ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lisa Bu - Passionate reader
Lisa Bu has built a career helping people find great stories to listen to. Now she tells her own story.

Why you should listen

At TED's annual staff retreat, everyone has to get up and talk about something -- either about work, or about something interesting from their own lives. In fall 2012, our own Lisa Bu prepared a talk about her love of reading. And our quiet, funny and efficient Content Distribution Manager simply brought down the house, with a story that's too good not to share. We are thrilled and proud that Lisa is the first TED staffer ever to be invited to speak on the mainstage at the TED Conference.

Born and raised in Hunan, China, Lisa Bu has been with TED since 2011. Before that, she spent seven years as a talk show producer and a digital media content director at Wisconsin Public Radio. She's also a computer programmer, with a PhD in journalism and an MBA in information systems from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a BA in Chinese from Nanjing University in China.

More profile about the speaker
Lisa Bu | Speaker | TED.com
TED2013

Lisa Bu: How books can open your mind

卜秋靜: 書籍如何成為心靈解藥

Filmed:
4,963,279 views

要是你兒時的夢想沒有成真會怎麼樣?隨著卜秋靜適應了在美國的生活,她向書籍尋求心靈解藥,為自己開闢一條新的人生路線。在這個真實的、令人愉悅的演說裡,她向我們分享了她獨特的閱讀方法,還有書籍的神奇力量。
- Passionate reader
Lisa Bu has built a career helping people find great stories to listen to. Now she tells her own story. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
So I was trained熟練 to become成為 a gymnast體操運動員
0
607
2712
七十年代時
00:15
for two years年份 in Hunan湖南, China中國 in the 1970s.
1
3319
3656
我在中國湖南練過兩年體操
00:18
When I was in the first grade年級, the government政府
2
6975
2545
當我上小學一年級時
00:21
wanted to transfer轉讓 me to a school學校 for athletes運動員,
3
9520
2607
政府想讓我轉學去體校
00:24
all expenses花費 paid支付.
4
12127
2048
一切免費
00:26
But my tiger mother母親 said, "No."
5
14175
2648
但我虎媽說「不行」
00:28
My parents父母 wanted me to become成為
6
16823
2136
我父母希望我長大後
00:30
an engineer工程師 like them.
7
18959
2104
像他們一樣當工程師
00:33
After surviving倖存 the Cultural文化 Revolution革命,
8
21063
2087
在文革中倖存下來後
00:35
they firmly牢牢 believed相信 there's only one sure way to happiness幸福:
9
23150
3809
他們堅定地認為通往幸福的路
只有一條
00:38
a safe安全 and well-paid高薪 job工作.
10
26959
2933
即是一個穩定高薪的工作
00:41
It is not important重要 if I like the job工作 or not.
11
29892
2795
至於我喜不喜歡那個工作並不重要
00:44
But my dream夢想 was to become成為 a Chinese中文 opera歌劇 singer歌手.
12
32687
5280
但我的夢想卻是成為黃梅戲演員
00:49
That is me playing播放 my imaginary假想 piano鋼琴.
13
37967
3648
那是我在彈假想的鋼琴
00:53
An opera歌劇 singer歌手 must必須 start開始 training訓練 young年輕
14
41615
2184
戲曲演員必須從小開始
00:55
to learn學習 acrobatics雜技,
15
43799
1584
學身段功夫
00:57
so I tried試著 everything I could to go to opera歌劇 school學校.
16
45383
2944
我想盡了一切辦法
希望能去黃梅戲學校
01:00
I even wrote to the school學校 principal主要
17
48327
2267
甚至寫信給戲校校長
01:02
and the host主辦 of a radio無線電 show顯示.
18
50594
2761
和一個電台節目主持人
01:05
But no adults成年人 liked喜歡 the idea理念.
19
53355
3806
但沒一個大人喜歡那個主意
01:09
No adults成年人 believed相信 I was serious嚴重.
20
57161
2723
沒一個大人相信我是認真的
01:11
Only my friends朋友 supported支持的 me, but they were kids孩子,
21
59884
3244
只有朋友們支持我
但他們也是小孩
01:15
just as powerless無力 as I was.
22
63128
2756
和我一樣無能為力
01:17
So at age年齡 15, I knew知道 I was too old to be trained熟練.
23
65884
5765
十五歲時
我知道自己要學戲已經年紀太大
01:23
My dream夢想 would never come true真正.
24
71649
2967
我的夢想再也不能實現
01:26
I was afraid害怕 that for the rest休息 of my life
25
74616
3308
我擔心在餘下的一生裡
01:29
some second-class二等 happiness幸福
26
77924
2037
自己的使命
01:31
would be the best最好 I could hope希望 for.
27
79961
2537
就是得到些二流幸福而已
01:34
But that's so unfair不公平.
28
82498
2428
那太不公平了
01:36
So I was determined決心 to find another另一個 calling調用.
29
84926
3802
我暗下決心要為自己尋找另一個使命
01:40
Nobody沒有人 around to teach me? Fine.
30
88728
2737
周圍無人賜教?沒什麼大不了
01:43
I turned轉身 to books圖書.
31
91465
2232
我從書中學習
01:45
I satisfied滿意 my hunger飢餓 for parental父母 advice忠告
32
93697
3642
《傅雷家書》滿足了我對長輩教誨的期盼
01:49
from this book by a family家庭 of writers作家 and musicians音樂家.["Correspondence對應 in the Family家庭 of Fou Lei花環"]
33
97339
4877
寫書的傅家是一個作家、
音樂家薈萃的家庭
01:54
I found發現 my role角色 model模型 of an independent獨立 woman女人
34
102216
3073
我從《簡愛》這本書中找到了
獨立女性的榜樣
01:57
when Confucian儒家 tradition傳統 requires要求 obedience服從.["Jane Eyre"]
35
105289
3844
儘管儒家傳統教人聽話順從
02:01
And I learned學到了 to be efficient高效 from this book.["Cheaper便宜 by the Dozen"]
36
109133
3697
我從《效率專家爸爸》這本書中
學會高效率
02:04
And I was inspired啟發 to study研究 abroad國外 after reading these.
37
112830
3965
這幾本書燃起了我對出國深造的渴望
02:08
["Complete完成 Works作品 of Sanmao三毛" (aka又名 Echo迴聲 Chan)] ["Lessons教訓 From History歷史" by Nan HuaijinHuaijin]
38
116795
2071
(《三毛全集》、
南懷瑾的《歷史的經驗》)
02:10
I came來了 to the U.S. in 1995,
39
118866
3191
我1995年來美國
02:14
so which哪一個 books圖書 did I read here first?
40
122057
2881
在美國我首先讀什麼書呢?
02:16
Books圖書 banned取締 in China中國, of course課程.
41
124938
3525
當然是中國的禁書
02:20
"The Good Earth地球" is about Chinese中文 peasant life.
42
128463
3670
《大地》講的是中國農民的故事
02:24
That's just not convenient方便 for propaganda宣傳. Got it.
43
132133
4102
真實得不方便用來做政治宣傳,
懂了吧
02:28
The Bible聖經 is interesting有趣, but strange奇怪.
44
136235
3725
《聖經》很有趣,但也很奇怪
02:31
(Laughter笑聲)
45
139960
2485
(笑聲)
02:34
That's a topic話題 for a different不同 day.
46
142445
3471
那個話題他日再聊
02:37
But the fifth第五 commandment誡命 gave me an epiphany頓悟:
47
145916
3295
但十誡中的第五誡給了我靈感:
02:41
"You shall honor榮譽 your father父親 and mother母親."
48
149211
2979
「你應榮耀你的父母」
02:44
"Honor榮譽," I said. "That's so different不同,
49
152190
2950
我心裡一動,「榮耀」不等於
02:47
and better, than obey遵守."
50
155140
1739
而且遠勝於「服從」
02:48
So it becomes my tool工具 to climb out
51
156879
2504
它成為我爬出
02:51
of this Confucian儒家 guilt有罪 trap陷阱
52
159383
2116
儒家負罪感的工具
02:53
and to restart重新開始 my relationship關係 with my parents父母.
53
161499
4272
讓我重建與父母的關係
02:57
Encountering遭遇 a new culture文化 also started開始 my habit習慣
54
165771
3022
來到一個新文化環境
03:00
of comparative比較 reading.
55
168793
1772
也促成我比較閱讀的習慣
03:02
It offers報價 many許多 insights見解.
56
170565
1855
它讓人讀得更深刻
03:04
For example, I found發現 this map地圖 out of place地點 at first
57
172420
4780
舉個例子,第一次看到這幅地圖時
我覺得它有些怪
03:09
because this is what Chinese中文 students學生們 grew成長 up with.
58
177200
4885
因為這才是中國大陸學生
從小到大使用的世界地圖
03:14
It had never occurred發生 to me,
59
182085
1501
我之前從未意識到
03:15
China中國 doesn't have to be at the center中央 of the world世界.
60
183586
3135
原來中國不一定非要位於
世界地圖中央
03:18
A map地圖 actually其實 carries攜帶 somebody's某人的 view視圖.
61
186721
4253
原來地圖帶著某種視角
03:22
Comparative比較 reading actually其實 is nothing new.
62
190974
2408
比較閱讀並不新鮮
03:25
It's a standard標準 practice實踐 in the academic學術的 world世界.
63
193382
3304
它是學術界裡的一種標準做法
03:28
There are even research研究 fields領域
64
196686
1468
比較文學、比較宗教學
03:30
such這樣 as comparative比較 religion宗教 and comparative比較 literature文學.
65
198154
3945
甚至成為專門的研究領域
03:34
Compare比較 and contrast對比 gives scholars學者
66
202099
2235
對比對照讓學者們
03:36
a more complete完成 understanding理解 of a topic話題.
67
204334
3006
對一個課題有更全面的了解
03:39
So I thought, well, if comparative比較 reading
68
207340
1753
我琢磨著,既然比較閱讀對研究有用
03:41
works作品 for research研究, why not do it in daily日常 life too?
69
209093
3836
為什麼不把它用於日常生活中呢?
03:44
So I started開始 reading books圖書 in pairs.
70
212929
3375
我開始把書成對來讀
03:48
So they can be about people --
71
216304
1214
它們可以是關於
03:49
["Benjamin本傑明 Franklin富蘭克林" by Walter沃爾特 Isaacson艾薩克森]["John約翰 Adams亞當斯" by David大衛 McCullough麥卡洛] --
72
217518
883
(《本傑明•富蘭克林》、
《約翰•亞當斯》)
03:50
who are involved參與 in the same相同 event事件,
73
218401
2508
同一事件的不同當事人
03:52
or friends朋友 with shared共享 experiences經驗.
74
220909
2679
或兩個有共同經歷的朋友
03:55
["Personal個人 History歷史" by Katharine凱瑟琳 Graham格雷厄姆]["The Snowball雪球: Warren養兔場 Buffett巴菲特 and the Business商業 of Life," by Alice愛麗絲 Schroeder施羅德]
75
223588
1400
(凱瑟琳·格雷厄姆的《個人歷史》、
巴菲特傳記《雪球》)
03:56
I also compare比較 the same相同 stories故事 in different不同 genres流派 -- (Laughter笑聲)
76
224988
4398
我還把故事相同但
文體不同的書做對比
04:01
[Holy Bible聖經: King國王 James詹姆士 Version]["Lamb羊肉" by ChrisopherChrisopher Moore穆爾] --
77
229386
2112
(《聖經》、小說《羔羊》)
04:03
or similar類似 stories故事 from different不同 cultures文化,
78
231498
3137
或對比那些來自不同文化的相似故事
04:06
as Joseph約瑟夫 Campbell坎貝爾 did in his wonderful精彩 book.["The Power功率 of Myth神話" by Joseph約瑟夫 Campbell坎貝爾]
79
234635
2881
象約瑟夫·坎貝爾在其傑作
《神話的力量》中所做的那樣
04:09
For example, both the Christ基督 and the Buddha
80
237516
3393
舉個例子,耶穌和佛祖
04:12
went through通過 three temptations誘惑.
81
240909
2433
都經歷了三大誘惑
04:15
For the Christ基督, the temptations誘惑
82
243342
1802
耶穌經歷的是
04:17
are economic經濟, political政治 and spiritual精神.
83
245144
3975
經濟、政治和精神誘惑
04:21
For the Buddha, they are all psychological心理:
84
249119
4326
佛祖經歷的則都是心理誘惑
04:25
lust情慾, fear恐懼 and social社會 duty義務 -- interesting有趣.
85
253445
7318
慾望、恐懼和社會責任 — 有意思
04:32
So if you know a foreign國外 language語言, it's also fun開玩笑
86
260763
3039
如果你懂外語
04:35
to read your favorite喜愛 books圖書 in two languages語言.
87
263802
1897
把你喜歡的書的兩個語言版本
對比讀也很有意思
04:37
["The Way of Chuang Tzu慈濟" Thomas托馬斯 Merton默頓]["Tao: The Watercourse河道 Way" Alan艾倫 Watts]
88
265699
1252
(托馬斯·默頓翻譯的《莊子》、
阿倫·瓦特翻譯的《道德經》)
04:38
Instead代替 of lost丟失 in translation翻譯, I found發現 there is much to gain獲得.
89
266951
3560
人們常說翻譯總有缺失
我卻發現翻譯也可以帶來收穫
04:42
For example, it's through通過 translation翻譯 that I realized實現
90
270527
4208
舉個例子,是翻譯使我意識到
04:46
"happiness幸福" in Chinese中文 literally按照字面 means手段 "fast快速 joy喜悅." Huh!
91
274735
5973
原來中文「快樂」一詞的字面意思
可解為「快速歡樂」,呃!
04:52
"Bride新娘" in Chinese中文 literally按照字面 means手段 "new mother母親." Uh-oh嗯,哦.
92
280708
5289
中文「新娘」一詞的字面意思
可解為「新媽媽」,天啊!
04:57
(Laughter笑聲)
93
285997
3261
(笑聲)
05:01
Books圖書 have given特定 me a magic魔法 portal門戶 to connect with people
94
289258
5387
書已成為我與古人今人溝通的
05:06
of the past過去 and the present當下.
95
294645
2645
一個神奇門戶
05:09
I know I shall never feel lonely孤獨 or powerless無力 again.
96
297290
4235
讓我再不會覺得孤單無助
05:13
Having a dream夢想 shattered破滅 really is nothing
97
301525
2677
與其他人的苦難相比
05:16
compared相比 to what many許多 others其他 have suffered遭遇.
98
304202
2936
夢想破滅算不了什麼
05:19
I have come to believe that coming未來 true真正
99
307138
2728
我漸漸意識到
05:21
is not the only purpose目的 of a dream夢想.
100
309866
3280
美夢成真並非夢想的唯一目的
05:25
Its most important重要 purpose目的 is to get us in touch觸摸
101
313146
3901
它最重要目的是讓我們
05:29
with where dreams come from,
102
317047
2115
與夢想來源的地方
05:31
where passion comes from, where happiness幸福 comes from.
103
319162
2904
熱情來源的地方和快樂來源的地方
保持聯繫
05:34
Even a shattered破滅 dream夢想 can do that for you.
104
322066
4222
哪怕一個破滅的夢想也能讓你做到
05:38
So because of books圖書, I'm here today今天,
105
326288
2254
因為書,我今天得以在此
05:40
happy快樂, living活的 again with a purpose目的 and a clarity明晰,
106
328542
3660
在大部分時候,快樂地活著
05:44
most of the time.
107
332202
1750
生活的目標和意義重新變得明確
05:45
So may可能 books圖書 be always with you.
108
333952
3561
希望書永遠與你相伴
05:49
Thank you.
109
337513
1478
謝謝
05:50
(Applause掌聲)
110
338991
1848
(掌聲)
05:52
Thank you. (Applause掌聲)
111
340839
3645
謝謝(掌聲)
05:56
Thank you. (Applause掌聲)
112
344484
5093
謝謝(掌聲)
Translated by Shengwei Cai
Reviewed by William Choi

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Lisa Bu - Passionate reader
Lisa Bu has built a career helping people find great stories to listen to. Now she tells her own story.

Why you should listen

At TED's annual staff retreat, everyone has to get up and talk about something -- either about work, or about something interesting from their own lives. In fall 2012, our own Lisa Bu prepared a talk about her love of reading. And our quiet, funny and efficient Content Distribution Manager simply brought down the house, with a story that's too good not to share. We are thrilled and proud that Lisa is the first TED staffer ever to be invited to speak on the mainstage at the TED Conference.

Born and raised in Hunan, China, Lisa Bu has been with TED since 2011. Before that, she spent seven years as a talk show producer and a digital media content director at Wisconsin Public Radio. She's also a computer programmer, with a PhD in journalism and an MBA in information systems from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a BA in Chinese from Nanjing University in China.

More profile about the speaker
Lisa Bu | Speaker | TED.com