How books can open your mind | Lisa Bu

Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Xosé María Moreno Reviewer: Xusto Rodriguez

So I was trained to become a gymnast

Formáronme para ser ximnasta

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

durante dous anos en Hunan, China, nos anos 70.

When I was in the first grade, the government

Cando estaba en primeiro de primaria, o goberno

wanted to transfer me to a school for athletes,

quixo trasladarme a un escola para atletas

all expenses paid.

a gastos pagos.

But my tiger mother said, "No."

Pero a miña esixente nai dixo: "non."

My parents wanted me to become

Meus pais querían que fose

an engineer like them.

enxeñeira coma eles.

After surviving the Cultural Revolution,

Despois de sobreviviren á Revolución Cultural

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

crían firmemente que só hai un camiño seguro á felicidade:

a safe and well-paid job.

un traballo estábel e ben pagado.

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

Non importa se me gusta ou non o traballo.

But my dream was to become a Chinese opera singer.

Pero o meu soño era ser cantante de ópera chinesa.

That is me playing my imaginary piano.

Aquí estou tocando o meu piano imaxinario.

An opera singer must start training young

Unha cantante de ópera debe empezar a practicar desde noviña

to learn acrobatics,

a aprender acrobacias,

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

así que fixen todo o que puiden para ir a unha escola de ópera.

I even wrote to the school principal

Ata lle escribín ao director da escola

and the host of a radio show.

a ao presentador dun programa de radio.

But no adults liked the idea.

Mais a idea non lles gustou aos adultos.

No adults believed I was serious.

Ningún adulto creu que ía en serio.

Only my friends supported me, but they were kids,

Só me apoiaron os amigos, pero eran nenos,

just as powerless as I was.

con tan pouco poder coma min.

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

Así que con 15 anos,

[Graduación de Secundaria]

souben que era moi vella para practicar.

My dream would never come true.

O meu soño nunca se realizaría.

I was afraid that for the rest of my life

Tiña medo de que durante o resto da miña vida

some second-class happiness

a miña mellor aspiración fose

would be the best I could hope for.

unha especia de felicidade de segunda clase.

But that's so unfair.

Pero iso é tan inxusto!

So I was determined to find another calling.

Así que estaba decidida a atopar outra vocación.

Nobody around to teach me? Fine.

Ninguén preto de min que me aprendese? Ben.

I turned to books.

Busquei nos libros.

I satisfied my hunger for parental advice

Satisfixen a miña fame de asesoramento parental

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

neste libro sobre unha familia de escritores e músicos.

[Correspondencia na familia Fou Lei]

I found my role model of an independent woman

Atopei o meu modelo de muller independente

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

cando a tradición no confucionismo esixe obendiencia.

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

Aprendín a ser eficiente neste libro:

And I was inspired to study abroad after reading these.

[Por ducias é máis barato]

Inspiráronme para estudar no estranxeiro:

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

[Obras completas de Sanmao] [Leccións da Historia, de Nan Huaijin]

I came to the U.S. in 1995,

Cheguei a EUA en 1995,

so which books did I read here first?

Que libros lin primeiro?

Books banned in China, of course.

Os prohibidos en China, claro.

"The Good Earth" is about Chinese peasant life.

A boa terra trata da vida campesiña chinesa.

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

E non era axeitado para a propaganda. Ao papo.

The Bible is interesting, but strange.

A Biblia é interesante, pero rara.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

That's a topic for a different day.

Ese é un tema para outro día.

But the fifth commandment gave me an epiphany:

Mais o quinto mandamento supuxo unha revelación:

"You shall honor your father and mother."

"Honrarás a teu pai e a túa nai."

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

"Honrar", pensei. "Iso é moi diferente,

and better, than obey."

e mellor, que obedecer".

So it becomes my tool to climb out

Foi a miña ferramenta para librarme

of this Confucian guilt trap

da trampa da culpa confucionista

and to restart my relationship with my parents.

e reiniciar a miña relación cos meus pais.

Encountering a new culture also started my habit

Expoñerme a unha nova cultura activoume ademais o hábito

of comparative reading.

da lectura comparada.

It offers many insights.

Ofrece moitas perspectivas.

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

Por exemplo, ao principio percibía este mapa como fóra de lugar

because this is what Chinese students grew up with.

porque co que estamos familiarizados os estudantes chineses é con este.

It had never occurred to me,

Nunca se me ocorrería

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

que China non estivese no centro do mundo.

A map actually carries somebody's view.

Un mapa leva dentro o punto de vista de alguén.

Comparative reading actually is nothing new.

A literatura comparada non é algo novo.

It's a standard practice in the academic world.

É unha práctica común no mundo académico.

There are even research fields

Hai incluso campos de investigación

such as comparative religion and comparative literature.

como a relixión comparada ou a literatura comparada.

Compare and contrast gives scholars

Comparar e contrastar dálle ao profesorado

a more complete understanding of a topic.

un entendemento máis completo sobre algo.

So I thought, well, if comparative reading

Así que pensei: vaites, se a literatura comparada

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

funciona para investigar, por que non para a vida cotiá?

So I started reading books in pairs.

Así que empecei a ler libros a pares.

So they can be about people --

Poden tratar sobre xente

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

who are involved in the same event,

implicada no mesmo asunto,

or friends with shared experiences.

ou eran amigos con experiencias compartidas.

["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)

Tamén comparei as mesmas historias en diferentes xéneros

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

(Risas)

or similar stories from different cultures,

ou historias parecidas de culturas distintas

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

como fixo Joseph Campbell no seu marabilloso The power of Myth.

For example, both the Christ and the Buddha

Por exemplo, Cristo e Buda

went through three temptations.

afrontaron tres tentacións.

For the Christ, the temptations

Para Cristo, as tentacións

are economic, political and spiritual.

son económicas, políticas e espirituais.

For the Buddha, they are all psychological:

Para Buda, son psicolóxicas:

lust, fear and social duty -- interesting.

luxuria, medo e deber social --interesante.

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

Se sabes outra lingua é ademais divertido ler

to read your favorite books in two languages.

os teus libros favoritos en dous idiomas.

["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.

En lugar de perderme na tradución, vexo moito do que beneficiarme.

For example, it's through translation that I realized

Por exemplo, foi grazas á tradución que me decatei

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

de que "felicidade" en chinés significa literalmente "rápida alegría". Uau!

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

"Noiva" en chinés significa literalmente "nova nai". Mmmm

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Books have given me a magic portal to connect with people

Os libros déronme un acceso máxico para conectar con xente

of the past and the present.

do pasado e do presente

I know I shall never feel lonely or powerless again.

Sei que nunca máis me sentirei soa e desvalida.

Having a dream shattered really is nothing

Ter un soño roto non é nada

compared to what many others have suffered.

comparado co que outros levan sufrido.

I have come to believe that coming true

Decateime de que a súa realización

is not the only purpose of a dream.

non é o único propósito dun soño.

Its most important purpose is to get us in touch

O seu propósito principal é manternos en contacto

with where dreams come from,

co lugar de onde veñen os soños,

where passion comes from, where happiness comes from.

de onde vén a paixón, de onde vén a felicidade.

Even a shattered dream can do that for you.

Incluso un soño roto poder facer isto por ti.

So because of books, I'm here today,

Así que hoxe estou aquí grazas aos libros,

happy, living again with a purpose and a clarity,

feliz, vivindo outra vez cun propósito e con lucidez,

most of the time.

a maior parte do tempo.

So may books be always with you.

Que os libros vos acompañen por sempre.

Thank you.

Grazas

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Thank you. (Applause)

Grazas

Thank you. (Applause)

Grazas