一个华裔美国人眼中的林书豪：当所有华人都处在梦与现实之间

一个华裔美国专栏作家眼中的林书豪。读完以后有种很复杂的心情。决定将全文翻译，因为它提供了一个很特殊的角度，让读者可以站在亚裔美国人这样一个位于中国和美国之间的文化位置，去感受文化和理念带来的冲突，并去反省现实和梦想—当成长在一个追梦国度的华裔都开始反省的时候。

译者：奶牛Denny 

作者：Danny Chau

What I See In Jeremy Lin

可能你从我的姓氏中已经可以看出来，我是一个亚裔美国人。我很小只，而且有时我很不张扬、很温顺。和Wesley Yang（前文引述的一名亚裔美国作者）一样，我对我黄皮肤的肤色并不总是觉得很自在自如。但是这个周五的晚上，在林书豪对阵洛杉矶湖人对的比赛中，我感受到一种引力。他的每一次触球都会让我情不自禁的站起来，并且心中充满着自豪感和毫无修饰的激动。我从未叫喊得如此声嘶力竭，我也记不得自己上一次为一场体育比赛而落泪是什么时候。无论是否已经被大家强加到他身上，林书豪的肩膀上承载了几代亚裔美国人的希望和梦想。我很难再想出来另一个这样的历史瞬间：我们作为一整个社群，因为我们是亚裔而如此自豪。

已经没有人知道应该对林书豪有怎样的期待了。本该是一场一边倒的比赛（对阵湖人），变成了一个奇迹。我们不知道林书豪能够继续这样的表现多久；但对于所有他过去的这段表现多多少少有些怀疑的人们（包括我在内），他的表现一次又一次地让我们的怀疑无疾而终，几乎是用各种事实的证据逼着我们去相信他。

这个现象的背后大家不只是在庆祝记分牌上的得分，不是吗？什么是Linsanity（疯狂的林想象）？他如何影响了亚裔美国社群、和全世界的亚裔移民？林书豪让我们看到了什么？

林书豪成为了过去的一周Twitter上大家讨论最多的话题，但最让我惊讶是那些试图将林书豪和姚明联系的评论。不，如果姚明给NBA所留下遗产是一本书，那么林书豪并不只是一页附录。不，疯狂的林现象也并不会让姚明在联盟中的时光被人遗忘。没有人可以替代姚明作为一个大使对这项运动所起到的作用。也没有人可以复制姚明身高7英尺6英寸却还拥有的优美的低位技术。姚明从来都只是一个个别现象。然而尽管他一直都只是他自己（还有谁能说要“梦想成为姚明”呢？），但是你不可能将姚明和中国分开。他的意志是中国的意志。他的努力代表着中国的努力。他被培养起来是为了他的祖国服务（举国体育），并宣传他在这个世界上的两个所爱：他的国家、和篮球。对于我来说，林书豪所包含的含义不一样。

“你是美国人！“我的父母总是这样告诉我，用微笑但带有嘲讽的语气。是的。我是美国人。我出生在加利福尼亚，我的普通话说得并不是很好，而且我从未去过亚洲的任何地方（尽管我很愿意去）。在我还小的时候，我接受了许多基本的亚洲文化理论的教育，其中最主要的是孝道。尊重你的长辈，不要让他们失望。他们做出了你可以想到的所有的牺牲换来你现在生活在美国的这样一个黄金机会。他们辛勤地工作，祈祷，并曾经为你流下了血和泪。不要浪费时间。努力工作，学习，锻炼，成为一个很好的人。我曾经见到我父母失望过一次。我再也不想见到那一幕了。我们了解到为了自己和家庭可以过得更好，我们必须做出牺牲。这当中可能包括、也可能不包括我们自己梦想的消失。

但我是美国人！要是没有了梦想我还有什么呢？那些“高级”的职业是亚裔父母评定好坏的黄金标准。这些职业收入稳定，是光环的标识。而且他们永远在招人。但我们并不都梦想成为医生、律师和金融分析师。对于那些并不能很好地被嵌到这些“模具”里的人来说，我们深陷危机。我们在一场拔河中挣扎：一边是植在我们基因中的华人的传统—我们要遵守的孝道和我们履行我们家庭的意愿的责任，另一边是我们的梦想。我们中的一些人从未在这场拔河中找到平衡。有些人在一种削弱人们意志的务实主义中忘却了他们的激情，有些人狠心地抛弃了所有我们祖先的传统。但我们中的一些人找到了这个平衡点，来平抚我们的过去、现在、和未来。

林书豪做到了这一点，这就是为什么他是那么重要。他证明了，有另一种方式。看到林书豪切入到内线，并在一群跃起的巨人的防守下得分的时候，我们很难想象他还能在人生里做些什么别的。但这个故事也有有过机会变得完全不同：在过去的这一周前，存在在林书豪的整个篮球生涯中的，只有周期性的、如惯例一般的被轻视和被忽略。他完全可以离开这一切。我们都知道他得哈佛大学经济学学士学位。但他有坚持自己梦想的勇气和决心。而就是从这一点开始，种族优越感渐渐地消失，他的故事开始显得那么的纯粹。

林书豪是谦虚的、是自律的、是有精神力量的。他也是无畏的、进取的、有创造力的。他已经找到了他表达自己的模式以及他对于成功的定义。无论他今后成为一个真正的NBA明星，还是打破了他的水晶鞋、回到替补板凳的末端，对我来说都不重要。Ethan Sherwood Strauss或许是对的。林书豪的存在可能永远都只会限于“林书豪”这样的一个标志—但这只是因为这个标志完全没有偏离“林书豪”这个人。是的，他激励了整个亚裔美国人社群；是的，他改变了美国人对于典型的亚洲拼命三郎的描述；但是，林书豪带给我的最大的启发是他对于自己的能力的那种自在、以及他在与一群世界上最好的篮球运动员在一起时对于自己所处的位子的那种自如。尽管我从小受到的教育就告诉我，要相信不同文化决定了不同的对成功的定义，但是现在我比以往的任何时候都更相信：我们有能力给自己的成功写下定义。如果林书豪已经证明了什么，那么一定是“忠于自己”有多么的重要。

林书豪让我们看到了什么？我们自己，以及我们生命中那些我们不曾真正相信的可能性。

我是一个亚裔。我是一个美国人。我很小只，不张扬、很温顺。但我有我的声音，我有我对自己的掌控权。我希望有一天，我能自信地展示这个声音和这份权力。就像林书豪那样。

Original Article:

If it isn’t already clear from my last name, I’m an Asian-American. I’m small, and at times, I can be unassuming and meek. Like Yang, I’m not always so comfortable in my own skin. But there was some gravity in Jeremy Lin’s performance against the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night. Every single one of his possessions had me on the floor, overwhelmed with pride and unfiltered elation. I’d never screamed so loud, and it’d been a long time since a single game moved me to tears. Whether it’s been officially bestowed upon him or not, Jeremy Lin carries the hopes and dreams of entire Asian generations on his shoulders. I struggle to think of another moment where we as a community had been so proud of who we are.

No one really knows what to expect from Lin anymore. What was supposed to be a comedown game against the Lakers became something miraculous. We don’t know how long he can keep this up, and for the many (myself included) who have been somewhat skeptical of this run, his play continues to suspend our doubt, almost force-feeding us reasons to believe. Perhaps the most tantalizing reason is Lin’s probing of the lanes, providing us an almost unfair tease given the personnel around him and the image that conjures. Of course, he’d be taking cues from another unheralded point guard whose unlikely background made opportunities scarce.

This phenomenon is more than just a celebration of points on the board, right? What is Linsanity? How does he affect the Asian-American community, and the community of Asian immigrants worldwide? What do we see in Jeremy Lin?

He’s dominated Twitter for the past week, but the tweets that strike me the most are the ones attempting to lump Lin and Yao Ming together. No, Jeremy Lin is not an addendum to Yao Ming’s legacy. No, Linsanity doesn’t render Yao’s time in the league obsolete. No one can replicate what Yao did as an ambassador for the game, nor will anyone be able to duplicate the refined artistry of his post game standing 7’6”. Yao was always a singular case. While he was very much his own person (who else could even dream of being Yao Ming?), it’s impossible to separate Yao from China. His will was China’s will. His effort was China’s effort. He was built to serve his homeland; to propagate his two loves with the world: his country, and basketball. For me, that isn’t what Jeremy Lin is about.

“You are American!” my parents always tell me. They say so with smiles and sardonic inflection. I am. I’m American. I was born in California, I don’t speak my native tongue all too well, and I’ve never been to any part of Asia (though I would love to). At a young age, I was taught essential Asian cultural doctrines, filial piety being chief among them. Respect your elders, and don’t let them down. They’ve sacrificed everything for this one golden opportunity you have here in America. They’ve worked, prayed, and cried tears of blood for you. Don’t waste time. Work hard, study, practice, be a good human being. I’ve seen my parents let down once before. I never want to see that again. We learn that sacrifices need to be made for the good of oneself and one’s family. That may or may not include the dissolution of dreams.

But I’m American! What do I have if I don’t have dreams? The typical high-ranking professions are the gold standard for Asian parents. They’re financially stable, a mark of prestige, and always hiring. But we don’t all dream of being doctors, lawyers, and financial analysts. For those of us who don’t quite fit those specific molds, we’re stuck in crisis. We struggle in a tug-of-war between our ingrained ancestral identity –our filial piety, our duty to carry out the will of the family –and our own dreams. Some of us never find that balance, relinquishing our passions for a life built around crippling pragmatism or bitterly abandoning our ancestry completely. But some of us do find the balance to appease elements of our past, present, and future.

Jeremy Lin has done this, and it’s why he’s so important. He proves there’s another way. Watching Lin knife into the lane and score over soaring giants, it’s impossible to imagine him doing anything else with his life. But it could have been so different. His entire basketball career prior to this remarkable week has been a cyclical routine of underappreciation and invisibility. He could have left it all. We know about his Harvard degree in economics. But he had the courage and resolve to stick to his dream. And that’s where the ethnocentrism melts away and the purity of his story emerges.

Jeremy Lin is humble, spiritual, and disciplined. He is also fearless, aggressive, and creative. He’s found his mode of expression and his definition of success. Whether he blossoms into a legitimate NBA star or shatters his glass slipper sitting at the end of the bench is of little importance to me. Ethan Sherwood Strauss may be right. He may never exist as anything other than Jeremy Lin, the symbol — but only because the symbol does not stray far (if at all) from Jeremy Lin, the individual. Beyond the ability to galvanize an entire population of Asian-Americans or the ability to spin the narrative of the stereotypical Asian overachiever, what inspires me most is how comfortable he is with his abilities and his place among the best basketball players in the world – how comfortable he is with himself. While I was raised to believe in a culturally-assigned definition of success, more than ever, I have faith in my ability to form my own definition. If Jeremy Lin has proven anything, it’s just how vital being true to oneself is.

Lin has found his mode of expression; a force with the power to subvert preconceptions, a force that highlights the individual in positive and negative light, a force that can articulate dreams so vividly, fruition is the only plausible end. He’s found it in his relentless forays to the rim, finishing plays with an improbable grace and flourish –something he’s done long before the lights of New York shined down upon him.

What do we see in Jeremy Lin? Ourselves – and the options in life that we may not have truly believed existed before.

I’m Asian. I’m American. I’m small, unassuming, and meek. But I have a voice and I have control. And I hope that one day I’ll be able to showcase it as confidently as Jeremy Lin has with his.