請雙擊下方英文字幕播放視頻。
譯者: Lilian Chiu
審譯者: Marssi Draw
00:13
Every other night in Japan,
0
13409
2942
在日本,每隔一晚,
00:16
I step out of my apartment,
1
16375
2027
我就會步出我的公寓,
00:18
I climb up a hill for 15 minutes,
2
18426
3504
花十五分鐘爬上山丘,
00:21
and then I head into my local health club,
3
21954
3650
接著前往當地的健康俱樂部,
00:25
where three ping-pong tables
are set up in a studio.
4
25628
4526
在俱樂部裡,有三張
乒乓球桌放在一間房間中。
00:30
And space is limited,
5
30178
1975
空間有限,
00:32
so at every table,
6
32177
1712
所以,每一張球桌
00:33
one pair of players practices forehands,
7
33913
2930
都有一組球員練正手,
00:36
another practices backhands,
8
36867
2293
另一組練習反手,
00:39
and every now and then,
the balls collide in midair
9
39184
3588
偶爾,球會在空中相撞,
00:42
and everybody says, "Wow!"
10
42796
2079
大家就會出聲:「哇!」
00:46
Then, choosing lots,
we select partners and play doubles.
11
46067
5450
接著,我們用抽籤的方式
選夥伴玩雙打。
00:51
But I honestly couldn't
tell you who's won,
12
51891
2889
但我實在無法告訴各位誰贏了,
00:54
because we change partners
every five minutes.
13
54804
3729
因為我們每五分鐘就會換夥伴。
00:59
And everybody is trying really hard
14
59097
3485
每個人都非常努力
01:02
to win points,
15
62606
1437
想要得分,
01:04
but nobody is keeping track
of who is winning games.
16
64067
4110
但沒有人在記錄誰贏得了比賽。
01:08
And after an hour or so
of furious exertion,
17
68992
4237
拼了一個小時左右,
01:13
I can honestly tell you
18
73253
1650
我可以老實告訴各位,
01:14
that not knowing who has won
19
74927
2913
不知道誰贏了
01:17
feels like the ultimate victory.
20
77864
2825
感覺就像是終極的勝利。
01:21
In Japan, it's been said,
21
81800
1914
在日本有種說法,
01:23
they've created a competitive spirit
without competition.
22
83738
4579
他們不用競爭就創造了競爭的精神。
01:30
Now, all of you know that geopolitics
is best followed by watching ping-pong.
23
90178
6334
大家都知道,了解地緣政治學
最好的方式就是看乒乓球。
01:37
(Laughter)
24
97281
1497
(笑聲)
01:38
The two strongest powers in the world
were fiercest enemies
25
98802
4881
世界上最大的兩個強權
是非常對立的敵人,
01:43
until, in 1972, an American ping-pong team
26
103707
4684
直到 1972 年,一支美國乒乓球隊
01:48
was allowed to visit Communist China.
27
108415
3022
獲准造訪共產主義的中國。
01:52
And as soon as the former adversaries
28
112191
2515
當這些過往敵手
01:54
were gathered around
some small green tables,
29
114730
3985
聚在那些小型綠色桌子旁邊,
01:58
each of them could claim a victory,
30
118739
2605
每個人都有可能取得勝利,
02:01
and the whole world
could breathe more easily.
31
121368
2880
全世界也能喘口氣。
02:05
China's leader, Mao Zedong,
32
125320
2281
中國的領導人毛澤東
02:07
wrote a whole manual on ping-pong,
33
127625
3338
寫了一整本的乒乓手冊,
02:10
and he called the sport
"a spiritual nuclear weapon."
34
130987
4206
他把這項運動稱為
「靈性的核武」。
02:16
And it's been said that the only
honorary lifelong member
35
136078
3910
據說,美國乒聯
唯一的榮譽終身會員
02:20
of the US Table Tennis Association
36
140012
2800
02:22
is the then-President Richard Nixon,
37
142836
2849
是當時的總統尼克森,
02:25
who helped to engineer
this win-win situation
38
145709
3713
他透過乒乓交際手腕
協助策劃了這個雙贏局面。
02:29
through ping-pong diplomacy.
39
149446
2405
02:33
But long before that,
40
153318
1453
但,其實早在那之前,
現代世界的歷史
02:34
really, the history of the modern world
41
154795
2603
02:37
was best told through
the bouncing white ball.
42
157422
4160
就最適合透過反彈的白球來說明。
02:42
"Ping-pong" sounds
like a cousin of "sing-song,"
43
162461
3680
「乒乓」聽起來像是
「唱歌(英文發音類似)」的表親,
02:46
like something Eastern,
44
166165
2098
聽起來有東方味,
02:48
but actually, it's believed
that it was invented by high-class Brits
45
168287
5216
但其實,一般相信
它是在維多利亞時期
由上流英國人所發明,
02:53
during Victorian times,
46
173527
1770
02:55
who started hitting wine corks
over walls of books after dinner.
47
175321
5070
他們在晚餐之後將酒瓶塞
打向書牆,發明了乒乓。
03:00
(Laughter)
48
180415
1049
(笑聲)
03:01
No exaggeration.
49
181488
1182
沒有誇大。
03:02
(Laughter)
50
182694
1070
(笑聲)
03:03
And by the end of World War I,
51
183788
1962
第一次世界大戰尾聲時,
03:05
the sport was dominated by players
from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire:
52
185774
5697
這項運動被前奧匈帝國球員給主宰:
03:11
eight out of nine
early world championships
53
191495
3036
早期的世界冠軍,九個中有八個
03:14
were claimed by Hungary.
54
194555
1685
被匈牙利拿走。
03:16
And Eastern Europeans grew so adept
55
196844
2858
而東歐人非常善長
03:19
at hitting back everything
that was hit at them
56
199726
3349
把打向他們的任何東西打回去,
03:23
that they almost brought
the whole sport to a standstill.
57
203099
3507
他們幾乎把這整個運動
打到停滯狀態。
03:27
In one championship match
in Prague in 1936,
58
207266
4612
1936 年在布拉格的
一場冠軍賽事中,
03:31
the first point is said to have lasted
two hours and 12 minutes.
59
211902
5736
到了兩小時十二分時
才有人得了第一分。
03:37
The first point!
60
217662
1250
第一分!
03:38
Longer than a "Mad Max" movie.
61
218936
2749
比《衝鋒飛車隊》電影還長。
03:41
And according to one of the players,
the umpire had to retire with a sore neck
62
221709
6012
根據一位球員的說法,
在那一分出現之前,
裁判就已經因為脖子酸痛而離場。
03:47
before the point was concluded.
63
227745
2039
03:49
(Laughter)
64
229808
1017
(笑聲)
03:50
That player started hitting
the ball back with his left hand
65
230849
3864
球員開始用左手把球打回去,
03:54
and dictating chess moves between shots.
66
234737
2794
在打擊之間口述棋步。
03:57
(Laughter)
67
237555
1025
(笑聲)
03:58
Many in the audience
started, of course, filing out,
68
238604
3286
當然,許多觀眾
開始一個接一個離開,
04:01
as that single point lasted
maybe 12,000 strokes.
69
241914
4789
因為要得一分可能
要揮一萬兩千拍。
04:06
And an emergency meeting of
the International Table Tennis Association
70
246727
5056
國際桌球總會立即
04:11
had to be held then and there,
71
251807
2678
召開緊急會議,
04:14
and soon the rules were changed
72
254509
2155
規則很快就被改變了,
04:16
so that no game could last
longer than 20 minutes.
73
256688
3825
比賽不得超過二十分鐘。
04:20
(Laughter)
74
260537
1785
(笑聲)
04:22
Sixteen years later,
Japan entered the picture,
75
262970
3415
十六年後,日本也來參一腳,
04:26
when a little-known
watchmaker called Hiroji Satoh
76
266409
4389
一名沒沒無聞的鐘錶匠佐藤博治
04:30
showed up at the world championships
in Bombay in 1952.
77
270822
5126
於 1952 年出現在
孟買的世界冠軍賽。
04:36
And Satoh was not very big,
he wasn't highly rated,
78
276647
4270
佐藤個子不高,排名不在前面,
04:40
he was wearing spectacles,
79
280941
2412
他戴著眼鏡,
04:43
but he was armed with a paddle
that was not pimpled,
80
283377
4842
但是他所配備的球拍
不像其他球拍是顆粒面的,
04:48
as other paddles were,
81
288243
1700
04:49
but covered by a thick spongy rubber foam.
82
289967
4015
而是表面厚厚的海棉橡膠泡沫。
04:54
And thanks to this silencing
secret weapon,
83
294853
4252
因為有這個安靜的秘密武器,
04:59
the little-known Satoh won a gold medal.
84
299129
3285
不為人知的佐藤贏得金牌。
05:02
One million people came out
into the streets of Tokyo
85
302954
4120
他返鄉時,東京有一百萬人
05:07
to greet him upon his return,
86
307098
2409
走上街頭歡迎他,
05:09
and really, Japan's postwar resurgence
was set into motion.
87
309531
4753
日本的戰後復興就這麼啟動了。
05:16
What I learned, though,
at my regular games in Japan,
88
316072
5158
不過,我在日本一般比賽中所學到的
05:21
is more what could be called
the inner sport of global domination,
89
321254
6063
比較是所謂全球統治的內在運動,
05:27
sometimes known as life.
90
327341
2238
也就是人生。
05:30
We never play singles in our club,
91
330850
3142
在我們的俱樂部中,
我們從來不單打,
05:34
only doubles,
92
334016
1347
只進行雙打,
05:35
and because, as I say,
we change partners every five minutes,
93
335387
4552
因為,如我所說的,
我們每五分鐘就換夥伴,
05:39
if you do happen to lose,
you're very likely to win
94
339963
3652
如果你剛好輸了,六分鐘之後,
05:43
six minutes later.
95
343639
1301
你很可能就會贏。
05:45
We also play best-of-two sets,
96
345789
2952
我們也會玩三局兩勝制,
05:48
so often, there's no loser at all.
97
348765
2833
通常就完全不會有輸家。
05:52
Ping-pong diplomacy.
98
352026
2248
乒乓交際手腕。
05:54
And I always remember
that as a boy growing up in England,
99
354298
3293
我在英國長大,一直記得
05:57
I was taught that the point
of a game was to win.
100
357615
3420
被教導比賽的目的是獲勝。
06:02
But in Japan, I'm encouraged to believe
that, really, the point of a game
101
362067
5356
但在日本,大家鼓勵我相信,
其實比賽的重點
06:07
is to make as many people as possible
around you feel that they are winners.
102
367447
5716
是要盡可能讓你身邊
有越多人感覺自己是贏家。
06:13
So you're not careening up and down
as an individual might,
103
373187
3345
所以你就不會像獨自
一個人那樣載沉載浮,
06:16
but you're part of a regular,
steady chorus.
104
376556
3638
你屬於一個平凡穩定的團隊。
06:21
The most skillful players in our club
105
381306
3952
在我們的俱樂部中,球技最好的球員
06:25
deploy their skills to turn
a 9-1 lead for their team
106
385282
4555
會把他們的技巧用在
讓他們球隊九比一領先的局面
06:29
into a 9-9 game in which everybody
is intensely involved.
107
389861
5076
轉換成九比九的局面,
讓大家和比賽緊密結合。
06:34
And my friend who hits
these high, looping lobs
108
394961
4501
我有位朋友,他很會打高吊球,
06:39
that smaller players flail at and miss --
109
399486
3957
小個子球員會亂打且打不中——
06:43
well, he wins a lot of points,
but I think he's thought of as a loser.
110
403467
4136
他能得很多分,
但我認為他被視為是輸家。
06:48
In Japan, a game of ping-pong
is really like an act of love.
111
408641
5599
在日本,乒乓比賽其實
像是一種愛的舉動。
06:54
You're learning how to play with somebody,
112
414264
2342
你學習的是如何和其他人一起運動,
06:56
rather than against her.
113
416630
1887
而不是對抗其他人。
06:59
And I'll confess,
114
419343
1150
我必須承認一開始
07:00
at first, this seemed to me
to take all the fun out of the sport.
115
420517
4794
我覺得這樣子運動的樂趣都沒了。
07:05
I couldn't exult after a tremendous upset
victory against our strongest players,
116
425335
5222
在擊敗最強的球員之後
我不能為之狂喜,
07:10
because six minutes later,
with a new partner,
117
430581
2491
因為六分鐘之後,換了新夥伴,
07:13
I was falling behind again.
118
433096
1770
我又落後了。
07:15
On the other hand,
I never felt disconsolate.
119
435914
3780
另一方面,我從來
沒有感覺鬱鬱不樂。
07:20
And when I flew away from Japan
and started playing singles again
120
440476
4185
當我飛離日本,
和英國主要的對手開始再次單打時,
07:24
with my English archrival,
121
444685
3102
07:27
I noticed that after every defeat,
I was really brokenhearted.
122
447811
5055
我發現每次輸球就真的很心碎。
07:33
But after every victory,
I couldn't sleep either,
123
453953
3271
但每次勝利之後,我也無法入睡,
07:37
because I knew there was
only one way to go,
124
457248
2423
因為我知道只剩下一條路,
07:39
and that was down.
125
459695
1791
就是下坡。
07:43
Now, if I were trying to do
business in Japan,
126
463398
3746
如果我要在日本做生意,
07:47
this would lead to endless frustration.
127
467168
2801
這會造成無盡的挫折感。
07:51
In Japan, unlike elsewhere,
128
471136
2175
日本和其他地方不同,
07:53
if the score is still level
after four hours,
129
473335
3476
在日本如果四小時之後仍然比數相同,
07:56
a baseball game ends in a tie,
130
476835
3642
棒球比賽就是以平手結束,
08:00
and because the league standings
are based on winning percentage,
131
480501
4644
因為聯賽排名的依據是勝率,
08:05
a team with quite a few ties
can finish ahead
132
485169
3309
有很多場平手的球隊在榜上
可能領先勝賽比較多場的球隊。
08:08
of a team with more victories.
133
488502
2262
08:12
One of the first times an American
was ever brought over to Japan
134
492000
3833
最早被請到日本去領導
08:15
to lead a professional
Japanese baseball team,
135
495857
3507
日本職業球隊的其中一位美國人
08:19
Bobby Valentine, in 1995,
136
499388
2694
是巴比瓦倫泰,時間是 1995 年,
08:22
he took this really mediocre squad,
137
502106
2603
他帶的球隊很平凡,
08:24
he lead them to a stunning
second-place finish,
138
504733
3311
最後卻以第二名的驚人成績結束,
08:28
and he was instantly fired.
139
508068
2458
而他馬上被開除了。
08:30
Why?
140
510550
1151
為什麼?
08:31
"Well," said the team spokesman,
141
511725
2181
「嗯,」球隊發言人說:
08:33
"because of his emphasis on winning."
142
513930
2660
「因為他強調贏球。」
08:37
(Laughter)
143
517185
1008
(笑聲)
08:38
Official Japan can feel
quite a lot like that point
144
518217
3271
官方的日本感覺起來就很像
08:41
that was said to last
two hours and 12 minutes,
145
521512
3739
花了兩小時十二分鐘
才得到的那一分,
08:45
and playing not to lose
146
525275
2258
為了不要輸而比賽,
08:47
can take all the imagination,
the daring, the excitement, out of things.
147
527557
5365
會把所有的想像力、
大膽冒險、興奮都給奪去。
08:54
At the same time,
playing ping-pong in Japan
148
534444
3803
同時,在日本打乒乓球
08:58
reminds me why choirs
regularly enjoy more fun
149
538271
5079
讓我想起為什麼合唱團通常會比
獨唱更有樂趣。
09:03
than soloists.
150
543374
1595
09:05
In a choir, your only job is to play
your small part perfectly,
151
545866
5754
在合唱團中,你唯一的工作
就是完美演出你的小角色,
09:11
to hit your notes with feeling,
152
551644
2763
用感覺去唱出你的音符,
09:14
and by so doing, to help to create
a beautiful harmony
153
554431
4104
如此協助創造出美麗的和諧,
09:18
that's much greater
than the sum of its parts.
154
558559
3284
讓它變得比所有部分
加總起來更強大。
09:23
Yes, every choir does need a conductor,
155
563190
2963
是的,每個合唱團都需要一個指揮,
09:26
but I think a choir releases you
from a child's simple sense of either-ors.
156
566177
6698
但我認為合唱團會讓你脫離
兒時非黑即白的簡單二分法。
09:33
You come to see that the opposite
of winning isn't losing --
157
573858
3706
你會開始了解
贏的另一面並不是輸——
09:38
it's failing to see the larger picture.
158
578440
2862
而是無法看到更大的大局。
09:43
As my life goes on,
159
583753
2944
隨著年歲增長,我很訝異見到
09:46
I'm really startled to see that no event
160
586721
4136
事件在發生後數年
09:50
can properly be assessed
for years after it has unfolded.
161
590881
4960
仍不能適當地被評估。
09:57
I once lost everything
I owned in the world,
162
597282
3764
我曾經失去過我在世界上
所擁有的一切,
10:01
every last thing, in a wildfire.
163
601070
2920
在大火中失去所有的一切。
10:05
But in time, I came to see
that it was that seeming loss
164
605275
4618
但最後,我漸漸了解,
那看似失去一切的狀況,
10:09
that allowed me to live
on the earth more gently,
165
609917
3935
讓我能夠更溫柔地住在地球上,
10:13
to write without notes,
166
613876
2430
不用筆記就能寫作,
10:16
and actually, to move to Japan
167
616330
2629
且能真的搬到日本,
10:18
and the inner health club
known as the ping-pong table.
168
618983
3190
加入內在健康俱樂部,
也就是乒乓球桌。
10:23
Conversely, I once stumbled
into the perfect job,
169
623427
4571
相反的,我有一次
遇到了一個完美的工作,
10:28
and I came to see that seeming happiness
170
628022
3032
我漸漸了解,那看似快樂的狀況
10:31
can stand in the way of true joy
171
631078
3126
反而比不幸更會阻礙
10:34
even more than misery does.
172
634228
2167
真正的喜悅。
10:37
Playing doubles in Japan
really relieves me of all my anxiety,
173
637825
5373
在日本雙打真的讓我
解除了所有焦慮,
10:43
and at the end of an evening,
174
643222
1612
有天晚上結束時,
10:44
I notice everybody is filing out
in a more or less equal state of delight.
175
644858
6363
我注意到大家都有
差不多同等的愉悅。
10:52
I'm reminded every night
176
652497
2180
每天晚上我都會被提醒,
10:54
that not getting ahead
isn't the same thing as falling behind
177
654701
5800
沒有領先並不等同於落後,
11:00
any more than not being lively
is the same thing as being dead.
178
660525
4350
就如同,沒有精力充沛
並不等同於死了。
11:06
And I've come to understand why it is
179
666216
2436
我漸漸了解為什麼
11:08
that Chinese universities
are said to offer degrees in ping-pong,
180
668676
5571
中國的大學會提供乒乓球學位,
11:14
and why researchers
have found that ping-pong
181
674271
2960
以及為什麼研究者發現乒乓
11:17
can actually help a little
with mild mental disorders
182
677255
3785
真的能對輕微的
心理疾病有一點幫助,
11:21
and even autism.
183
681064
1595
甚至是自閉症。
11:24
But as I watch the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo,
184
684205
4690
但當我看 2020 東京奧運時,
11:28
I'm going to be keenly aware
185
688919
2620
我將會非常敏銳地意識到
11:31
that it won't be possible
to tell who's won or who's lost
186
691563
4214
會有很長的一段時間
不可能分辨出誰贏、誰輸。
11:35
for a very long time.
187
695801
2158
11:39
You remember that point I mentioned
188
699650
2330
還記得我前面提到過
11:42
that was said to last
for two hours and 12 minutes?
189
702004
2884
花了兩小時十二分才得到的一分嗎?
11:45
Well, one of the players from that game
ended up, six years later,
190
705689
4745
那場比賽的其中一位球員
六年後淪落到
奧斯威辛和達豪集中營。
11:50
in the concentration camps
of Auschwitz and Dachau.
191
710458
4118
11:55
But he walked out alive.
192
715944
1880
但他活著出來了。
11:59
Why?
193
719145
1410
為什麼?
12:00
Simply because a guard in the gas chamber
194
720579
3130
只因為毒氣室的一名守衛
12:03
recognized him from
his ping-pong playing days.
195
723733
3163
認出他以前是乒乓球員。
12:08
Had he been the winner of that epic match?
196
728326
3071
他是那場史詩級比賽的贏家嗎?
12:11
It hardly mattered.
197
731421
1318
一點也不重要了。
12:12
As you recall, many people had filed out
before even the first point was concluded.
198
732763
5800
如果各位記得,很多人
在那一分出現之前就離場了。
12:19
The only thing that saved him
199
739437
2505
救了他一命的不是輸贏,
12:21
was the fact that he took part.
200
741966
2121
而是他的參賽。
12:25
The best way to win any game,
201
745464
2369
每隔一天晚上日本就會告訴我,
12:27
Japan tells me every other night,
202
747857
2794
贏得任何比賽的最佳方法,
12:30
is never, never to think about the score.
203
750675
5195
是永遠、永遠不要去想比分。
12:37
Thank you.
204
757365
1151
謝謝。
12:38
(Applause)
205
758540
3446
(掌聲)
New videos
關於本網站
本網站將向您介紹對學習英語有用的 YouTube 視頻。 您將看到來自世界各地的一流教師教授的英語課程。 雙擊每個視頻頁面上顯示的英文字幕,從那裡播放視頻。 字幕與視頻播放同步滾動。 如果您有任何意見或要求,請使用此聯繫表與我們聯繫。