长江文化是流淌在中华民族深处的文化血脉
The Yangtze River Culture—a Cultural Artery Running Through the Heart of the Chinese Nation
秋平
Qiu Ping
长江文化是依托长江流域自然地理空间形成和发展的文化体系，是长江流域文化内涵和文化特征的总和与集聚。作为一个多层次、多维度文化复合体，在漫长历史发展演进中，长江文化早已成为流淌在中华民族深处的文化血脉。
The Yangtze River culture has relied on the geographic space of the Yangtze River Basin to emerge and evolve as a system, capturing all the essential cultural qualities and distinctive features of this region in one cohesive whole. This rich cultural tapestry, with its many layers and dimensions, has, over its long history, developed into a vital cultural artery running through the heart of the Chinese nation.
“江河互济”支撑中华文明绵延赓续、从未断流。中国地域广阔、地理形势复杂，存在平行互补且有自然屏障相间的两条大河——黄河和长江。几千年来，华夏儿女就在（长）江（黄）河搭建的超级舞台上演出一幕幕历史壮剧。
The mutually supportive relationship between the Yangtze and Yellow rivers has been instrumental in sustaining the Chinese civilization and preserving its unbroken history. These two major waterways, though separated by natural barriers, run in parallel across China’s vast and intricate landscape, complementing each other in their roles. For millennia, they have served as the grand stages where the epic events of Chinese history have been played out.
中华文明成为迄今为止世界文明史上唯一绵延不断且以国家形态发展至今的伟大文明，这要得益于“（长）江（黄）河互济”，驱动了中国北方与南方的双循环流动。
China is unique as the only major civilization that has endured unbroken to the present day in the form of a unified state—an achievement that owes much to the relationship between the Yangtze and Yellow rivers and the two-way flows between north and south they facilitated.
长江稻作文化与黄河麦（粟）作文化互补互依形成的“江河互济”动态体系，带来了中华民族内部持续性的自我更新、回应挑战、开创新局的旺盛生命力，这是中华文明历久弥新、绵延赓续的重要原因。
The complementary dynamic between the Yangtze’s rice-based culture and the Yellow River’s wheat- and millet-based culture helped foster the tremendous vitality that has enabled the Chinese people to undergo constant self-renewal, respond to challenges, and explore new frontiers. This has been a major factor in Chinese civilization’s enduring vitality and continuity over the millennia.
通江达海促进中华文明交流融合、开放包容。作为横贯中国腹地，上承黄河、下接岭南，西连青藏、东通海外的大动脉大通道，长江有8大支流、700多条小支流、3600多条小小支流，还有无数细流像毛细血管一样丰富、又像蛛网一般密布。
Through their ocean links and tributary networks, China’s rivers have facilitated cultural exchanges and integration and fostered openness and inclusiveness. As a major national artery and thoroughfare, the Yangtze River flows through China’s heartland, connecting to the Yellow River in the north, the Lingnan region in the south, the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in the west, and the ocean and the wider world in the east. It encompasses 8 major tributaries, over 700 secondary tributaries, and more than 3,600 minor waterways, along with countless smaller streams that vein the landscape in an intricate web.
自古以来，长江流域的丰富物产和便捷交通，有助于把中华大地内部差异极大的广土巨族整合成多元一体的中华民族，也加强了中华民族与世界其他民族之间的商品与文化交流互动，彰显了中华民族交往交流交融的历史取向，体现了中华文明对世界文明兼收并蓄的开放胸怀。
Since ancient times, the Yangtze River Basin, with its rich resources and convenient transportation, has helped bridge the distinct internal differences of China’s vast regions and peoples to form a unified multi-ethnic nation. It has also facilitated stronger commercial and cultural exchanges between China and other civilizations. This is a reflection of our nation’s traditional preference for communication, exchange, and integration and our open cultural mindset of seeking to embrace and draw on other cultures from around the world.
风气之先体现中华文明革故鼎新、辉光日新。长江流域在中华文明发展史上长期处于经济领先地位。长江流域物产丰盈、开放包容，推动了文化兴盛和思想创新，陶冶历代思想精英，涌现无数风流人物。
Remaining at the forefront of change, the Yangtze River Basin has exemplified how Chinese civilization has continuously renewed itself by discarding what is outdated in favor of what is new. Over the course of China’s history, the region has long led the way in economic development. Thanks to its wealth of resources and spirit of openness and inclusiveness, it has been a driving force for cultural flourishing and intellectual innovation, nurturing many generations of outstanding thinkers and countless distinguished figures.
近代以后，长江流域汲取西学，融汇创新，工业、商贸、教育、科学、文学等引一时潮流。
In modern times, the Yangtze River Basin absorbed Western knowledge and creatively blended it with local traditions to pioneer advances in industry, commerce, education, science, and literature.
洋务运动、维新变法、辛亥革命，以及早期马克思主义传播、中国共产党建立等，无数仁人志士为民族复兴前赴后继，都在长江流域写下了精彩篇章，反映出长江文化“敢为人先”的特点。
During key historical events, such as the Westernization Movement, the Reform Movement of 1898, the Revolution of 1911, the initial dissemination of Marxist ideas, and the founding of the Communist Party of China, countless local patriots emerged in succession to devote themselves to the cause of national rejuvenation, each adding remarkable chapters to the Yangtze River Basin’s history.
这深刻体现了中华民族始终以“苟日新，日日新，又日新”的精神不断创造自己的物质文明、精神文明和政治文明，彰显出守正不守旧、尊古不复古的进取精神，展现了不惧新挑战、勇于接受新事物的无畏品格。
This history reflects the region’s defining characteristic: its pioneering spirit. It also epitomizes the Chinese nation’s commitment to the continuous material, cultural-ethical, and political advancement based on the principle of “improving oneself each day, day in and day out, and forever building on improvement.” It exemplifies our enterprising spirit of honoring tradition without clinging to the past and respecting ancient wisdom without reverting to archaic thinking, as well as our fearless character in squarely facing new challenges and embracing new things.
中文编辑：郝遥 尚烨
英文编辑：衣小伟
审校：张娴 李晓琼
监制：李达 李振通
