- 目錄
第1篇 邁克爾·杰克遜2022年牛津英語演講稿
heal the kids – o_ford speech
o_ford university, march 2022 by michael jackson
thank you, thank you dear friends, from the bottom of my heart, for such a loving and spirited welcome, and thank you, mr president, for your kind invitation to me which i am so honored to accept. i also want to e_press a special thanks to you shmuley, who for 11 years served as rabbi here at o_ford. you and i have been working so hard to form heal the kids, as well as writing our book about childlike qualities, and in all of our efforts you have been such a supportive and loving friend. and i would also like to thank toba friedman, our director of operations at heal the kids, who is returning tonight to the alma mater where she served as a marshall scholar, as well as marilyn piels, another central member of our heal the kids team.
i am humbled to be lecturing in a place that has previously been filled by such notable figures as mother theresa, albert einstein, ronald reagan, robert kennedy and malcolm _. i've even heard that kermit the frog has made an appearance here, and i've always felt a kinship with kermit's message that it's not easy being green. i'm sure he didn't find it any easier being up here than i do!
as i looked around o_ford today, i couldn't help but be aware of the majesty and grandeur of this great institution, not to mention the brilliance of the great and gifted minds that have roamed these streets for centuries. the walls of o_ford have not only housed the greatest philosophical and scientific geniuses – they have also ushered forth some of the most cherished creators of children's literature, from j.r.r. tolkien to cs lewis. today i was allowed to hobble into the dining hall in christ church to see lewis carroll's alice in wonderland immortalized in the stained glass windows. and even one of my own fellow americans, the beloved dr seuss graced these halls and then went on to leave his mark on the imaginations of millions of children throughout the world.
i suppose i should start by listing my qualifications to speak before you this evening. friends, i do not claim to have the academic e_pertise of other speakers who have addressed this hall, just as they could lay little claim at being adept at the moonwalk – and you know, einstein in particular was really terrible at that.
but i do have a claim to having e_perienced more places and cultures than most people will ever see. human knowledge consists not only of libraries of parchment and ink – it is also comprised of the volumes of knowledge that are written on the human heart, chiseled on the human soul, and engraved on the human psyche. and friends, i have encountered so much in this relatively short life of mine that i still cannot believe i am chiseled only 42. i often tell shmuley that in soul years i'm sure that i'm at least 80 – and tonight i even walk like i'm 80! so please harken to my message, because what i have to tell you tonight can bring healing to humanity and healing to our planet.
through the grace of god, i have been fortunate to have achieved many of my artistic and professional aspirations realized early in my lifetime. but these, friends are accomplishments, and accomplishments alone are not synonymous with who i am. indeed, the cheery five-year-old who belted out rockin' robin and ben to adoring crowds was not indicative of the boy behind the smile.
tonight, i come before you less as an icon of pop (whatever that means anyway), and more as an icon of a generation, a generation that no longer knows what it means to be children.
all of us are products of our childhood. but i am the product of a lack of a childhood, an absence of that precious and wondrous age when we frolic playfully without a care in the world, basking in the adoration of parents and relatives, where our biggest concern is studying for that big spelling test come monday morning.
those of you who are familiar with the jackson five know that i began performing at the tender age of five and that ever since then, i haven't stopped dancing or singing. but while performing and making music undoubtedly remain as some of my greatest joys, when i was young i wanted more than anything else to be a typical little boy. i wanted to build tree houses, have water balloon fights, and play hide and seek with my friends. but fate had it otherwise and all i could do was envy the laughter and playtime that seemed to be going on all around me.
there was no respite from my professional life. but on sundays i would go pioneering, the term used for the missionary work that jehovah's witnesses do. and it was then that i was able to see the magic of other people's childhood.
since i was already a celebrity, i would have to don a disguise of fat suit, wig, beard and glasses and we would spend the day in the suburbs of southern california, going door-to-door or making the rounds of shopping malls, distributing our watchtower magazine. i loved to set foot in all those regular suburban houses and catch sight of the shag rugs and la-z-boy armchairs with kids playing monopoly and grandmas baby-sitting and all those wonderful, ordinary and starry scenes of everyday life. many, i know, would argue that these things seem like no big deal. but to me they were mesmerizing.
i used to think that i was unique in feeling that i was without a childhood. i believed that indeed there were only a handful with whom i could share those feelings. when i recently met with shirley temple black, the great child star of the 1930s and 40s, we said nothing to each other at first, we simply cried together, for she could share a pain with me that only others like my close friends elizabeth taylor and mccauley culkin know.
i do not tell you this to gain your sympathy but to impress upon you my first important point : it is not just hollywood child stars that have suffered from a non-e_istent childhood. today, it's a universal calamity, a global catastrophe. childhood has become the great casualty of modern-day living. all around us we are producing scores of kids who have not had the joy, who have not been accorded the right, who have not been allowed the freedom, or knowing what it's like to be a kid.
today children are constantly encouraged to grow up faster, as if this period known as childhood is a burdensome stage, to be endured and ushered through, as swiftly as possible. and on that subject, i am certainly one of the world's greatest e_perts.
ours is a generation that has witnessed the abrogation of the parent-child covenant. psychologists are publishing libraries of books detailing the destructive effects of denying one's children the unconditional love that is so necessary to the healthy development of their minds and character. and because of all the neglect, too many of our kids have, essentially, to raise themselves. they are growing more distant from their parents, grandparents and other family members, as all around us the indestructible bond that once glued together the generations, unravels.
this violation has bred a new generation, generation o let us call it, that has now picked up the torch from generation _. the o stands for a generation that has everything on the outside – wealth, success, fancy clothing and fancy cars, but an aching emptiness on the inside. that cavity in our chests, that barrenness at our core, that void in our centre is the place where the heart once beat and which love once occupied.
and it's not just the kids who are suffering. it's the parents as well. for the more we cultivate little-adults in kids'-bodies, the more removed we ourselves become from our own child-like qualities, and there is so much about being a child that is worth retaining in adult life.
love, ladies and gentlemen, is the human family's most precious legacy, its richest bequest, its golden inheritance. and it is a treasure that is handed down from one generation to another. previous ages may not have had the wealth we enjoy. their houses may have lacked electricity, and they squeezed their many kids into small homes without central heating. but those homes had no darkness, nor were they cold. they were lit bright with the glow of love and they were warmed snugly by the very heat of the human heart. parents, undistracted by the lust for lu_ury and status, accorded their children primacy in their lives.
as you all know, our two countries broke from each other over what thomas jefferson referred to as 'certain inalienable rights'. and while we americans and british might dispute the justice of his claims, what has never been in dispute is that children have certain inalienable rights, and the gradual erosion of those rights has led to scores of children worldwide being denied the joys and security of childhood.
i would therefore like to propose tonight that we install in every home a children's universal bill of rights, the tenets of which are:
1. the right to be loved without having to earn it
2. the right to be protected, without having to deserve it
3. the right to feel valuable, even if you came into the world with nothing
4. the right to be listened to without having to be interesting
5. the right to be read a bedtime story, without having to compete with the evening news
6. the right to an education without having to dodge bullets at schools
7. the right to be thought of as adorable – (even if you have a face that only a mother could love).
friends, the foundation of all human knowledge, the beginning of human consciousness, must be that each and every one of us is an object of love. before you know if you have red hair or brown, before you know if you are black or white, before you know of what religion you are a part, you have to know that you are loved.
about twelve years ago, when i was just about to start my bad tour, a little boy came with his parents to visit me at home in california. he was dying of cancer and he told me how much he loved my music and me. his parents told me that he wasn't going to live, that any day he could just go, and i said to him: 'look, i am going to be coming to your town in kansas to open my tour in three months. i want you to come to the show. i am going to give you this jacket that i wore in one of my videos.' his eyes lit up and he said: 'you are gonna give it to me?' i said 'yeah, but you have to promise that you will wear it to the show.' i was trying to make him hold on. i said: 'when you come to the show i want to see you in this jacket and in this glove' and i gave him one of my rhinestone gloves – and i never usually give the rhinestone gloves away. and he was just in heaven.
but maybe he was too close to heaven, because when i came to his town, he had already died, and they had buried him in the glove and jacket. he was just 10 years old. god knows, i know, that he tried his best to hold on. but at least when he died, he knew that he was loved, not only by his parents, but even by me, a near stranger, i also loved him. and with all of that love he knew that he didn't come into this world alone, and he certainly didn't leave it alone.
if you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can he dealt with. a professor may degrade you, but you will not feel degraded, a boss may crush you, but you will not be crushed, a corporate gladiator might vanquish you, but you will still triumph. how could any of them truly prevail in pulling you down? for you know that you are an object worthy of love. the rest is just packaging.
but if you don't have that memory of being loved, you are condemned to search the world for something to fill you up. but no matter how much money you make or how famous you become, you will still fell empty. what you are really searching for is unconditional love, unqualified acceptance. and that was the one thing that was denied to you at birth.
friends, let me paint a picture for you. here is a typical day in america – si_ youths under the age of 20 will commit suicide, 12 children under the age of 20 will die from firearms – remember this is a day, not a year – 399 kids will be arrested for drug abuse, 1,352 babies will be born to teen mothers. this is happening in one of the richest, most developed countries in the history of the world.
yes, in my country there is an epidemic of violence that parallels no other industrialized nation. these are the ways young people in america e_press their hurt and their anger. but don't think that there is not the same pain and anguish among their counterparts in the united kingdom. studies in this country show that every single hour, three teenagers in the uk inflict harm upon themselves, often by cutting or burning their bodies or taking an overdose. this is how they have chosen to cope with the pain of neglect and emotional agony.
in britain, as many as 20% of families will only sit down and have dinner together once a year. once a year! and what about the time-honored tradition of reading your kid a bedtime story? research from the 1980s showed that children who are read to, had far greater literacy and significantly outperformed their peers at school. and yet, less than 33% of british children ages two to eight have a regular bedtime story read to them. you may not think much of that until you take into account that 75% of their parents did have that bedtime story when they were that age.
clearly, we do not have to ask ourselves where all of this pain, anger and violent behavior comes from. it is self-evident that children are thundering against the neglect, quaking against the indifference and crying out just to be noticed. the various child protection agencies in the us say that millions of children are victims of maltreatment in the form of neglect, in the average year. yes, neglect. in rich homes, privileged homes, wired to the hilt with every electronic gadget. homes where parents come home, but they're not really home, because their heads are still at the office. and their kids? well, their kids just make do with whatever emotional crumbs they get. and you don't get much from endless tv, computer games and videos.
these hard, cold numbers which for me, wrench the soul and shake the spirit, should indicate to you why i have devoted so much of my time and resources into making our new heal the kids initiative a colossal success.
our goal is simple – to recreate the parent/child bond, renew its promise and light the way forward for all the beautiful children who are destined one day to walk this earth.
but since this is my first public lecture, and you have so warmly welcomed me into your hearts, i feel that i want to tell you more. we each have our own story, and in that sense statistics can become personal.
they say that parenting is like dancing. you take one step, your child takes another. i have discovered that getting parents to re-dedicate themselves to their children is only half the story. the other half is preparing the children to re-accept their parents.
when i was very young i remember that we had this crazy mutt of a dog named 'black girl,' a mi_ of wolf and retriever. not only wasn't she much of a guard dog, she was such a scared and nervous thing that it is a wonder she did not pass out every time a truck rumbled by, or a thunderstorm swept through indiana. my sister janet and i gave that dog so much love, but we never really won back the sense of trust that had been stolen from her by her previous owner. we knew he used to beat her. we didn't know with what. but whatever it was, it was enough to suck the spirit right out of that dog.
a lot of kids today are hurt puppies who have weaned themselves off the need for love. they couldn't care less about their parents. left to their own devices, they cherish their independence. they have moved on and have left their parents behind.
then there are the far worse cases of children who harbor animosity and resentment toward their parents, so that any overture that their parents might undertake would be thrown forcefully back in their face.
tonight, i don't want any of us to make this mistake. that's why i'm calling upon all the world's children – beginning with all of us here tonight – to forgive our parents, if we felt neglected. forgive them and teach them how to love again.
you probably weren't surprised to hear that i did not have an idyllic childhood. the strain and tension that e_ists in my relationship with my own father is well documented. my father is a tough man and he pushed my brothers and me hard, from the earliest age, to be the best performers we could be.
he had great difficulty showing affection. he never really told me he loved me. and he never really complimented me either. if i did a great show, he would tell me it was a good show. and if i did an ok show, he told me it was a lousy show.
he seemed intent, above all else, on making us a commercial success. and at that he was more than adept. my father was a managerial genius and my brothers and i owe our professional success, in no small measure, to the forceful way that he pushed us. he trained me as a showman and under his guidance i couldn't miss a step.
but what i really wanted was a dad. i wanted a father who showed me love. and my father never did that. he never said i love you while looking me straight in the eye, he never played a game with me. he never gave me a piggyback ride, he never threw a pillow at me, or a water balloon.
but i remember once when i was about four years old, there was a little carnival and he picked me up and put me on a pony. it was a tiny gesture, probably something he forgot five minutes later. but because of that moment i have this special place in my heart for him. because that's how kids are, the little things mean so much to them and for me, that one moment meant everything. i only e_perienced it that one time, but it made me feel really good, about him and the world.
but now i am a father myself, and one day i was thinking about my own children, prince and paris and how i wanted them to think of me when they grow up. to be sure, i would like them to remember how i always wanted them with me wherever i went, how i always tried to put them before everything else. but there are also challenges in their lives. because my kids are stalked by paparazzi, they can't always go to a park or a movie with me.
so what if they grow older and resent me, and how my choices impacted their youth? why weren't we given an average childhood like all the other kids, they might ask? and at that moment i pray that my children will give me the benefit of the doubt. that they will say to themselves: 'our daddy did the best he could, given the unique circumstances that he faced. he may not have been perfect, but he was a warm and decent man, who tried to give us all the love in the world.'
i hope that they will always focus on the positive things, on the sacrifices i willingly made for them, and not criticize the things they had to give up, or the errors i've made, and will certainly continue to make, in raising them. for we have all been someone's child, and we know that despite the very best of plans and efforts, mistakes will always occur. that's just being human.
and when i think about this, of how i hope that my children will not judge me unkindly, and will forgive my shortcomings, i am forced to think of my own father and despite my earlier denials, i am forced to admit that me must have loved me. he did love me, and i know that.
there were little things that showed it. when i was a kid i had a real sweet tooth – we all did. my favorite food was glazed doughnuts and my father knew that. so every few weeks i would come downstairs in the morning and there on the kitchen counter was a bag of glazed doughnuts – no note, no e_planation – just the doughnuts. it was like santa claus.
sometimes i would think about staying up late at night, so i could see him leave them there, but just like with santa claus, i didn't want to ruin the magic for fear that he would never do it again. my father had to leave them secretly at night, so as no one might catch him with his guard down. he was scared of human emotion, he didn't understand it or know how to deal with it. but he did know doughnuts.
and when i allow the floodgates to open up, there are other memories that come rushing back, memories of other tiny gestures, however imperfect, that showed that he did what he could. so tonight, rather than focusing on what my father didn't do, i want to focus on all the things he did do and on his own personal challenges. i want to stop judging him.
i have started reflecting on the fact that my father grew up in the south, in a very poor family. he came of age during the depression and his own father, who struggled to feed his children, showed little affection towards his family and raised my father and his siblings with an iron fist. who could have imagined what it was like to grow up a poor black man in the south, robbed of dignity, bereft of hope, struggling to become a man in a world that saw my father as subordinate. i was the first black artist to be played on mtv and i remember how big a deal it was even then. and that was in the 80s!
my father moved to indiana and had a large family of his own, working long hours in the steel mills, work that kills the lungs and humbles the spirit, all to support his family. is it any wonder that he found it difficult to e_pose his feelings? is it any mystery that he hardened his heart, that he raised the emotional ramparts? and most of all, is it any wonder why he pushed his sons so hard to succeed as performers, so that they could be saved from what he knew to be a life of indignity and poverty?
i have begun to see that even my father's harshness was a kind of love, an imperfect love, to be sure, but love nonetheless. he pushed me because he loved me. because he wanted no man ever to look down at his offspring.
and now with time, rather than bitterness, i feel blessing. in the place of anger, i have found absolution. and in the place of revenge i have found reconciliation. and my initial fury has slowly given way to forgiveness.
almost a decade ago, i founded a charity called heal the world. the title was something i felt inside me. little did i know, as shmuley later pointed out, that those two words form the cornerstone of old testament prophecy. do i really believe that we can heal this world, that is riddled with war and genocide, even today? and do i really think that we can heal our children, the same children who can enter their schools with guns and hatred and shoot down their classmates, like they did at columbine? or children who can beat a defenseless toddler to death, like the tragic story of jamie bulger? of course i do, or i wouldn't be here tonight.
but it all begins with forgiveness, because to heal the world, we first have to heal ourselves. and to heal the kids, we first have to heal the child within, each and every one of us. as an adult, and as a parent, i realize that i cannot be a whole human being, nor a parent capable of unconditional love, until i put to rest the ghosts of my own childhood.
and that's what i'm asking all of us to do tonight. live up to the fifth of the ten commandments. honor your parents by not judging them. give them the benefit of the doubt.
that is why i want to forgive my father and to stop judging him. i want to forgive my father, because i want a father, and this is the only one that i've got. i want the weight of my past lifted from my shoulders and i want to be free to step into a new relationship with my father, for the rest of my life, unhindered by the goblins of the past.
in a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. in a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. in a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. and in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.
to all of you tonight who feel let down by your parents, i ask you to let down your disappointment. to all of you tonight who feel cheated by your fathers or mothers, i ask you not to cheat yourself further. and to all of you who wish to push your parents away, i ask you to e_tend you hand to them instead. i am asking you, i am asking myself, to give our parents the gift of unconditional love, so that they too may learn how to love from us, their children. so that love will finally be restored to a desolate and lonely world.
shmuley once mentioned to me an ancient biblical prophecy which says that a new world and a new time would come, when 'the hearts of the parents would be restored through the hearts of their children.' my friends, we are that world, we are those children.
mahatma gandhi said: 'the weak can never forgive. forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.' tonight, be strong. beyond being strong, rise to the greatest challenge of all – to restore that broken covenant. we must all overcome whatever crippling effects our childhoods may have had on our lives and in the words of jesse jackson, forgive each other, redeem each other and move on.
this call for forgiveness may not result in oprah moments the world over, with thousands of children making up with their parents, but it will at least be a start, and we'll all be so much happier as a result.
and so ladies and gentlemen, i conclude my remarks tonight with faith, joy and e_citement.
from this day forward, may a new song be heard.
let that new song be the sound of children laughing.
let that new song be the sound of children playing.
let that new song be the sound of children singing.
and let that new song be the sound of parents listening.
together, let us create a symphony of hearts, marveling at the miracle of our children and basking in the beauty of love.
let us heal the world and blight its pain.
and may we all make beautiful music together.
god bless you, and i love you.
第2篇 王力宏牛津大學勵志演講稿
以下內(nèi)容是王力宏受邀在牛津大學以“認識華流”為主題的演講稿,他在現(xiàn)場也跟大家分享了不少生活軼事,其中不乏切身感受。談到中西方融合時,他也深感自己肩負的使命。在演講最后,王力宏還不忘將優(yōu)秀的華人音樂帶給大家。
謝謝波琳娜,謝謝君,謝謝珮姍幫我組織這一切。
謝謝在座的各位,謝謝晚來的同學,也謝謝你們悄悄的進來。
今天開始之前,我想要先為四川地震的災民們以及波士頓馬拉松爆炸事件的受害者們默哀。讓我們用一分鐘時間,為他們祈福。
謝謝你們。
尊敬的各位牛津大學辯論會和牛津大學亞太學生會的同學們,萬萬想不到會以這樣的方式跟你們相聚。沒有吉他和二胡,沒有夸張的舞臺裝也沒有“火力全開”頭。不過上周確實在倫敦的o2體育館表演過了。不知道大家有沒有去看呢。 但是,從各方面來說,這些跟我們今天的話題都有密切的關(guān)聯(lián)。那就是-介紹華流音樂。
其實無論我喜不喜歡,我都被認為在代表者華流音樂以及電影。那么今天,我就要來做一次“國情咨文”報告了。但是,這個“國”不是牛津,而是東西方的一個聯(lián)合體。我想跟你們聊一聊,我們在將華語音樂引入西方社會方面所做的事情,無論是成就,還是不足。我都會坦誠布公。同時,我也想借此機會給你們留下這樣一個印記:軟實力交流的重要性以及它同我們每個人的相關(guān)程度。
軟實力這個詞我相信大家都不陌生。這個概念是由rhodes scholar 和牛津校友joseph nye 提出的。
被定義為一種“吸引”和“說服”的能力。
shashi tharoor 在最近的一次ted演講中把它定義為“一種文化讓其他文化在聽了他動人的故事之后受到影響并愛上這種文化”的能力。
我很喜歡這個定義。
但是我想用貼近你們在做大學生們的方式來解釋這個詞。在我看來,東方跟西方在某種程度上,像是兩個大一剛?cè)雽W的新生舍友。
兩個幾乎陌生的人,突然來到同一個屋檐下,其中一個總是怕另一個會跟他搶洗澡的時間,或者在他想要學習的時候大開趴體。
這種關(guān)系很可能就變成跟地獄一樣了,不是么?“我的室友是極品”的故事大家都講得出來。這些事我都有耳聞。還有我知道牛津這兒的很多同學都一人一間的對吧,但是,在我剛上威廉姆斯學院的時候,我并不幸運,而且人身安全堪憂。
哇,你還真的是我們學校的!好吧,好棒!
我當時就有一個這樣的極品舍友,讓我們暫且叫他frank。這個frank 就是那種好像除了抽沒有別的愛好的人。而且他每天都抽。
他床底下有一個兩英尺長的煙斗,持續(xù)不斷的得點著。給在做講中文的同學們形容下,就是他每天會對著那個煙斗火力全開好吧。
我可能在這點上算是跟bill clinton 相反吧。bill clinton 是那種“我試過,但我不上癮?!蔽也怀?,但是我每天都在吸啊吸,而且還是二手的。奇怪的是,只要我在我們的臥室里,我最后都會稀里糊涂地上課遲到。我也不知道怎么回事。我當時就是那副吸了的樣子,嘿,已經(jīng)十點了嗎?
你們中有多少人有過frank那樣的舍友呢?或者,你們也像他一樣。所以有一個室友可能是一場災難的開始。但也可能會釀造一段非凡的友誼。frank第二年就輟學了。于是我換了兩個新的舍友,stefan 和 jason。如今,我們?nèi)齻€是鐵哥們。
回過頭來看我的那個類比,我們東方和西方的舍友。是應該成為frank那樣的存在,還是想像stefan 和 jason那樣呢?我認為在當時當下,在2022,我們應該努力成為后者。我們應該, 我是說,我想在這一目標上我們是可以達成共識的,對吧?
那么,回過頭來,正視我們在現(xiàn)實中的處境??纯醋罱男侣勵^條:《外交政策》雜志上的,“中國的受害者情節(jié):為何中國領(lǐng)導人如此猜忌美國”或者法新社的財經(jīng)雜志《彭博商業(yè)周刊》上說,“沒錯,中國軍隊正在測探你?!?/p>
這個特別逗,我來給你們展示一下這封面。是的,特別恐慌有木有!方向那對的吧,嗯,對的。當今對于中國有太多的負面東西??秩A情緒很嚴重。我覺得這種現(xiàn)象不僅是一種誤傳同時也是一種誤導。這是很可怕的,超級可怕。
那么,中國人又是如何看待西方的呢?我們對西方人的稱呼五花八門。大家熟知的有:香港人叫他們“鬼佬”,字面上就是“老妖”。大陸人叫他們老外,字面上就是“蠻夷”。還有臺灣人叫他們“紅毛”。還真說不完呢。這看上去像是能發(fā)展成一段最佳友誼的舍友關(guān)系嗎?我認為我們得治治病。隨著中國實力不斷強大,看清楚應該相信什么這一點空前重要。因為,歸根結(jié)底,這就是高等教育的目的。
這就是我們坐在這里的原因:有能力獨立思考,自主選擇。中國當然不能通過那些新聞頭條來定義。也不只是所謂的特殊政策下快速增長的經(jīng)濟。中國不僅僅是一個世界工廠,也不僅僅是未來超級大國。中國的意義價值遠大于此。一個擁有十幾億人口,豐富悠久的歷史文化與傳奇故事的民族。作為中西兩種文化的共同產(chǎn)物,我特別想要幫忙在兩種文化之間培養(yǎng)起一種互相的理解,建立起一種很美好的情誼。
但凡事都有兩面,所以我認為這背后蘊含著一個亟待講述的愛情故事。我說“愛情故事”不完全在說笑。因為我相信,這些關(guān)于愛的故事能夠拯救我們,把我們凝聚在一起。我今天講的主題就是,通過流行文化修復東西方世界的關(guān)系。好宏偉的計劃有木有啊!我會想辦法講明白的。
聯(lián)合國秘書長潘基文說過,在音樂的世界里,溝通時無需語言的。這就是音樂的力量。這就是人心的力量。通過發(fā)揚藝術(shù),我們才能夠更好的了解其他民族的文明與文化。在這個動蕩不安,人與人之間不甚寬容的年代,我們需要利用音樂的力量來更好的了解彼此。
聯(lián)合國秘書長認為我們需要更多的音樂。這一點我很贊同。音樂和藝術(shù)一直在我的生命中占據(jù)著很重要的地位。音樂和藝術(shù)的力量能夠幫助建立人與人之間的關(guān)系,用包容,友誼和愛來驅(qū)逐因為無知的仇恨而產(chǎn)生的恐懼。在不同文化之間推廣音樂這一點上,我自己的童年時期的經(jīng)歷是一個最好的例證。
我在紐約的羅切斯特長大,幾乎不會說中文。我連“臺灣”和“泰國”這兩個詞都分不清楚。那是真的!我那時是個地地道道的美國人。直到我上了三年級,有一天在操場上,不可避免的事情終于發(fā)生了。因為中國人的血統(tǒng),我第一次被人嘲笑了。當然一起玩的小孩都會互相戲弄開玩笑,但這次絕對不同。這點當時我立馬就感覺到了。我們暫且管那個孩子叫bryan m吧。它開始嘲笑我說,中國人,日本人,臟膝蓋,快來看。(英文還押韻)你們居然還笑,我太受傷了!好吧,我只是開個玩笑。我依然能夠記得我當時的感覺。我感覺特別丟臉,特別尷尬。
但是我當時跟著所有其他人一直在笑。年幼的我并不知道該怎么辦。當時感覺好像靈魂出竅一樣。好像我能夠和操場上其他美國孩子一起嘲笑中國人,我就是他們當中一員了。這種想法可取嗎?當然不可取,而且是大錯特錯。
那是我第一次感受到一件殘酷而現(xiàn)實的事實。我屬于一個少數(shù)群體,但那絕不是最后一次。在那個時代的羅切斯特,亞洲人口特別少,幾乎之占當?shù)厝丝诘陌俜种弧?/p>
我當時心里很亂,我很想把bryan 打一頓。他讓我陷入那種窘境,因此我也要讓他難過。但是他身材比我壯,出手也比我快。如果和他打架,我一定會被揍得更慘。這一點我們都知道。所以我就忍了下來。我從來沒有告訴過別人。也沒發(fā)泄什么感受。一直自己忍著,想讓他們爛在心底就好了。后來慢慢地,這些感受在音樂里竟然十分巧妙地把我治愈了。我那個時候?qū)π√崆伲?,鼓都越來越得心應手,當然不是巧合。我漸漸發(fā)現(xiàn),當我演奏或者唱歌的時候,其他孩子便會忘記我的種族或我的膚色。而真正接受我,了解真正的我,哪怕只是一小會。每當這個時候,他們就會發(fā)現(xiàn),我跟他們都是一樣的人。我也對世界充滿感性的好奇和想象,我也需要愛。
到了六年級的時候,猜猜誰拉我加入他的樂隊當鼓手?對,就是bryan,我答應了。于是bryan跟我一起,組成了我們小學的搖滾樂隊:涅槃樂隊。是真的我沒開玩笑。我們的樂隊在科特柯本的涅槃樂隊之前就有了。所以后來涅槃樂隊出道的時候,我跟bryan還嚷嚷,嘿,他盜用我們的名字!所以在那么小的時候,我就發(fā)現(xiàn)了音樂的迷人之處。當然這迷人之處也是我至今熱愛音樂的原因之一。那就是,音樂能打破人與人之間的隔閡,能讓我們那么快就看到彼此的相似點,而不是那些不同之處。后來上了高中,我學到了更多,音樂不僅僅能夠溝通彼此,就像我跟bryan通過音樂結(jié)緣一樣。它同時也是一股強大的影響他人,激勵他人的力量。
sam wayne是我們學校的門衛(wèi)。他是越南僑民。幾乎從來不說英語。sam在我們學校做了二十幾年的清潔工,擦地板,掃廁所。卻從來沒跟學生們說過話。學生們也從不跟他說話。但是一天,我們學校一年一度的音樂節(jié)前夕,sam找到我,手里拿著一封信。我嚇壞了,心里琢磨,門衛(wèi)sam找我會有什么事?于是他遞給了我那封我至今保存的信。一看就是用顫抖的手寫下的潦草字跡。全都是大寫字母,信上寫著,我在這個學校當了那么多年門衛(wèi),你是我見過的第一個擔綱主唱的亞洲男孩。我今晚要帶我六歲的女兒來看你的演出。因為我想要她看到,我們亞洲人也可以帶給人好多正能量。我真的被那封信震驚了。十五歲的我當時就驚呆了。我第一次意識到,原來音樂如此重要。
在bryan那兒,他讓兩個本來是敵人的孩子成為了朋友,然而在sam這里,音樂的意義超過了個體的范疇,達到了一個更好的層次。音樂以我想不到的方式影響到我甚至完全不認識的人。我從頭至尾對門衛(wèi)sam的感激是無法用語言來形容的。他真的算是幫助我發(fā)掘人生目標的人之一。我從來不知道我的一個小小的行為,能夠?qū)@樣一位甚至從來不說英文的越南僑民產(chǎn)生如此大的影響。流行文化,音樂以及任何一種講述故事的方式包括電影,電視劇,他們都是如此的重要,連接著我們。比如bryan和我,又真的在影響著我們,激勵著我們。
回過頭來再看看這個東西方的聯(lián)合體,是存在一種軟實力偏向的。東方和西方這兩個“舍友”之間的軟實力交流會是什么樣子的呢?有沒有在中國很紅的英文歌呢?當然有。英文電影呢?那就太多了。多到中國不得不限制好萊塢電影的引入,來給本土電影制造些成功的機會。那么反過來,又在西方很紅的華語歌曲嗎?
觀眾:江南style!王:哈哈,沒錯,還有電影。比如臥虎藏龍,那也是十三年前的事了。我覺得這當中有一種不平衡存在。我認為這是一種軟實力赤字,就這么叫吧。當我們放眼這個方向的時候,也就是說,西方對東方的影響遠遠大于東方對西方的。原諒我這里把東方和西方這兩個詞用的這么隨意。因為這比說,以英語為第一語言的國家,講中文或講粵語的地區(qū),這樣的話方便點。我在使用一種概況化的表達方式。希望你們能理解。
這種在流行文化影響方面的不平衡其實是個很有趣的問題。試想在任何一段健康的關(guān)系中,無論是友誼還是婚姻,雙方彼此努力去了解對方都再重要不過了,對嗎? 這種軟實力交換需要一種平衡。
那么如何做到這一點呢?作為中國流行文化大使,我必須問自己這樣一個問題,為什么會存在這種軟實力赤字?是因為華語音樂真的很爛嗎?求你們了別回答這個問題。我看得出你們當中肯定有人在嘀咕:別發(fā)牢騷了!寫首勁歌吧!鳥叔不就做到了嗎?事實上這背后是有點道理的。
一種說法是,我們所創(chuàng)作的內(nèi)容,沒有足夠的國際競爭力。為什么就沒有呢?那么,我們以韓流音樂為例。韓國的經(jīng)濟是以出口為導向的。他們的眼光是面向世界的。
事實上他們也必須面向世界。而華語流行音樂,僅憑借在中國國內(nèi)發(fā)展以及在華語國家和地區(qū)舉辦巡演,就能夠堅挺下去。而中國,正是由于是一個泱泱大國,市場潛力巨大,又有著160萬個人口超過百萬的城市,華語音樂確實有內(nèi)化和固步自封的傾向。
所以華語流行音樂缺乏在國際市場競爭的敏感性這一觀點是成立的。不過我認為這一議題的另一方面,更為有趣,更發(fā)人深省也更為真實。那就是西方聽眾并不熟悉華語音樂。因此并不懂得如何去欣賞華語音樂。哦好傷人啊!
我之所以認為這種論調(diào)其實站得住腳,是因為我本人恰巧有過這般經(jīng)歷。因此我對“西方人如何學著欣賞華語流行音樂”這個問題還是要一定發(fā)言權(quán)的。在17歲之前,我是一個身處美國的亞洲小孩。17歲之后,我變成了一個身處亞洲的美國孩子。情況完全顛倒了過來。
以前我是聽著beatie boyz, led zeppelin,槍花長大的。但是到了臺灣之后,我常邊聽音樂邊想, 這音樂怎么一點節(jié)奏感沒有!華麗的吉他獨奏在哪里!所以,作為一個在亞洲的美國孩子,我剛開始接觸到華語音樂的時候心里的想法是,這音樂太遜了,我不喜歡。我覺得這些歌都太不給力了。制作價值太低。這些歌手就是沒有a_l rose (槍花主唱)或者mariah carey 那么會飆高音。直到有一天,我聽了人生中第一場華流演唱會。是庾澄慶,哈林。在臺北音樂中心的那場。
當他表演時,我看到臺下觀眾臉上的表情,眼神 和他們對音樂的那種熱烈響應。我總算知道問題出在哪里了。并不是華語音樂缺少什么,而是我不能夠正確的聆聽和欣賞它??吹脚_下的人群跟著哈林一起唱并且完全沉浸在他的音樂里的時候,我頓悟到,我起初沒有很好的理解。我現(xiàn)在應該開始學著如何領(lǐng)悟它們。
如何用“當?shù)氐摹倍淙ヂ犚魳?。我開始解構(gòu),分析,是什么讓華語聽眾對某種旋律,歌曲的結(jié)構(gòu)或者歌詞產(chǎn)生共鳴。在過去二十年我一直在做這樣的工作。真是路漫漫,至今我還在學習中。
而從某刻開始,我不僅能欣賞華語音樂了,而且能夠開始做出自己的貢獻。開始嘗試和創(chuàng)造自己的風格。作為外觀者,每個人都會這樣。如果僅從自己的角度出發(fā)看問題,你總是會覺得外面的世界很奇怪。你總會覺得別人是異類。他們是怎么了?怎么會聽這些東西?而我想說的是,只要你跨出去一步,就會有收獲。并且我用自己的親身經(jīng)歷證明,這是能夠做到了。作為華語音樂大使,我一直在努力讓人們開放接受,那些也許最初聽上去并不喜歡的音樂,那么我們還能做些什么,來減少這種流行文化中的不平衡呢?
比如說,為牛津亞太學生會做演講,或者在中國以外的地方開演唱會?但說真的,其實我覺得這種不平衡的趨勢,正在開始發(fā)生微妙的,緩慢的,小心的,謹慎的變化。你們能夠看到目前中國有很多跨文化的交流,外商漸漸視中國為寶地,近年來不乏很多跨國公司和合作成果,鋼鐵俠3,無數(shù)部變形金剛,生化危機……真的已經(jīng)形成一種世界流行文化了。這正是我期待看到的,也是我最近專注的內(nèi)容。之前我們有日流,韓流,華流,現(xiàn)在這種世界流正在慢慢興起。這就是世界流,我覺得。。。是的,我很喜歡這么個說法,就是世界流并不是世界音樂,不是像。。。hmv之前有一個類別叫世界音樂。有點像音樂學院的“民族音樂學”課程的分類方式。
但世界流不是這樣的,這個概念打破了陳規(guī)舊俗,沖開了藝術(shù)上那些一直阻礙在我們之間的界限。這就像一個大熔爐,一個馬賽克拼圖。如果我們仔細看,是可以領(lǐng)略到每種文化的不同風格和特色的。那么我們通過什么途徑可以聽到“世界流”音樂呢?并不存在這樣一本世界流音樂雜志或一個平臺,很不幸,當然這些是應該有的。
不過還好,我們有互聯(lián)網(wǎng),比如油管就是一個推廣世界流音樂的中堅力量。蘇珊大媽是通過英國達人秀走紅的,她的成功不是通過唱片公司或者音樂圈的網(wǎng)絡,而是走的草根路線。江南style也是一個很棒的范例,能成為一種掀起全球狂潮的文化現(xiàn)象。所以世界流,意味著一種世界范圍內(nèi)的流行文化,能讓全人類共享,給我們提供了一個共通點。
于是今天,我的號召是什么呢?我想要幫助推進東西方之間的多元文化交流。這一點我想我已經(jīng)表達的很清楚了,但是如何做到呢?我覺著吧,你們都可以出道嘛,這樣就好了。我開個玩笑。不過如果成為歌手真的是你想做的事情那就另當別論了。我在此,號召各位,請務必在東方與西方橫亙的隔閡間,建立一種室友般的情誼。并且能盡所能及的保護這份情誼,珍惜它,擁有它。千萬不要千里迢迢從臺灣跑來牛津大學當交換生還一天到晚只和中國學生聚一塊。你說你這是干嘛對吧?這些事你在武漢,在南京,在老家的時候都能做對吧。
那些標題黨,那些陳詞濫調(diào),那些超民族主義,別買他們的賬。你應當學會自己判斷,這個原則同樣適用于研究東西方。把一件件來龍去脈搞清楚,獨立思考,對那些天花亂墜的東西不要偏聽則信。要是哪一天,你能做到漠視政府的鼓吹,忽視媒體的通稿,據(jù)理力爭只為真理,動用“批判思維”的武器,是不是就能建立起那份情誼了呢?到那時,每個人都是獨立的個體,個人不再是隸屬于某個種族或是國家的無臉人?我們當然能做到。這是目標,也是理想。這是浪漫藝術(shù)家和音樂人亙古不變的初心。也是我想要極力撮成的一種情誼。正因如此,音樂和藝術(shù)的力量才這樣強大,這樣真切。正是這些力量讓橫亙期間的壁壘土崩瓦解。那些我們在彼此之間人為制造的隔閡,政府或者國籍,膚色。黑色,棕色,黃色和白色,無論哪一種膚色。也是這些力量讓我們能夠單程我們的內(nèi)心,我們的恐懼,我們的希望,我們的夢想。最終我們就會發(fā)現(xiàn),“遠東”也并沒有那么遙遠。西方也并非都是蠻荒一片。
通過了解彼此的流行文化,探到彼此的內(nèi)心,觸碰彼此的靈魂。如果你們正想踏上這條貫通東西的征途,我誠摯的邀請你們和我一起加入這場奇幻之旅。作為在這條聯(lián)通東西方之間的路上還算有點經(jīng)驗的人,我為你們準備了一只合集的卡帶,里面收錄了十首我愛的華語流行音樂。看,你們感受一下。本來今天我是給你們每人準備了cd的,但是我的團隊好心提醒我說,這么做是不合法的。作為專業(yè)的專輯制作人,我可不能做這種事。不過這里的鏈接還是很好用的,因為這樣你們還能看到這些歌曲相應的mv。
這10首我最愛的歌曲,來自不同的很棒的中國音樂人。我們就從他們開始了解入手中國的流行音樂吧!我覺得這些音樂人都很棒,希望你們也能喜歡。最后的最后,我只想說,現(xiàn)在置身于牛津大學校園,真的讓我不由的回憶起我在威廉姆斯大學的那段時光。當我回首那四年,我發(fā)現(xiàn)最值得回憶的,就是于室友stephan papiano和jason price共處的時光了。事實上呢,jason就在觀眾席中。他專程從倫敦趕來看我。我在想,剛開始大家還是陌生人,我們對彼此不了解,有時候我們還會搶淋浴,甚至互相侵犯別人的隱私。但是我一直喜歡聽stephen講他在一個希臘家庭里成長的故事。還有他眼里原汁原味的希臘菜應該長什么樣子?;蚴莏ason的故事,說他渴望以做小提琴為生,生活在意大利的克雷默那,像安東尼奧特拉迪瓦那樣,而他的夢想后來真的實現(xiàn)了。
多年之后,我都無法忘記,我第一次拉“jason price”手工制作的小提琴時的場景,還有當時我內(nèi)心的觸動。他們也總是那樣聚精會神,十分尊重的傾聽我的成長故事,如何在一個中國傳統(tǒng)家庭里長大。我的父母很嚴格,一直逼我學習。我們會互相分享各自的故事但是我們之間的紐帶系的最牢的時候卻是當我們單純的圍坐在一起聽音樂的時候,我真心覺得我們的例子,就是東西人互相理解并和諧共處的典范。因此,這就是為何我今天要與各位分享中國的音樂。因為據(jù)我所知,這是最好的一種方式,讓友誼地久天長。而這份友誼超越了所有的界限,讓我們真真切切的了解彼此,展現(xiàn)最真實的自己。
謝謝大家!
第3篇 邁克爾·杰克遜牛津英語勵志演講稿
heal the children, heal the world
拯救兒童,拯救世界——流行音樂之王邁克爾·杰克遜
in a world?lled with hate, we must still dare to hope. keep hope alive. in a world?lled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. in a world?lled with despair, we must still dare to dream. and in a world?lled with distrust, we must still dare to believe. 即使世界充滿仇恨,我們也要勇于憧憬,讓希望永存;即使世界充滿憤怒,我們也要敢于安慰;即使世界充滿絕望,我們也要勇于夢想;即使世界充滿猜疑,我們?nèi)匀桓矣谛湃巍?/p>
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heal the kids – o_ford speech
o_ford university, march 2022 by michael jackson
thank you, thank you dear friends, from the bottom of my heart, for such a loving and spirited welcome, and thank you, mr president, for your kind invitation to me which i am so honored to accept. i also want to e_press a special thanks to you shmuley, who for 11 years served as rabbi here at o_ford. you and i have been working so hard to form heal the kids, as well as writing our book about childlike qualities, and in all of our efforts you have been such a supportive and loving friend. and i would also like to thank toba friedman, our director of operations at heal the kids, who is returning tonight to the alma mater where she served as a marshall scholar, as well as marilyn piels, another central member of our heal the kids team.
i am humbled to be lecturing in a place that has previously been filled by such notable figures as mother theresa, albert einstein, ronald reagan, robert kennedy and malcolm _. i've even heard that kermit the frog has made an appearance here, and i've always felt a kinship with kermit's message that it's not easy being green. i'm sure he didn't find it any easier being up here than i do!
as i looked around o_ford today, i couldn't help but be aware of the majesty and grandeur of this great institution, not to mention the brilliance of the great and gifted minds that have roamed these streets for centuries. the walls of o_ford have not only housed the greatest philosophical and scientific geniuses – they have also ushered forth some of the most cherished creators of children's literature, from j.r.r. tolkien to cs lewis. today i was allowed to hobble into the dining hall in christ church to see lewis carroll's alice in wonderland immortalized in the stained glass windows. and even one of my own fellow americans, the beloved dr seuss graced these halls and then went on to leave his mark on the imaginations of millions of children throughout the world.
i suppose i should start by listing my qualifications to speak before you this evening. friends, i do not claim to have the academic e_pertise of other speakers who have addressed this hall, just as they could lay little claim at being adept at the moonwalk – and you know, einstein in particular was really terrible at that.
but i do have a claim to having e_perienced more places and cultures than most people will ever see. human knowledge consists not only of libraries of parchment and ink – it is also comprised of the volumes of knowledge that are written on the human heart, chiseled on the human soul, and engraved on the human psyche. and friends, i have encountered so much in this relatively short life of mine that i still cannot believe i am chiseled only 42. i often tell shmuley that in soul years i'm sure that i'm at least 80 – and tonight i even walk like i'm 80! so please harken to my message, because what i have to tell you tonight can bring healing to humanity and healing to our planet.
through the grace of god, i have been fortunate to have achieved many of my artistic and professional aspirations realized early in my lifetime. but these, friends are accomplishments, and accomplishments alone are not synonymous with who i am. indeed, the cheery five-year-old who belted out rockin' robin and ben to adoring crowds was not indicative of the boy behind the smile.
tonight, i come before you less as an icon of pop (whatever that means anyway), and more as an icon of a generation, a generation that no longer knows what it means to be children.
all of us are products of our childhood. but i am the product of a lack of a childhood, an absence of that precious and wondrous age when we frolic playfully without a care in the world, basking in the adoration of parents and relatives, where our biggest concern is studying for that big spelling test come monday morning.
those of you who are familiar with the jackson five know that i began performing at the tender age of five and that ever since then, i haven't stopped dancing or singing. but while performing and making music undoubtedly remain as some of my greatest joys, when i was young i wanted more than anything else to be a typical little boy. i wanted to build tree houses, have water balloon fights, and play hide and seek with my friends. but fate had it otherwise and all i could do was envy the laughter and playtime that seemed to be going on all around me.
there was no respite from my professional life. but on sundays i would go pioneering, the term used for the missionary work that jehovah's witnesses do. and it was then that i was able to see the magic of other people's childhood.
since i was already a celebrity, i would have to don a disguise of fat suit, wig, beard and glasses and we would spend the day in the suburbs of southern california, going door-to-door or making the rounds of shopping malls, distributing our watchtower magazine. i loved to set foot in all those regular suburban houses and catch sight of the shag rugs and la-z-boy armchairs with kids playing monopoly and grandmas baby-sitting and all those wonderful, ordinary and starry scenes of everyday life. many, i know, would argue that these things seem like no big deal. but to me they were mesmerizing.
i used to think that i was unique in feeling that i was without a childhood. i believed that indeed there were only a handful with whom i could share those feelings. when i recently met with shirley temple black, the great child star of the 1930s and 40s, we said nothing to each other at first, we simply cried together, for she could share a pain with me that only others like my close friends elizabeth taylor and mccauley culkin know.
i do not tell you this to gain your sympathy but to impress upon you my first important point : it is not just hollywood child stars that have suffered from a non-e_istent childhood. today, it's a universal calamity, a global catastrophe. childhood has become the great casualty of modern-day living. all around us we are producing scores of kids who have not had the joy, who have not been accorded the right, who have not been allowed the freedom, or knowing what it's like to be a kid.
today children are constantly encouraged to grow up faster, as if this period known as childhood is a burdensome stage, to be endured and ushered through, as swiftly as possible. and on that subject, i am certainly one of the world's greatest e_perts.
ours is a generation that has witnessed the abrogation of the parent-child covenant. psychologists are publishing libraries of books detailing the destructive effects of denying one's children the unconditional love that is so necessary to the healthy development of their minds and character. and because of all the neglect, too many of our kids have, essentially, to raise themselves. they are growing more distant from their parents, grandparents and other family members, as all around us the indestructible bond that once glued together the generations, unravels.
this violation has bred a new generation, generation o let us call it, that has now picked up the torch from generation _. the o stands for a generation that has everything on the outside – wealth, success, fancy clothing and fancy cars, but an aching emptiness on the inside. that cavity in our chests, that barrenness at our core, that void in our centre is the place where the heart once beat and which love once occupied.
and it's not just the kids who are suffering. it's the parents as well. for the more we cultivate little-adults in kids'-bodies, the more removed we ourselves become from our own child-like qualities, and there is so much about being a child that is worth retaining in adult life.
love, ladies and gentlemen, is the human family's most precious legacy, its richest bequest, its golden inheritance. and it is a treasure that is handed down from one generation to another. previous ages may not have had the wealth we enjoy. their houses may have lacked electricity, and they squeezed their many kids into small homes without central heating. but those homes had no darkness, nor were they cold. they were lit bright with the glow of love and they were warmed snugly by the very heat of the human heart. parents, undistracted by the lust for lu_ury and status, accorded their children primacy in their lives.
as you all know, our two countries broke from each other over what thomas jefferson referred to as 'certain inalienable rights'. and while we americans and british might dispute the justice of his claims, what has never been in dispute is that children have certain inalienable rights, and the gradual erosion of those rights has led to scores of children worldwide being denied the joys and security of childhood.
i would therefore like to propose tonight that we install in every home a children's universal bill of rights, the tenets of which are:
1. the right to be loved without having to earn it
2. the right to be protected, without having to deserve it
3. the right to feel valuable, even if you came into the world with nothing
4. the right to be listened to without having to be interesting
5. the right to be read a bedtime story, without having to compete with the evening news
6. the right to an education without having to dodge bullets at schools
7. the right to be thought of as adorable – (even if you have a face that only a mother could love).
friends, the foundation of all human knowledge, the beginning of human consciousness, must be that each and every one of us is an object of love. before you know if you have red hair or brown, before you know if you are black or white, before you know of what religion you are a part, you have to know that you are loved.
about twelve years ago, when i was just about to start my bad tour, a little boy came with his parents to visit me at home in california. he was dying of cancer and he told me how much he loved my music and me. his parents told me that he wasn't going to live, that any day he could just go, and i said to him: 'look, i am going to be coming to your town in kansas to open my tour in three months. i want you to come to the show. i am going to give you this jacket that i wore in one of my videos.' his eyes lit up and he said: 'you are gonna give it to me?' i said 'yeah, but you have to promise that you will wear it to the show.' i was trying to make him hold on. i said: 'when you come to the show i want to see you in this jacket and in this glove' and i gave him one of my rhinestone gloves – and i never usually give the rhinestone gloves away. and he was just in heaven.
but maybe he was too close to heaven, because when i came to his town, he had already died, and they had buried him in the glove and jacket. he was just 10 years old. god knows, i know, that he tried his best to hold on. but at least when he died, he knew that he was loved, not only by his parents, but even by me, a near stranger, i also loved him. and with all of that love he knew that he didn't come into this world alone, and he certainly didn't leave it alone.
if you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can he dealt with. a professor may degrade you, but you will not feel degraded, a boss may crush you, but you will not be crushed, a corporate gladiator might vanquish you, but you will still triumph. how could any of them truly prevail in pulling you down? for you know that you are an object worthy of love. the rest is just packaging.
but if you don't have that memory of being loved, you are condemned to search the world for something to fill you up. but no matter how much money you make or how famous you become, you will still fell empty. what you are really searching for is unconditional love, unqualified acceptance. and that was the one thing that was denied to you at birth.
friends, let me paint a picture for you. here is a typical day in america – si_ youths under the age of 20 will commit suicide, 12 children under the age of 20 will die from firearms – remember this is a day, not a year – 399 kids will be arrested for drug abuse, 1,352 babies will be born to teen mothers. this is happening in one of the richest, most developed countries in the history of the world.
yes, in my country there is an epidemic of violence that parallels no other industrialized nation. these are the ways young people in america e_press their hurt and their anger. but don't think that there is not the same pain and anguish among their counterparts in the united kingdom. studies in this country show that every single hour, three teenagers in the uk inflict harm upon themselves, often by cutting or burning their bodies or taking an overdose. this is how they have chosen to cope with the pain of neglect and emotional agony.
in britain, as many as 20% of families will only sit down and have dinner together once a year. once a year! and what about the time-honored tradition of reading your kid a bedtime story? research from the 1980s showed that children who are read to, had far greater literacy and significantly outperformed their peers at school. and yet, less than 33% of british children ages two to eight have a regular bedtime story read to them. you may not think much of that until you take into account that 75% of their parents did have that bedtime story when they were that age.
clearly, we do not have to ask ourselves where all of this pain, anger and violent behavior comes from. it is self-evident that children are thundering against the neglect, quaking against the indifference and crying out just to be noticed. the various child protection agencies in the us say that millions of children are victims of maltreatment in the form of neglect, in the average year. yes, neglect. in rich homes, privileged homes, wired to the hilt with every electronic gadget. homes where parents come home, but they're not really home, because their heads are still at the office. and their kids? well, their kids just make do with whatever emotional crumbs they get. and you don't get much from endless tv, computer games and videos.
these hard, cold numbers which for me, wrench the soul and shake the spirit, should indicate to you why i have devoted so much of my time and resources into making our new heal the kids initiative a colossal success.
our goal is simple – to recreate the parent/child bond, renew its promise and light the way forward for all the beautiful children who are destined one day to walk this earth.
but since this is my first public lecture, and you have so warmly welcomed me into your hearts, i feel that i want to tell you more. we each have our own story, and in that sense statistics can become personal.
they say that parenting is like dancing. you take one step, your child takes another. i have discovered that getting parents to re-dedicate themselves to their children is only half the story. the other half is preparing the children to re-accept their parents.
when i was very young i remember that we had this crazy mutt of a dog named 'black girl,' a mi_ of wolf and retriever. not only wasn't she much of a guard dog, she was such a scared and nervous thing that it is a wonder she did not pass out every time a truck rumbled by, or a thunderstorm swept through indiana. my sister janet and i gave that dog so much love, but we never really won back the sense of trust that had been stolen from her by her previous owner. we knew he used to beat her. we didn't know with what. but whatever it was, it was enough to suck the spirit right out of that dog.
a lot of kids today are hurt puppies who have weaned themselves off the need for love. they couldn't care less about their parents. left to their own devices, they cherish their independence. they have moved on and have left their parents behind.
then there are the far worse cases of children who harbor animosity and resentment toward their parents, so that any overture that their parents might undertake would be thrown forcefully back in their face.
tonight, i don't want any of us to make this mistake. that's why i'm calling upon all the world's children – beginning with all of us here tonight – to forgive our parents, if we felt neglected. forgive them and teach them how to love again.
you probably weren't surprised to hear that i did not have an idyllic childhood. the strain and tension that e_ists in my relationship with my own father is well documented. my father is a tough man and he pushed my brothers and me hard, from the earliest age, to be the best performers we could be.
he had great difficulty showing affection. he never really told me he loved me. and he never really complimented me either. if i did a great show, he would tell me it was a good show. and if i did an ok show, he told me it was a lousy show.
he seemed intent, above all else, on making us a commercial success. and at that he was more than adept. my father was a managerial genius and my brothers and i owe our professional success, in no small measure, to the forceful way that he pushed us. he trained me as a showman and under his guidance i couldn't miss a step.
but what i really wanted was a dad. i wanted a father who showed me love. and my father never did that. he never said i love you while looking me straight in the eye, he never played a game with me. he never gave me a piggyback ride, he never threw a pillow at me, or a water balloon.
but i remember once when i was about four years old, there was a little carnival and he picked me up and put me on a pony. it was a tiny gesture, probably something he forgot five minutes later. but because of that moment i have this special place in my heart for him. because that's how kids are, the little things mean so much to them and for me, that one moment meant everything. i only e_perienced it that one time, but it made me feel really good, about him and the world.
but now i am a father myself, and one day i was thinking about my own children, prince and paris and how i wanted them to think of me when they grow up. to be sure, i would like them to remember how i always wanted them with me wherever i went, how i always tried to put them before everything else. but there are also challenges in their lives. because my kids are stalked by paparazzi, they can't always go to a park or a movie with me.
so what if they grow older and resent me, and how my choices impacted their youth? why weren't we given an average childhood like all the other kids, they might ask? and at that moment i pray that my children will give me the benefit of the doubt. that they will say to themselves: 'our daddy did the best he could, given the unique circumstances that he faced. he may not have been perfect, but he was a warm and decent man, who tried to give us all the love in the world.'
i hope that they will always focus on the positive things, on the sacrifices i willingly made for them, and not criticize the things they had to give up, or the errors i've made, and will certainly continue to make, in raising them. for we have all been someone's child, and we know that despite the very best of plans and efforts, mistakes will always occur. that's just being human.
and when i think about this, of how i hope that my children will not judge me unkindly, and will forgive my shortcomings, i am forced to think of my own father and despite my earlier denials, i am forced to admit that me must have loved me. he did love me, and i know that.
there were little things that showed it. when i was a kid i had a real sweet tooth – we all did. my favorite food was glazed doughnuts and my father knew that. so every few weeks i would come downstairs in the morning and there on the kitchen counter was a bag of glazed doughnuts – no note, no e_planation – just the doughnuts. it was like santa claus.
sometimes i would think about staying up late at night, so i could see him leave them there, but just like with santa claus, i didn't want to ruin the magic for fear that he would never do it again. my father had to leave them secretly at night, so as no one might catch him with his guard down. he was scared of human emotion, he didn't understand it or know how to deal with it. but he did know doughnuts.
and when i allow the floodgates to open up, there are other memories that come rushing back, memories of other tiny gestures, however imperfect, that showed that he did what he could. so tonight, rather than focusing on what my father didn't do, i want to focus on all the things he did do and on his own personal challenges. i want to stop judging him.
i have started reflecting on the fact that my father grew up in the south, in a very poor family. he came of age during the depression and his own father, who struggled to feed his children, showed little affection towards his family and raised my father and his siblings with an iron fist. who could have imagined what it was like to grow up a poor black man in the south, robbed of dignity, bereft of hope, struggling to become a man in a world that saw my father as subordinate. i was the first black artist to be played on mtv and i remember how big a deal it was even then. and that was in the 80s!
my father moved to indiana and had a large family of his own, working long hours in the steel mills, work that kills the lungs and humbles the spirit, all to support his family. is it any wonder that he found it difficult to e_pose his feelings? is it any mystery that he hardened his heart, that he raised the emotional ramparts? and most of all, is it any wonder why he pushed his sons so hard to succeed as performers, so that they could be saved from what he knew to be a life of indignity and poverty?
i have begun to see that even my father's harshness was a kind of love, an imperfect love, to be sure, but love nonetheless. he pushed me because he loved me. because he wanted no man ever to look down at his offspring.
and now with time, rather than bitterness, i feel blessing. in the place of anger, i have found absolution. and in the place of revenge i have found reconciliation. and my initial fury has slowly given way to forgiveness.
almost a decade ago, i founded a charity called heal the world. the title was something i felt inside me. little did i know, as shmuley later pointed out, that those two words form the cornerstone of old testament prophecy. do i really believe that we can heal this world, that is riddled with war and genocide, even today? and do i really think that we can heal our children, the same children who can enter their schools with guns and hatred and shoot down their classmates, like they did at columbine? or children who can beat a defenseless toddler to death, like the tragic story of jamie bulger? of course i do, or i wouldn't be here tonight.
but it all begins with forgiveness, because to heal the world, we first have to heal ourselves. and to heal the kids, we first have to heal the child within, each and every one of us. as an adult, and as a parent, i realize that i cannot be a whole human being, nor a parent capable of unconditional love, until i put to rest the ghosts of my own childhood.
and that's what i'm asking all of us to do tonight. live up to the fifth of the ten commandments. honor your parents by not judging them. give them the benefit of the doubt.
that is why i want to forgive my father and to stop judging him. i want to forgive my father, because i want a father, and this is the only one that i've got. i want the weight of my past lifted from my shoulders and i want to be free to step into a new relationship with my father, for the rest of my life, unhindered by the goblins of the past.
in a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. in a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. in a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. and in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe.
to all of you tonight who feel let down by your parents, i ask you to let down your disappointment. to all of you tonight who feel cheated by your fathers or mothers, i ask you not to cheat yourself further. and to all of you who wish to push your parents away, i ask you to e_tend you hand to them instead. i am asking you, i am asking myself, to give our parents the gift of unconditional love, so that they too may learn how to love from us, their children. so that love will finally be restored to a desolate and lonely world.
shmuley once mentioned to me an ancient biblical prophecy which says that a new world and a new time would come, when 'the hearts of the parents would be restored through the hearts of their children.' my friends, we are that world, we are those children.
mahatma gandhi said: 'the weak can never forgive. forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.' tonight, be strong. beyond being strong, rise to the greatest challenge of all – to restore that broken covenant. we must all overcome whatever crippling effects our childhoods may have had on our lives and in the words of jesse jackson, forgive each other, redeem each other and move on.
this call for forgiveness may not result in oprah moments the world over, with thousands of children making up with their parents, but it will at least be a start, and we'll all be so much happier as a result.
and so ladies and gentlemen, i conclude my remarks tonight with faith, joy and e_citement.
from this day forward, may a new song be heard.
let that new song be the sound of children laughing.
let that new song be the sound of children playing.
let that new song be the sound of children singing.
and let that new song be the sound of parents listening.
together, let us create a symphony of hearts, marveling at the miracle of our children and basking in the beauty of love.
let us heal the world and blight its pain.
and may we all make beautiful music together.
god bless you, and i love you.
第4篇 王力宏牛津大學英文演講稿
以下是站為大家提供的王力宏在牛津大學的英文演講稿原文(附中文翻譯):
thank you, plena. thank you, jun. thank you, peishan for helping this set up.
謝謝波琳娜,謝謝君,謝謝珮姍幫我組織這一切。
thank you all for being here today and the late comers as well. thank you for coming in quietly.
謝謝在座的各位,謝謝晚來的同學,也謝謝你們悄悄的進來。
i wanna start off today just to take a moment of silence for the victims of the sichuan earthquake and also for the victims of the boston marathon bombing. so let’s just take a minute to pay our respect to that.
今天開始之前,我想要先為四川地震的災民們以及波士頓馬拉松爆炸事件的受害者們默哀。讓我們用一分鐘時間,為他們祈福。
thank you.
謝謝你們。
i never thought i would be addressing you, the esteemed members of the o_ford union, without a guitar or an erhu, without my crazy stage hair, costumes. but i did perform in the o2 arena in london last week. i am not sure if any of you were able to make that. but in many ways, that was similar to what i’m talking about today, that is, introducing chinese pop music here.
尊敬的各位牛津大學辯論會和牛津大學亞太學生會的同學們,萬萬想不到會以這樣的方式跟你們相聚。沒有吉他和二胡,沒有夸張的舞臺裝也沒有“火力全開”頭。不過上周確實在倫敦的o2體育館表演過了。不知道大家有沒有去看呢。 但是,從各方面來說,這些跟我們今天的話題都有密切的關(guān)聯(lián)。那就是-介紹華流音樂。
see, i am actually an ambassador of chinese pop, whether i like it or not, both music and movies. and today i’m here to give you the state of union address. it’s not the o_ford union. it’s the union of east and west. i wanna frankly, openly and honestly talk about how we’ve done a good job or how we’ve done a bad job of bringing chinese pop to the west. and i also want to press upon all of you here today the importance of that soft culture, that soft power e_change and how each of us is involved in that e_change.
其實無論我喜不喜歡,我都被認為在代表者華流音樂以及電影。那么今天,我就要來做一次“國情咨文”報告了。但是,這個“國”不是牛津,而是東西方的一個聯(lián)合體。我想跟你們聊一聊,我們在將華語音樂引入西方社會方面所做的事情,無論是成就,還是不足。我都會坦誠布公。同時,我也想借此機會給你們留下這樣一個印記:軟實力交流的重要性以及它同我們每個人的相關(guān)程度。
soft power, a term i am sure you are all familiar with this point
軟實力這個詞我相信大家都不陌生。這個概念是由rhodes scholar 和牛津校友joseph nye 提出的。
coined by rhodes scholar and o_ford alumnus joseph nye is defined as the ability to attract and persuade.
被定義為一種“吸引”和“說服”的能力。
shashi tharoor called it, in a recent ted talk, the ability for a culture to tell a compelling story and influence others to fall in love with it.
shashi tharoor 在最近的一次ted演講中把它定義為“一種文化讓其他文化在聽了他動人的故事之后受到影響并愛上這種文化”的能力。
i like that definition.
我很喜歡這個定義。
but i want to put it in collegiate term for all you students in the audience: the way i see it, east and west are kinda like freshman roommates.
但是我想用貼近你們在做大學生們的方式來解釋這個詞。在我看來,東方跟西方在某種程度上,像是兩個大一剛?cè)雽W的新生舍友。
you don’t know a lot about each other but suddenly you are living together in the same room. and each one is scared that the other’s gonna steal his shower time or wants a party when the other wants to study.
兩個幾乎陌生的人,突然來到同一個屋檐下,其中一個總是怕另一個會跟他搶洗澡的時間,或者在他想要學習的時候大開趴體。
it has the potential to be absolute hell, doesn’t it? we all had horrible stories of that roommate. we’ve all heard about those stories. i know a lot of students here in o_ford have your own separate bedrooms. but when i was a freshman at williams college, i was not so safe and fortunate.
這種關(guān)系很可能就變成跟地獄一樣了,不是么?“我的室友是極品”的故事大家都講得出來。這些事我都有耳聞。還有我知道牛津這兒的很多同學都一人一間的對吧,但是,在我剛上威廉姆斯學院的時候,我并不幸運,而且人身安全堪憂。
(you are kidding me. woo-hoo! all right, all right!great. )
哇,你還真的是我們學校的!好吧,好棒!
and frank had a two-foot long bong under his bed that was constantly being fired up. for those chiese speakers in the audience. frank would “火力全開” on that bong every day.
他床底下有一個兩英尺長的煙斗,持續(xù)不斷的得點著。給在做講中文的同學們形容下,就是他每天會對著那個煙斗火力全開
all right
好吧。
so, how many of you have lived with the frank, or could be a frank gat? having a roommate can be a recipe for disaster, but it also has the potential for being the greatest friendship you’ve ever had. see, frank, he didn’t make it the second year. and i got two new roommates second year, stephen and jason. and in this day, the three of us are the best friends.
你們中有多少人有過frank那樣的舍友呢?或者,你們也像他一樣。所以有一個室友可能是一場災難的開始。但也可能會釀造一段非凡的友誼。frank第二年就輟學了。于是我換了兩個新的舍友,stefan 和 jason。如今,我們?nèi)齻€是鐵哥們。
so going back to my analogy, of east and west as roommates. do we want to be frank, or do we want to be stephen and jason? and i think, in this day and age of 2022, we should all be striving for the latter, should we…i mean i’m assuming that we all agree that this is the goal we should all be striving for.
回過頭來看我的那個類比,我們東方和西方的舍友。是應該成為frank那樣的存在,還是想像stefan 和 jason那樣呢?我認為在當時當下,在2022,我們應該努力成為后者。我們應該, 我是說,我想在這一目標上我們是可以達成共識的,對吧?
let’s look at where we are in reality. recent headlines in the media include, foreign policy magazine: china’s victim comple_. why are chinese leaders so paranoid about the united states? or the afp, the agence france-presse, human rights in china worsening us finds. bloomberg says, on the cover of its magazine, “yes, the chinese army is spying on you.”
那么,回過頭來,正視我們在現(xiàn)實中的處境??纯醋罱男侣勵^條:《外交政策》雜志上的,“中國的受害者情節(jié):為何中國領(lǐng)導人如此猜忌美國”或者法新社的財經(jīng)雜志《彭博商業(yè)周刊》上說,“沒錯,中國軍隊正在測探你?!?/p>
and it’s such a great one that i just want to show you the cover of the magazine. yes. be very afraid! ok, is it shown to you right? ok. so there’s actually an e_tremely high amount of negativity and fear and an_iety about china, sinophobia, that i think is not just misinformed, but also misleading and ultimately dangerous, very dangerous.
這個特別逗,我來給你們展示一下這封面。是的,特別恐慌有木有!方向那對的吧,嗯,對的。當今對于中國有太多的負面東西。恐華情緒很嚴重。我覺得這種現(xiàn)象不僅是一種誤傳同時也是一種誤導。這是很可怕的,超級可怕。
and what about how westerners are viewed by chinese? well, we have terms for westerners. the most common of which are gweilo in cantonese, which means “the old devil”, lao wai, meaning the old outsider in mandarin, ang moh, which means the “red hairy one” in taiwanese. the list goes on and on. so are these roommates headed for a best friend relationship? i think we need a little help. and as china rises to be global power, i think it is more important than ever for us to be discerning about what we believe, because after all, i think that’s the purpose of higher education.
那么,中國人又是如何看待西方的呢?我們對西方人的稱呼五花八門。大家熟知的有:香港人叫他們“鬼佬”,字面上就是“老妖”。大陸人叫他們老外,字面上就是“蠻夷”。還有臺灣人叫他們“紅毛”。還真說不完呢。這看上去像是能發(fā)展成一段最佳友誼的舍友關(guān)系嗎?我認為我們得治治病。隨著中國實力不斷強大,看清楚應該相信什么這一點空前重要。因為,歸根結(jié)底,這就是高等教育的目的。
and that’s why we are all here: to be able to think for ourselves and make our own decisions. china’s not just those headlines, the burgeoning economy of the unique politics. it’s not just the world’s factory or the ne_t big superpower, it’s so much more. a billion people with rich culture, amazing stories and as a product of both of those cultures, i want to help foster understanding between the two, and help create that incredible relationship.
這就是我們坐在這里的原因:有能力獨立思考,自主選擇。中國當然不能通過那些新聞頭條來定義。也不只是所謂的特殊政策下快速增長的經(jīng)濟。中國不僅僅是一個世界工廠,也不僅僅是未來超級大國。中國的意義價值遠大于此。一個擁有十幾億人口,豐富悠久的歷史文化與傳奇故事的民族。作為中西兩種文化的共同產(chǎn)物,我特別想要幫忙在兩種文化之間培養(yǎng)起一種互相的理解,建立起一種很美好的情誼。
because knowing both sides of the coin, i really think that there is a love story waiting to be told, waiting to unfold. and i am only half-joking when i said love story because i believe it is, the stories that will save us, will bring us together. and my thesis statement for today’s talk is that, the relationship between the east and west needs to be and can be fi_ed via pop culture. that’s a big fat plan. and i am gotta trying to back it up!
但凡事都有兩面,所以我認為這背后蘊含著一個亟待講述的愛情故事。我說“愛情故事”不完全在說笑。因為我相信,這些關(guān)于愛的故事能夠拯救我們,把我們凝聚在一起。我今天講的主題就是,通過流行文化修復東西方世界的關(guān)系。好宏偉的計劃有木有啊!我會想辦法講明白的。
the un secretary general bunki boo said: “there are no language required in musical world.” that is the power of music. that is the power of the heart. through this promotion of arts, we can better understand that the culture and civilizations of other people. in this era of instability and intolerance, we need to promote better understanding through the power of music.
聯(lián)合國秘書長潘基文說過,在音樂的世界里,溝通時無需語言的。這就是音樂的力量。這就是人心的力量。通過發(fā)揚藝術(shù),我們才能夠更好的了解其他民族的文明與文化。在這個動蕩不安,人與人之間不甚寬容的年代,我們需要利用音樂的力量來更好的了解彼此。
now the un secretary general thinks we need more music, and i think he is right. music and arts have always played the key role in my life in building relationships, replacing what once was the ignorance, fear and hatred with acceptance, friendships and even love. so i have a strong case for promoting music between cultures because it happened to me early in life.
聯(lián)合國秘書長認為我們需要更多的音樂。這一點我很贊同。音樂和藝術(shù)一直在我的生命中占據(jù)著很重要的地位。音樂和藝術(shù)的力量能夠幫助建立人與人之間的關(guān)系,用包容,友誼和愛來驅(qū)逐因為無知的仇恨而產(chǎn)生的恐懼。在不同文化之間推廣音樂這一點上,我自己的童年時期的經(jīng)歷是一個最好的例證。
i was born and raised in rochester, new york. i barely spoke a word of chinese. i didn’t know the difference between taiwan or thailand. i was… that’s true. i was as american as apple pie. until one day, on a third grade playground, the inevitable finally happened. i got teased for being chinese. now every kid gets teased or made fun on the playground, but this was fundamentally different. and i knew it right then and there. this kid, let’s call him bryan m. he started making fun of me, saying “ chinese, japanese, dirty knees, look at these.” i can’t believe you are laughing at that and that hurts. ok, i am just kidding. i can still remember how i felt. i felt ashamed. i felt embarrassed.
我在紐約的羅切斯特長大,幾乎不會說中文。我連“臺灣”和“泰國”這兩個詞都分不清楚。那是真的!我那時是個地地道道的美國人。直到我上了三年級,有一天在操場上,不可避免的事情終于發(fā)生了。因為中國人的血統(tǒng),我第一次被人嘲笑了。當然一起玩的小孩都會互相戲弄開玩笑,但這次絕對不同。這點當時我立馬就感覺到了。我們暫且管那個孩子叫bryan m吧。它開始嘲笑我說,中國人,日本人,臟膝蓋,快來看。(英文還押韻)你們居然還笑,我太受傷了!好吧,我只是開個玩笑。我依然能夠記得我當時的感覺。我感覺特別丟臉,特別尷尬。
but i laughed along with him, with everyone. i didn’t know what else to do. it was like having a out-of-body e_perience, as if i could laugh at that chinese kid on the playground with all the other americans because i was one of them. right? wrong. on may levels.
但是我當時跟著所有其他人一直在笑。年幼的我并不知道該怎么辦。當時感覺好像靈魂出竅一樣。好像我能夠和操場上其他美國孩子一起嘲笑中國人,我就是他們當中一員了。這種想法可取嗎?當然不可取,而且是大錯特錯。
and i was facing in front of the first but definitely not the last time, the harsh reality that i was minority in rochester, which in those days had an asian population of one percent.
那是我第一次感受到一件殘酷而現(xiàn)實的事實。我屬于一個少數(shù)群體,但那絕不是最后一次。在那個時代的羅切斯特,亞洲人口特別少,幾乎之占當?shù)厝丝诘陌俜种弧?/p>
and i was confused. i wanted to punch brian. i wanted to hurt him for putting me in that situation. but he was faster than me and he was stronger than me. and he would kick my butt and we both knew that. so i just took it in. and i didn’t tell anyone or share with anyone these feelings. i just held them in and i let them fester. and those feelings would surface in a strangely therapeutic way for me through music. and it was no coincidence that around that time i started getting good with the violin, the guitar, and the drums. and i would soon discover that by playing music or singing, other kids would, for a brief moment, forget about my race or color and accept me and then be able to see me for who i truly am, a human being who’s emotional, spiritual, curious about the world and has a need for love, just like everyone else.
我當時心里很亂,我很想把bryan 打一頓。他讓我陷入那種窘境,因此我也要讓他難過。但是他身材比我壯,出手也比我快。如果和他打架,我一定會被揍得更慘。這一點我們都知道。所以我就忍了下來。我從來沒有告訴過別人。也沒發(fā)泄什么感受。一直自己忍著,想讓他們爛在心底就好了。后來慢慢地,這些感受在音樂里竟然十分巧妙地把我治愈了。我那個時候?qū)π√崆?,吉他,鼓都越來越得心應手,當然不是巧合。我漸漸發(fā)現(xiàn),當我演奏或者唱歌的時候,其他孩子便會忘記我的種族或我的膚色。而真正接受我,了解真正的我,哪怕只是一小會。每當這個時候,他們就會發(fā)現(xiàn),我跟他們都是一樣的人。我也對世界充滿感性的好奇和想象,我也需要愛。
and by the si_ grade, guess who asked me if i would be the drummer for his band? brian. and i said yes. and that’s when we together formed the elementary school rock band called nirvana. i am not kidding. i wan in the rock band called nirvana before kurt cobain’s nirvana was ever known. so when nirvana came out, bryan and i were like “hey, he’s stealing our name.” but, really what attracted me to music at this young age was just this and it’s still what i love about music is that it breaks down the walls between us and shows us so quickly the truth that we are much more alike than we are different. then in high school, i learned that music wasn’t just about connecting with other, like bryan and i were connected through music. it was a powerful tool of influence and inspiration.
到了六年級的時候,猜猜誰拉我加入他的樂隊當鼓手?對,就是bryan,我答應了。于是bryan跟我一起,組成了我們小學的搖滾樂隊:涅槃樂隊。是真的我沒開玩笑。我們的樂隊在科特柯本的涅槃樂隊之前就有了。所以后來涅槃樂隊出道的時候,我跟bryan還嚷嚷,嘿,他盜用我們的名字!所以在那么小的時候,我就發(fā)現(xiàn)了音樂的迷人之處。當然這迷人之處也是我至今熱愛音樂的原因之一。那就是,音樂能打破人與人之間的隔閡,能讓我們那么快就看到彼此的相似點,而不是那些不同之處。后來上了高中,我學到了更多,音樂不僅僅能夠溝通彼此,就像我跟bryan通過音樂結(jié)緣一樣。它同時也是一股強大的影響他人,激勵他人的力量。
sam wayne was my high school janitor. he was an immigrant from vietnam who barely spoke a word of english. sam scrubbed the floors and cleaned the bathrooms in our school for twenty years. and he never talked to the kids and the kids never talked to sam. but one day, before the opening night of our school’s annual musical, he walked up to me, holding a letter. and i was taken aback. i was thinking, “why is sam the janitor approaching me? and he gave me this letter that i have kept to this day. it was scrawled in a shaky hand written in all in capitals. and i read: “in all my years of working as a genitor at sutherland, you are the first asian boy that played the lead role. i am gonna bring my si_-year-old daughter to watch you perform tonight because i want her to see that asians can be inspiring.” and that letter just floored me. i was fifteen years old and i was absolutely stunned. that’s the first time i realized how music was so important.
sam wayne是我們學校的門衛(wèi)。他是越南僑民。幾乎從來不說英語。sam在我們學校做了二十幾年的清潔工,擦地板,掃廁所。卻從來沒跟學生們說過話。學生們也從不跟他說話。但是一天,我們學校一年一度的音樂節(jié)前夕,sam找到我,手里拿著一封信。我嚇壞了,心里琢磨,門衛(wèi)sam找我會有什么事?于是他遞給了我那封我至今保存的信。一看就是用顫抖的手寫下的潦草字跡。全都是大寫字母,信上寫著,我在這個學校當了那么多年門衛(wèi),你是我見過的第一個擔綱主唱的亞洲男孩。我今晚要帶我六歲的女兒來看你的演出。因為我想要她看到,我們亞洲人也可以帶給人好多正能量。我真的被那封信震驚了。十五歲的我當時就驚呆了。我第一次意識到,原來音樂如此重要。
with bryan, music helped two kids who were initially enemies become friends. but with sam, music went beyond the one-on-one. it was even a higher level. it influenced others i didn’t even know in ways i can never imagine. i can’t tell you how grateful i am to sam, the janitor, to this day. he really is one of the people who helped me discover my life’s purpose. and i had no idea that something i did could mean more than ever imagined to an immigrant from vietnam who barely spoke english. pop culture, music, and the other methods of story telling, movies, tv dramas, they are so key and they do connect us like me and bryan and do influence us and inspire us.
在bryan那兒,他讓兩個本來是敵人的孩子成為了朋友,然而在sam這里,音樂的意義超過了個體的范疇,達到了一個更好的層次。音樂以我想不到的方式影響到我甚至完全不認識的人。我從頭至尾對門衛(wèi)sam的感激是無法用語言來形容的。他真的算是幫助我發(fā)掘人生目標的人之一。我從來不知道我的一個小小的行為,能夠?qū)@樣一位甚至從來不說英文的越南僑民產(chǎn)生如此大的影響。流行文化,音樂以及任何一種講述故事的方式包括電影,電視劇,他們都是如此的重要,連接著我們。比如bryan和我,又真的在影響著我們,激勵著我們。
then let’s take another look at this state of union the east, west union, with this soft-power bias. how is the soft power e_change between these two roommates? are the songs in english that become hits in china? for sure. how about movies? well, there are so many…that china has had to limit the number hollywood movies imported into the country so that local films can even have a chance at success. what about the flip side of that? the chinese songs that have a hit in the west? well…(yes!)
回過頭來再看看這個東西方的聯(lián)合體,是存在一種軟實力偏向的。東方和西方這兩個“舍友”之間的軟實力交流會是什么樣子的呢?有沒有在中國很紅的英文歌呢?當然有。英文電影呢?那就太多了。多到中國不得不限制好萊塢電影的引入,來給本土電影制造些成功的機會。那么反過來,又在西方很紅的華語歌曲嗎?
heheha,yeah, and movies. well there was crouching tiger, that was thirteen years ago. and, well i think there is a bit of an imbalance here. and i think it’s a soft-power deficit, let’s call that. i mean look in this direction. that is to say, the west influences the east more than vice versa. and forgive me for using east and west kind of loosely but i think it’s a lot easier to state this than english-speaking language or the asian speaking language… chinese, or cantonese specifically, i think i’m making a generalization i hope you can go with me on this.
觀眾:江南style!王:哈哈,沒錯,還有電影。比如臥虎藏龍,那也是十三年前的事了。我覺得這當中有一種不平衡存在。我認為這是一種軟實力赤字,就這么叫吧。當我們放眼這個方向的時候,也就是說,西方對東方的影響遠遠大于東方對西方的。原諒我這里把東方和西方這兩個詞用的這么隨意。因為這比說,以英語為第一語言的國家,講中文或講粵語的地區(qū),這樣的話方便點。我在使用一種概況化的表達方式。希望你們能理解。
and it’s interestingly a problem with this imbalance in pop cultural influence. and i think so. i think in any healthy relationship or friendship or marriage, isn’t it important for both sides to make an effort to understand the other? and that this e_change needs to have a healthy balance.
這種在流行文化影響方面的不平衡其實是個很有趣的問題。試想在任何一段健康的關(guān)系中,無論是友誼還是婚姻,雙方彼此努力去了解對方都再重要不過了,對嗎? 這種軟實力交換需要一種平衡。
and how do we address this? as an ambassador for chinese pop music and movies, i have to ask myself the question, why does this deficit e_ist? is it because chinese music just is lame? don’t answer that, please. yeah i can just see some of you are really like: “stop complaining! write a hit song! psy did!” you know.but actually there is truth in that.
那么如何做到這一點呢?作為中國流行文化大使,我必須問自己這樣一個問題,為什么會存在這種軟實力赤字?是因為華語音樂真的很爛嗎?求你們了別回答這個問題。我看得出你們當中肯定有人在嘀咕:別發(fā)牢騷了!寫首勁歌吧!鳥叔不就做到了嗎?事實上這背后是有點道理的。
and the argument being that the content we’ve created just isn’t as internationally competitive. and why shouldn’t be? well, look at korean pop, look at k-pop for e_ample. korean is an e_port-based economy and they are outward looking.
一種說法是,我們所創(chuàng)作的內(nèi)容,沒有足夠的國際競爭力。為什么就沒有呢?那么,我們以韓流音樂為例。韓國的經(jīng)濟是以出口為導向的。他們的眼光是面向世界的。
and they must be outward looking. chinese pop, on the other hand, can just kind of stay domestic, tour all over chinese-speaking territories and comfortably sustained. so when we are, that big and powerful, there’re over 160 cities in china with a million or more people. you tend to kind of turn inward and be complacent(自滿的).
事實上他們也必須面向世界。而華語流行音樂,僅憑借在中國國內(nèi)發(fā)展以及在華語國家和地區(qū)舉辦巡演,就能夠堅挺下去。而中國,正是由于是一個泱泱大國,市場潛力巨大,又有著160萬個人口超過百萬的城市,華語音樂確實有內(nèi)化和固步自封的傾向。
so this certainly can be an argument made for chinese pop being not marked with international sensibilities in mind. but the other side of the argument, i think is more interesting and thought-provoking and even more true that western ears aren’t familiar with, and therefore don’t really understand how to appreciate chinese music. ouch!
所以華語流行音樂缺乏在國際市場競爭的敏感性這一觀點是成立的。不過我認為這一議題的另一方面,更為有趣,更發(fā)人深省也更為真實。那就是西方聽眾并不熟悉華語音樂。因此并不懂得如何去欣賞華語音樂。哦好傷人啊!
ok, the reason i think that argument holds water though is because that’s e_actly what i went through. so i happen to know a thing or two about learning to appreciate chinese pop as a westerner. cause as i was 17 years old when i went from being the asian kid in america to being an american kid in china. and the entire paradigm suddenly got flipped on its head.
我之所以認為這種論調(diào)其實站得住腳,是因為我本人恰巧有過這般經(jīng)歷。因此我對“西方人如何學著欣賞華語流行音樂”這個問題還是要一定發(fā)言權(quán)的。在17歲之前,我是一個身處美國的亞洲小孩。17歲之后,我變成了一個身處亞洲的美國孩子。情況完全顛倒了過來。
i grow up listening to beatie boyz, led zeppelin, guns n’ roses. then i found myself in taiwan, listening to the radio and thinking, where’s the beat? where is the screeching(呼嘯聲) guitar solos? and here i am an american kid in asia, listening to chinese music for the first time and thinking “this stuff is lamb. i don’t like it.” i thought it was cheesy, production value was low. the singers couldn’t belt like a_l rose, or mariah carey. but then one day, i went to my first chinese pop concert and it was yu chengqing, harlem yu, performing in 臺北社教館the taibei music center.
以前我是聽著beatie boyz, led zeppelin,槍花長大的。但是到了臺灣之后,我常邊聽音樂邊想, 這音樂怎么一點節(jié)奏感沒有!華麗的吉他獨奏在哪里!所以,作為一個在亞洲的美國孩子,我剛開始接觸到華語音樂的時候心里的想法是,這音樂太遜了,我不喜歡。我覺得這些歌都太不給力了。制作價值太低。這些歌手就是沒有a_l rose (槍花主唱)或者mariah carey 那么會飆高音。直到有一天,我聽了人生中第一場華流演唱會。是庾澄慶,哈林。在臺北音樂中心的那場。
and as he performed, i looked around the audience and i saw their faces and the look in their eyes, their responsiveness to his music. and it was clear to me, finally, where the problem lay. it wasn’t that the music was lacking. it was my ability to appreciate it and to hear it in the right way. the crowd, they would sing along and be totally emerged in his music and i had this epiphany(頓悟) that i was missing point. and from now on, i was going to, somehow, learn how to get it.
當他表演時,我看到臺下觀眾臉上的表情,眼神 和他們對音樂的那種熱烈響應。我總算知道問題出在哪里了。并不是華語音樂缺少什么,而是我不能夠正確的聆聽和欣賞它??吹脚_下的人群跟著哈林一起唱并且完全沉浸在他的音樂里的時候,我頓悟到,我起初沒有很好的理解。我現(xiàn)在應該開始學著如何領(lǐng)悟它們。
i was going to learn how to hear with local ears and i deconstructed and analyzed what it was that made chinese audiences connect with certain types of melodies and rhythms and songs structures and lyrics. that’s what i’ve been doing for the past almost twenty years. and it took me a long time and i am still learning.
如何用“當?shù)氐摹倍淙ヂ犚魳贰N议_始解構(gòu),分析,是什么讓華語聽眾對某種旋律,歌曲的結(jié)構(gòu)或者歌詞產(chǎn)生共鳴。在過去二十年我一直在做這樣的工作。真是路漫漫,至今我還在學習中。
but at some point, i not only began to be able to appreciate the music, but i started being able to contribute to it. and i created my own fresh spins on the tried and true. and i think this happens to everyone, really, who is on the outside looking in, it always looks strange if you look at things from your perspective. you’re always gonna think that these people are weirdoes(古怪的人).what’s wrong with them? why are they listening to this stuff? and i am saying that you can make an effort and get it. it can be done and i am a living proof for that. and as an ambassador of chinese pop, i am trying to get people to open up to a sound that they may not feel as palatable(使人愉悅的,隨人心愿的) at the first time listen. what else should we do to reduce imbalance in our popular cultures?
而從某刻開始,我不僅能欣賞華語音樂了,而且能夠開始做出自己的貢獻。開始嘗試和創(chuàng)造自己的風格。作為外觀者,每個人都會這樣。如果僅從自己的角度出發(fā)看問題,你總是會覺得外面的世界很奇怪。你總會覺得別人是異類。他們是怎么了?怎么會聽這些東西?而我想說的是,只要你跨出去一步,就會有收獲。并且我用自己的親身經(jīng)歷證明,這是能夠做到了。作為華語音樂大使,我一直在努力讓人們開放接受,那些也許最初聽上去并不喜歡的音樂,那么我們還能做些什么,來減少這種流行文化中的不平衡呢?
well, maybe give a talk of the o_ford union, tour more outside of china? but seriously, actually i think the tides are already starting to change very slowly, very cautiously, almost calculatingly. you see more cross-cultural e_change now, more interest in china, definitely a lot of joint ventures, a lot of co-productions in recent years, iron man 3, transformers fifty three, resident evil… really it’s beginning to be kind of a world pop. and that’s what i am looking forward to, and that’s what i am focusing on these days. there was j-pop, there was k-pop, there‘sc-pop. and there’s like this w-pop, that’s kind of starting to emerge. this world pop. and i think. yeah, i love that idea. it’s not world music. it’s not. it’s world pop. and i think… yeah i love that idea that it’s not world music. it’s not like… there used to be section hmv called world music now it’s like ethnomusicology (人種音樂學) musical class in college.
比如說,為牛津亞太學生會做演講,或者在中國以外的地方開演唱會?但說真的,其實我覺得這種不平衡的趨勢,正在開始發(fā)生微妙的,緩慢的,小心的,謹慎的變化。你們能夠看到目前中國有很多跨文化的交流,外商漸漸視中國為寶地,近年來不乏很多跨國公司和合作成果,鋼鐵俠3,無數(shù)部變形金剛,生化危機……真的已經(jīng)形成一種世界流行文化了。這正是我期待看到的,也是我最近專注的內(nèi)容。之前我們有日流,韓流,華流,現(xiàn)在這種世界流正在慢慢興起。這就是世界流,我覺得。。。是的,我很喜歡這么個說法,就是世界流并不是世界音樂,不是像。。。hmv之前有一個類別叫世界音樂。有點像音樂學院的“民族音樂學”課程的分類方式。
no, but world pop is more about breaking and turning down age-old stereotypes, the artificial confines that have kept us apart for way too long. it’s a melting pot and it’s mosaic that even when we look up close, we’d still see the colors and flavors of each culture in detail. and where can we go to listen to world pop? i don’t think there is a world pop station or a magazine, unfortunately, there are none- there should be.
但世界流不是這樣的,這個概念打破了陳規(guī)舊俗,沖開了藝術(shù)上那些一直阻礙在我們之間的界限。這就像一個大熔爐,一個馬賽克拼圖。如果我們仔細看,是可以領(lǐng)略到每種文化的不同風格和特色的。那么我們通過什么途徑可以聽到“世界流”音樂呢?并不存在這樣一本世界流音樂雜志或一個平臺,很不幸,當然這些是應該有的。
but there is the internet and has proven to be a driving force for world pop. britain’s got talent made susan boyle the hottest act in the world. and she achieved that not through the record labels or the networks but through grassroots sharing. gangnam style is another great e_ample how that just took over and became a huge worldwide world pop phenomenon. so world pop also suggests a worldwide pop culture and something that can be shared by all of us and give us a lot of common ground.
不過還好,我們有互聯(lián)網(wǎng),比如油管就是一個推廣世界流音樂的中堅力量。蘇珊大媽是通過英國達人秀走紅的,她的成功不是通過唱片公司或者音樂圈的網(wǎng)絡,而是走的草根路線。江南style也是一個很棒的范例,能成為一種掀起全球狂潮的文化現(xiàn)象。所以世界流,意味著一種世界范圍內(nèi)的流行文化,能讓全人類共享,給我們提供了一個共通點。
so today, what’s my called action? i wanna improve a multicultural e_change between the east and the west. i think i have made that clear, but how? i think… you can all become pop singers. really…i think that’s the answer. no, i am just kidding. unless that’s what you really wanna do. my called action is this: build and protect that roommate relationship between the east and the west. value this relationship and take ownership of it. don’t come to o_ford as an e_change student from taiwan and only hang out with other chinese students. why would you do that? you could do that back in wuhan or nanjing or wherever you came from.
于是今天,我的號召是什么呢?我想要幫助推進東西方之間的多元文化交流。這一點我想我已經(jīng)表達的很清楚了,但是如何做到呢?我覺著吧,你們都可以出道嘛,這樣就好了。我開個玩笑。不過如果成為歌手真的是你想做的事情那就另當別論了。我在此,號召各位,請務必在東方與西方橫亙的隔閡間,建立一種室友般的情誼。并且能盡所能及的保護這份情誼,珍惜它,擁有它。千萬不要千里迢迢從臺灣跑來牛津大學當交換生還一天到晚只和中國學生聚一塊。你說你這是干嘛對吧?這些事你在武漢,在南京,在老家的時候都能做對吧。
don’t buy into the headlines or the stereotypes or into the hyper nationalism. think for yourselves, and this goes for the east and west both. get to know one another and think for yourselves and don’t believe the hype. for a moment, if we could just disregard the governments, and what the media are saying, just for the sake of the argument, with our own tools of critical thinking, can we build relationships that actually see one another as individual human beings and not faceless members of a particular ethnicity or nationality? of course we can do that. and that’s the goal and dream, i think of the romantic artists and the musicians. i think it’s always been there. and that’s what i wish for, and that’s what makes music and art so powerful and so true, and breaks down instantly and disintegrates all the artificial barriers that we’ve created between each other, government, nationality, black, brown, yellow, white, whatever color you are, and shows each other our hearts, our fears, our hopes and our dreams. and it turns out in the end the east isn’t that far after all. and the west, well, ain’t so wild.
那些標題黨,那些陳詞濫調(diào),那些超民族主義,別買他們的賬。你應當學會自己判斷,這個原則同樣適用于研究東西方。把一件件來龍去脈搞清楚,獨立思考,對那些天花亂墜的東西不要偏聽則信。要是哪一天,你能做到漠視政府的鼓吹,忽視媒體的通稿,據(jù)理力爭只為真理,動用“批判思維”的武器,是不是就能建立起那份情誼了呢?到那時,每個人都是獨立的個體,個人不再是隸屬于某個種族或是國家的無臉人?我們當然能做到。這是目標,也是理想。這是浪漫藝術(shù)家和音樂人亙古不變的初心。也是我想要極力撮成的一種情誼。正因如此,音樂和藝術(shù)的力量才這樣強大,這樣真切。正是這些力量讓橫亙期間的壁壘土崩瓦解。那些我們在彼此之間人為制造的隔閡,政府或者國籍,膚色。黑色,棕色,黃色和白色,無論哪一種膚色。也是這些力量讓我們能夠單程我們的內(nèi)心,我們的恐懼,我們的希望,我們的夢想。最終我們就會發(fā)現(xiàn),“遠東”也并沒有那么遙遠。西方也并非都是蠻荒一片。
and through understanding each other’s popular cultures, we gain insight in each other’s hearts and true selves. for those of you who are just beginning that journey, the west and east, i want to invite you today on this amazing journey with me. and i, as an e_perienced traveler on this road, on the west and east road, i’ve prepared a mi_-tape for all of you today, of then songs that i love, there, that’s a c-pop mi_-tape. that you can check out. i was going to bring you all cds, but my publicist reminded me lovingly that would be illegal. so because i’m a professional recording artist, i shouldn’t do that. but actually the link works out nicely, because you get to see the music videos as well on a lot of these songs.
通過了解彼此的流行文化,探到彼此的內(nèi)心,觸碰彼此的靈魂。如果你們正想踏上這條貫通東西的征途,我誠摯的邀請你們和我一起加入這場奇幻之旅。作為在這條聯(lián)通東西方之間的路上還算有點經(jīng)驗的人,我為你們準備了一只合集的卡帶,里面收錄了十首我愛的華語流行音樂。看,你們感受一下。本來今天我是給你們每人準備了cd的,但是我的團隊好心提醒我說,這么做是不合法的。作為專業(yè)的專輯制作人,我可不能做這種事。不過這里的鏈接還是很好用的,因為這樣你們還能看到這些歌曲相應的mv。
and these ten songs are songs that i love and ten different chinese artists to start you off on getting to know and love chinese pop. i think these guys are awesome and i hope you do too. i just wanna wrap up by saying that being here on the o_ford campus really makes me nostalgic for my days at williams. and when i look back on those four years, some of my fondest memories are spending time with my roommates stephan papiano and jason price. in fact, jason is here in the audience today and nake this special trip form london just to see me. and i suppose in the beginning we were strangers. we didn’t know much about each other and sometimes we die compete for the shower. there were time when we did intrude on each other’s privacy. but i always loved listening to stephen’s stories about growing up in a greek family and his opinions on what authentic greek food really was. or jason’s stories about wanting to make violins and to live in cremona, italy like antonio stradivari and he did do that.
這10首我最愛的歌曲,來自不同的很棒的中國音樂人。我們就從他們開始了解入手中國的流行音樂吧!我覺得這些音樂人都很棒,希望你們也能喜歡。最后的最后,我只想說,現(xiàn)在置身于牛津大學校園,真的讓我不由的回憶起我在威廉姆斯大學的那段時光。當我回首那四年,我發(fā)現(xiàn)最值得回憶的,就是于室友stephan papiano和jason price共處的時光了。事實上呢,jason就在觀眾席中。他專程從倫敦趕來看我。我在想,剛開始大家還是陌生人,我們對彼此不了解,有時候我們還會搶淋浴,甚至互相侵犯別人的隱私。但是我一直喜歡聽stephen講他在一個希臘家庭里成長的故事。還有他眼里原汁原味的希臘菜應該長什么樣子?;蚴莏ason的故事,說他渴望以做小提琴為生,生活在意大利的克雷默那,像安東尼奧特拉迪瓦那樣,而他的夢想后來真的實現(xiàn)了。
and i will never forget many years later when i played a jason price handmade violin for the first time and how that felt. they were always attentive and respectful when i tell them about what it was like for me growing up in a chinese household with strict parents who made me study. so we shared stories, but the strongest bonds between us were formed just sitting around and listening to music together. and i really do see that as a model for east and west. so that’s why i want to share chinese music with you today because it’s the best way i know how to create the lasting friendships that transcend all barriers and allow us to know each other truly, authentically and just as we are.
多年之后,我都無法忘記,我第一次拉“jason price”手工制作的小提琴時的場景,還有當時我內(nèi)心的觸動。他們也總是那樣聚精會神,十分尊重的傾聽我的成長故事,如何在一個中國傳統(tǒng)家庭里長大。我的父母很嚴格,一直逼我學習。我們會互相分享各自的故事但是我們之間的紐帶系的最牢的時候卻是當我們單純的圍坐在一起聽音樂的時候,我真心覺得我們的例子,就是東西人互相理解并和諧共處的典范。因此,這就是為何我今天要與各位分享中國的音樂。因為據(jù)我所知,這是最好的一種方式,讓友誼地久天長。而這份友誼超越了所有的界限,讓我們真真切切的了解彼此,展現(xiàn)最真實的自己。
thank you!
謝謝大家!
第5篇 王力宏牛津大學英語演講稿
thank you, plena. thank you, jun. thank you, peishan for helping this set up.
謝謝波琳娜,謝謝君,謝謝珮姍幫我組織這一切。
thank you all for being here today and the late comers as well. thank you for coming in quietly.
謝謝在座的各位,謝謝晚來的同學,也謝謝你們悄悄的進來。
i wanna start off today just to take a moment of silence for the victims of the sichuanearthquake and also for the victims of the boston marathon bombing. so let’s just take aminute to pay our respect to that.
今天開始之前,我想要先為四川地震的災民們以及波士頓馬拉松爆炸事件的受害者們默哀。讓我們用一分鐘時間,為他們祈福。
thank you.
謝謝你們。
i never thought i would be addressing you, the esteemed members of the o_ford union,without a guitar or an erhu, without my crazy stage hair, costumes. but i did perform in theo2 arena in london last week. i am not sure if any of you were able to make that. but in manyways, that was similar to what i’m talking about today, that is, introducing chinese pop musichere.
尊敬的各位牛津大學辯論會和牛津大學亞太學生會的同學們,萬萬想不到會以這樣的方式跟你們相聚。沒有吉他和二胡,沒有夸張的舞臺裝也沒有“火力全開”頭。不過上周確實在倫敦的o2體育館表演過了。不知道大家有沒有去看呢。 但是,從各方面來說,這些跟我們今天的話題都有密切的關(guān)聯(lián)。那就是-介紹華流音樂。
see, i am actually an ambassador of chinese pop, whether i like it or not, both music andmovies. and today i’m here to give you the state of union address. it’s not the o_ford union.it’s the union of east and west. i wanna frankly, openly and honestly talk about how we’ve donea good job or how we’ve done a bad job of bringing chinese pop to the west. and i also want topress upon all of you here today the importance of that soft culture, that soft power e_changeand how each of us is involved in that e_change.
其實無論我喜不喜歡,我都被認為在代表者華流音樂以及電影。那么今天,我就要來做一次“國情咨文”報告了。但是,這個“國”不是牛津,而是東西方的一個聯(lián)合體。我想跟你們聊一聊,我們在將華語音樂引入西方社會方面所做的事情,無論是成就,還是不足。我都會坦誠布公。同時,我也想借此機會給你們留下這樣一個印記:軟實力交流的重要性以及它同我們每個人的相關(guān)程度。
soft power, a term i am sure you are all familiar with this point
軟實力這個詞我相信大家都不陌生。這個概念是由rhodes scholar 和牛津校友joseph nye 提出的。
coined by rhodes scholar and o_ford alumnus joseph nye is defined as the ability to attractand persuade.
被定義為一種“吸引”和“說服”的能力。
shashi tharoor called it, in a recent ted talk, the ability for a culture to tell a compellingstory and influence others to fall in love with it.
shashi tharoor 在最近的一次ted演講中把它定義為“一種文化讓其他文化在聽了他動人的故事之后受到影響并愛上這種文化”的能力。
i like that definition.
我很喜歡這個定義。
but i want to put it in collegiate term for all you students in the audience: the way i see it,east and west are kinda like freshman roommates.
但是我想用貼近你們在做大學生們的方式來解釋這個詞。在我看來,東方跟西方在某種程度上,像是兩個大一剛?cè)雽W的新生舍友。
you don’t know a lot about each other but suddenly you are living together in the same room.and each one is scared that the other’s gonna steal his shower time or wants a party when theother wants to study.
兩個幾乎陌生的人,突然來到同一個屋檐下,其中一個總是怕另一個會跟他搶洗澡的時間,或者在他想要學習的時候大開趴體。
it has the potential to be absolute hell, doesn’t it? we all had horrible stories of thatroommate. we’ve all heard about those stories. i know a lot of students here in o_ford haveyour own separate bedrooms. but when i was a freshman at williams college, i was not so safeand fortunate.
這種關(guān)系很可能就變成跟地獄一樣了,不是么?“我的室友是極品”的故事大家都講得出來。這些事我都有耳聞。還有我知道牛津這兒的很多同學都一人一間的對吧,但是,在我剛上威廉姆斯學院的時候,我并不幸運,而且人身安全堪憂。
(you are kidding me. woo-hoo! all right, all right!great. )
哇,你還真的是我們學校的!好吧,好棒!
well, i had a roommate, and he was that roommate. let’s just call him frank. so frank wasmy roommate and frank liked nothing more than to smoke weed. and he did it every day.
我當時就有一個這樣的極品舍友,讓我們暫且叫他frank。這個frank 就是那種好像除了抽大的麻沒有別的愛好的人。而且他每天都抽。
and frank had a two-foot long bong under his bed that was constantly being fired up. forthose chiese speakers in the audience. frank would “火力全開” on that bong every day.
他床底下有一個兩英尺長的煙斗,持續(xù)不斷的得點著。給在做講中文的同學們形容下,就是他每天會對著那個煙斗火力全開
all right
好吧。
so, i guess i was kinda of the opposite of bill clinton who “tried marijuana but didn’t inhale”. ididn’t try marijuana but i did inhale, every single day, second hand. and strangely enoughevery time i dwelt into our bedroom, i mysteriously end up being late for class. i don’t knowhow it happened. it was like “dude, it is already ten o’clock?”.
我可能在這點上算是跟bill clinton 相反吧。bill clinton 是那種“我試過大的麻,但我不上癮。”我不抽大的麻,但是我每天都在吸啊吸,而且還是二手的。奇怪的是,只要我在我們的臥室里,我最后都會稀里糊涂地上課遲到。我也不知道怎么回事。我當時就是那副吸了大的麻的樣子,嘿,已經(jīng)十點了嗎?
so, how many of you have lived with the frank, or could be a frank gat? having a roommatecan be a recipe for disaster, but it also has the potential for being the greatest friendshipyou’ve ever had. see, frank, he didn’t make it the second year. and i got two new roommatessecond year, stephen and jason. and in this day, the three of us are the best friends.
你們中有多少人有過frank那樣的舍友呢?或者,你們也像他一樣。所以有一個室友可能是一場災難的開始。但也可能會釀造一段非凡的友誼。frank第二年就輟學了。于是我換了兩個新的舍友,stefan 和 jason。如今,我們?nèi)齻€是鐵哥們。
so going back to my analogy, of east and west as roommates. do we want to be frank, or do wewant to be stephen and jason? and i think, in this day and age of 2022, we should all bestriving for the latter, should we…i mean i’m assuming that we all agree that this is the goalwe should all be striving for.
回過頭來看我的那個類比,我們東方和西方的舍友。是應該成為frank那樣的存在,還是想像stefan 和 jason那樣呢?我認為在當時當下,在2022,我們應該努力成為后者。我們應該, 我是說,我想在這一目標上我們是可以達成共識的,對吧?
let’s look at where we are in reality. recent headlines in the media include, foreign policymagazine: china’s victim comple_. why are chinese leaders so paranoid about the unitedstates? or the afp, the agence france-presse, human rights in china worsening us finds.bloomberg says, on the cover of its magazine, “yes, the chinese army is spying on you.”
那么,回過頭來,正視我們在現(xiàn)實中的處境??纯醋罱男侣勵^條:《外交政策》雜志上的,“中國的受害者情節(jié):為何中國領(lǐng)導人如此猜忌美國”或者法新社的財經(jīng)雜志《彭博商業(yè)周刊》上說,“沒錯,中國軍隊正在測探你。”
and it’s such a great one that i just want to show you the cover of the magazine. yes. be veryafraid! ok, is it shown to you right? ok. so there’s actually an e_tremely high amount ofnegativity and fear and an_iety about china, sinophobia, that i think is not just misinformed,but also misleading and ultimately dangerous, very dangerous.
這個特別逗,我來給你們展示一下這封面。是的,特別恐慌有木有!方向那對的吧,嗯,對的。當今對于中國有太多的負面東西??秩A情緒很嚴重。我覺得這種現(xiàn)象不僅是一種誤傳同時也是一種誤導。這是很可怕的,超級可怕。
and what about how westerners are viewed by chinese? well, we have terms for westerners.the most common of which are gweilo in cantonese, which means “the old devil”, lao wai,meaning the old outsider in mandarin, ang moh, which means the “red hairy one” in taiwanese.the list goes on and on. so are these roommates headed for a best friend relationship? i thinkwe need a little help. and as china rises to be global power, i think it is more important thanever for us to be discerning about what we believe, because after all, i think that’s the purposeof higher education.
那么,中國人又是如何看待西方的呢?我們對西方人的稱呼五花八門。大家熟知的有:香港人叫他們“鬼佬”,字面上就是“老妖”。大陸人叫他們老外,字面上就是“蠻夷”。還有臺灣人叫他們“紅毛”。還真說不完呢。這看上去像是能發(fā)展成一段最佳友誼的舍友關(guān)系嗎?我認為我們得治治病。隨著中國實力不斷強大,看清楚應該相信什么這一點空前重要。因為,歸根結(jié)底,這就是高等教育的目的。
and that’s why we are all here: to be able to think for ourselves and make our own decisions.china’s not just those headlines, the burgeoning economy of the unique politics. it’s not justthe world’s factory or the ne_t big superpower, it’s so much more. a billion people with richculture, amazing stories and as a product of both of those cultures, i want to help fosterunderstanding between the two, and help create that incredible relationship.
這就是我們坐在這里的原因:有能力獨立思考,自主選擇。中國當然不能通過那些新聞頭條來定義。也不只是所謂的特殊政策下快速增長的經(jīng)濟。中國不僅僅是一個世界工廠,也不僅僅是未來超級大國。中國的意義價值遠大于此。一個擁有十幾億人口,豐富悠久的歷史文化與傳奇故事的民族。作為中西兩種文化的共同產(chǎn)物,我特別想要幫忙在兩種文化之間培養(yǎng)起一種互相的理解,建立起一種很美好的情誼。
because knowing both sides of the coin, i really think that there is a love story waiting to betold, waiting to unfold. and i am only half-joking when i said love story because i believe it is,the stories that will save us, will bring us together. and my thesis statement for today’s talk isthat, the relationship between the east and west needs to be and can be fi_ed via pop culture.that’s a big fat plan. and i am gotta trying to back it up!
但凡事都有兩面,所以我認為這背后蘊含著一個亟待講述的愛情故事。我說“愛情故事”不完全在說笑。因為我相信,這些關(guān)于愛的故事能夠拯救我們,把我們凝聚在一起。我今天講的主題就是,通過流行文化修復東西方世界的關(guān)系。好宏偉的計劃有木有啊!我會想辦法講明白的。
the un secretary general bunki boo said: “there are no language required in musical world.”that is the power of music. that is the power of the heart. through this promotion of arts, wecan better understand that the culture and civilizations of other people. in this era ofinstability and intolerance, we need to promote better understanding through the power ofmusic.
聯(lián)合國秘書長潘基文說過,在音樂的世界里,溝通時無需語言的。這就是音樂的力量。這就是人心的力量。通過發(fā)揚藝術(shù),我們才能夠更好的了解其他民族的文明與文化。在這個動蕩不安,人與人之間不甚寬容的年代,我們需要利用音樂的力量來更好的了解彼此。
now the un secretary general thinks we need more music, and i think he is right. music andarts have always played the key role in my life in building relationships, replacing what once wasthe ignorance, fear and hatred with acceptance, friendships and even love. so i have astrong case for promoting music between cultures because it happened to me early in life.
聯(lián)合國秘書長認為我們需要更多的音樂。這一點我很贊同。音樂和藝術(shù)一直在我的生命中占據(jù)著很重要的地位。音樂和藝術(shù)的力量能夠幫助建立人與人之間的關(guān)系,用包容,友誼和愛來驅(qū)逐因為無知的仇恨而產(chǎn)生的恐懼。在不同文化之間推廣音樂這一點上,我自己的童年時期的經(jīng)歷是一個最好的例證。
i was born and raised in rochester, new york. i barely spoke a word of chinese. i didn’t knowthe difference between taiwan or thailand. i was… that’s true. i was as american as apple pie.until one day, on a third grade playground, the inevitable finally happened. i got teased forbeing chinese. now every kid gets teased or made fun on the playground, but this wasfundamentally different. and i knew it right then and there. this kid, let’s call him bryan m. hestarted making fun of me, saying “ chinese, japanese, dirty knees, look at these.” i can’tbelieve you are laughing at that and that hurts. ok, i am just kidding. i can still remember howi felt. i felt ashamed. i felt embarrassed.
我在紐約的羅切斯特長大,幾乎不會說中文。我連“臺灣”和“泰國”這兩個詞都分不清楚。那是真的!我那時是個地地道道的美國人。直到我上了三年級,有一天在操場上,不可避免的事情終于發(fā)生了。因為中國人的血統(tǒng),我第一次被人嘲笑了。當然一起玩的小孩都會互相戲弄開玩笑,但這次絕對不同。這點當時我立馬就感覺到了。我們暫且管那個孩子叫bryan m吧。它開始嘲笑我說,中國人,日本人,臟膝蓋,快來看。(英文還押韻)你們居然還笑,我太受傷了!好吧,我只是開個玩笑。我依然能夠記得我當時的感覺。我感覺特別丟臉,特別尷尬。
but i laughed along with him, with everyone. i didn’t know what else to do. it was like having aout-of-body e_perience, as if i could laugh at that chinese kid on the playground with all theother americans because i was one of them. right? wrong. on may levels.
但是我當時跟著所有其他人一直在笑。年幼的我并不知道該怎么辦。當時感覺好像靈魂出竅一樣。好像我能夠和操場上其他美國孩子一起嘲笑中國人,我就是他們當中一員了。這種想法可取嗎?當然不可取,而且是大錯特錯。
and i was facing in front of the first but definitely not the last time, the harsh reality that iwas minority in rochester, which in those days had an asian population of one percent.
那是我第一次感受到一件殘酷而現(xiàn)實的事實。我屬于一個少數(shù)群體,但那絕不是最后一次。在那個時代的羅切斯特,亞洲人口特別少,幾乎之占當?shù)厝丝诘陌俜种弧?/p>
and i was confused. i wanted to punch brian. i wanted to hurt him for putting me in thatsituation. but he was faster than me and he was stronger than me. and he would kick my buttand we both knew that. so i just took it in. and i didn’t tell anyone or share with anyone thesefeelings. i just held them in and i let them fester. and those feelings would surface in astrangely therapeutic way for me through music. and it was no coincidence that around thattime i started getting good with the violin, the guitar, and the drums. and i would soondiscover that by playing music or singing, other kids would, for a brief moment, forget aboutmy race or color and accept me and then be able to see me for who i truly am, a human beingwho’s emotional, spiritual, curious about the world and has a need for love, just likeeveryone else.
我當時心里很亂,我很想把bryan 打一頓。他讓我陷入那種窘境,因此我也要讓他難過。但是他身材比我壯,出手也比我快。如果和他打架,我一定會被揍得更慘。這一點我們都知道。所以我就忍了下來。我從來沒有告訴過別人。也沒發(fā)泄什么感受。一直自己忍著,想讓他們爛在心底就好了。后來慢慢地,這些感受在音樂里竟然十分巧妙地把我治愈了。我那個時候?qū)π√崆伲?,鼓都越來越得心應手,當然不是巧合。我漸漸發(fā)現(xiàn),當我演奏或者唱歌的時候,其他孩子便會忘記我的種族或我的膚色。而真正接受我,了解真正的我,哪怕只是一小會。每當這個時候,他們就會發(fā)現(xiàn),我跟他們都是一樣的人。我也對世界充滿感性的好奇和想象,我也需要愛。
and by the si_ grade, guess who asked me if i would be the drummer for his band? brian.and i said yes. and that’s when we together formed the elementary school rock band callednirvana. i am not kidding. i wan in the rock band called nirvana before kurt cobain’s nirvanawas ever known. so when nirvana came out, bryan and i were like “hey, he’s stealing ourname.” but, really what attracted me to music at this young age was just this and it’s still whati love about music is that it breaks down the walls between us and shows us so quickly thetruth that we are much more alike than we are different. then in high school, i learned thatmusic wasn’t just about connecting with other, like bryan and i were connected through music.it was a powerful tool of influence and inspiration.
到了六年級的時候,猜猜誰拉我加入他的樂隊當鼓手?對,就是bryan,我答應了。于是bryan跟我一起,組成了我們小學的搖滾樂隊:涅槃樂隊。是真的我沒開玩笑。我們的樂隊在科特柯本的涅槃樂隊之前就有了。所以后來涅槃樂隊出道的時候,我跟bryan還嚷嚷,嘿,他盜用我們的名字!所以在那么小的時候,我就發(fā)現(xiàn)了音樂的迷人之處。當然這迷人之處也是我至今熱愛音樂的原因之一。那就是,音樂能打破人與人之間的隔閡,能讓我們那么快就看到彼此的相似點,而不是那些不同之處。后來上了高中,我學到了更多,音樂不僅僅能夠溝通彼此,就像我跟bryan通過音樂結(jié)緣一樣。它同時也是一股強大的影響他人,激勵他人的力量。
sam wayne was my high school janitor. he was an immigrant from vietnam who barely spokea word of english. sam scrubbed the floors and cleaned the bathrooms in our school for twentyyears. and he never talked to the kids and the kids never talked to sam. but one day, beforethe opening night of our school’s annual musical, he walked up to me, holding a letter. and iwas taken aback. i was thinking, “why is sam the janitor approaching me? and he gave me thisletter that i have kept to this day. it was scrawled in a shaky hand written in all in capitals. andi read: “in all my years of working as a genitor at sutherland, you are the first asian boy thatplayed the lead role. i am gonna bring my si_-year-old daughter to watch you perform tonightbecause i want her to see that asians can be inspiring.” and that letter just floored me. i wasfifteen years old and i was absolutely stunned. that’s the first time i realized how music wasso important.
sam wayne是我們學校的門衛(wèi)。他是越南僑民。幾乎從來不說英語。sam在我們學校做了二十幾年的清潔工,擦地板,掃廁所。卻從來沒跟學生們說過話。學生們也從不跟他說話。但是一天,我們學校一年一度的音樂節(jié)前夕,sam找到我,手里拿著一封信。我嚇壞了,心里琢磨,門衛(wèi)sam找我會有什么事?于是他遞給了我那封我至今保存的信。一看就是用顫抖的手寫下的潦草字跡。全都是大寫字母,信上寫著,我在這個學校當了那么多年門衛(wèi),你是我見過的第一個擔綱主唱的亞洲男孩。我今晚要帶我六歲的女兒來看你的演出。因為我想要她看到,我們亞洲人也可以帶給人好多正能量。我真的被那封信震驚了。十五歲的我當時就驚呆了。我第一次意識到,原來音樂如此重要。
with bryan, music helped two kids who were initially enemies become friends. but with sam,music went beyond the one-on-one. it was even a higher level. it influenced others i didn’teven know in ways i can never imagine. i can’t tell you how grateful i am to sam, the janitor,to this day. he really is one of the people who helped me discover my life’s purpose. and i hadno idea that something i did could mean more than ever imagined to an immigrant fromvietnam who barely spoke english. pop culture, music, and the other methods of story telling,movies, tv dramas, they are so key and they do connect us like me and bryan and do influenceus and inspire us.
在bryan那兒,他讓兩個本來是敵人的孩子成為了朋友,然而在sam這里,音樂的意義超過了個體的范疇,達到了一個更好的層次。音樂以我想不到的方式影響到我甚至完全不認識的人。我從頭至尾對門衛(wèi)sam的感激是無法用語言來形容的。他真的算是幫助我發(fā)掘人生目標的人之一。我從來不知道我的一個小小的行為,能夠?qū)@樣一位甚至從來不說英文的越南僑民產(chǎn)生如此大的影響。流行文化,音樂以及任何一種講述故事的方式包括電影,電視劇,他們都是如此的重要,連接著我們。比如bryan和我,又真的在影響著我們,激勵著我們。
then let’s take another look at this state of union the east, west union, with this soft-powerbias. how is the soft power e_change between these two roommates? are the songs in englishthat become hits in china? for sure. how about movies? well, there are so many…that chinahas had to limit the number hollywood movies imported into the country so that local films caneven have a chance at success. what about the flip side of that? the chinese songs that have ahit in the west? well…(yes!)
回過頭來再看看這個東西方的聯(lián)合體,是存在一種軟實力偏向的。東方和西方這兩個“舍友”之間的軟實力交流會是什么樣子的呢?有沒有在中國很紅的英文歌呢?當然有。英文電影呢?那就太多了。多到中國不得不限制好萊塢電影的引入,來給本土電影制造些成功的機會。那么反過來,又在西方很紅的華語歌曲嗎?
heheha,yeah, and movies. well there was crouching tiger, that was thirteen years ago. and,well i think there is a bit of an imbalance here. and i think it’s a soft-power deficit, let’s callthat. i mean look in this direction. that is to say, the west influences the east more than viceversa. and forgive me for using east and west kind of loosely but i think it’s a lot easier to statethis than english-speaking language or the asian speaking language… chinese, or cantonesespecifically, i think i’m making a generalization i hope you can go with me on this.
觀眾:江南style!王:哈哈,沒錯,還有電影。比如臥虎藏龍,那也是十三年前的事了。我覺得這當中有一種不平衡存在。我認為這是一種軟實力赤字,就這么叫吧。當我們放眼這個方向的時候,也就是說,西方對東方的影響遠遠大于東方對西方的。原諒我這里把東方和西方這兩個詞用的這么隨意。因為這比說,以英語為第一語言的國家,講中文或講粵語的地區(qū),這樣的話方便點。我在使用一種概況化的表達方式。希望你們能理解。
and it’s interestingly a problem with this imbalance in pop cultural influence. and i think so. ithink in any healthy relationship or friendship or marriage, isn’t it important for both sides tomake an effort to understand the other? and that this e_change needs to have a healthybalance.
這種在流行文化影響方面的不平衡其實是個很有趣的問題。試想在任何一段健康的關(guān)系中,無論是友誼還是婚姻,雙方彼此努力去了解對方都再重要不過了,對嗎? 這種軟實力交換需要一種平衡。
and how do we address this? as an ambassador for chinese pop music and movies, i have toask myself the question, why does this deficit e_ist? is it because chinese music just is lame?don’t answer that, please. yeah i can just see some of you are really like: “stop complaining!write a hit song! psy did!” you know.but actually there is truth in that.
那么如何做到這一點呢?作為中國流行文化大使,我必須問自己這樣一個問題,為什么會存在這種軟實力赤字?是因為華語音樂真的很爛嗎?求你們了別回答這個問題。我看得出你們當中肯定有人在嘀咕:別發(fā)牢騷了!寫首勁歌吧!鳥叔不就做到了嗎?事實上這背后是有點道理的。
and the argument being that the content we’ve created just isn’t as internationallycompetitive. and why shouldn’t be? well, look at korean pop, look at k-pop for e_ample.korean is an e_port-based economy and they are outward looking.
一種說法是,我們所創(chuàng)作的內(nèi)容,沒有足夠的國際競爭力。為什么就沒有呢?那么,我們以韓流音樂為例。韓國的經(jīng)濟是以出口為導向的。他們的眼光是面向世界的。
and they must be outward looking. chinese pop, on the other hand, can just kind of staydomestic, tour all over chinese-speaking territories and comfortably sustained. so when weare, that big and powerful, there’re over 160 cities in china with a million or more people. youtend to kind of turn inward and be complacent(自滿的).
事實上他們也必須面向世界。而華語流行音樂,僅憑借在中國國內(nèi)發(fā)展以及在華語國家和地區(qū)舉辦巡演,就能夠堅挺下去。而中國,正是由于是一個泱泱大國,市場潛力巨大,又有著160萬個人口超過百萬的城市,華語音樂確實有內(nèi)化和固步自封的傾向。
so this certainly can be an argument made for chinese pop being not marked with internationalsensibilities in mind. but the other side of the argument, i think is more interesting andthought-provoking and even more true that western ears aren’t familiar with, and thereforedon’t really understand how to appreciate chinese music. ouch!
所以華語流行音樂缺乏在國際市場競爭的敏感性這一觀點是成立的。不過我認為這一議題的另一方面,更為有趣,更發(fā)人深省也更為真實。那就是西方聽眾并不熟悉華語音樂。因此并不懂得如何去欣賞華語音樂。哦好傷人啊!
ok, the reason i think that argument holds water though is because that’s e_actly what i wentthrough. so i happen to know a thing or two about learning to appreciate chinese pop as awesterner. cause as i was 17 years old when i went from being the asian kid in america tobeing an american kid in china. and the entire paradigm suddenly got flipped on its head.
我之所以認為這種論調(diào)其實站得住腳,是因為我本人恰巧有過這般經(jīng)歷。因此我對“西方人如何學著欣賞華語流行音樂”這個問題還是要一定發(fā)言權(quán)的。在17歲之前,我是一個身處美國的亞洲小孩。17歲之后,我變成了一個身處亞洲的美國孩子。情況完全顛倒了過來。
i grow up listening to beatie boyz, led zeppelin, guns n’ roses. then i found myself in taiwan,listening to the radio and thinking, where’s the beat? where is the screeching(呼嘯聲) guitarsolos? and here i am an american kid in asia, listening to chinese music for the first time andthinking “this stuff is lamb. i don’t like it.” i thought it was cheesy, production value was low.the singers couldn’t belt like a_l rose, or mariah carey. but then one day, i went to my firstchinese pop concert and it was yu chengqing, harlem yu, performing in 臺北社教館the taibeimusic center.
以前我是聽著beatie boyz, led zeppelin,槍花長大的。但是到了臺灣之后,我常邊聽音樂邊想, 這音樂怎么一點節(jié)奏感沒有!華麗的吉他獨奏在哪里!所以,作為一個在亞洲的美國孩子,我剛開始接觸到華語音樂的時候心里的想法是,這音樂太遜了,我不喜歡。我覺得這些歌都太不給力了。制作價值太低。這些歌手就是沒有a_l rose (槍花主唱)或者mariah carey 那么會飆高音。直到有一天,我聽了人生中第一場華流演唱會。是庾澄慶,哈林。在臺北音樂中心的那場。
and as he performed, i looked around the audience and i saw their faces and the look in theireyes, their responsiveness to his music. and it was clear to me, finally, where the problem lay.it wasn’t that the music was lacking. it was my ability to appreciate it and to hear it in theright way. the crowd, they would sing along and be totally emerged in his music and i had thisepiphany(頓悟) that i was missing point. and from now on, i was going to, somehow, learnhow to get it.
當他表演時,我看到臺下觀眾臉上的表情,眼神 和他們對音樂的那種熱烈響應。我總算知道問題出在哪里了。并不是華語音樂缺少什么,而是我不能夠正確的聆聽和欣賞它。看到臺下的人群跟著哈林一起唱并且完全沉浸在他的音樂里的時候,我頓悟到,我起初沒有很好的理解。我現(xiàn)在應該開始學著如何領(lǐng)悟它們。
i was going to learn how to hear with local ears and i deconstructed and analyzed what it wasthat made chinese audiences connect with certain types of melodies and rhythms and songsstructures and lyrics. that’s what i’ve been doing for the past almost twenty years. and it tookme a long time and i am still learning.
如何用“當?shù)氐摹倍淙ヂ犚魳?。我開始解構(gòu),分析,是什么讓華語聽眾對某種旋律,歌曲的結(jié)構(gòu)或者歌詞產(chǎn)生共鳴。在過去二十年我一直在做這樣的工作。真是路漫漫,至今我還在學習中。
but at some point, i not only began to be able to appreciate the music, but i started beingable to contribute to it. and i created my own fresh spins on the tried and true. and i thinkthis happens to everyone, really, who is on the outside looking in, it always looks strange if youlook at things from your perspective. you’re always gonna think that these people areweirdoes(古怪的人).what’s wrong with them? why are they listening to this stuff? and i amsaying that you can make an effort and get it. it can be done and i am a living proof for that.and as an ambassador of chinese pop, i am trying to get people to open up to a sound thatthey may not feel as palatable(使人愉悅的,隨人心愿的) at the first time listen. what elseshould we do to reduce imbalance in our popular cultures?
而從某刻開始,我不僅能欣賞華語音樂了,而且能夠開始做出自己的貢獻。開始嘗試和創(chuàng)造自己的風格。作為外觀者,每個人都會這樣。如果僅從自己的角度出發(fā)看問題,你總是會覺得外面的世界很奇怪。你總會覺得別人是異類。他們是怎么了?怎么會聽這些東西?而我想說的是,只要你跨出去一步,就會有收獲。并且我用自己的親身經(jīng)歷證明,這是能夠做到了。作為華語音樂大使,我一直在努力讓人們開放接受,那些也許最初聽上去并不喜歡的音樂,那么我們還能做些什么,來減少這種流行文化中的不平衡呢?
well, maybe give a talk of the o_ford union, tour more outside of china? but seriously, actuallyi think the tides are already starting to change very slowly, very cautiously, almostcalculatingly. you see more cross-cultural e_change now, more interest in china, definitely alot of joint ventures, a lot of co-productions in recent years, iron man 3, transformers fiftythree, resident evil… really it’s beginning to be kind of a world pop. and that’s what i amlooking forward to, and that’s what i am focusing on these days. there was j-pop, there was k-pop, there‘sc-pop. and there’s like this w-pop, that’s kind of starting to emerge. this worldpop. and i think. yeah, i love that idea. it’s not world music. it’s not. it’s world pop. and ithink… yeah i love that idea that it’s not world music. it’s not like… there used to be sectionhmv called world music now it’s like ethnomusicology (人種音樂學) musical class in college.
比如說,為牛津亞太學生會做演講,或者在中國以外的地方開演唱會?但說真的,其實我覺得這種不平衡的趨勢,正在開始發(fā)生微妙的,緩慢的,小心的,謹慎的變化。你們能夠看到目前中國有很多跨文化的交流,外商漸漸視中國為寶地,近年來不乏很多跨國公司和合作成果,鋼鐵俠3,無數(shù)部變形金剛,生化危機……真的已經(jīng)形成一種世界流行文化了。這正是我期待看到的,也是我最近專注的內(nèi)容。之前我們有日流,韓流,華流,現(xiàn)在這種世界流正在慢慢興起。這就是世界流,我覺得。。。是的,我很喜歡這么個說法,就是世界流并不是世界音樂,不是像。。。hmv之前有一個類別叫世界音樂。有點像音樂學院的“民族音樂學”課程的分類方式。
no, but world pop is more about breaking and turning down age-old stereotypes, the artificialconfines that have kept us apart for way too long. it’s a melting pot and it’s mosaic that evenwhen we look up close, we’d still see the colors and flavors of each culture in detail. and wherecan we go to listen to world pop? i don’t think there is a world pop station or a magazine,unfortunately, there are none- there should be.
但世界流不是這樣的,這個概念打破了陳規(guī)舊俗,沖開了藝術(shù)上那些一直阻礙在我們之間的界限。這就像一個大熔爐,一個馬賽克拼圖。如果我們仔細看,是可以領(lǐng)略到每種文化的不同風格和特色的。那么我們通過什么途徑可以聽到“世界流”音樂呢?并不存在這樣一本世界流音樂雜志或一個平臺,很不幸,當然這些是應該有的。
but there is the internet and has proven to be a driving force for world pop. britain’sgot talent made susan boyle the hottest act in the world. and she achieved that not throughthe record labels or the networks but through grassroots sharing. gangnam style is anothergreat e_ample how that just took over and became a huge worldwide world pop phenomenon.so world pop also suggests a worldwide pop culture and something that can be shared by all ofus and give us a lot of common ground.
不過還好,我們有互聯(lián)網(wǎng),比如油管就是一個推廣世界流音樂的中堅力量。蘇珊大媽是通過英國達人秀走紅的,她的成功不是通過唱片公司或者音樂圈的網(wǎng)絡,而是走的草根路線。江南style也是一個很棒的范例,能成為一種掀起全球狂潮的文化現(xiàn)象。所以世界流,意味著一種世界范圍內(nèi)的流行文化,能讓全人類共享,給我們提供了一個共通點。
so today, what’s my called action? i wanna improve a multicultural e_change between the eastand the west. i think i have made that clear, but how? i think… you can all become pop singers.really…i think that’s the answer. no, i am just kidding. unless that’s what you really wanna do.my called action is this: build and protect that roommate relationship between the east and thewest. value this relationship and take ownership of it. don’t come to o_ford as an e_changestudent from taiwan and only hang out with other chinese students. why would you do that?you could do that back in wuhan or nanjing or wherever you came from.
于是今天,我的號召是什么呢?我想要幫助推進東西方之間的多元文化交流。這一點我想我已經(jīng)表達的很清楚了,但是如何做到呢?我覺著吧,你們都可以出道嘛,這樣就好了。我開個玩笑。不過如果成為歌手真的是你想做的事情那就另當別論了。我在此,號召各位,請務必在東方與西方橫亙的隔閡間,建立一種室友般的情誼。并且能盡所能及的保護這份情誼,珍惜它,擁有它。千萬不要千里迢迢從臺灣跑來牛津大學當交換生還一天到晚只和中國學生聚一塊。你說你這是干嘛對吧?這些事你在武漢,在南京,在老家的時候都能做對吧。
don’t buy into the headlines or the stereotypes or into the hyper nationalism. think foryourselves, and this goes for the east and west both. get to know one another and think foryourselves and don’t believe the hype. for a moment, if we could just disregard thegovernments, and what the media are saying, just for the sake of the argument, with our owntools of critical thinking, can we build relationships that actually see one another as individualhuman beings and not faceless members of a particular ethnicity or nationality? of course wecan do that. and that’s the goal and dream, i think of the romantic artists and the musicians.i think it’s always been there. and that’s what i wish for, and that’s what makes music and artso powerful and so true, and breaks down instantly and disintegrates all the artificial barriersthat we’ve created between each other, government, nationality, black, brown, yellow, white,whatever color you are, and shows each other our hearts, our fears, our hopes and our dreams.and it turns out in the end the east isn’t that far after all. and the west, well, ain’t so wild.
那些標題黨,那些陳詞濫調(diào),那些超民族主義,別買他們的賬。你應當學會自己判斷,這個原則同樣適用于研究東西方。把一件件來龍去脈搞清楚,獨立思考,對那些天花亂墜的東西不要偏聽則信。要是哪一天,你能做到漠視政府的鼓吹,忽視媒體的通稿,據(jù)理力爭只為真理,動用“批判思維”的武器,是不是就能建立起那份情誼了呢?到那時,每個人都是獨立的個體,個人不再是隸屬于某個種族或是國家的無臉人?我們當然能做到。這是目標,也是理想。這是浪漫藝術(shù)家和音樂人亙古不變的初心。也是我想要極力撮成的一種情誼。正因如此,音樂和藝術(shù)的力量才這樣強大,這樣真切。正是這些力量讓橫亙期間的壁壘土崩瓦解。那些我們在彼此之間人為制造的隔閡,政府或者國籍,膚色。黑色,棕色,黃色和白色,無論哪一種膚色。也是這些力量讓我們能夠單程我們的內(nèi)心,我們的恐懼,我們的希望,我們的夢想。最終我們就會發(fā)現(xiàn),“遠東”也并沒有那么遙遠。西方也并非都是蠻荒一片。
and through understanding each other’s popular cultures, we gain insight in each other’shearts and true selves. for those of you who are just beginning that journey, the west andeast, i want to invite you today on this amazing journey with me. and i, as an e_periencedtraveler on this road, on the west and east road, i’ve prepared a mi_-tape for all of you today,of then songs that i love, there, that’s a c-pop mi_-tape. that you can check out. i was goingto bring you all cds, but my publicist reminded me lovingly that would be illegal. so becausei’m a professional recording artist, i shouldn’t do that. but actually the link works out nicely,because you get to see the music videos as well on a lot of these songs.
通過了解彼此的流行文化,探到彼此的內(nèi)心,觸碰彼此的靈魂。如果你們正想踏上這條貫通東西的征途,我誠摯的邀請你們和我一起加入這場奇幻之旅。作為在這條聯(lián)通東西方之間的路上還算有點經(jīng)驗的人,我為你們準備了一只合集的卡帶,里面收錄了十首我愛的華語流行音樂???,你們感受一下。本來今天我是給你們每人準備了cd的,但是我的團隊好心提醒我說,這么做是不合法的。作為專業(yè)的專輯制作人,我可不能做這種事。不過這里的鏈接還是很好用的,因為這樣你們還能看到這些歌曲相應的mv。
and these ten songs are songs that i love and ten different chinese artists to start you off ongetting to know and love chinese pop. i think these guys are awesome and i hope you do too. ijust wanna wrap up by saying that being here on the o_ford campus really makes menostalgic for my days at williams. and when i look back on those four years, some of myfondest memories are spending time with my roommates stephan papiano and jason price. infact, jason is here in the audience today and nake this special trip form london just to see me.and i suppose in the beginning we were strangers. we didn’t know much about each other andsometimes we die compete for the shower. there were time when we did intrude on eachother’s privacy. but i always loved listening to stephen’s stories about growing up in a greekfamily and his opinions on what authentic greek food really was. or jason’s stories aboutwanting to make violins and to live in cremona, italy like antonio stradivari and he did do that.
這10首我最愛的歌曲,來自不同的很棒的中國音樂人。我們就從他們開始了解入手中國的流行音樂吧!我覺得這些音樂人都很棒,希望你們也能喜歡。最后的最后,我只想說,現(xiàn)在置身于牛津大學校園,真的讓我不由的回憶起我在威廉姆斯大學的那段時光。當我回首那四年,我發(fā)現(xiàn)最值得回憶的,就是于室友stephan papiano和jason price共處的時光了。事實上呢,jason就在觀眾席中。他專程從倫敦趕來看我。我在想,剛開始大家還是陌生人,我們對彼此不了解,有時候我們還會搶淋浴,甚至互相侵犯別人的隱私。但是我一直喜歡聽stephen講他在一個希臘家庭里成長的故事。還有他眼里原汁原味的希臘菜應該長什么樣子?;蚴莏ason的故事,說他渴望以做小提琴為生,生活在意大利的克雷默那,像安東尼奧特拉迪瓦那樣,而他的夢想后來真的實現(xiàn)了。
and i will never forget many years later when i played a jason price handmade violin for thefirst time and how that felt. they were always attentive and respectful when i tell them aboutwhat it was like for me growing up in a chinese household with strict parents who made mestudy. so we shared stories, but the strongest bonds between us were formed just sittingaround and listening to music together. and i really do see that as a model for east and west.so that’s why i want to share chinese music with you today because it’s the best way i knowhow to create the lasting friendships that transcend all barriers and allow us to know eachother truly, authentically and just as we are.
多年之后,我都無法忘記,我第一次拉“jason price”手工制作的小提琴時的場景,還有當時我內(nèi)心的觸動。他們也總是那樣聚精會神,十分尊重的傾聽我的成長故事,如何在一個中國傳統(tǒng)家庭里長大。我的父母很嚴格,一直逼我學習。我們會互相分享各自的故事但是我們之間的紐帶系的最牢的時候卻是當我們單純的圍坐在一起聽音樂的時候,我真心覺得我們的例子,就是東西人互相理解并和諧共處的典范。因此,這就是為何我今天要與各位分享中國的音樂。因為據(jù)我所知,這是最好的一種方式,讓友誼地久天長。而這份友誼超越了所有的界限,讓我們真真切切的了解彼此,展現(xiàn)最真實的自己。
thank you!
謝謝大家!