How books can open your mind
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0:01 - 0:03So I was trained to become a gymnast
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0:03 - 0:07for two years in Hunan, China in the 1970s.
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0:07 - 0:10When I was in the first grade, the government
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0:10 - 0:12wanted to transfer me to a school for athletes,
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0:12 - 0:14all expenses paid.
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0:14 - 0:17But my tiger mother said, "No."
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0:17 - 0:19My parents wanted me to become
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0:19 - 0:21an engineer like them.
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0:21 - 0:23After surviving the Cultural Revolution,
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0:23 - 0:27they firmly believed there's only one sure way to happiness:
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0:27 - 0:30a safe and well-paid job.
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0:30 - 0:33It is not important if I like the job or not.
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0:33 - 0:38But my dream was to become a Chinese opera singer.
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0:38 - 0:42That is me playing my imaginary piano.
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0:42 - 0:44An opera singer must start training young
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0:44 - 0:45to learn acrobatics,
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0:45 - 0:48so I tried everything I could to go to opera school.
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0:48 - 0:51I even wrote to the school principal
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0:51 - 0:53and the host of a radio show.
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0:53 - 0:57But no adults liked the idea.
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0:57 - 1:00No adults believed I was serious.
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1:00 - 1:03Only my friends supported me, but they were kids,
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1:03 - 1:06just as powerless as I was.
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1:06 - 1:12So at age 15, I knew I was too old to be trained.
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1:12 - 1:15My dream would never come true.
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1:15 - 1:18I was afraid that for the rest of my life
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1:18 - 1:20some second-class happiness
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1:20 - 1:22would be the best I could hope for.
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1:22 - 1:25But that's so unfair.
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1:25 - 1:29So I was determined to find another calling.
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1:29 - 1:31Nobody around to teach me? Fine.
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1:31 - 1:34I turned to books.
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1:34 - 1:37I satisfied my hunger for parental advice
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1:37 - 1:42from this book by a family of writers and musicians.["Correspondence in the Family of Fou Lei"]
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1:42 - 1:45I found my role model of an independent woman
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1:45 - 1:49when Confucian tradition requires obedience.["Jane Eyre"]
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1:49 - 1:53And I learned to be efficient from this book.["Cheaper by the Dozen"]
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1:53 - 1:57And I was inspired to study abroad after reading these.
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1:57 - 1:59["Complete Works of Sanmao" (aka Echo Chan)] ["Lessons From History" by Nan Huaijin]
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1:59 - 2:02I came to the U.S. in 1995,
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2:02 - 2:05so which books did I read here first?
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2:05 - 2:08Books banned in China, of course.
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2:08 - 2:12"The Good Earth" is about Chinese peasant life.
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2:12 - 2:16That's just not convenient for propaganda. Got it.
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2:16 - 2:20The Bible is interesting, but strange.
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2:20 - 2:22(Laughter)
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2:22 - 2:26That's a topic for a different day.
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2:26 - 2:29But the fifth commandment gave me an epiphany:
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2:29 - 2:32"You shall honor your father and mother."
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2:32 - 2:35"Honor," I said. "That's so different,
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2:35 - 2:37and better, than obey."
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2:37 - 2:39So it becomes my tool to climb out
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2:39 - 2:41of this Confucian guilt trap
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2:41 - 2:46and to restart my relationship with my parents.
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2:46 - 2:49Encountering a new culture also started my habit
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2:49 - 2:51of comparative reading.
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2:51 - 2:52It offers many insights.
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2:52 - 2:57For example, I found this map out of place at first
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2:57 - 3:02because this is what Chinese students grew up with.
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3:02 - 3:04It had never occurred to me,
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3:04 - 3:07China doesn't have to be at the center of the world.
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3:07 - 3:11A map actually carries somebody's view.
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3:11 - 3:13Comparative reading actually is nothing new.
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3:13 - 3:17It's a standard practice in the academic world.
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3:17 - 3:18There are even research fields
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3:18 - 3:22such as comparative religion and comparative literature.
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3:22 - 3:24Compare and contrast gives scholars
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3:24 - 3:27a more complete understanding of a topic.
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3:27 - 3:29So I thought, well, if comparative reading
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3:29 - 3:33works for research, why not do it in daily life too?
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3:33 - 3:36So I started reading books in pairs.
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3:36 - 3:38So they can be about people --
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3:38 - 3:38["Benjamin Franklin" by Walter Isaacson]["John Adams" by David McCullough] --
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3:38 - 3:41who are involved in the same event,
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3:41 - 3:44or friends with shared experiences.
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3:44 - 3:45["Personal History" by Katharine Graham]["The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life," by Alice Schroeder]
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3:45 - 3:49I also compare the same stories in different genres -- (Laughter)
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3:49 - 3:51[Holy Bible: King James Version]["Lamb" by Chrisopher Moore] --
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3:51 - 3:55or similar stories from different cultures,
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3:55 - 3:58as Joseph Campbell did in his wonderful book.["The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell]
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3:58 - 4:01For example, both the Christ and the Buddha
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4:01 - 4:03went through three temptations.
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4:03 - 4:05For the Christ, the temptations
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4:05 - 4:09are economic, political and spiritual.
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4:09 - 4:13For the Buddha, they are all psychological:
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4:13 - 4:21lust, fear and social duty -- interesting.
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4:21 - 4:24So if you know a foreign language, it's also fun
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4:24 - 4:26to read your favorite books in two languages.
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4:26 - 4:27["The Way of Chuang Tzu" Thomas Merton]["Tao: The Watercourse Way" Alan Watts]
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4:27 - 4:31Instead of lost in translation, I found there is much to gain.
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4:31 - 4:35For example, it's through translation that I realized
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4:35 - 4:41"happiness" in Chinese literally means "fast joy." Huh!
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4:41 - 4:46"Bride" in Chinese literally means "new mother." Uh-oh.
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4:46 - 4:49(Laughter)
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4:49 - 4:55Books have given me a magic portal to connect with people
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4:55 - 4:57of the past and the present.
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4:57 - 5:02I know I shall never feel lonely or powerless again.
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5:02 - 5:04Having a dream shattered really is nothing
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5:04 - 5:07compared to what many others have suffered.
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5:07 - 5:10I have come to believe that coming true
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5:10 - 5:13is not the only purpose of a dream.
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5:13 - 5:17Its most important purpose is to get us in touch
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5:17 - 5:19with where dreams come from,
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5:19 - 5:22where passion comes from, where happiness comes from.
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5:22 - 5:26Even a shattered dream can do that for you.
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5:26 - 5:29So because of books, I'm here today,
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5:29 - 5:32happy, living again with a purpose and a clarity,
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5:32 - 5:34most of the time.
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5:34 - 5:38So may books be always with you.
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5:38 - 5:39Thank you.
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5:39 - 5:41(Applause)
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5:41 - 5:44Thank you. (Applause)
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5:44 - 5:50Thank you. (Applause)
- Title:
- How books can open your mind
- Speaker:
- Lisa Bu
- Description:
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What happens when a dream you've held since childhood … doesn't come true? As Lisa Bu adjusted to a new life in the United States, she turned to books to expand her mind and create a new path for herself. She shares her unique approach to reading in this lovely, personal talk about the magic of books.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 06:16
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for How books can open your mind | ||
Thu-Huong Ha approved English subtitles for How books can open your mind | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for How books can open your mind | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for How books can open your mind | ||
Morton Bast accepted English subtitles for How books can open your mind | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for How books can open your mind | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for How books can open your mind | ||
Joseph Geni edited English subtitles for How books can open your mind |