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那儿，他让两个本来是敌人的孩子成为了朋友，然而在sam这里，音乐的意义超过了个体的范畴，达到了一个更好的层次。音乐以我想不到的方式影响到我甚至完全不认识的人。我从头至尾对门卫sam的感激是无法用语言来形容的。他真的算是帮助我发掘人生目标的人之一。我从来不知道我的一个小小的行为，能够对这样一位甚至从来不说英文的越南侨民产生如此大的影响。流行文化，音乐以及任何一种讲述故事的方式包括电影，电视剧，他们都是如此的重要，连接着我们。比如Bryan和我，又真的在影响着我们，激励着我们。

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 exchange 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!)

回过头来再看看这个东西方的联合体，是存在一种软实力偏向的。东方和西方这两个“舍友”之间的软实力交流会是什么样子的呢？有没有在中国很红的英文歌呢？当然有。英文电影呢？那就太多了。多到中国不得不限制好莱坞电影的引入，来给本土电影制造些成功的机会。那么反过来，又在西方很红的华语歌曲吗？

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.

观众：江南style！王：哈哈，没错，还有电影。比如卧虎藏龙，那也是十三年前的事了。我觉得这当中有一种不平衡存在。我认为这是一种软实力赤字，就这么叫吧。当我们放眼这个方向的时候，也就是说，西方对东方的影响远远大于东方对西方的。原谅我这里把东方和西方这两个词用的这么随意。因为这比说，以英语为第一语言的国家，讲中文或讲粤语的地区，这样的话方便点。我在使用一种概况化的表达方式。希望你们能理解。

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 exchange needs to have a healthy balance.

这种在流行文化影响方面的不平衡其实是个很有趣的问题。试想在任何一段健康的关系中，无论是友谊还是婚姻，双方彼此努力去了解对方都再重要不过了，对吗？ 这种软实力交换需要一种平衡。

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 exist? 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.

那么如何做到这一点呢？作为中国流行文化大使，我必须问自己这样一个问题，为什么会存在这种软实力赤字？是因为华语音乐真的很烂吗?求你们了别回答这个问题。我看得出你们当中肯定有人在嘀咕：别发牢骚了！写首劲歌吧！鸟叔不就做到了吗？事实上这背后是有点道理的。

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 example. Korean is an export-based economy and they are outward looking.

一种说法是，我们所创作的内容，没有足够的国际竞争力。为什么就没有呢？那么，我们以韩流音乐为例。韩国的经济是以出口为导向的。他们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(自满的).

事实上他们也必须面向世界。而华语流行音乐，仅凭借在中国国内发展以及在华语国家和地区举办巡演，就能够坚挺下去。而中国，正是由于是一个泱泱大国，市场潜力巨大，又有着160万个人口超过百万的城市，华语音乐确实有内化和固步自封的倾向。

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!

所以华语流行音乐缺乏在国际市场竞争的敏感性这一观点是成立的。不过我认为这一议题的另一方面，更为有趣，更发人深省也更为真实。那就是西方听众并不熟悉华语音乐。因此并不懂得如何去欣赏华语音乐。哦好伤人啊！

OK, the reason I think that argument holds water though is because that’s exactly 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.

我之所以认为这种论调其实站得住脚，是因为我本人恰巧有过这般经历。因此我对“西方人如何学着欣赏华语流行音乐”这个问题还是要一定发言权的。在17岁之前，我是一个身处美国的亚洲小孩。17岁之后，我变成了一个身处亚洲的美国孩子。情况完全颠倒了过来。

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(呼啸声) 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 Axl 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 台北社教馆the Taibei Music Center.

以前我是听着Beatie Boyz, Led Zeppelin，枪花长大的。但是到了台湾之后，我常边听音乐边想， 这音乐怎么一点节奏感没有！华丽的吉他独奏在哪里！所以，作为一个在亚洲的美国孩子，我刚开始接触到华语音乐的时候心里的想法是，这音乐太逊了，我不喜欢。我觉得这些歌都太不给力了。制作价值太低。这些歌手就是没有Axl Rose (枪花主唱)或者Mariah Carey 那么会飙高音。直到有一天，我听了人生中第一场华流演唱会。是庾澄庆，哈林。在台北音乐中心的那场。

以下是王力宏牛津大学演讲视频：