ABC林書豪:當所有華人都處在夢與現實之間
導讀：也許就在一週之前，不會有多少人關注林書豪這個名字，儘管這個畢業於哈佛大學的美裔華人已經在NBA摸爬滾打了近兩個賽季。如今，再度提起林書豪這個名字，不瞭解NBA的人也在津津樂道於紐約尼克斯隊的六連勝和林書豪從板凳球員一躍成爲耀眼明星的傳奇故事。本文作者是一名華裔美國專欄作家，他筆下的林書豪是謙虛的、是自律的、是有精神力量的。通過閱讀林書豪關於夢想的故事，我們每個人可能會得到一些收穫。
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.
可能你從我的姓氏中已經可以看出來，我是一個亞裔美國人。我很小隻，而且有時我很不張揚、很溫順。和Wesley Yang（前文引述的一名亞裔美國作者）一樣，我對我黃皮膚的膚色並不總是覺得很自在自如。但是這個週五的晚上，在林書豪對陣洛杉磯湖人對的比賽中，我感受到一種引力。他的每一次觸球都會讓我情不自禁的站起來，並且心中充滿着自豪感和毫無修飾的激動。我從未叫喊得如此聲嘶力竭，我也記不得自己上一次爲一場體育比賽而落淚是什麼時候。無論是否已經被大家強加到他身上，林書豪的肩膀上承載了幾代亞裔美國人的希望和夢想。我很難再想出來另一個這樣的歷史瞬間：我們作爲一整個社羣，因爲我們是亞裔而如此自豪。
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.
已經沒有人知道應該對林書豪有怎樣的期待了。本該是一場一邊倒的比賽（對陣湖人），變成了一個奇蹟。我們不知道林書豪能夠繼續這樣的表現多久；但對於所有在過去的這段時間裏對他存有多多少少的懷疑的人們（包括我在內），他的表現一次又一次地讓我們的懷疑無疾而終，幾乎是用各種事實的證據逼着我們去相信他。
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?
這個現象的背後，大家不只是在慶祝記分牌上的得分，不是嗎？什麼是Linsanity（瘋狂的林想象）？他如何影響了亞裔美國社羣、和全世界的亞裔移民？林書豪讓我們看到了什麼？
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.
林書豪成爲了過去的一週Twitter上大家討論最多的話題，但最讓我驚訝是那些試圖將林書豪和姚明聯繫的評論。不，如果姚明給NBA所留下遺產是一本書，那麼林書豪並不只是一頁附錄。不，瘋狂的林現象也並不會讓姚明在聯盟中的時光被人遺忘。沒有人可以替代姚明作爲一個大使對這項運動所起到的作用。也沒有人可以複製姚明身高7英尺6英寸卻還擁有的優美的低位技術。姚明從來都只是一個個別現象。然而儘管他一直都只是他自己（還有誰能說要“夢想成爲姚明”呢？），但是你不可能將姚明和中國分開。他的意志是中國的意志。他的努力代表着中國的努力。他被培養起來是爲了他的祖國服務（舉國體育），並宣傳他在這個世界上的兩個所愛：他的國家、和籃球。對於我來說，林書豪所包含的含義不一樣。
"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.
“你是美國人！“我的父母總是這樣告訴我，用微笑但帶有嘲諷的語氣。是的。我是美國人。我出生在加利福尼亞，我的普通話說得並不是很好，而且我從未去過亞洲的任何地方（儘管我很願意去）。在我還小的時候，我接受了許多基本的亞洲文化理論的教育，其中最主要的是孝道。尊重你的長輩，不要讓他們失望。他們做出了你可以想到的所有的犧牲，換來你現在生活在美國的這樣一個黃金機會。他們辛勤地工作，祈禱，並曾經爲你流下了血和淚。不要浪費時間。努力工作，學習，鍛鍊，成爲一個很好的人。我曾經見到我父母失望過一次。我再也不想見到那一幕了。我們瞭解到，爲了自己和家庭可以過得更好，我們必須做出犧牲。這當中可能包括、也可能不包括我們自己夢想的消失。
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.
但我是美國人！要是沒有了夢想我還有什麼呢？那些“高級”的職業是亞裔父母評定好壞的黃金標準。這些職業收入穩定，是光環的標識。而且他們永遠在招人。但我們並不都夢想成爲醫生、律師和金融分析師。對於那些並不能很好地被嵌到這些“模具”裏的人來說，我們深陷危機。我們在一場拔河中掙扎：一邊是植在我們基因中的華人的傳統——我們要遵守的孝道和我們履行我們家庭的意願的責任，另一邊是我們自己的夢想。我們中的一些人從未在這場拔河中找到平衡。有些人在一種削弱人們意志的務實主義中忘卻了他們的激情，有些人狠心地拋棄了所有我們祖先的傳統。但我們中的一些人找到了這個平衡點，來平撫我們的過去、現在、和未來。
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.
林書豪做到了這一點，這就是爲什麼他是那麼重要。他證明了，有另一種方式。看到林書豪切入到內線，並在一羣躍起的巨人的防守下得分的時候，我們很難想象他還能在人生裏做些什麼別的。但這個故事也曾經可能變得完全不同：在過去的這一週前，存在在林書豪的整個籃球生涯中的，只有週期性的、如慣例一般的被輕視和被忽略。他完全可以離開這一切。我們都知道他得哈佛大學經濟學學士學位。但他有堅持自己夢想的勇氣和決心。而就是從這一點開始，種族優越感漸漸地消失，他的故事開始顯得那麼的純粹。
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.
林書豪是謙虛的、是自律的、是有精神力量的。他也是無畏的、進取的、有創造力的。他已經找到了他表達自己的模式以及他對於成功的定義。無論他今後成爲一個真正的NBA明星，還是打破了他的水晶鞋、回到替補板凳的末端，對我來說都不重要。Ethan Sherwood Strauss或許是對的。林書豪的存在可能永遠都只會限於“林書豪”這樣的一個標誌—但這只是因爲這個標誌完全沒有偏離“林書豪”這個人。是的，他激勵了整個亞裔美國人社羣；是的，他改變了美國人對於典型的亞洲拼命三郎的描述；但是，林書豪帶給我的最大的啓發是他對於自己的能力的那種自在、以及他在與一羣世界上最好的籃球運動員在一起時對於自己所處的位子的那種自如。儘管我從小受到的教育就告訴我，要相信不同文化決定了不同的對成功的定義，但是現在我比以往的任何時候都更相信：我們有能力給自己的成功寫下定義。如果林書豪已經證明了什麼，那麼一定是“忠於自己”有多麼的重要。
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.
林書豪讓我們看到了什麼？我們自己，以及我們生命中那些我們不曾真正相信的可能性。
What do we see in Jeremy Lin? Ourselves — and the options in life that we may not have truly believed existed before.
我是一個亞裔。我是一個美國人。我很小隻，不張揚、很溫順。但我有我的聲音，我有我對自己的掌控權。我希望有一天，我能自信地展示這個聲音和這份權力。就像林書豪那樣。
