水是不平凡的。它时而汹涌澎湃,时而风平浪静,其时刻变化的形态是对自然界阴阳平衡和转化的完美诠释。不管是靠海湖而居,还是临河而住,人们的身体和情感都摆脱不了水的影响。简单地说,水是生命之源。

　　江苏水资源得天独厚,省内蜿蜒的河流看似慵懒,实在充斥着顽强与不懈。江苏的河流是京杭大运河的主干,连接中国南北,构成了古代王朝实力的核心。

　　江苏的河流将我们与自然相连。几千年来,江苏的集市每日都摆满了各种淡水鱼。河岸召唤人们进行族群聚会和个人反思,而艺术家的灵感则多受河流之美的启发。

　　诗人张若虚在《春江花月夜》中以江为景,抒写了恋人之间的离情别绪。河水不仅使恋人相联,也让所有人互联。

　　从江苏乘船开启水上之旅,人们几乎可以到达所有中国的省份。江苏的物产经长江口出海,沿着海上丝绸之路便可走向世界每个地方。

　　江苏的河流带领我们回到过去。每天所经过的桥梁就是对古人精湛工程技艺的最好证明。6000年前,在长三角地区苏州周边定居着良渚人,他们试图通过大坝、防洪堤和运河来驯服桀骜不驯的河流。先辈们建立了像周庄、木渎和苏州那样祥和的古镇。

　　江苏的河流引领我们走向未来。每年秋天,小孩子入学的场面恰似远处山脚下小雨滴汇入溪流,滋养着淮河与长江。今天,他们正沿着智慧之河开启面向未来的征程。

　　近期,我在一场江苏中学生演讲比赛中担任评委,学生们分享了他们对未来的愿景。他们一致认为,在未来的世界,人们将更加紧密的联系在一起,人与人之间将会更加理解和关心。

　　令人鼓舞的是,他们并不避谈当今世界所面临的挑战。相反地,他们对新兴计算和交流技术充满信心,并希望创新可以为工作带来更好的协作,从而找到应对挑战的有效途径。

　　我非常幸运能够在我任教的大学里见证那些刚刚萌发的想法不断转化成实用的技能,在智慧之河的旅途中助他们一臂之力。今天的这些学生终将成为下一代企业家、工程师,引领世界适应人工智能技术的发展,通过大数据收集与分析推动创新,转变世界。

　　无论技术怎样变化,我们依然绕不开河流。总是憧憬着清晨河边的漫步,渴望着午后与友人在河边的小聚,畅想着安静傍晚落日在河中的倩影。

　　不论过去与现在,愿江苏的河流永远碧波清湛。

　　作者:Tom Peace(美国 外教)

　　译文

　　Jiangsu - Rivers of the Past, Rivers of Tomorrow

Water is extraordinary. Its pulsing power and soothing calmness together reveal the precarious balance of Yin and Yang in Nature. Whether in the form of ocean, lake, or river, water projects both a physical and emotional power over the people who live near it. Simply, life depends on it.

Jiangsu Province is blessed with water. Rivers wind through the province seemingly with a lazy but unrelenting sense of purpose. The Jiangsu rivers formed the backbone of the Grand Canal connecting China North and South, essential to the strength of the past Dynasties.

Jiangsu's rivers connect us to Nature. For thousands of years, its markets refill daily with the catch of fresh fish. River banks beckon us for community gathering and personal reflection. Artists have been inspired by the river's scenic beauty.

Zhang Ruoxu captured the power of the river to both separate and then reunite lovers in "Spring, River, and Flowers on a Moonlit Night". But it is not just lovers that the river waters bind, it connects us all.

Launch a vessel inside Jiangsu and you can begin a watery journey that can touch nearly every other province on China. Jiangsu's products sail over the final kilometers of the Yangtze River out to the Maritime Belt and Road to be sold in markets everywhere in the World.

The rivers connect us to the Past. The bridges that we cross daily are testimonials to the engineering prowess of past generations. Generations who sought to harness the forces of river with dams, levees, and canals starting over 6,000 years agoin theLiangzhusettlements of the Yangtze Delta around Suzhou. Ancestors who built peaceful river villages such as Zhōuzhuāng, Mùdú, and Suzhou.

And the river connect us to the future. Each Fall, small children enter schools for their first day like small rain drops on far away foothills entering the streams that feed the Huai and Yangtze Rivers. Today, they begin their own journey towards the future on a river of ideas.

I recently had the opportunity to judge a speech competition where Jiangsu high school students shared their visions of that future. The unifying theme for so many was of a future with greater connection with greater understanding and concern for one another.

Encouragingly, they did not shy away from discussing the challenges faced by the modern world. Instead, they found promise in the emerging computing and communication technologies with great hope that innovation will allow greater collaboration in working towards meaningful solutions for those challenges.

At the university where I teach, I feel so fortunate to witness the transformation of those young visions into the technological skills needed for the journey on the river of ideas. It is these students of today who will be the next generation of business entrepreneurs and engineers leading the way in adapting the emerging Artificial Intelligence technologies that will collect and analyze the Big Data that will drive the innovations to transform the World.

But even as the technology changes, still we remain river people, always longing for a morning riverside stroll, an afternoon riverside gathering with friends, or a quiet evening of scenic reflection of the setting sun across the river banks.

Then, now, and always, may the rivers of Jiangsu run clean and blue.

Author: Tom Peace came from the United States (US Passport # 460197945) to Jiangsu where he teaches at the Huia'an Institute of Technology.

As a young boy, Tom built a small dam on a small creek next to his backyard to create a swimming pond for his family and friends. He has been in love with water ever since.

Tom spent 25 years working for IBM customers in software development and strategic planning. He holds a Masters Degree in the Management of Technology and Innovation from the University of Southern California.

He can be reached by phone (18832635356), by weChat (ID = tpazzi) or by email (twpeace@yahoo.com)