为荷兰中国友好加油！

　　作者简介:唐纳德,荷兰籍,现为扬州大学商学院留学生。

　　他们被寂静包围着,这时连一根针掉在地上都能听到。两人屏住呼吸,两双圆睁的眼睛凝视着一片四四方方的木板。这块小木板上有着错综复杂的大世界。

　　我们的故事起始于这世界两端的王国。他是红色的龙,一个有着五千年历史的国家,也是全球最早的文明摇篮之一。他,就是中华人民共和国。在那里,我们能追寻到人类文明的起源。我们沿着长江一路走来,经过一个个令人惊叹的地方,最终,我们到达了一个美丽的省——江苏省。江苏是一个物华天宝、人杰地灵的地方,也是我们一位“英雄”的摇篮。但目前,我们还是不要打扰他的好,因为他正专注于一个史诗般的战役。我们的英雄陷入了沉默,因为这不是他的回合。这位“英雄”叫做窦超然。

　　一滴汗从他的对手的额头上渐渐滑落。不是因为紧张,而是他并不习惯于在九月份炙热的阳光下排兵布阵。他是我们的另一位“英雄”,他来自遥远的西方,一路穿越炎热的塔克拉玛干沙漠,通过灿烂的撒马尔罕,路经熙熙攘攘的君士坦丁堡,再西行两千八百公里,便抵达荷兰这个美丽的国度。他一直有一个梦想,就是穿越丝绸之路,去神秘的东方发现新的世界。梦想带领着他一路走来,走向了一个在唐朝繁荣而强大的城市。他和唐朝有缘,因为他们有着共同的名字,我们的另一位“英雄”叫做唐纳德。

摆兵布阵——中国象棋文化课

　　这座城市呢?就是扬州,那些有学问的老者也许会称呼这座城市为广陵。“兵三进一!”唐纳德突然坚定地做出了决定,打破了长久的沉默。

　　我们的“英雄们”窦超然和唐纳德正在进行四大中国传统艺术之一的象棋之战。尽管是友谊赛,但战况却很激烈。这是一场东方与西方的、本土与外国的、黑方与红方的比赛。胜利者将会获得永恒的荣耀,当然,他还可以借此吹很久的牛。其实,本局的紧张战况还有另一个原因。如果我告诉你他们下的棋不是国际象棋,你会相信吗?真的,他们下的居然是中国象棋!我们的本土“英雄”不知道他的对手在一年前早已学习过中国象棋,还颇有经验。而更加狡猾的是,我们远道而来的“英雄”事先居然假装说他甚至连基本规则都不太清楚,还故意在摆阵时放错了棋子的位置。三招过后,一直微笑着的超然迅速陷入了沉默,局势似乎有些不对,看来真正的战斗来临了!他必须要接受挑战。亲爱的读者,请跟着我退后一步,让我们把战场空出来,因为一场认真的象棋比赛需要绝对的沉默。

　　我为什么想要和你分享这个有趣的故事呢?因为我认为这个故事反映了中国和江苏的现状,同时也解释了我为什么想要来中国。现在的很多国家,比如那些参与“一带一路”项目的国家,或者那些从亚洲基础设施投资银行获得投资的国家,正在把注意力从西方转移到东方。越来越多人了解到,在中国,尤其是在美丽的江苏省,确实有很多发展与成功的机会。就像他们一样,我要感谢江苏政府的支持,使我能够以自己从未想过的方式学习商业知识和培养自己的能力。我与大家分享这个故事不仅仅是为了感谢江苏,另一方面是分享英雄们下棋的技术…… 啊,不对,另一方面是我想与大家分享一句话;友谊无国界。这是两位有着不同背景的年轻人通过中国象棋这一传统游戏成为朋友的故事。这是东方与西方、本土与外国、黑方与红方化干戈为玉帛的故事。

　　战斗终于结束了。两位“英雄”中间的棋盘之上,只剩下了很少的棋子和精美的金色线条,坚定地握手证实了游戏的结束。刚才极为紧张的气氛,突然间放松了百倍,空气中充满了欢快的氛围,只有拥有真正的友谊才能体会到这些。紧张的脸上一下子浮现出了笑容。他们眼睛里的神色早已说出了他们的心声:“再来一局!”

　　如果你问我谁赢了,我只想说,我们都赢得了真挚的友谊!

　　译文

Friendship Knows No Borders

A deafening silence lingered around them. 2 pairs of eyes glared intensely at the piece of finely polished wood. On it, an intricate map outlined the fine boundaries of the realm the two found themselves in. This was The Red Dragon, with its five-thousand-year long history named as one of the cradles of civilization, nowadays known in the common tongue as The People’s Republic of China. And there, indeed not far from where we can find the very birthplace of mankind itself, traveling on the swirling stream of the Yangtse river through cities of fame and fortune, we arrive at a province of astonishing beauty. Jiangsu. In this gem of a city lies the cradle of one of our titans currently interlocked in the battle of the ages.

The silence ensued. It was not his turn to decide.

A tiny drop of watery fluid fell from his opponent’s head, for he was not accustomed to the soaring heat that scorched their bodies on this particularly sunny afternoon in September. He could not rightfully call Jiangsu his home. His own cradle lies far beyond the mighty road that lead west in ancient times. The road leadsthrough the heat of the Taklamakan desert, through splendid Samarkand all the way to the bustling metropolis Constantinople. From Constantinople one would have to travel another two thousand eight hundred kilometers to the west to find the land that lies below the sea, where he came into existence. He had always had a great dream. He wanted to traverse the silk road and discover the mysteries that lie beyond it. The dream lead him towards a grand city that was a leading economic and cultural center in the dynasty that he now shared his newly chosen surname with, Tang. The name of this city, you ask? The Rising Prefecture, is known as Guangling to some and as Yangzhou to many.

“Pawn three one step forward!”, cried the foreigner suddenly yet decisively, breaking the silence.

Our titans, Henry Dou and Donald were engaged in a battle of one of the four traditional Chinese arts, chess. If I told you that the two of them were not playing international chess, would you believe it? But it is true! They are playing a game of Chinese chess. Even though the game was friendly, the situation was tense. It was a game of East versus West, native versus foreign, black versus red. The winner would claim eternal glory and, of course, bragging rights. The game was tense not only for this reason. Henry Dou did not know that his opponent had learned how to play Chinese chess the year before, and had played many a game versus native Chinese, both face-to-face and online! Even craftier, Donald had feigned beforehand that he even did not know the basic rules, and purposely misplaced the pieces on the board. It isn’t a surprise that the ever-smiling Henry quickly silenced, for he discovered a slight error, indicating that the true battle had begun. He had to accept the challenge. Let us take a step back, and let the two of them battle in peace, for as you may know, a proper game requires total silence.

Why do I want to share this story? I think that this story reflects the current situation in China and Jiangsu, and at the same time, it explains why I came to China in the first place. Nowadays many countries, for example those that participate in Belt and Road project, or those that receive investment from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, are shifting their focus away from the west. More than ever do people realize that the east, including China and Jiangsu, offersmany opportunities for growth, development and success. I am one of those people. I wish to thank the provincial government for supporting me, so that I am able to follow my dream of studying business and developing myself in a way I never thought possible. However, expressing gratitude is not the only reason why I want to share this story. Another reason is to share that the titans’ chess technique is …. O, no wait. The second reason is that I want to share words of wisdom; friendship knows no borders.

This is the story of how two young men from different backgrounds, through controlling different armies in a chess game became inseparable friends. This is a story of how East and West, native and foreign, black and red seize the opportunity to turn hostility into friendship.

The battle between the two titans had finally come to its end. Above the chessboard that still lied in their midst, now with much less pieces occupying the fine golden lines, a firm handshake confirmed the outcome. The atmosphere that had been so tense just moments before, eased up a hundred-fold in a flash, and continued exploded in into one that can only be described by those that have experienced sincere friendship. The nervous faces that could be seen just a moment ago now both showed a broad smile. However, a flicker in their eyes revealed what the words that lied in their hearts. “Another one.”

Dear reader, if you were to ask me who ultimately won the game, I could only say that we both won friendship!