Philippe Petit: The journey across the high wire

Translator: Timothy Covell Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Aili Huang 校对人员: 佳乐 周

This sound,

这个声音，

this smell,

这股味道，

this sight

这种情景，

all remind me of the campfires of my childhood,

都让我想起了小时候的营火会，

when anyone could become a storyteller in front of the dancing flames.

当任何人都可以在摇曳的火光前说上个故事。

There was this wondrous ending

那时有种奇妙的结尾，

when people and fire fell asleep almost in unison.

就是当人群和火光基本上在同一时间睡着，

It was dreaming time.

进入梦乡。

Now my story has a lot to do with dreaming,

我的故事也基本上是有关梦境的，

although I'm known to make my dreams come true.

但是让梦成真是我很出名的一个特色。

Last year, I created a one-man show.

去年，我搞了一场个人表演。

For an hour and a half I shared with the audience

在一个半小时里，我与观众分享了

a lifetime of creativity,

一生的创造力--

how I pursue perfection, how I cheat the impossible.

我如何追求完美，如何征服不可能的事。

And then TED challenged me:

然后TED便向我发出了挑战：

"Philippe, can you shrink this lifetime to 18 minutes?"

“菲利普，你能把这一生缩到18分钟来概括吗？”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Eighteen minutes, clearly impossible.

十八分钟，很明显不可能。

But here I am.

但是我现在在这儿。

One solution was to rehearse a machine gun delivery

一个解决方案就是练习一场机枪式的演讲，

in which every syllable, every second will have its importance

使每个音节，每一秒钟都充分利用

and hope to God the audience will be able to follow me.

然后向上帝祈求我的听众们能跟得上。

No, no, no.

不，不，不。

No, the best way for me to start

不！对我来说最好的开始方法

is to pay my respects to the gods of creativity.

就是尊重创造力的神。

So please join me for a minute of silence.

所以请跟我一起肃静一分钟。

Okay, I cheated, it was a mere 20 seconds.

好吧，我其实作弊了，刚刚只有20秒。

But hey, we're on TED time.

但是我们在用宝贵的TED的时间。

When I was six years old,

当我六岁时，

I fell in love with magic.

我爱上了魔术。

For Christmas I got a magic box

我收到了一个魔术盒作为圣诞礼物，

and a very old book on card manipulation.

还有一本有关如何摆弄纸牌的，很旧的书。

Somehow I was more interested in pure manipulation

不知何故，我对如何摆弄和操作的兴趣甚至高过了

than in all the silly little tricks in the box.

对那些魔术盒里小儿科内容的兴趣。

So I looked in the book for the most difficult move,

所以我在书中找到了最难的戏法，

and it was this.

就是这个。

Now I'm not supposed to share that with you,

虽然，现在我不应该跟你们分享这个戏法的。

but I have to show you the card is hidden in the back of the hand.

但是我还是要展示一下，那张牌就在我的手背后。

Now that manipulation

这个操作手法

was broken down into seven moves

可以被分为七个步骤，

described over seven pages.

用了七页纸来描写。

One, two, three,

一，二，三，

four, five, six and seven.

四，五，六，七。

And let me show you something else.

让我再给你们看样东西。

The cards were bigger than my hands.

那时候，纸牌比我的手都大。

Two months later, six years old,

两个月后，我六岁时，

I'm able to do one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

我做到了一，二，三，四，五，六，七。

And I go to see a famous magician

然后我去见了一个很有名的魔术师。

and proudly ask him, "Well what do you think?"

我很自豪的问他：“你认为我的魔术怎样？”

Six years old.

（我那时）六岁。

The magician looked at me and said, "This is a disaster.

那个魔术师看着我说：“真是太烂了。”

You cannot do that in two seconds

“你不能用两秒来完成它，

and have a minuscule part of the card showing.

“然后还有一小部分纸牌漏在外面。

For the move to be professional, it has to be less than one second

“如果想让这个动作专业些，一定要在不到一秒完成，

and it has to be perfect."

“而且必须完美。”

Two years later, one -- zoop.

两年以后，一 - 没了。

And I'm not cheating. It's in the back. It's perfect.

我可没作弊啊。它就在背面。而且动作完美。

Passion is the motto

激情是我的座右铭，

of all my actions.

激励了我所有的行动。

As I'm studying magic,

当我在学习魔术时，

juggling is mentioned repeatedly

杂耍是常常被提到的，

as a great way to acquire dexterity and coordination.

作为一种获得灵巧和协调的手法的方法。

Now I had long admired how fast and fluidly

我一直很欣赏杂耍家能迅速和流畅地

jugglers make objects fly.

让物体飞舞。

So that's it. I'm 14; I'm becoming a juggler.

所以就它了。我14岁；我要做个杂耍家。

I befriend a young juggler in a juggling troupe,

我交了个在马戏团里会杂耍的朋友，

and he agrees to sell me three clubs.

他答应了卖给我三根杂耍棒子。

But in America you have to explain. What are clubs?

但是在美国你总要解释一下。什么是杂耍棒子？

Nothing to do with golf.

不是和高尔夫球有关的那个（俱乐部）。

They are those beautiful oblong objects,

它们是那些很美的，椭圆形的物体，

but quite difficult to make.

但是制作起来挺复杂的。

They have to be precisely lathed.

它们必须经过精确地车制。

Oh, when I was buying the clubs,

喔，当我在买杂耍棒子的时候，

somehow the young juggler was hiding from the others.

不知为何，那个年轻的杂耍家躲着不让别人看见。

Well I didn't think much of it at the time.

当然，那时的我并没多想。

Anyway, here I was progressing with my new clubs.

总之，我练的杂耍一点点进步着。

But I could not understand.

但是我不能理解。

I was pretty fast, but I was not fluid at all.

我已经挺快的了，但是我却不流利。

The clubs were escaping me at each throw.

每次仍棒子时，它们都逃出我的手掌。

And I was trying constantly to bring them back to me.

而我又一直试着让它们重新回来。

Until one day I practiced in front of Francis Brunn,

直到有一天，我在弗朗西斯·布伦，

the world's greatest juggler.

世上最棒的杂耍家，面前练习。

And he was frowning.

他皱着眉头。

And he finally asked, "Can I see those?"

然后终于问了我：“能给我看看这些吗？”

So I proudly showed him my clubs.

我很自豪的给他看了我的杂耍棒子。

He said, "Philippe, you have been had.

他说：“菲利普，你被骗了。

These are rejects. They are completely out of alignment.

“这些是废品。它们没有被校准。

They are impossible to juggle."

“它们是无法用来杂耍的。”

Tenacity is how I kept at it

韧性是我坚持下来的关键，

against all odds.

不管有多困难。

So I went to the circus to see more magicians, more jugglers,

所以我去了趟马戏团去看更多的魔术、戏法家，

and I saw -- oh no, no, no, I didn't see.

然后我看到了 -- 哦，不，不，不，不是看到。

It was more interesting; I heard.

比那更有意思；我听到了。

I heard about those amazing men and women

我听到了有关这些了不起的人们，

who walk on thin air --

这些在空气上走路的人们：

the high-wire walkers.

走钢丝者。

Now I have been playing with ropes and climbing all my childhood,

那时我已经玩了一整个童年的绳子和攀登，

so that's it. I'm 16; I'm becoming a wire walker.

所以就它了。我16岁；我要做个走钢丝者。

I found two trees --

我找到了两棵树 --

but not any kind of trees,

不是任何一种树，

trees with character --

而是很有特色的树 --

and then a very long rope.

和一根很长的绳子。

And I put the rope around and around

我把绳子一圈又一圈

and around and around and around till I had no more rope.

一圈又一圈的绕了起来，直到我没有绳子。

Now I have all of those ropes parallel like this.

这时，我有了很多像这样平行的绳子。

I get a pair of pliers and some coat hangers,

我找到了一把钳子和一些衣架，

and I gather them together in some kind of ropey path.

然后把它们用在一起，制作了一条用绳子构成的路。

So I just created the widest tightrope in the world.

就这样，我制造了世上最宽的绳索。

What did I need? I needed the widest shoes in the world.

我还需要什么？我需要世上最宽的鞋子。

So I found some enormous, ridiculous, giant ski boots

我找来了一双巨大的、荒谬可笑的大雪靴，

and then wobbly, wobbly I get on the ropes.

然后一摇一摆地，我就走上了这些绳索。

Well within a few days I'm able to do one crossing.

就在几天内，我就能走完整的一回了。

So I cut one rope off.

所以我就剪去了一根绳子。

And the next day one rope off.

第二天，又剪去一根。

And a few days later, I was practicing on a single tightrope.

几天后，我已经只用一根绳索练习了。

Now you can imagine at that time

现在你可以想象一下，那时

I had to switch the ridiculous boots for some slippers.

我已经需要把那双搞笑的大鞋换成别的拖鞋了。

So that is how -- in case there are people here in the audience who would like to try --

这就是如何 -- 如果观众中有人感兴趣试一试 --

this is how not to learn wire walking.

如何去学习走钢丝的反面教材。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Intuition is a tool essential in my life.

直觉是我人生中很重要的一个工具。

In the meantime, I am being thrown out of five different schools

那时，我被五所不同的学校撵了出来，

because instead of listening to the teachers,

因为在该听老师的时候，

I am my own teacher, progressing in my new art

我是我自己的老师，我的新艺术在进展着 --

and becoming a street juggler.

我逐渐成为街头杂耍家。

On the high wire, within months,

在钢丝上，不到几个月内，

I'm able to master all the tricks they do in the circus,

我就精通了所有的马戏团的杂耍，

except I am not satisfied.

但我还是不满意。

I was starting to invent my own moves and bring them to perfection.

我开始创作自己的动作，然后把它们练得毫无瑕疵。

But nobody wanted to hire me.

但是没人想要雇我。

So I started putting a wire up in secret and performing without permission.

所以我就暗中架起了绳索，然后开始在没有允许的情况下表演。

Notre Dame,

圣母院，

the Sydney Harbor Bridge,

悉尼海港大桥，

the World Trade Center.

世界贸易中心。

And I developed a certitude, a faith

我开始有了个把握，信念，

that convinced me that I will get safely to the other side.

说服这我肯定可以安全到达另一边。

If not, I will never do that first step.

如果不这样，我绝不会迈出第一步。

Well nonetheless,

但不管怎样，

on the top of the World Trade Center

在世界贸易中心的顶端，

my first step was terrifying.

我的第一步还是很吓人的。

All of a sudden the density of the air is no longer the same.

突然，空气密度就跟平常不一样了。

Manhattan no longer spreads its infinity.

曼哈顿突然不再扩散着它的无穷大。

The murmur of the city dissolves into a squall

城市的私语变成了尖叫声

whose chilling power I no longer feel.

不再让我感到寒冷凌厉的暴风。

I lift the balancing pole. I approach the edge.

我抬起了平衡杆。我走近边缘。

I step over the beam.

我跨过横梁。

I put my left foot on the cable,

我把左脚放到了绳索上，

the weight of my body raised on my right leg

全身的重量压在了右腿上，

anchored to the flank of the building.

牢牢地固定在建筑物的侧面。

Shall I ever so slightly shift my weight to the left?

我要把哪怕一点点重量转移到左腿上吗？

My right leg will be unburdened,

我会解放我的右腿的，

my right foot will freely meet the wire.

我的右脚会自由的触碰到绳索。

On one side, a mass of a mountain, a life I know.

一边是一片山群，我熟悉的生命。

On the other, the universe of the clouds,

另一边是云做的宇宙，

so full of unknown we think it's empty.

充满未知以至于我们认为它是空洞的。

At my feet, the path to the north tower -- 60 yards of wire rope.

在我脚下，一条通往北边高楼的 -- 60码长的钢丝。

It's a straight line, which sags,

它是一条直线，有些下垂，

which sways, which vibrates,

会摇晃，会抖动，

which rolls on itself,

甚至自己会转，

which is ice,

它是冰，

which is three tons tight, ready to explode,

它三吨紧，快要爆炸似的，

ready to swallow me.

快要把我吞没。

An inner howl assails me,

我的内心在嚎，

the wild longing to flee.

有种野性想要逃跑。

But it is too late.

但是已经晚了。

The wire is ready.

钢丝已经被准备好了。

Decisively my other foot sets itself onto the cable.

我另一只脚很果断地踏上了绳索。

Faith is what replaces doubt

信念代替了怀疑

in my dictionary.

在我的字典中。

So after the walk

在那次走过之后，

people ask me, "How can you top that?"

有人问我：“你怎样在那么高的地方走钢丝的？”

Well I didn't have that problem.

当然，我那时没这个问题。

I was not interested in collecting the gigantic,

我对收集最大的或最棒的，

in breaking records.

对破纪录之类的毫无兴趣。

In fact, I put my World Trade Center crossing

事实上，我把我的世界贸易中心之行

at the same artistic level as some of my smaller walks --

和我别的一些小型的走钢丝 --

or some completely different type of performance.

或是完全不同的表演，归类为同一个艺术水平。

Let's see, such as my street juggling, for example.

让我想想，比如说我的街头杂耍。

So each time

每一次

I draw my circle of chalk on the pavement

我在便道上用粉笔画上我的圆圈

and enter as the improvising comic silent character

然后进去开始即兴无声的滑稽表演

I created 45 years ago,

我在45年前创作的，

I am as happy as when I am in the clouds.

我会和在云中行走一样高兴。

But this here,

但是我在这，

this is not the street.

这不是大街上。

So I cannot street juggle here, you understand.

所以我不能在这表演杂耍，你明白的。

So you don't want me to street juggle here, right?

所以你不想看我在这表演街头杂耍，对吧？

You know that, right?

你明白的，对吧？

You don't want me to juggle, right?

你不想让我表演杂耍，对吧？

(Applause)

（掌声）

(Music)

（音乐）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you. Thank you.

谢谢。谢谢。

Each time I street juggle

每次我表演街头杂耍

I use improvisation.

我都会即兴表演。

Now improvisation is empowering

即兴表演非常给人优越感

because it welcomes the unknown.

因为它接受那些未知的。

And since what's impossible is always unknown,

又由于那些不可能的从来都来自未知，

it allows me to believe I can cheat the impossible.

它会让我相信我可以战胜不可能。

Now I have done the impossible not once,

我不止一次地完成了不可能的事，

but many times.

应该是很多次。

So what should I share? Oh, I know. Israel.

那么我应该分享些什么呢？哦，我知道了。以色列。

Some years ago I was invited to open the Israel Festival

几年前我被邀请去为以色列的节日

by a high-wire walk.

表演走钢丝来开场。

And I chose to put my wire

我选择了把绳索架在

between the Arab quarters and the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem

阿拉伯区域和耶路撒冷犹太区域之间

over the Ben Hinnom Valley.

跨过奔欣嫩谷。

And I thought it would be incredible

我想那一定会很棒，

if in the middle of the wire

如果在钢丝的中间

I stopped and, like a magician,

我停下来，像个魔术师一般，

I produce a dove and send her in the sky

变出一只白鸽让它飞向天空，

as a living symbol of peace.

作为一个象征和平的生命

Well now I must say,

当然，我必须说，

it was a little bit hard to find a dove in Israel, but I got one.

要在以色列找到白鸽还是有些困难的，但我还是得到了一只。

And in my hotel room,

在我酒店的房间里，

each time I practiced making it appear and throwing her in the air,

每次我练习变出它然后让它飞翔时，

she would graze the wall and end up on the bed.

它总会蹭到墙最后跌到床上。

So I said, now it's okay. The room is too small.

我就说，没关系。只是房间太小了。

I mean, a bird needs space to fly.

我的意思是，鸟儿需要空间才能飞翔。

It will go perfectly on the day of the walk.

到了表演那一天一切都会顺利的。

Now comes the day of the walk.

很快就到了那一天。

Eighty thousand people spread over the entire valley.

八万人遍布了整个山谷。

The mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek, comes to wish me the best.

耶路撒冷的市长，泰迪·科利克，来向我祝愿一切顺利。

But he seemed nervous.

但他像是很紧张。

There was tension in my wire,

我的钢丝上有被拉紧的力度，

but I also could feel tension on the ground.

但我都在平地上都能感触到那份紧张的气氛。

Because all those people

因为这些人

were made up of people who, for the most part,

大多都

considered each other enemies.

视彼此为敌人。

So I start the walk. Everything is fine.

我开始了表演。一切都安然无恙。

I stop in the middle.

我在中间停了下来。

I make the dove appear.

我变出了鸽子。

People applaud in delight.

人们在喜悦中欢呼。

And then in the most magnificent gesture,

然后在最壮丽的手势下，

I send the bird of peace into the azure.

我放飞了那鸟儿飞向蓝天。

But the bird, instead of flying away,

但那只鸟，却没有飞向远方，

goes flop, flop, flop and lands on my head.

而是拍打了两下翅膀，落在了我的头上。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And people scream.

人们尖叫了。

So I grab the dove,

我抓住了白鸽，

and for the second time I send her in the air.

第二次放飞它到空中。

But the dove, who obviously didn't go to flying school,

但是那鸽子，明显的没上过飞行学校，

goes flop, flop, flop and ends up at the end of my balancing pole.

拍打了两下翅膀，落在了我的平衡杆上。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

You laugh, you laugh. But hey.

你们笑，你们笑。但是！

I sit down immediately. It's a reflex of wire walkers.

我马上坐了下来。这是走钢丝者条件反射的作法。

Now in the meantime, the audience, they go crazy.

在这时，观众人群们都沸腾了。

They must think this guy with this dove,

他们肯定想，这个有鸽子的人，

he must have spent years working with him.

一定花了很多年和这只鸽子合作。

What a genius, what a professional.

多么天才，多么专业啊。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So I take a bow. I salute with my hand.

我鞠了个躬。挥了挥手。

And at the end I bang my hand against the pole

最后我使劲地用手拍了下平衡杆

to dislodge the bird.

好让鸽子飞起来。

Now the dove, who, now you know, obviously cannot fly,

可是那鸽子，你们也知道，明显不能飞，

does for the third time a little flop, flop, flop

第三次的拍打翅膀

and ends up on the wire behind me.

然后降落在了我身后的钢丝上。

And the entire valley goes crazy.

整个山谷疯狂了起来。

Now but hold on, I'm not finished.

但先等等，我还没讲完呢。

So now I'm like 50 yards from my arrival

现在，我还有50码才到达终点

and I'm exhausted, so my steps are slow.

我已经很累了，所以每一步都很慢。

And something happened.

突然发生了什么。

Somebody somewhere, a group of people,

一些地方的一群人，

starts clapping in rhythm with my steps.

开始跟着我脚步的节奏拍手。

And within seconds the entire valley

几秒之内整个山谷

is applauding in unison with each of my steps.

都开始跟着我的脚步齐齐地拍手。

But not an applause of delight like before,

但不是像先前那样喜悦的掌声，

an applause encouragement.

而是鼓励的掌声。

For a moment, the entire crowd had forgotten their differences.

一瞬间，整个人群忘记了他们的不同。

They had become one, pushing me to triumph.

他们合成了一个，推着我迎向胜利。

I want you just for a second

我想让你也在这几秒中里，

to experience this amazing human symphony.

感受一下这了不起的人奏交响乐。

So let's say I am here and the chair is my arrival.

想象一下我在这儿，那椅子是我的终点。

So I walk, you clap, everybody in unison.

我走着，你们拍手，所有人一起。

(Clapping)

（拍手声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

So after the walk, Teddy and I become friends.

在那次钢丝表演后，泰迪和我成为了朋友。

And he tells me, he has on his desk a picture of me

他告诉我，在他桌上有张我的照片

in the middle of the wire with a dove on my head.

在钢丝中间的位置，一只白鸽在我头上。

He didn't know the true story.

他并不知道真实的故事。

And whenever he's daunted by an impossible situation

每当当遇到不可能

to solve in this hard-to-manage city,

解决的难题，在这个很难管理的城市时，

instead of giving up, he looks at the picture and he says,

他不会放弃，而他会看着照片说：

"If Philippe can do that, I can do this,"

“如果菲利普能做到，那么我也做到。”

and he goes back to work.

然后他就会回去工作。

Inspiration.

启发。

By inspiring ourselves

当我们启发自己时，

we inspire others.

我们也振奋了别人。

I will never forget this music,

我绝不会忘了这样的音乐，

and I hope now neither will you.

希望你也不会忘记。

Please take this music with you home,

请把这音乐的记忆带回家，

and start gluing feathers to your arms

然后往你的胳膊上黏上些羽毛，

and take off and fly,

尽情的飞翔，

and look at the world from a different perspective.

用另一种视角看世界吧。

And when you see mountains,

当你看到山的时候，

remember mountains can be moved.

记住就算是山也可以被移动。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you. Thank you.

谢谢。谢谢。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）