How books can open your mind | Lisa Bu

Transcriber: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Prevodilac: Maja Budišin Lukin Lektor: Mile Živković

So I was trained to become a gymnast

Krenula sam na dvogodišnju obuku za gimnastičare

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

u Hunanu u Kini, 1970-ih godina.

When I was in the first grade, the government

Kada sam bila u prvom razredu,

wanted to transfer me to a school for athletes,

vlada je nameravala da me prebaci u školu za sportiste,

all expenses paid.

besplatno.

But my tiger mother said, "No."

Međutim, moja mama-tigrica je rekla: "Ne".

My parents wanted me to become

Roditelji su želeli da postanem

an engineer like them.

inženjerka, kao što su i oni.

After surviving the Cultural Revolution,

Posle preživljene Kulturne revolucije,

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

bili su duboko uvereni da postoji samo jedan siguran put do sreće:

a safe and well-paid job.

siguran i dobro plaćen posao.

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

Nije bilo važno da li mi se posao sviđa ili ne.

But my dream was to become a Chinese opera singer.

Međutim, moj san je bio da postanem kineska operska pevačica.

That is me playing my imaginary piano.

То sam ja kako sviram na svom izmišljenom klaviru.

An opera singer must start training young

Operska pevačica mora započeti sa školovanjem u ranoj mladosti,

to learn acrobatics,

da bi naučila akrobacije,

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

zato sam pokušavala sve što sam mogla da bih stigla do škole za operu.

I even wrote to the school principal

Čak sam i direktoru škole pisala

and the host of a radio show.

i voditelju radio emisije.

But no adults liked the idea.

Ali ta ideja se nije sviđala nikom od odraslih.

No adults believed I was serious.

Niko od odraslih nije verovao u moju ozbiljnost.

Only my friends supported me, but they were kids,

Podržavali su me samo prijatelji, ali oni su bili deca,

just as powerless as I was.

nemoćni jednako kao i ja.

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

Sa 15 godina sam znala da sam za obuku prestara

My dream would never come true.

i da se moj san neće nikada ostvariti.

I was afraid that for the rest of my life

Pribojavala sam se da će me do kraja života

some second-class happiness

pratiti neka drugorazredna sreća

would be the best I could hope for.

i da je to najbolje čemu se mogu nadati.

But that's so unfair.

Ali to je tako nepravedno.

So I was determined to find another calling.

Zato sam odlučila da pronađem drugi poziv.

Nobody around to teach me? Fine.

Zar niko neće da me uči? Dobro.

I turned to books.

Okrenula sam se knjigama.

I satisfied my hunger for parental advice

Zadovoljila sam svoju znatiželju za roditeljskim savetom

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

u knjizi familije pisaca i muzičara ["Correspondence in the Family of Fou Lei"]

I found my role model of an independent woman

Pronašla sam svoj uzor nezavisne žene

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

kada konfučijanska tradicija zahteva pokornost. ["Džejn Ejr"]

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

Naučila sam se efikasnosti iz ove knjige. [Što više to bolje ("Cheaper by the Dozen")]

And I was inspired to study abroad after reading these.

Za studije u inostranstvu me je ispirisalo ovo

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

["Sabrana dela Sanmao" ("Echo Chan")] ["Lessons From History" od Nan Huaijina]

I came to the U.S. in 1995,

U SAD sam došla 1995.

so which books did I read here first?

i koje sam knjige prvo pročitala?

Books banned in China, of course.

Naravno, knjige zabranjene u Kini.

"The Good Earth" is about Chinese peasant life.

Knjiga "The Good Earth" je o životu kineskih seljaka.

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

Ta baš nije pogodna za propagandu. Kontam.

The Bible is interesting, but strange.

Biblija je interesantna, ali čudna.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

That's a topic for a different day.

To je druga tema.

But the fifth commandment gave me an epiphany:

Ali peta zapovest mi je bila otkrovenje:

"You shall honor your father and mother."

"Poštuj oca i mater svoju."

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

Rekla sam: "Poštovanje." "To je toliko različito

and better, than obey."

i bolje od poslušnosti."

So it becomes my tool to climb out

I to je postalo moje sredstvo za izlazak

of this Confucian guilt trap

iz te zamke konfučijanskog osećaja krivice

and to restart my relationship with my parents.

i za obnovu odnosa sa roditeljima.

Encountering a new culture also started my habit

U susretu sa novom kulturom takođe sam razvila naviku

of comparative reading.

komparativnog čitanja.

It offers many insights.

Na taj način se mnogo toga uoči.

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

Na primer, smatrala sam da ova mapa nije odgovarajuća,

because this is what Chinese students grew up with.

jer su kineski učenici odrasli sa ovim.

It had never occurred to me,

Nikada mi nije palo na pamet,

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

da Kina ne mora biti centar sveta.

A map actually carries somebody's view.

Mapa zapravo nosi nečije gledište.

Comparative reading actually is nothing new.

Komparativno čitanje i nije ništa novo.

It's a standard practice in the academic world.

To je standardna praksa u akademskom svetu.

There are even research fields

Postoje čak i istraživačke oblasti

such as comparative religion and comparative literature.

kao što su komparativne religije i komparativna književnost.

Compare and contrast gives scholars

Upoređivanje sličnosti i razlika služi naučnicima

a more complete understanding of a topic.

za potpunije sagledavanje teme.

So I thought, well, if comparative reading

Zato sam pomislila da ako komparativno čitanje

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

služi istraživanju, zašto ga ne bi koristili i u svakodnevnom životu?

So I started reading books in pairs.

Zato sam počela da čitam knjige u parovima.

So they can be about people --

One mogu biti i o ljudima -

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

["Benjamin Franklin" od Valtera Isaksona] ["Džon Adams" od Dejvida Mekalofa] -

who are involved in the same event,

učesnicima istog događaja

or friends with shared experiences.

ili prijateljima koji dele iskustvo.

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

["Personal History" od Katarine Graham] ["The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life" od Alis Šreder]

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

Takođe upoređujem iste priče u različitim žanrovima - (smeh)

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

[Biblija: Verzija Kralja Džejmsa] ["Lamb" od Kristofera Mura] -

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 u sjajnoj knjizi Džozefa Kampbela. ["The Power of Myth" Džozef Kampbel]

For example, both the Christ and the Buddha

Na primer, i Isus i Buda

went through three temptations.

su prošli kroz tri iskušenja.

For the Christ, the temptations

Za Isusa

are economic, political and spiritual.

su to ekonomska, politička i duhovna.

For the Buddha, they are all psychological:

Za Budu su sva psihološka:

lust, fear and social duty -- interesting.

pohlepa, strah i društvene obaveze - zanimljivo.

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

Ako znate neki strani jezik, takođe je zabavno

to read your favorite books in two languages.

da čitate omiljene knjige u oba jezika.

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

["The Way of Chuang Tzu" Tomas Merton] ["Tao: The Watercourse Way" Alan Vots]

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

Umesto izgubljenog u prevodu, pronašla sam mnogo dobijenog.

For example, it's through translation that I realized

Na primer, prevođenjem sam shvatila

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

da "sreća" na kineskom doslovno znači "kratko veselje!" Uh!

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

"Nevesta" na kineskom doslovno znači "nova mama". Uh-oh.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Books have given me a magic portal to connect with people

Knjige su mi dale magični portal povezivanja sa 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 nikada više neću osećati usamljeno i nemoćno.

Having a dream shattered really is nothing

Uništen san zaista nije ništa

compared to what many others have suffered.

u odnosu na to šta su mnogi drugi ljudi pretrpeli.

I have come to believe that coming true

Verujem da ostvarivanje sna

is not the only purpose of a dream.

nije njegova jedina svrha.

Its most important purpose is to get us in touch

Najvažnija svrha sna je da nas poveže

with where dreams come from,

sa svojim izvorom,

where passion comes from, where happiness comes from.

izvorom strasti, izvorom sreće.

Even a shattered dream can do that for you.

Čak i uništen san vam u tome može pomoći.

So because of books, I'm here today,

Jer, zbog knjiga sam danas ovde,

happy, living again with a purpose and a clarity,

srećna, ponovo živim s jasnim smislom

most of the time.

skoro sve vreme.

So may books be always with you.

Zato dozvolite knjigama da budu uvek sa vama.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Thank you. (Applause)

Hvala. (Aplauz)

Thank you. (Applause)

Hvala. (Aplauz)