A Running River of Thought: Donald Worster’s Book Donation Ceremony and the Symposium on Rivers of Empire
中国人民大学生态史研究中心
中国人民大学历史学院
Sponsored by the Center for Ecological History
and the School of History, RUC
地点：清史文献馆
（中国人民大学国学馆地下一层B114）
Venue: Library of the Qing Institute (B114, School of Sinology, RUC)
时间：二零一八年六月十五日
Time: 9:00-18:00, 15/06/2018
会议缘起
Conference Statement
唐纳德·沃斯特从来都不是主流的遵循者，自其学术生命的初始，沃斯特便坚定不移地要做一条在其自然河道中自由奔腾的河流，一个拒绝任何既定烙印的学术生灵。在他过去近五十年的学术生涯中，他的思想之流不断冲击着各种神话，关于浪漫西部的神话，关于宏大帝国的神话，关于技术统御的神话，关于工具理性的神话，关于自然征服的神话，关于史学中根深蒂固的人类中心的神话。
Never a follower of the mainstream, since the beginning of his academic life, Donald Worster has been determined to be a freely running river in his own natural riverbed——an academic spirit refusing any fixed labels. In the last fifty years of his career, the current of his thought has lashed out against all sorts of myths：the myth of a romantic West, of a manifest empire, of technocracy, of instrumental reason, of the conquest of nature, and of a deeply rooted anthropocentrism in history.
从《自然的经济体系》到《萎缩的星球》，其思想之河在险峻的学术山峦中开凿出一道道令人目眩神驰的深谷，诱使着后来者跳出对谷缘风光的迷恋，而渴望走得深些、更深些，探求地球与人类纠缠生命的更深处。而在所有这些深谷中，最早在时间的深层次中，将中国同他对另一个半球上的帝国构建与生态变迁的思考联系起来的，正是《帝国之河：美国西部的水、旱与成长》。水，这一自然的基本要素及其在不同地区以不同方式进入人类文明的过程，与沃斯特的思想之河相激荡，衍生出他在跨越广阔时空的维度中，对一个特定地区的自然与人事的深沉批判与反思。而最终，他的思想之河将冲破政治与学科的边界，与这个星球及其所有生命形式彼此形塑的历史之流相汇合。
From Nature’s Economy to Shrinking the Earth, his river of thought has tried to cut through intimidating academic mountain ranges and created many enchanting canyons. One after another, they urge us to shed our old obsession with the purely human scene and investigate the deeper interaction between the earth and human life. Among his many books, Rivers of Empire endeavors to connect the American quest for empire with other parts of the world and imperialism in general. Water, this basic natural element，writes different stories for different regions. And eventually, Don’s own river of thought breaks down all the political and disciplinary barriers and converges with the whole flow of history. He seeks a new history based on the whole of planet earth and all forms of life living on it.
“人世几回伤往事，山形依旧枕寒流”，人事无常，自然亘古，似乎是我们思想最深处的喟然长叹，而这亘古的自然却总是在无常的人事中改变甚而消失。当自然之水遭缚，自由之梦受困，至少我们还能拥有自由学者的自由思想，以彼时彼处的思考鼓励我们叩问它时它地的历史，让我们的目光投向一片更为宽广的时空。
“How many times do we lament the changes of the human world, while the unchanging mountains are still sitting on the cold water.” This seemingly eternal nature has indeed been changing. And its changes have shaped human history. When the river of nature is harnessed and the dream of freedom seems trapped with the river, at least for a while, we can be sure that that conquest will come to an end eventually. Meanwhile, we still have the freethinking scholar who roams over other places and other time periods and encourages us to study more deeply the history of our species in the vastness of time.
会议议程
Conference Program
8:30-9:00 签到(Registration)
9:00-9:30 赠书仪式(Book donation ceremony)
致辞：中国人民大学常务副书记 张建明
中国人民大学历史学院院长 黄兴涛
中国人民大学教授 唐纳德·沃斯特
主持：中国人民大学生态史研究中心主任 夏明方
翻译：中国人民大学生态史研究中心副主任 侯深
Opening speeches by:
ZHANG Jianming, vice president of RUC
HUANG Xingtao, dean of the School of History
Donald WORSTER, professor of history, RUC
Moderated by: XIA Mingfang, director of the CEH, RUC
Translated by: HOU Shen, deputy director of the CEH, RUC
9:30-9:40 合影(photograph)
9:40-10:00 茶歇 (coffee break)
10:00-10:40主旨发言(Keynote Speech)
北京大学历史学系教授 王希
WANG Xi, professor of history, Peking University
10:40-11:10 《帝国之河：美国西部的水、旱与成长》新书发布(New book launch of Rivers of Empire, Chinese edition)
致辞：译林出版社编辑 陈锐
《帝国之河》作者 唐纳德·沃斯特
《帝国之河》译者 侯深
Speakers: CHEN Rui, editor of Yilin Publisher
Donald WORSTER, author of the book
HOU Shen, translator of the book
11:00-11:45 他乡之水(Waters of Other Countries)
发言人：Poul HOLM, 王利华、曹牧
Speakers: Poul HOLM, WANG Lihua, and CAO Mu
11:45-12:30 自然之问（一）(Questions for Nature, I)
发言人：梅雪芹、舒建军、贾珺
Speakers: MEI Xueqin, SHU Jianjun, and JIA Jun
12:30-13:30 午餐(Lunch)
13:30-14:20 自然之问（二）(Questions for Nature, II)
发言人：高国荣、王华、宋云伟、王瓒玮
Speakers: GAO Guorong, WANG Hua, SONG Yunwen, and WANG Zanwei
14:20-15:00 身体之际(Around human bodies and nature)
发言人：付成双、赵秀荣、曹志红
Speakers: FU Chengshuang, ZHAO Xiurong, and CAO Zhihong
15:00-15:20 茶歇(Coffee break)
15:20-16:00 思想之流(Flow of ideas)
发言人：黄兴涛、姜萌、高波
Speakers: Huang Xingtao, JIANG Meng, and GAO Bo
16:00-16:40 跨界之思(Thinking crossing borders)
发言人：朱浒、曹寅、萧凌波
Speakers: ZHU Hu, CAO Yin, and XIAO Lingbo
16:40-17:20 漫谈之乐(Joy of free discussion)
发言人：许海云、金永丽、胡恒、古丽巍、林展、杜宣莹、邱靖嘉、王文婧，张亦冰，及全体与会成员
Speakers: XU Haiyun, JIN Yongli, Hu Heng, GU Liwei, LIN Zhan, DU Xuanying, QIU Jingjia, WANG Wenjing, ZHANG Yibing, and all participants
17:20-17:50 总结发言：夏明方(Concluding remarks: XIA Mingfang)
18:00-20:00 晚宴(Dinner)
会议咨询来源，中国人民大学生态史研究中心：http://www.iqh.net.cn/Info.asp?column_id=12533
