Joe Wong cracks up the US

從博士到脫口秀明星 黃西的美國夢

2011-12-15    來源：21st Century Staff     導讀：近年來，一位名叫黃西的美籍華人以其機智幽默的單人脫口秀而深受網友熱捧。最近,為宣傳個人自傳，黃西回到國內，講述他從生化博士到單口相聲(stand-up comedy)明星的美國夢。

When a young man from a small village in China studies hard and becomes a doctor of biochemistry in the US it』s the American dream.

一位來自中國小山村的年輕人通過刻苦學習，後留美成為生物化學博士。這成就了一個美國夢。

But for a Chinese migrant with a heavy accent to become a stand-up comedian in the US it』s more like a fantasy.

但要是一位有著濃重地方口音的華裔移民在美國搖身一變成了單口相聲演員，這聽上去更像是一場白日夢。

Joe Wong, apparently, has done both. After achieving success as a stand-up comedian in the US for the past two years, the 41-year-old has returned to China to publicize his book The Tao of Humor: An Autobiography by Joe Wong.

顯然，黃西兩者都做到了。在前兩年以單口相聲演員的身份在美國大獲成功之後，41歲的黃西回到中國宣傳個人自傳——《黃瓜的黃，西瓜的西》。

「The key, or the symbol to success is doing the thing you like, or finding an interest in your work,」 Wong said.

黃西說，「成功的關鍵或標誌是做你喜歡做的事，或是從工作中找到興趣所在。」

Wong didn』t realize his love for stand-up comedy until 2002, when his friends took him to a comedy club in Boston.

黃西之前一直沒有意識到自己對單口相聲秀的這份熱愛，直到2002年的某天，朋友們將他帶到一家位於波士頓的喜劇俱樂部。

Before that, Wong was simply another Chinese immigrant with a doctoral degree from Rice University, Houston, Texas, and who talks with a strong accent.

在那之前，黃西只不過是一個有著濃重口音、取得德州休斯敦市萊斯大學博士學位的華裔移民。

After practicing for a few months, Wong made his debut performance at a comedy club in Boston in late 2002.

通過數月的練習，黃西於2002年年末，在波士頓一家喜劇俱樂部上演了處女秀。

「When I finished my first five minutes of performance, a member of the audience came to me and said 『you seemed interesting, but I didn』t understand a word you said』, 」 Wong said.

「當我完成自己首場5分鐘表演時，一名觀眾走過來對我說『你看起來很有趣，但你說的話我一個詞都聽不懂』。」黃西說。

Wong kept practicing and performing at the club, until he became well known in Boston.

黃西繼續在這傢俱樂部練習加表演，直到他名揚波士頓。

In April 2009, Wong was invited to perform on the Late Show with David Letterman, a popular late-night talk show in the US.

2009年4月時，黃西受邀前往美國著名的午夜脫口秀「大衛?萊特曼秀」上表演。

Wong said it was a turning point of his career and his life. He did very well and was invited to perform at the Radio and Television Correspondents』 annual dinner in 2010.

黃西說這是他職業和人生的轉折點。他表演得很出色，並受邀在2010年美國電視記者年會上表演。

「It was the proudest moment of my life. It was a great honor for me to stand in the venue as an Asian, and speak for Chinese immigrants with a long history,」 Wong said.

「這是我一生中最自豪的時刻。作為一位亞洲人，能夠站在會場中央，並代表有著悠久歷史的華裔移民發言，這真是一種莫大的榮耀。」黃西說。

According to Wong, his jokes aren』t random humor, but are carefully crafted with his science background. He said people enjoy absurd logic. For instance, the US government spends tax raised from cigarettes on finding ways to cure cancer. Wong jokes: 「When I smoked, I was actually finding a way to cure cancer.」

黃西稱，自己的笑話並非即興的幽默，而是根據他的理工科知識精心加工而成。他說人們喜歡荒誕的邏輯。例如，美國政府利用徵收煙草稅來尋求治癒癌症的方法。黃西打趣道：「當我抽煙時，實際上我是在尋求治癒癌症的方法。」

He also makes jokes about himself being an immigrant. 「Americans are good at self-mockery. They will not look down at you if you make fun of yourself. They will consider you humorous,」 Wong said.

他也會拿自己的移民身份開涮。「美國人擅長自嘲。當你拿自己開涮的時候，他們不會看不起你。他們只會認為你很幽默。」王說。

「Also, I want to tell stories about immigrants to raise their profile.」

「同時，我想通過講述移民們的故事來提升他們的形象。」

Wong has his critics. Some people think that he could contribute more to society as a biochemist, rather than a stand-up comedian, but Wong disagrees.

黃西也遭受到批評。有些人認為他應該以生物化學家的身份為社會多做些貢獻，而不是當一名單口相聲演員。但對此黃西並不認同。

「I have been to Harvard and met many Chinese professors there. I think science in the US has enough Chinese,」 Wong said. 「But in my area, you hardly found any Chinese.」

「我去過哈佛大學，在那兒見到了很多中國教授。我覺得美國的科學領域已經有足夠多的中國人了。」黃西說，「而在我這個領域，你幾乎看不到中國人的影子。」

Wong said he』d changed many Americans』 stereotypical view that Chinese lack a sense of humor and are always buried in work.

黃西說他已經改變了不少美國人認為中國人缺乏幽默感並總是埋頭工作的思維定勢。

「Hopefully more people will understand our stories. I also want to encourage immigrants like me to speak out and live better.」

「希望有更多的人能夠理解我們這些移民的故事。我也想鼓勵移民能像我這樣暢所欲言，活得更精彩。」

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