must start training young

'n Operasangeres moet van jongs af

to learn acrobatics,

akrobatiek begin leer,

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

so ek't als probeer om operaskool toe te gaan.

I even wrote to the school principal

Ek't selfs aan die skoolhoof geskryf

and the host of a radio show.

en aan die aanbieder van 'n radioprogram.

But no adults liked the idea.

Maar geen volwassenes het van die idee gehou nie.

No adults believed I was serious.

Geen volwassenes het geglo ek was ernstig nie.

Only my friends supported me, but they were kids,

Net my vriende het my ondersteun, maar hulle was kinders,

just as powerless as I was.

net so magteloos soos ek.

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

Op 15 het ek geweet dat ek te oud is om opgelei te word.

My dream would never come true.

My droom sou nooit waar word nie.

I was afraid that for the rest of my life

Ek was bevrees dat vir die res van my lewe

some second-class happiness

'n tweedeklas geluk die beste was

would be the best I could hope for.

waarop ek kon hoop.

But that's so unfair.

Maar dis so onregverdig.

So I was determined to find another calling.

So was ek vasbeslote om nog 'n roeping te vind.

Nobody around to teach me? Fine.

Niemand om my te leer nie? Wel, gaaf.

I turned to books.

Dan keer ek my tot boeke.

I satisfied my hunger for parental advice

Ek't my honger vir ouerlike advies gestil

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

met 'n boek deur 'n familie van skrywers en musikante. ["Correspondence in the Family of Fou Lei"]

I found my role model of an independent woman

Ek't my rolmodel van 'n onafhanklike vrou gevind,

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

al verlang Konfusiaanse tradisie gehoorsaamheid. ["Jane Eyre"]

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

En ek't uit dié boek geleer om effektief te wees. ["Cheaper by the Dozen"]

And I was inspired to study abroad after reading these.

En ek wou oorsee gaan studeer nadat ek dié gelees het.

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

["Complete Works of Sanmao" (al. Echo Chan)] ["Lessons from History" Nan Huaijin]

I came to the U.S. in 1995,

Ek't in 1995 Amerika toe gekom,

so which books did I read here first?

so watter boeke het ek eerste hier gelees?

Books banned in China, of course.

Boeke verban in Sjina, natuurlik.

"The Good Earth" is about Chinese peasant life.

"The Good Earth" is oor Sjinese landelike lewe.

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

Dis net nie gerieflik vir propaganda nie. Ek snap dit.

The Bible is interesting, but strange.

Die Bybel is interestant, maar aardig.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

That's a topic for a different day.

Dis 'n onderwerp vir 'n ander dag.

But the fifth commandment gave me an epiphany:

Maar die vyfde gebod was 'n openbaring:

"You shall honor your father and mother."

"Jy moet jou vader en jou moeder eer."

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

"Eerbiedig," het ek gesê,

"Dis so anders, en beter, as om te gehoorsaam."

and better, than obey."

So it becomes my tool to climb out

Dis toe my werktuig

om uit Confucius se skuldgevoelstrik te klim

of this Confucian guilt trap

and to restart my relationship with my parents.

en my verhouding met my ouers te hervat.

Encountering a new culture also started my habit

Blootstelling aan 'n nuwe kultuur het ook my gewoonte begin

of comparative reading.

om vergelykend te lees.

It offers many insights.

Dis baie insigryk.

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

Ek't byvoorbeeld hierdie kaart eers uit plek gevind

because this is what Chinese students grew up with.

omdat dít is waarmee Sjinese studente groot word.

It had never occurred to me,

Ek't nooit besef

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

dat Sjina nie die middelpunt van die wêreld hoef te wees nie.

A map actually carries somebody's view.

'n Kaart dra waarlik iemand se sienswyse.

Comparative reading actually is nothing new.

Vergelykende nalees is niks nuut nie.

It's a standard practice in the academic world.

Dis standaard in die akademiese wêreld.

There are even research fields

Daar's selfs navorsingsgebiede

such as comparative religion and comparative literature.

soos vergelykende godsdienswetenskap en vergelykende letterkunde.

Compare and contrast gives scholars

Vergelyking en kontras gee geleerdes

a more complete understanding of a topic.

'n meer volledige begrip van 'n onderwerp.

So I thought, well, if comparative reading

So, as vergelykende nalees werk vir navorsing,

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

waarom nie ook vir alledaagse lewe nie?

So I started reading books in pairs.

So't ek begin om boeke in pare te lees.

So they can be about people --

Hulle kan oor mense wees --

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

who are involved in the same event,

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

betrokke in dieselfde gebeurtenis,

or friends with shared experiences.

of vriende met gemeenskaplike ervaringe.

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

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

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

Ek vergelyk ook dieselfde stories in verskillende genres -- (Gelag)

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

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

or similar stories from different cultures,

of soortgelyke stories van verskillende kulture,

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

soos Joseph Campbell gedoen het in sy wonderlike boek. ["The Power of Myth" Joseph Campbell]

For example, both the Christ and the Buddha

Byvoorbeeld, beide Christus en die Boeddha

went through three temptations.

het drie versoekings weerstaan.

For the Christ, the temptations

Vir Christus was die versoekings

are economic, political and spiritual.

ekonomies, polities en geestelik.

For the Buddha, they are all psychological:

Vir die Boeddha was alles psigies:

lust, fear and social duty -- interesting.

wellus, vrees en sosiale plig -- interessant.

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

As jy 'n vreemde taal ken,

to read your favorite books in two languages.

is dit ook pret om jou gunsteling boeke in twee tale te lees.

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

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

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

In plaas van verlore in vertaling, vind ek daar is baie om by te baat.

For example, it's through translation that I realized

Ek't deur vertaling besef dat

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

"geluk" in Sjinees letterlik "vinnige plesier" beteken. Nou toe.

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

"Bruid" beteken letterlik "nuwe ma." Ô-ô.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Books have given me a magic portal to connect with people

Boeke het my 'n magiese poort gegee om met mense in verbinding te tree,

of the past and the present.

uit die verlede en die hede.

I know I shall never feel lonely or powerless again.

Ek sal nooit weer alleen of magteloos voel nie.

Having a dream shattered really is nothing

Om 'n droom verbrysel te hê is niks

compared to what many others have suffered.

in vergelyking met baie ander se lyding nie.

I have come to believe that coming true

Ek glo dat die verwerkliking

is not the only purpose of a dream.

nie die enigste doel van 'n droom is nie.

Its most important purpose is to get us in touch

Sy belangrikste doel is om ons in voeling te bring

with where dreams come from,

met waar drome vandaan kom,

where passion comes from, where happiness comes from.

waar passie vandaan kom, waar geluk vandaan kom.

Even a shattered dream can do that for you.

Selfs 'n verpletterde droom kan dit vir jou doen.

So because of books, I'm here today,

As gevolg van boeke is ek vandag hier,

happy, living again with a purpose and a clarity,

gelukkig, lewend met 'n doel en klaarheid,

most of the time.

meeste van die tyd.

So may books be always with you.

So mag boeke altyd met julle wees.

Thank you.

(Applause)

Dankie.

(Applous)

Thank you. (Applause)

Dankie. (Applous)

Thank you. (Applause)

Dankie. (Applous)