在刚刚落幕的第六届两岸四地大学生魔术交流大会上，来自大连东软信息学院的张昭龙成功摘得金奖。他不仅用魔术赢得了掌声，更为自己人生赢得了价值。
wearing a dashing gray suit, zhang zhaolong stands behind a table. there are three red *chips in his right hand, but in the *blink of an eye one of the red chips appears in his left hand.
身着一身时尚的黑色西装，张昭龙神采奕奕地站在桌子后。只见他右手拿着三个红色筹码，但一眨眼的工夫其中一个筹码就跑到了他的左手上。
then, all of a sudden, all three chips disappear from his hands. as the audience is still caught in amazement, zhang reaches into his pocket and takes out the chips.
紧接着，三个筹码突然从他的手上消失了。就在观众一片惊讶之时，张昭龙又从口袋里变出了这些筹码。
the 24-year-old “harry potter” is an animation major student at dalian neusoft university of information. on july 14 at tsinghua university he was crowned the top magician at the 6th college magic *convention of the chinese mainland, hong kong, macao and taiwan.
24岁的张昭龙是大连东软信息学院动漫专业的学生，人送外号“哈利•波特”。在今年7月14日于清华大学举行的第六届两岸四地大学生魔术交流大会上，他最终摘得金奖。
according to zhang, his passion for doing magic helped him overcome many hurdles set by his parents, the boring practice and being a latecomer to the art of magic.
张昭龙说，对于魔术的热爱使他克服了重重困难：父母的反对，枯燥的练习以及魔术新手的苦累。
late bird
“笨鸟先飞”
zhang’s first exposure to magic came when he was 5 years old. he watched a street magician perform the linking rings trick, in which two solid metal rings are repeatedly linked together and unlinked.
5岁时，张昭龙初次接触魔术。他看到一位街头魔术师在表演环环相扣。两个金属环在魔术师手中不断地上演着“分久必合、合久必分”。
but zhang didn’t start his own journey of magic until he saw liu qian, one of china’s top magicians, perform on the 2009 cctv spring festival gala. the magic show inspired zhang to start learning magic and liu has been his role model ever since.
然而，直到看到2009年春晚上由国内一流魔术师刘谦献上的一段表演之后，张昭龙才开始了自己的魔术之旅。从那时，他便以刘谦为榜样，开始学习魔术。
“what’s so fascinating about liu’s performances is that he uses ordinary items as his magic *props. things that we use every day, like rubber bands, coins and cups,” zhang says. “it made me think that magic is not impossible. maybe i could learn it myself.”
张昭龙说：“刘谦的魔术之所以如此令人着迷，就在于他用橡皮筋，硬币和杯子这些日常生活中常见的物品作为魔术道具。”他说。“这让我相信魔术令一切皆有可能。或许我也可以自学魔术。”
at the age of 20, zhang learned his first magic trick. it was a simple coin trick in which you grab ash out of the air, put it in your hand, breathe magic into it and there appears the coin. zhang learned the trick by watching liu’s online teaching program. after three days of practice, he performed it in front of his friends. “i remember being extremely nervous. i could feel the sweat in my hands,” he says.
20岁时，张昭龙学成了第一个魔术。这是一个简单的硬币魔术：先从空中抓一把空气，放到手中，然后轻轻一吹，硬币就变出来了。张昭龙一边看刘谦的在线魔术教程，一边除揣摩自学。经过三天的练习后，张昭龙决定在朋友面前“秀”一把。他说：“我记得当时自己特别紧张，手心里都是汗。”
no-no from parents
父母的坚决反对
but zhang’s parents didn’t encourage their son to learn magic. they thought zhang’s interest in magic wouldn’t last and worried it would distract him from studying.
但是，张昭龙父母并不赞成儿子学习魔术。他们认为儿子学魔术只是一时兴起，并且担心这会耽误他的学业。
“parents often misunderstand magic,” zhang says. “they think magic is nothing but tricks that aim to fool people with props. in fact, the art of magic involves mathematics, physics, chemistry, psychology and performance, which are all difficult to learn.”
张昭龙说：“父母常常对魔术抱有偏见，他们认为魔术只是些用道具来骗人的小把戏。事实上，魔术是门涉及数学、物理、化学、心理学以及表演的艺术，难度系数很高。”
secrets of magic
魔术的诀窍
“there are no secrets to magic other than practice,” says zhang. magic is a difficult subject and he devotes a lot of time to practicing. often, zhang spends several days and nights practicing just one trick, because for him, knowing a trick doesn’t mean he can perform it well. only through constant practice can zhang master the trick and perform it in front of an audience.
“学习魔术毫无捷径可走，只有通过不断地练习。”张昭龙说。魔术是一门极富挑战的学科。他花费大量时来不断练习。张昭龙经常会为了一个魔术通宵达旦地做练习。因为对于他来说，了解魔术的奥秘并不意味着就能献上出色表演。经过不断的练习后，张昭龙终于掌握了其中诀窍，可以站在观众面前进行表演。
“practice is extremely important for magicians like us who perform close-up magic, which requires a certain amount of communication with the audience,” he says.
他说：“对于我们这些近景魔术师来说，需要跟观众有大量的互动，因此练习可谓至关重要。”
zhang’s performance style is a bit like stand-up comedy. during his magic shows, he uses gestures and jokes to make his audience laugh. the audience’s reaction drives the performance forward.
张昭龙的表演风格有点像单口相声。在表演魔术的过程中，他会用手势和笑话令观众开怀大笑。观众的反应成为推动表演的动力。
speaking about the award, zhang says his pure love for magic will lead the way. “i’m going to continue as a part-time magician as i love magic so much. i really enjoy interacting with my audiences and bringing them happiness,” he says.
谈及此次获奖，张昭龙表示对于魔术的挚爱会让他一直走下去。他说：“因为如此喜爱魔术，所以我会继续做一名业余魔术师。我很享受与观众的互动，也很开心能够为他们带来欢乐。”