王玲：為了文明之光

文/Asad Khalil、Rami Khalil 譯/史聰一

Rasha Khalil是一名來自敘利亞的發明家、研究員、創意教育家與藝術家，她有一個地道的中國名字：王玲。她曾在中東、北非及多個歐洲國家工作、學習和生活，而今在中國已十余年。對王玲而言，在中國的生活不僅是一次鼓舞人心的經歷，還為她的生活平添了獨特的色彩，并以意想不到的方式開拓了自身視野。她意識到：中國已經深深地植根于她的潛意識中，并深刻地影響了她的生活，同時不斷地塑造她的事業與興趣。

中國充滿魅力

2008年，王玲移居中國。自此之后，她便開始在重慶生活。重慶幅員遼闊，地處群山之中，并被長江和嘉陵江環繞。王玲發現，重慶令人嘆為觀止的地方在于：盡管這里經濟高速發展，并在重工業、快速城市化以及科技進步的依托下發展出強大的制造業，但其自然之美麗與文化之魅力卻保存完好。

從某種程度上講，重慶反映了中國的精神，在這片廣袤無垠、美不勝收的土地上，綿延著悠久的歷史，蘊藏著無限的可能。

王玲表示，生活在中國，總能經歷各種變化。服務業日益完善，基建不斷加速、房地產更加蓬勃、農業日趨現代化、制造業更加龐大，人們日常生活的方方面面越來越依賴于高科技的發展，人們目睹著向未來的巨大跨越。

在王玲看來，在這里未來已經到來，中國也走在前列，并為他國的發展提供經驗與借鑒。然而，每當漫步于傳統的小巷之中，徘徊在長城之上，徜徉在故宮之中，思考并感知于頤和園的獨特長廊中，又或是洞悉于令人嘆為觀止的大足石刻，與皇陵中為榮譽而進行決戰的兵馬俑并肩站立之時，她又能感受到仿佛回到了過去。這著實是一種珍貴的體驗。

Rasha Khalil，敘利亞籍，四川外國語大學教授、發明家、研究員。曾獲得世界知識產權組織（WIPO）發明獎章、英國肯特自然資源國際基金會獎，2020文明之光·中國文化交流年度人物。

王玲的油畫作品

中國之所以充滿魅力，二元性是一個重要的因素。人們在感受快速發展的同時，還能探索歷史悠久的古代文明。

另一個因素，便是令人嘆為觀止的地貌與鬼斧神工般的自然景觀。想要探索并享受其中，窮極一生仍不夠。

盡管日程繁忙，但只要有機會，她便會抽出一些時間，來追尋那份對大自然的熱忱。在中國的每一次旅行，都令王玲充滿驚喜與好奇，都在她的生活中刻下了積極的烙印，并幫助她對周邊的一切開啟探尋。

2010年的陽朔之旅，是一次非凡的體驗。王玲認為，陽朔擁有獨特且引人注目的石灰巖喀斯特山丘，這些山丘如同休憩于河岸邊的勇士，身形百態。然而，陽朔之所以在她心中占據重要位置，并非僅僅因為這些山丘，而是那些稻田、蜿蜒的河流、迷人的橋梁，甚至是暴雨后覆蓋山谷的密云層。

第一次身處陽朔的群山之下，王玲拾起了久違的回憶，這種回憶令她憶苦思甜。此情此景，在短短數秒間，便讓時光倒流25載。10歲那年，王玲觀看了桂林山水的紀錄片，當時的情景仍歷歷在目。桂林的壯美與宏大，令她驚嘆不已。對于小時候的她來說，陽朔是一個遠離家鄉并充滿異國情調的地方。她從未想象過自己能夠身臨其境，聽著風聲在群山間穿梭，并與樹木相耳語。但如今，自己便乘著竹筏，隨著船夫的民歌在這無盡的寧靜世界中徜徉。

正是這段旅程，幫助王玲回想起被自己遺忘的一面。她發現暫時放下憂慮與復雜的想法，去單純地體驗這個世界將有助于了解自己的內心，去洞悉萬物的自然平衡，以及生活在精神層面與身體層面上同自然和諧相處的必要性，尤其是在這個充滿變化的世界。

王玲認為，中國的美麗及其所承載的主要輝煌，仍來自于人民。中華民族由56個民族組成，但人們普遍擁有共同的核心價值觀與原則。

中國人兢兢業業、雄心壯志、不斷拼搏。不僅如此，中國人還強調在工作上齊心協力的價值觀。王玲說：“中國人最為顯著的特點便是謙虛、富有同情心并克勤克儉，因為這些精神在中國文化中被視為美德。”

此外，中國文化強調家庭與社會的重要性，因為它們是國家發展的支柱。在中國，人們信奉人與人之間的和平共處，以及人與自然間的和諧相依。盡管當今科技日新月異，并且人們越來越多地居住在大城市中，但中國人內心深處仍鐫刻著這些價值觀，并對它們異常珍視。

為不同文化架起橋梁

在中國，王玲擔任大學教授已十余年。在她看來，教育的理念要高于對事實的習得及內容的掌握，教育本身便是訓練思考能力。她重視批判性思維、創新能力及創造力，這也一直是其教育理念中最重要且最具特色的元素。

在中國，作為教育工作者，王玲利用其25年職業生涯中多樣化且涉獵甚廣的專業經驗，創造出具有積極性意義并能夠起到陶冶與互動作用的學習環境，旨在培養學生的參與度和對學術能力的感知力。王玲指導她的學生們打破各個主題間的障礙，并鼓勵交叉功能實踐及知識遷移能力。她總是努力“武裝”，并賦權和激勵她的學生們，讓學生們擁有主動權，發揮自主性，讓他們有機會展示自身所學知識，付諸實踐并解決問題。

同時，王玲希望她的學生們能不斷加強教育，提升專業能力，充分發揮其自身潛力，并為在未來就業市場中面臨的挑戰做足準備。

王玲說，當這些奇妙的探險活動出現在年輕人富有探知欲的腦海中時，她發現自己正處在一個獨特的位置上，而自己的角色也由老師轉變為學生。她從中國學生那里學到了很多東西。在過去的10年里，王玲所教授過的每一位學生，都或多或少地讓她明白了一些道理，而這一切都在不斷幫助她成為一名更優秀的教育工作者，并不斷完善其職業生涯。

更重要的是，她的學生使她能夠擁抱并真正理解中國文化。他們每一個人都代表了他們的家庭，反映了他們所在社區的觀念。因此，與學生的密切合作，使她能夠以她從未想象過的方式探索中國文化的深度，并從學生們的角度去感知它。

王玲認為，作為中國與阿拉伯世界間的文化大使，她一直在努力提升人們對中國文化重要性及其優勢的認知，并推動他們學習中國文化。

為此，她利用作為研究人員及教育工作者的能力，推動并不斷深化中國同阿拉伯國家間大學的學術及文化交流，通過她的藝術作品介紹中國文化的輝煌，為不同文化架起橋梁。

讓藝術為生命賦能

王玲還是一位藝術家。她熱愛繪畫和雕塑，對藝術作品所創造的世界深深著迷。

在藝術中，她喜歡捕捉一種美感：這種美感來源于那些平平無奇的物體與地點，不僅能給她帶來平靜，也讓她有機會來反思這個世界的美，以及她活在其中所感受到的靜謐。王玲認為，不同形式的藝術，是彰顯藝術家內在能量的方式，因此她打算將同樣的平靜和風雅傳達給他人，希望給他們深刻的歸屬感。王玲相信，如果有人能夠駐足片刻，去欣賞并思考她的作品，那么她的創作意義便達到了。

通過觀察那些栩栩如生且豐富多彩的中國傳統藝術作品，她發現中國藝術家們并不熱衷于以臨摹者的身份“忠實”地復刻自然，而是從自身出發努力地探尋自然界，并順其自然。這不僅為王玲的藝術格局增添了新的維度和深度，也深刻地影響和改變了她的藝術創作，以及她對藝術本質和目的的看法。中國畫鮮明的特點與獨特的精神，均給她留下了深刻的印象。王玲發現，工筆與水墨給人的感覺與油畫不同，它們均通過獨特的方式來表達意境，前者用精細的筆觸和豐富的色彩來創作極其精致的畫作，而后者則通過粗獷而少許的筆觸、細節及淺色調來傳達畫作中主題的本質。

王玲說：“在中國的畫作中，比喻象征手法的應用引人入勝。山巔代表著長壽，竹子代表著謙遜與正直，花朵則能夠象征孤獨、驕傲或超脫。”她也驚喜地發現，中國的畫家們以獨特的方式表達著自己的精神，同時將繪畫與詩歌相結合，并進一步突出這些比喻象征。

于她而言，藝術家的任務不僅僅是模仿事物的表面與外在，而是通過感受自身的一些精神，來呈現周圍環境的本質，無論是山、樹、河，還是動物或傳統，然后讓這一切通過畫筆，自由流暢地出現在畫布之上，或是體現在雕塑之中。

王玲的曼荼羅點畫作品

王玲一直珍視人與自然間的這種聯系，這為創造力帶來了無限的機遇。王玲對藝術的不懈的探求，能夠破譯她對自身及其所生活世界的想法。她不會將自己局限于一種媒介、風格或概念之中，因為不同的藝術媒介才能夠讓她傳達多樣的想法。她創作的每一件作品，都是過去的延伸，既反映了她的現在又預示了她的將來。

她藝術背后的驅動力是她對文化多樣性的興趣。王玲認為，藝術能夠為生活賦予能量，能夠為社會增進福祉，各行各業的人們都應該有機會獲得創造性的力量。

因此，她開展創意藝術項目，幫助那些在生活中面臨挑戰的年輕人，讓他們有機會能夠表達自我、培養技能、結識他人，并通過藝術培養幸福感。

此外，王玲還與中東地區不同的非政府組織合作舉辦了數場藝術工作坊。在這些藝術工坊中，藝術創作的力量賦予生活在農村地區的婦女以權力，提高人們接受土著的認知，并以此作為保護自然資源和實現可持續發展的重要方式。這些工作坊不僅可以讓女性討論成功與壓力背后的故事并獲取認同感，還能讓她們擁有展示藝術創作項目的平臺，例如在畫布上繪畫，以及對彩色玻璃窗進行設計和點畫。

她將自己最好的藝術作品捐贈給非營利組織，或是進行慈善拍賣，擴大環境與社會問題的重要性。她的藝術捐贈，也一直用于扶貧和自然資源保護。

王玲竭盡全力地為社會服務，以表達對中國的深沉熱愛。她希望與不同的中國組織及藝術家們合作，幫助婦女、支持教育、扶助貧困地區。

2020年，王玲被授予“文明之光·中國文化交流年度人物”的稱號，以表彰她長期以來為加強中外文化交流所做的不懈努力。

王玲相信，她的貢獻便是每一位因她的工作而變得更加勇敢，并決定朝著更美好、更光明的未來前進的人們，他們在生活中積極作出改變——哪怕是很微小的改變。

Rasha Khalil is a Syrian inventor, researcher, creative educator,and artist who lived, studied and worked in multiple countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. She has Lived in China for over ten years. Living in China has been an inspiring experience, added unique colors to Rasha’s life, and enabled her to expand her horizon in unexpected ways. She realized that China is deeply rooted in her consciousness and has profoundly impacted her life and shaped her career and interests.

China is an attractive country

For Rasha, optimizing her education and boosting her profession was of the utmost importance. Therefore, she decided to move to China in 2008. Since then, she has been living in Chongqing. Chongqing is a sprawling municipality surrounded by several mountain ranges, the Yangtze, and the Jialing rivers.Rasha found that the most astonishing aspect of Chongqing is its ability to preserve its natural beauty and cultural appeal despite its fast economic development, colossal manufacturing capacity with a heavy industry background, rapid urbanization,and technological advances.

In a way, Chongqing reflects China’s spirit, the vast land of extraordinary beauty, mighty history, and unlimited possibilities.

Rasha says that living in China is a life-changing experience.Daily, people witness a great leap into the future through the advanced services sector, fast building construction, rapid real estate development, modern agriculture, massive manufacturing capacity, and reliance on high-tech advances in almost every aspect of daily life.

In her opinion, the future is already here, and China has paved the path for others to follow. Yet, Rasha feels she can travel back in time by simply strolling through the traditional alleys, taking a walk on the Great Wall, and wandering in the Forbidden City.She reflected on life while walking in the unique Long Corridor of the Summer Palace, perceiving a valuable sensation from the stunning rock carvings in Dazu Grottoes and standing side by side with thousands of terracotta warriors standing ready for the final battle to honor their emperor.

Simultaneously enjoying the brilliant development advances and exploring China’s ancient civilization with a long historyand deeply rooted culture is only one element of China’s majestic charm.

Another element of China’s exceptional beauty is having a vast,diverse array of extraordinary and breathtaking landscapes and spectacular natural treasures that one needs more than a lifetime to explore and enjoy.

Whenever she has the opportunity, Rasha takes time from her busy schedule to pursue her passion for nature. Rasha’s travels bring her joy and wonder. Each journey has left a positive mark on her life, helping her explore the universe.

Nevertheless, the ultimate and exceptional experience was visiting Yangshuo in 2010. Rasha says that the unique position that Yangshuo occupies in her heart is not because of its distinctive and dramatic limestone karst hills, which resemble warriors resting for a moment on the banks of the Li River. Instead, the magical caves, rice paddies, meandering rivers, enchanted bridges, or even the sea of dense clouds layer covers the valley after heavy rainfall.

Standing at the bottom of those mountains for the first time generated a sweet pain of retrieving long-lost memories. That scenery took her 25 years back in just a matter of seconds. She remembered how the 10-year-old Rasha felt when she watched a documentary on Guilin’s Mountains. She had the same fantastic sensation of that place’s glory and greatness. Yet, for that little girl, Yangshuo was an exotic place far from home. She never imagined that she would be able to visit it in person or listen to the wind whispering to the trees crawling on those hills. She never imagined herself taking a bamboo raft and drifting away into endless serenity with the boatman’s folk songs.

That journey helped Rasha to reconnect to the forgotten sides of herself. She learned that letting go of worries and experiencing the world helps us discover buried yet central parts of ourselves. She began to understand the natural balance in all things and the need for living in spiritual and physical harmony with nature, particularly in a world with severe waves of change.

Still, Rasha believes that people are the essence of China’s beauty and the main element of its glory. Even though the Chinese nation is composed of 56 ethnic groups, people widely share the same core values and principles.

Chinese people are diligent, ambitious, and strive to achieve success. Yet, they emphasize the value of collaborative work.Rasha asserts that the most striking features of Chinese people are modesty, compassion, and frugality, virtues in Chinese culture.

In addition, Chinese culture emphasizes the importance of the family and the community as the pillars of the nation’s development. Furthermore, Chinese people believe in harmonious and peaceful coexistence with nature and others. Chinese people have dearly carried these values, cherished and treasured them despite the technological advancement and living in modernmetropolitan cities.

Build bridge between different cultures

Rasha has been working as a university professor in China for more than a decade. She believes that the concept of education goes beyond learning. She values critical thinking, innovation,and creativity, which have always been distinctive elements of her teaching philosophy.

In her career as an educator in China, Rasha has utilized twenty-five years of diverse and extensive professional experience to create a positive, nurturing, and interactive learning environment that fosters the students’ engagement and perception of academic competence. Rasha guides her students to break down the barriers between individual topics and encourages cross-functional application and transference of knowledge.She always strives to equip, empower, and energize her students. Therefore, she puts them in the driver’s seat and allows them to demonstrate their knowledge and apply it in problemsolving.

She wants her students to optimize their education, develop their expertise to reach their full potential, and be ready for the challenges they will face in the employment market.

Rasha says that during this fantastic adventure in these young and curious minds, she found herself in a unique position where the teacher has become the student. She has learned an incredible amount from her students. Every student she taught in the past ten years has had something to teach her and helped her become a better educator and perfect her career.

More substantially, her students enabled her to embrace and genuinely comprehend the Chinese culture. Every one of them has represented their family and reflected the core values of their community. Thus, working closely with her students has enabled her to explore the depth of Chinese culture in a way she has never imagined.

Rasha considers herself a cultural ambassador between China and the Arab world. She has been striving to raise awareness about Chinese culture’s significance and strength, urging others to learn from it.

To do that, she has utilized her capacity as a researcher and educator to develop and deepen academic and cultural exchanges between Chinese and Arab universities. In addition, she used her art as a communication channel to reflect the magnificence and glory of Chinese culture and build a bridge between different cultures.

Art Empowers Lives

As an artist, Rasha loves painting and sculpting. She has alwaysbeen fascinated by images and how artists represent the world through expressive and visionary work.

In her art, she likes to capture the beauty in ordinary objects and places which not only brings her peace but also offers her a chance to reflect on the beauty in the world. Rasha believes that art in its different forms is a way to channel the artist’s inner energy. Thus she intends to convey the same peace and grace to others, hoping to offer them a moment of deep belonging. She believes that if someone stops for a moment to view and reflect on a piece she has created, she has succeeded in her work.

Observing the vivid and rich traditional Chinese artwork, in which artists strive to find nature within themselves and surrender to its calls rather than attempting to reproduce character as faithful copyists, has not only added new dimension and depth to her art but also profoundly impacted and altered her perception of the nature and the purpose of art. The distinctive characteristics and unique spirit of Chinese painting have impressed her a lot. She finds that the sensation Gongbi and Shuimo give differs from that of oil painting. Both of them have a unique way of reaching consciousness. While the former uses fine strokes and rich colors to produce highly detailed paintings, the latter uses rough and few brush strokes and details and light colors to convey the subject’s essence.

She found the analogies in Chinese painting striking. Mountain peaks represent longevity, bamboos represent humbleness and integrity, while flowers symbolize loneliness, pride, or breaking free. Rasha was amazed to see that Chinese painters express their spirit in a distinctive approach by combining painting and poetry to highlight these analogies further.

To her, the artist’s task exceeds imitating the external surface of things, to present the essence of the surroundings, whether it is a mountain, a tree, a river, an animal, or traditions, by feeling some of this spirit in themselves, and then letting it flows out freely and smoothly through the brush onto canvas or embodying it in sculptures.

Rasha has always cherished this connection between people and nature, opening up immeasurable opportunities and limitless portals to creativity. Her art is a constant search for the ultimate way to decipher her ideas about herself and the world. Therefore,she does not limit herself to one medium, style, or concept because different art mediums allow her to convey diverse ideas.Each piece she creates is simultaneously an extension of the past,a reflection of her present, and a preview of the future.

The Driving Force Behind Her Art. Rasha believes that art empowers lives and enhances society’s well-being. It also affects people from all walks of life who should have access to the power of creativity.

Therefore, she runs creative arts projects to help young people face challenges in their lives and give them a chance to express themselves, build skills, meet other people and nurture their well-being through art.

In addition, Rasha organized several art workshops in collaboration with different NGOs in the Middle East. In these workshops, the power of art-making was employed to empower women living in rural areas and raise awareness of the importance of embracing indigenous knowledge and utilizing it as a means to preserve natural resources and achieve sustainable development. Furthermore, those workshops were platforms for women to discuss their stories of success and stress, shared affirmations, and featured art-making projects such as painting on canvas, stained glass window design and dot painting.

She donated her best artwork to charitable auctions and nonprofit organizations to amplify the significance of environmental and social issues. Her art donation went to poverty alleviation and natural resource conservation.

She strives to extend her effort and do everything she can to serve society and express her deep appreciation and love of China. And she hopes to collaborate with different Chinese organizations and artists to rally support for vulnerable women,education, and fight poverty in rural areas.

In 2020, Rasha was awarded the title of “Light of Civilization -Chinese Cultural Exchange Person of the Year” in recognition of her long-term and constant efforts to strengthen Sino-foreign cultural exchanges.

Rasha believes that her legacy is for every single person. She wants everyone to be inspired by her work. She wants them to be more courageous and decide to take a further step toward a better and brighter future. She wants to make a positive change in the lives of others, no matter how big or small.