WEBVTT 00:00:00.607 --> 00:00:03.319 So I was trained to become a gymnast 00:00:03.319 --> 00:00:06.975 for two years in Hunan, China in the 1970s. 00:00:06.975 --> 00:00:09.520 When I was in the first grade, the government 00:00:09.520 --> 00:00:12.127 wanted to transfer me to a school for athletes, 00:00:12.127 --> 00:00:14.175 all expenses paid. 00:00:14.175 --> 00:00:16.823 But my tiger mother said, "No." 00:00:16.823 --> 00:00:18.959 My parents wanted me to become 00:00:18.959 --> 00:00:21.063 an engineer like them. 00:00:21.063 --> 00:00:23.150 After surviving the Cultural Revolution, 00:00:23.150 --> 00:00:26.959 they firmly believed there's only one sure way to happiness: 00:00:26.959 --> 00:00:29.892 a safe and well-paid job. 00:00:29.892 --> 00:00:32.687 It is not important if I like the job or not. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:32.687 --> 00:00:37.967 But my dream was to become a Chinese opera singer. 00:00:37.967 --> 00:00:41.615 That is me playing my imaginary piano. 00:00:41.615 --> 00:00:43.799 An opera singer must start training young 00:00:43.799 --> 00:00:45.383 to learn acrobatics, 00:00:45.383 --> 00:00:48.327 so I tried everything I could to go to opera school. 00:00:48.327 --> 00:00:50.594 I even wrote to the school principal 00:00:50.594 --> 00:00:53.355 and the host of a radio show. 00:00:53.355 --> 00:00:57.161 But no adults liked the idea. 00:00:57.161 --> 00:00:59.884 No adults believed I was serious. 00:00:59.884 --> 00:01:03.128 Only my friends supported me, but they were kids, 00:01:03.128 --> 00:01:05.884 just as powerless as I was. 00:01:05.884 --> 00:01:11.649 So at age 15, I knew I was too old to be trained. 00:01:11.649 --> 00:01:14.616 My dream would never come true. 00:01:14.616 --> 00:01:17.924 I was afraid that for the rest of my life 00:01:17.924 --> 00:01:19.961 some second-class happiness 00:01:19.961 --> 00:01:22.498 would be the best I could hope for. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:22.498 --> 00:01:24.926 But that's so unfair. 00:01:24.926 --> 00:01:28.728 So I was determined to find another calling. 00:01:28.728 --> 00:01:31.465 Nobody around to teach me? Fine. 00:01:31.465 --> 00:01:33.697 I turned to books. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:33.697 --> 00:01:37.339 I satisfied my hunger for parental advice 00:01:37.339 --> 00:01:42.216 from this book by a family of writers and musicians.["Correspondence in the Family of Fou Lei"] NOTE Paragraph 00:01:42.216 --> 00:01:45.289 I found my role model of an independent woman 00:01:45.289 --> 00:01:49.133 when Confucian tradition requires obedience.["Jane Eyre"] NOTE Paragraph 00:01:49.133 --> 00:01:52.830 And I learned to be efficient from this book.["Cheaper by the Dozen"] NOTE Paragraph 00:01:52.830 --> 00:01:56.795 And I was inspired to study abroad after reading these. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:56.795 --> 00:01:58.866 ["Complete Works of Sanmao" (aka Echo Chan)] ["Lessons From History" by Nan Huaijin] NOTE Paragraph 00:01:58.866 --> 00:02:02.057 I came to the U.S. in 1995, 00:02:02.057 --> 00:02:04.938 so which books did I read here first? 00:02:04.938 --> 00:02:08.463 Books banned in China, of course. 00:02:08.463 --> 00:02:12.133 "The Good Earth" is about Chinese peasant life. 00:02:12.133 --> 00:02:16.235 That's just not convenient for propaganda. Got it. 00:02:16.235 --> 00:02:19.960 The Bible is interesting, but strange. 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:22.445 (Laughter) 00:02:22.445 --> 00:02:25.916 That's a topic for a different day. 00:02:25.916 --> 00:02:29.211 But the fifth commandment gave me an epiphany: 00:02:29.211 --> 00:02:32.190 "You shall honor your father and mother." 00:02:32.190 --> 00:02:35.140 "Honor," I said. "That's so different, 00:02:35.140 --> 00:02:36.879 and better, than obey." 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:39.383 So it becomes my tool to climb out 00:02:39.383 --> 00:02:41.499 of this Confucian guilt trap 00:02:41.499 --> 00:02:45.771 and to restart my relationship with my parents. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:45.771 --> 00:02:48.793 Encountering a new culture also started my habit 00:02:48.793 --> 00:02:50.565 of comparative reading. 00:02:50.565 --> 00:02:52.420 It offers many insights. 00:02:52.420 --> 00:02:57.200 For example, I found this map out of place at first 00:02:57.200 --> 00:03:02.085 because this is what Chinese students grew up with. 00:03:02.085 --> 00:03:03.586 It had never occurred to me, 00:03:03.586 --> 00:03:06.721 China doesn't have to be at the center of the world. 00:03:06.721 --> 00:03:10.974 A map actually carries somebody's view. 00:03:10.974 --> 00:03:13.382 Comparative reading actually is nothing new. 00:03:13.382 --> 00:03:16.686 It's a standard practice in the academic world. 00:03:16.686 --> 00:03:18.154 There are even research fields 00:03:18.154 --> 00:03:22.099 such as comparative religion and comparative literature. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:24.334 Compare and contrast gives scholars 00:03:24.334 --> 00:03:27.340 a more complete understanding of a topic. 00:03:27.340 --> 00:03:29.093 So I thought, well, if comparative reading 00:03:29.093 --> 00:03:32.929 works for research, why not do it in daily life too? 00:03:32.929 --> 00:03:36.304 So I started reading books in pairs. 00:03:36.304 --> 00:03:37.518 So they can be about people -- 00:03:37.518 --> 00:03:38.401 ["Benjamin Franklin" by Walter Isaacson]["John Adams" by David McCullough] -- 00:03:38.401 --> 00:03:40.909 who are involved in the same event, 00:03:40.909 --> 00:03:43.588 or friends with shared experiences. 00:03:43.588 --> 00:03:44.988 ["Personal History" by Katharine Graham]["The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life," by Alice Schroeder] 00:03:44.988 --> 00:03:49.386 I also compare the same stories in different genres -- (Laughter) 00:03:49.386 --> 00:03:51.498 [Holy Bible: King James Version]["Lamb" by Chrisopher Moore] -- 00:03:51.498 --> 00:03:54.635 or similar stories from different cultures, 00:03:54.635 --> 00:03:57.516 as Joseph Campbell did in his wonderful book.["The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell] 00:03:57.516 --> 00:04:00.909 For example, both the Christ and the Buddha 00:04:00.909 --> 00:04:03.342 went through three temptations. 00:04:03.342 --> 00:04:05.144 For the Christ, the temptations 00:04:05.144 --> 00:04:09.119 are economic, political and spiritual. 00:04:09.119 --> 00:04:13.445 For the Buddha, they are all psychological: 00:04:13.445 --> 00:04:20.763 lust, fear and social duty -- interesting. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:20.763 --> 00:04:23.802 So if you know a foreign language, it's also fun 00:04:23.802 --> 00:04:25.699 to read your favorite books in two languages. 00:04:25.699 --> 00:04:26.951 ["The Way of Chuang Tzu" Thomas Merton]["Tao: The Watercourse Way" Alan Watts] 00:04:26.951 --> 00:04:30.511 Instead of lost in translation, I found there is much to gain. 00:04:30.527 --> 00:04:34.735 For example, it's through translation that I realized 00:04:34.735 --> 00:04:40.708 "happiness" in Chinese literally means "fast joy." Huh! 00:04:40.708 --> 00:04:45.997 "Bride" in Chinese literally means "new mother." Uh-oh. 00:04:45.997 --> 00:04:49.258 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:04:49.258 --> 00:04:54.645 Books have given me a magic portal to connect with people 00:04:54.645 --> 00:04:57.290 of the past and the present. 00:04:57.290 --> 00:05:01.525 I know I shall never feel lonely or powerless again. 00:05:01.525 --> 00:05:04.202 Having a dream shattered really is nothing 00:05:04.202 --> 00:05:07.138 compared to what many others have suffered. 00:05:07.138 --> 00:05:09.866 I have come to believe that coming true 00:05:09.866 --> 00:05:13.146 is not the only purpose of a dream. 00:05:13.146 --> 00:05:17.047 Its most important purpose is to get us in touch 00:05:17.047 --> 00:05:19.162 with where dreams come from, 00:05:19.162 --> 00:05:22.066 where passion comes from, where happiness comes from. 00:05:22.066 --> 00:05:26.288 Even a shattered dream can do that for you. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:26.288 --> 00:05:28.542 So because of books, I'm here today, 00:05:28.542 --> 00:05:32.202 happy, living again with a purpose and a clarity, 00:05:32.202 --> 00:05:33.952 most of the time. 00:05:33.952 --> 00:05:37.513 So may books be always with you. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:37.513 --> 00:05:38.991 Thank you. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:38.991 --> 00:05:40.839 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:44.484 Thank you. (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:05:44.484 --> 00:05:49.577 Thank you. (Applause)