How books can open your mind | Lisa Bu

Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Prevoditelj: Mladen Barešić Recezent: Jonathan Rebec

So I was trained to become a gymnast

Dvije sam godine trenirala gimnastiku

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

u Hunanu, u Kini, tijekom 1970-ih.

When I was in the first grade, the government

Dok sam još bila u prvom razredu, vlada

wanted to transfer me to a school for athletes,

me željela priključiti sportskoj školi -

all expenses paid.

svi troškovi plaćeni.

But my tiger mother said, "No."

Ali, moja majka-tigrica rekla je: "Ne."

My parents wanted me to become

Moji su roditelji željeli da postanem

an engineer like them.

inženjerka, poput njih.

After surviving the Cultural Revolution,

Pošto su preživjeli Kulturnu revoluciju,

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

čvrsto su vjerovali da postoji samo jedan siguran put k sreći:

a safe and well-paid job.

Siguran i dobro plaćen posao.

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

Nije važno volim li posao ili ne.

But my dream was to become a Chinese opera singer.

Međutim, moj je san bio da postanem kineska operna pjevačica.

That is me playing my imaginary piano.

Ovo sam ja za svojim zamišljenim glasovirom.

An opera singer must start training young

Operna pjevačica mora rano početi vježbati

to learn acrobatics,

kako bi naučila akrobatiku,

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

pa sam ja poduzela sve što sam mogla da bih krenula u opernu školu.

I even wrote to the school principal

Čak sam i pisala školskom ravnatelju

and the host of a radio show.

i voditelju jedne radijske emisije.

But no adults liked the idea.

Ali, nikome od odraslih ta se zamisao nije svidjela.

No adults believed I was serious.

Nitko od odraslih nije vjerovao da sam ozbiljna.

Only my friends supported me, but they were kids,

Samo su me prijatelji podržali, ali bili su djeca,

just as powerless as I was.

jednako nemoćni kao što sam i ja bila.

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

U 15. sam godini znala da sam prestara da to postanem.

My dream would never come true.

Moj se san nikad neće ostvariti.

I was afraid that for the rest of my life

Bojala sam se da će do konca svoga života

some second-class happiness

neka drugorazredna sreća

would be the best I could hope for.

biti najbolje čemu se mogu nadati.

But that's so unfair.

Ali, to je tako nepravedno.

So I was determined to find another calling.

I tako sam odlučila pronaći drugi poziv.

Nobody around to teach me? Fine.

Nikoga da me pouči? Dobro.

I turned to books.

Okrenula sam se knjigama...

I satisfied my hunger for parental advice

Svoju sam glad za roditeljskim savjetom zadovoljila

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

knjigom skupine pisaca i glazbenika. ["Suglasje u obitelji Fou Leia"]

I found my role model of an independent woman

Pronašla sam uzor neovisne žene,

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

dok konfucijanska tradicija zahtijeva poslušnost. ["Jane Eyre"]

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

Iz ove sam knjige naučila biti učinkovita. ["Popust na količinu"]

And I was inspired to study abroad after reading these.

A na studij u inozemstvu inspiriralo me čitanje ove.

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

["Sanmaova sabrana djela" (alias Echo Chan)] ["Pouke iz povijesti", Nan Huaijina]

I came to the U.S. in 1995,

U SAD sam stigla 1995.

so which books did I read here first?

I koje sam knjige ovdje prve pročitala?

Books banned in China, of course.

Knjige zabranjene u Kini, naravno.

"The Good Earth" is about Chinese peasant life.

"Dobra zemlja" piše o životu na kineskom selu.

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

Neprimjereno za propagandu. Shvaćam.

The Bible is interesting, but strange.

Biblija je zanimljiva, ali neobična.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

That's a topic for a different day.

To je tema za neki drugi dan.

But the fifth commandment gave me an epiphany:

No, peta mi je zapovijed bila poput objave:

"You shall honor your father and mother."

"Poštuj oca i majku."

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

"Poštovanje", rekla sam. "To je toliko različito,

and better, than obey."

i bolje - od poslušnosti."

So it becomes my tool to climb out

I tako ona postaje moj alat pri izvlačenju

of this Confucian guilt trap

iz te konfucijanske zamke krivnje

and to restart my relationship with my parents.

i obnavljanju mog odnosa s roditeljima.

Encountering a new culture also started my habit

Susret s novom kulturom začeo je i moju naviku

of comparative reading.

komparativnog čitanja.

It offers many insights.

Ono pruža brojne uvide.

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

Primjerice, ovaj mi je zemljovid isprva bio malo "pomaknut",

because this is what Chinese students grew up with.

jer ovo je ono s čime odrastaju kineska djeca.

It had never occurred to me,

Nikad mi nije palo na pamet

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

da Kina ne mora biti u središtu svijeta.

A map actually carries somebody's view.

Zemljovid je, zapravo, nečije gledište.

Comparative reading actually is nothing new.

Komparativno čitanje, ustvari, nije ništa novo.

It's a standard practice in the academic world.

Uobičajena je to praksa u akademskom svijetu.

There are even research fields

Postoje čak i polja istraživanja

such as comparative religion and comparative literature.

poput komparativnih religija i komparativne književnosti.

Compare and contrast gives scholars

Uspoređivanje i suprotstavljanje pruža učenicima

a more complete understanding of a topic.

potpunije razumijevanje teme.

So I thought, well, if comparative reading

Zato sam mislila... Ako komparativno čitanje

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

pomaže u istraživanju, zašto ne raditi isto i u svakodnevnom životu?

So I started reading books in pairs.

I tako sam počela čitati knjige u parovima.

So they can be about people --

One mogu biti o ljudima...

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

["Benjamin Franklin", Waltera Isaacsona] ["John Adams", Davida McCullougha]

who are involved in the same event,

... sudionicima istog događaja.

or friends with shared experiences.

Ili o prijateljima koji dijele zajednička iskustva.

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

["Osobna povijest", Katharine Graham] ["Snježna gruda: Warren Buffett i posao življenja", Alice Schroeder]

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

Uspoređujem i iste priče u različitim žanrovima... (Smijeh)

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

["Biblija kralja Jamesa"] ["Janje", Christophera Moorea]

or similar stories from different cultures,

... ili slične priče iz različitih kultura,

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

kao što je Joseph Campbell učinio u svojoj čudesnoj knjizi. ["Moć mita", Josepha Campbella]

For example, both the Christ and the Buddha

Primjerice, i Krist i Buddha

went through three temptations.

prošli su kroz tri iskušenja.

For the Christ, the temptations

Za Krista, iskušenja su

are economic, political and spiritual.

gospodarska, politička i duhovna.

For the Buddha, they are all psychological:

Za Buddhu, sva su ona psihološka:

lust, fear and social duty -- interesting.

požuda, strah i društvena obveza... Zanimljivo.

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

Stoga, ako poznajete strani jezik, zabavno je

to read your favorite books in two languages.

čitati svoje omiljene knjige na dva jezika.

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

["Put Chuang Tzua", Thomasa Mertona] ["Tao: Put vodotoka", Alana Wattsa]

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

Umjesto da se izgubim u prijevodu, našla sam štošta vrijednog za sebe.

For example, it's through translation that I realized

Primjerice, kroz prijevod sam uvidjela da

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

"sreća" na kineskom doslovno znači "brza radost". Hu!

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

"Nevjesta" na kineskom doslovno znači "Nova majka". U-u!

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Books have given me a magic portal to connect with people

Knjige za mene predstavljaju čarobna vrata prema povezivanju s ljudima

of the past and the present.

iz prošlosti i iz sadašnjosti.

I know I shall never feel lonely or powerless again.

Znam da se više nikad neću osjećati usamljenom ili nemoćnom.

Having a dream shattered really is nothing

Kad vam se snovi raspadnu, doista nije ništa

compared to what many others have suffered.

u usporedbi s onime što su mnogi drugi propatili.

I have come to believe that coming true

Počela sam vjerovati da jedina svrha sna

is not the only purpose of a dream.

nije u tome da se on obistini.

Its most important purpose is to get us in touch

Njegova najvažnija svrha je u tome da nas spoji

with where dreams come from,

s onime odakle snovi dolaze.

where passion comes from, where happiness comes from.

Odakle strast dolazi! Odakle sreća dolazi!

Even a shattered dream can do that for you.

Čak vam i uništeni snovi to mogu dati.

So because of books, I'm here today,

Zbog knjiga sam danas ovdje,

happy, living again with a purpose and a clarity,

sretna, živim sa svrhom i s jasnoćom,

most of the time.

većinu vremena.

So may books be always with you.

Neka knjige budu uvijek s vama!

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Thank you. (Applause)

Hvala vam. (Pljesak)

Thank you. (Applause)

Hvala vam. (Pljesak)