It also has two contradictory identities.

它還有兩個相互矛盾的身份。

As the birthplace of Asian Chinese civilization, the Yellow River is often referred to as the Mother River, but it's also known as China's Sorrow.

作為亞洲華夏文明的發源地，黃河常被稱為母親河，但它也被稱為中國的悲哀。

For thousands of years, the river's unrelenting wrath has been on full display through floods and droughts that have killed or starved millions of people.

數千年來，洪水和乾旱使數百萬人喪生或捱餓，充分顯示了河流無情的憤怒。

Today, the Yellow River sustains 140 million people and irrigates 15% of China's farmlands, making its protection one of the government's top environmental priorities.

如今，黃河養育著 1.4 億人，灌溉著中國 15% 的農田，保護黃河已成為政府在環境方面的首要任務之一。

For centuries, every ruler that has governed China had been forced to put tremendous efforts into taming the river or risk being toppled.

幾個世紀以來，每一位統治中國的統治者都不得不付出巨大的努力來治理這條河流，否則就有被推翻的危險。

The Yellow River was the breadbasket of China.

黃河是中國的糧倉。

What you might think of as a kind of technological imperative, which is that if you're in charge of a society where millions of people's livelihoods depend on the stability of that very fertile land, you have an obligation to keep people safe.

你可能會認為這是一種技術要求，即如果你掌管著一個社會，數百萬人的生計依賴於這片肥沃土地的穩定，那麼你就有義務保證人們的安全。

The other I would point out, and this isn't unique to China,

我想指出的另一點是，這並非中國獨有、

I think this is maybe a human trait, which is that we try to tame nature as an ideological exercise.

我認為這也許是人類的特質，即我們試圖馴服自然，將其作為一種意識形態活動。

So what has made the river so prone to disaster?

那麼，是什麼讓這條河流如此容易遭受災難呢？

And what has been done to tame it?

又是如何馴服它的呢？

Its name hints at one of the causes.

它的名字暗示了其中一個原因。

The river is yellow because of the huge amount of silt it carries when it flows through the lowest plateau in central China.

河水之所以呈黃色，是因為它流經中國中部最低的高原時攜帶了大量泥沙。

The silt comes from soil washed away from the area as a result of thousands of years of deforestation that has also raised the riverbed.

這些淤泥來自該地區被沖走的土壤，因為數千年來的森林砍伐也抬高了河床。

Experts suggest humans had been trying to tame the Yellow River for thousands of years by building levees, dikes, and dams.

專家建議，數千年來，人類一直試圖通過修建堤壩、築堤和築壩來馴服黃河。

But their efforts had the opposite effect.

但他們的努力卻產生了相反的效果。

Soil sediment accumulated in the riverbed and raised the river even higher, making it more vulnerable to flooding.

泥沙在河床中淤積，將河水抬得更高，使河水更容易被洪水沖走。

People built more levees, causing the river to rise further, turning it into a vicious cycle.

人們修建了更多的堤壩，導致河水進一步上漲，形成惡性循環。

Studies have shown that the river burst through its levees nearly 1,600 times between 602 BC and 1949, and even resulted in the river changing course at times.

研究表明，在公元前 602 年至 1949 年期間，河流沖垮堤壩近 1600 次，甚至導致河道時常改變。

In modern times, the river faced another problem.

到了現代，河流又面臨著另一個問題。

As China's economy developed in the 20th and 21st centuries, its appetite for water soared.

隨著中國經濟在 20 世紀和 21 世紀的發展，中國對水的需求也急劇增加。

From the late 1980s, a drop in rainfall and increasing consumption drained water from the river faster than it could replenish, causing the Yellow River to stop flowing to the sea entirely.

從 20 世紀 80 年代末開始，降雨量的減少和用水量的增加使河水的消耗速度超過了河水的補充速度，導致黃河完全斷流入海。

It has almost become an annual occurrence.

這幾乎成了一年一度的盛事。

The longest period without any weather flow occurred in 1997, lasting for 226 days and extending 700 km upstream from the river mouth.

最長的無氣象流量期出現在 1997 年，持續了 226 天，從河口向上遊延伸了 700 公里。

The river was in such bad shape that some experts declared it dead at the time.

這條河的狀況非常糟糕，一些專家當時宣佈它已經死亡。

It's technically dead anyway because it has the highest silt content of any river in the world.

從技術上講，這條河已經死了，因為它是世界上淤泥含量最高的河流。

From a technical point of view, the flow in the river is no longer water.

從技術角度看，河流中的水流不再是水。

It's predominantly soil.

主要是土壤。

Today, China's Mother River is once again living up to its name thanks to a series of aggressive government measures.

如今，由於政府採取了一系列積極措施，中國的母親河再次名副其實。

In 1998, Chinese authorities enforced an annual plan to limit the amount of water each province along the river could take.

1998 年，中國政府實施了一項年度計劃，限制沿江各省的取水量。

The Yellow River Conservancy Commission was put in charge of managing the plan.

黃河水利委員會負責管理該計劃。

Its main focus was to ensure there was enough water left in the river to support the ecosystem.

其主要重點是確保河中有足夠的水量來支持生態系統。

In 2001, the government finished building the Xiaolandi hydropower station, which can hold more than 12.5 billion cubic meters of water.

2001 年，政府完成了小浪底水電站的建設，該水電站可容納超過 125 億立方米的水。

The project serves two major functions for flood prevention and managing silt buildup in the river.

該項目具有防洪和管理河道淤積物的兩大功能。

This brought a system of vessels into operation in the Yellow River, giving the government the capacity to store excess flood water during rainy seasons and release stored water during dry seasons.

這使得黃河中的船隻系統開始運行，政府有能力在雨季儲存多餘的洪水，在旱季釋放儲存的水。

It could also release water to wash away sediment built up on the riverbed.

它還可以釋放水流，沖刷河床上堆積的泥沙。

The government also initiated a reforestation campaign.

政府還發起了植樹造林運動。

Wooded areas along the Yellow River have increased by 44%, from 26,000 square kilometers in 2000 to 33,000 square kilometers in 2017.

黃河沿岸林地面積增加了 44%，從 2000 年的 2.6 萬平方公里增加到 2017 年的 3.3 萬平方公里。

Trees help reduce silting in rivers by providing canopies to keep rainwater from washing off excessive soil, while their roots hold onto loose soil.

樹木提供樹冠，防止雨水沖走過多的泥土，同時樹根又能抓住疏鬆的土壤，從而幫助減少河道淤塞。

In 2023, the Yellow River Protection Law was passed to address underground water usage, which has long been one of the main causes of water loss and environmental damage along the Yellow River basin.

2023 年通過了《黃河保護法》，以解決地下水利用問題，而地下水利用長期以來一直是黃河流域水量流失和環境破壞的主要原因之一。

These measures have kept the Yellow River flowing for the past 22 years.

在過去的 22 年裡，這些措施使黃河得以持續不斷地流淌。

A study in 2020 concluded the river is the clearest it has been in 500 years.

2020 年的一項研究得出結論，該河流是 500 年來最為清澈的。

Despite its apparent success, however, the river's future remains murky.

然而，儘管取得了明顯的成功，這條河流的未來依然暗淡無光。

Some experts have suggested a clearer Yellow River is not an entirely good thing.

一些專家認為，黃河變清並不完全是件好事。

While reforestation campaigns and increased farming are improving soil conditions and supplying more food for the country, they are also reducing the amount of groundwater flowing into the river.

雖然植樹造林運動和耕作的增加改善了土壤條件，為國家提供了更多的糧食，但同時也減少了流入河流的地下水量。

With less water from land areas, there's less sediment in the river.

來自陸地的水少了，河流中的沉積物也就少了。

And with less water, it also moves slower and carries less of the silt downstream.

由於水量減少，水流速度也會變慢，攜帶的淤泥也會減少。

Scientists expected the elevation of the riverbed would slow, or even reverse, which would cut the risk of flooding.

科學家們預計，河床抬升的速度會減慢，甚至逆轉，這將降低洪水氾濫的風險。

But it could also destabilize the riverbank in some areas.

但這也會破壞某些地區河岸的穩定。

In a worst-case scenario, the river could dry up again.

最壞的情況是，河流可能再次乾涸。

Experts from China State Laboratory also predict that if nothing is done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, climate change will decrease water resources in the early and mid-21st century.

中國國家實驗室的專家還預測，如果不採取任何措施減少溫室氣體排放，氣候變化將在 21 世紀早期和中期導致水資源減少。

But after 2080, the river will see an increase in rainfall and extreme flood events.

但在 2080 年之後，河流的降雨量和極端洪水事件將會增加。

In 2023, water management authorities in northwestern China warned of water shortages in the Yellow River.

2023 年，中國西北部的水資源管理部門發出了黃河缺水的警告。

The situation could worsen in the coming years, posing a risk to agriculture in Ningxia and in Mongolia.

未來幾年，情況可能會惡化，給寧夏和蒙古的農業帶來風險。

What else is the Chinese government supposed to do?

中國政府還能做什麼？

It can't realistically let massive flooding happen.

現實中不可能發生大規模洪災。

That would be terrible for its people.

這對其人民來說是非常可怕的。

And the consequences on the entire nation would be catastrophic.

這將給整個國家帶來災難性的後果。

And we have amazing technological capacities.

我們擁有驚人的技術能力。

I mean, what's happened in modern China is unbelievable when you think about it in terms of shifting away from this constant litany of disaster.

我的意思是，現代中國所發生的一切讓人難以置信，因為它擺脫了一連串的災難。

But no, we're not going to be able to stop nature from being nature.

但是，我們無法阻止大自然的本性。

Humans are very good at short term.

人類擅長短期行為。

We think about building a wall or a levee or reforesting, which are positive things.

我們會想到築牆、築堤或植樹造林，這些都是積極的事情。

But we also now need to really think longer term.

但我們現在還需要真正從長遠考慮。

And as populations continue to concentrate and grow, it's only going to become more consequential.

隨著人口的不斷集中和增長，這種情況只會變得越來越嚴重。

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