Well, I had a roommate, and he was THAT roommate. Let’s just call him Frank. So Frank was my roommate and Frank liked nothing more than to smoke weed. And he did it every day.

我当时就有一个这样的极品舍友，让我们暂且叫他frank。这个frank 就是那种好像除了抽大麻没有别的爱好的人。而且他每天都抽。

And Frank had a two-foot long bong under his bed that was constantly being fired up. For those Chiese speakers in the audience. Frank would “火力全开” on that bong every day.

他床底下有一个两英尺长的烟斗，持续不断的得点着。给在做讲中文的同学们形容下，就是他每天会对着那个烟斗火力全开

All right

好吧。

So, I guess I was kinda of the opposite of Bill Clinton who “tried marijuana but didn’t inhale”. I didn’t try marijuana but I did inhale, every single day, second hand. And strangely enough every time I dwelt into our bedroom, I mysteriously end up being late for class. I don’t know how it happened. It was like “Dude, it is already ten o’clock?”.

我可能在这点上算是跟Bill Clinton 相反吧。Bill Clinton 是那种“我试过大麻，但我不上瘾。”我不抽大麻，但是我每天都在吸啊吸，而且还是二手的。奇怪的是，只要我在我们的卧室里，我最后都会稀里糊涂地上课迟到。我也不知道怎么回事。我当时就是那副吸了大麻的样子，嘿，已经十点了吗？

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.

你们中有多少人有过frank那样的舍友呢？或者，你们也像他一样。所以有一个室友可能是一场灾难的开始。但也可能会酿造一段非凡的友谊。Frank第二年就辍学了。于是我换了两个新的舍友，Stefan 和 Jason。如今，我们三个是铁哥们。

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 2013, 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.

回过头来看我的那个类比，我们东方和西方的舍友。是应该成为frank那样的存在，还是想像Stefan 和 Jason那样呢？我认为在当时当下，在2013，我们应该努力成为后者。我们应该， 我是说，我想在这一目标上我们是可以达成共识的，对吧？

Let’s look at where we are in reality. Recent headlines in the media include, Foreign Policy Magazine: China’s victim complex. 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，回过头来，正视我们在现实中的处境。看看最近的新闻头条：《外交政策》杂志上的，“中国的受害者情节：为何中国领导人如此猜忌美国”或者法新社的财经杂志《彭博商业周刊》上说，“没错，中国军队正在测探你。”

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 extremely high amount of negativity and fear and anxiety about China, sinophobia, that I think is not just misinformed, but also misleading and ultimately dangerous, very dangerous.

这个特别逗，我来给你们展示一下这封面。是的，特别恐慌有木有！方向那对的吧，嗯，对的。当今对于中国有太多的负面东西。恐华情绪很严重。我觉得这种现象不仅是一种误传同时也是一种误导。这是很可怕的，超级可怕。

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，中国人又是如何看待西方的呢？我们对西方人的称呼五花八门。大家熟知的有：香港人叫他们“鬼佬”，字面上就是“老妖”。大陆人叫他们老外，字面上就是“蛮夷”。还有台湾人叫他们“红毛”。还真说不完呢。这看上去像是能发展成一段最佳友谊的舍友关系吗？我认为我们得治治病。随着中国实力不断强大，看清楚应该相信什么这一点空前重要。因为，归根结底，这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 next 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.

这就是我们坐在这里的原因：有能力独立思考，自主选择。中国当然不能通过那些新闻头条来定义。也不只是所谓的特殊政策下快速增长的经济。中国不仅仅是一个世界工厂，也不仅仅是未来超级大国。中国的意义价值远大于此。一个拥有十几亿人口，丰富悠久的历史文化与传奇故事的民族。作为中西两种文化的共同产物，我特别想要帮忙在两种文化之间培养起一种互相的理解，建立起一种很美好的情谊。

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 fixed via pop culture. That’s a big fat plan. And I am gotta trying to back it up!

但凡事都有两面，所以我认为这背后蕴含着一个亟待讲述的爱情故事。我说“爱情故事”不完全在说笑。因为我相信，这些关于爱的故事能够拯救我们，把我们凝聚在一起。我今天讲的主题就是，通过流行文化修复东西方世界的关系。好宏伟的计划有木有啊！我会想办法讲明白的。

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.

联合国秘书长潘基文说过，在音乐的世界里，沟通时无需语言的。这就是音乐的力量。这就是人心的力量。通过发扬艺术，我们才能够更好的了解其他民族的文明与文化。在这个动荡不安，人与人之间不甚宽容的年代，我们需要利用音乐的力量来更好的了解彼此。

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.

联合国秘书长认为我们需要更多的音乐。这一点我很赞同。音乐和艺术一直在我的生命中占据着很重要的地位。音乐和艺术的力量能够帮助建立人与人之间的关系，用包容，友谊和爱来驱逐因为无知的仇恨而产生的恐惧。在不同文化之间推广音乐这一点上，我自己的童年时期的经历是一个最好的例证。

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.

我在纽约的罗切斯特长大，几乎不会说中文。我连“台湾”和“泰国”这两个词都分不清楚。那是真的！我那时是个地地道道的美国人。直到我上了三年级，有一天在操场上，不可避免的事情终于发生了。因为中国人的血统，我第一次被人嘲笑了。当然一起玩的小孩都会互相戏弄开玩笑，但这次绝对不同。这点当时我立马就感觉到了。我们暂且管那个孩子叫Bryan M吧。它开始嘲笑我说，中国人，日本人，脏膝盖，快来看。（英文还押韵）你们居然还笑，我太受伤了！好吧，我只是开个玩笑。我依然能够记得我当时的感觉。我感觉特别丢脸，特别尴尬。

But I laughed along with him, with everyone. I didn’t know what else to do. It was like having a out-of-body experience, 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.

但是我当时跟着所有其他人一直在笑。年幼的我并不知道该怎么办。当时感觉好像灵魂出窍一样。好像我能够和操场上其他美国孩子一起嘲笑中国人，我就是他们当中一员了。这种想法可取吗？当然不可取，而且是大错特错。

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残酷而现实的事实。我属于一个少数群体，但那绝不是最后一次。在那个时代的罗切斯特，亚洲人口特别少，几乎之占当地人口的百分之一。

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.

我当时心里很乱，我很想把bryan 打一顿。他让我陷入那种窘境，因此我也要让他难过。但是他身材比我壮，出手也比我快。如果和他打架，我一定会被揍得更惨。这一点我们都知道。所以我就忍了下来。我从来没有告诉过别人。也没发泄什么感受。一直自己忍着，想让他们烂在心底就好了。后来慢慢地，这些感受在音乐里竟然十分巧妙地把我治愈了。我那个时候对小提琴，吉他，鼓都越来越得心应手，当然不是巧合。我渐渐发现，当我演奏或者唱歌的时候，其他孩子便会忘记我的种族或我的肤色。而真正接受我，了解真正的我，哪怕只是一小会。每当这个时候，他们就会发现，我跟他们都是一样的人。我也对世界充满感性的好奇和想象，我也需要爱。

And by the six 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.

到了六年级的时候，猜猜谁拉我加入他的乐队当鼓手？对，就是Bryan，我答应了。于是Bryan跟我一起，组成了我们小学的摇滚乐队：涅槃乐队。是真的我没开玩笑。我们的乐队在科特柯本的涅槃乐队之前就有了。所以后来涅槃乐队出道的时候，我跟Bryan还嚷嚷，嘿，他盗用我们的名字！所以在那么小的时候，我就发现了音乐的迷人之处。当然这迷人之处也是我至今热爱音乐的原因之一。那就是，音乐能打破人与人之间的隔阂，能让我们那么快就看到彼此的相似点，而不是那些不同之处。后来上了高中，我学到了更多，音乐不仅仅能够沟通彼此，就像我跟Bryan通过音乐结缘一样。它同时也是一股强大的影响他人，激励他人的力量。

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 six-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是我们学校的门卫。他是越南侨民。几乎从来不说英语。Sam在我们学校做了二十几年的清洁工，擦地板，扫厕所。却从来没跟学生们说过话。学生们也从不跟他说话。但是一天，我们学校一年一度的音乐节前夕，sam找到我，手里拿着一封信。我吓坏了，心里琢磨，门卫sam找我会有什么事？于是他递给了我那封我至今保存的信。一看就是用颤抖的手写下的潦草字迹。全都是大写字母，信上写着，我在这个学校当了那么多年门卫，你是我见过的第一个担纲主唱的亚洲男孩。我今晚要带我六岁的女儿来看你的演出。因为我想要她看到，我们亚洲人也可以带给人好多正能量。我真的被那封信震惊了。十五岁的我当时就惊呆了。我第一次意识到，原来音乐如此重要。