认识山东

文／栾小惠

中国东部沿海，有一片古老而神奇的土地。

黄河之水在这里奔腾入海，海岱文明在这里衍生繁荣，儒学经典在这里撰述传承……这是一片温暖而肥沃的土地，她有个质朴而敦厚的名字——山东。

西周初年，山东大部属于齐国和鲁国的疆域，因而被称为“齐鲁之邦”，后简称鲁；又因在太行山以东，就有了“山东”这个平实简明的称呼。

○黄海、渤海在山东交汇，形成了“泾渭分明”的天然分界线。图／李少伟The Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea merge in Shandong Province with a clear-cut natural boundary.

凝视中国辽阔的版图，齐鲁大地的轮廓宛如一只雄鹰——东西绵延700多公里，构成雄鹰的躯体；南北舒展400多公里，鲁北、鲁南就像雄鹰的两翼。雄鹰背依广阔腹地，面向浩瀚海洋，矫首昂视，振翅欲飞。

山东自古就是人类宜居之地。东有海洋之浩瀚，西有平原之广阔，南有湖泊之滋润，北有黄河之浩荡，中有泰山之雄奇与泉水之灵秀；气候温暖，四季分明；自然环境优美，物产资源丰富，是中国重要的农副产品生产基地。绵长的海岸线，坡平水浅，沙细浪缓，度假胜地密布；岸石嶙峋，湾深水碧，天然良港众多。

山东是东方文明的重要发祥地之一。“沂源猿人”化石，证明四五十万年前的山东就是古人类生长的沃土；这里物华天宝，人杰地灵，是人文渊薮，礼仪之邦。山东孕育了孔子等一大批历史名人，以对中华文化发展的卓越贡献而彪炳史册，万古流芳。

山东是中国的文化大省。在这块古老的大地上，儒家文化、泰山文化、黄河文化、运河文化交相辉映，民俗文化、红色文化、现代文化异彩纷呈。

山东是中国的经济大省。经济多年保持了快速、持续、健康发展，主要经济指标位居全国前列，在中国的经济格局中占有举足轻重的地位。

山东人尊崇传统，重信守诺，开放包容，勇立中国改革开放的潮头，从沿海到内陆，从城市到农村，全面建构起整体对外开放的格局。

“岱宗夫如何？齐鲁青未了。”齐鲁大地，豪迈地敞开自信而宽广的胸怀，拥抱世界，奔向未来。

编辑／郭蓓蓓

○黄河入海口。图／侯贺良The Yellow River estuary.

○山东海滨城市风光独特。图／王德伟The coastal cities of Shandong have distinctive sceneries.

In China’s east coast, there is an ancient and marvelous land.

Here, the Yellow River flows into the sea, the Haidai civilization was born and fl ourished, and Confucianism originated and developed.

This is a warm and fertile land named Shandong.

In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty (1100 B.C.－770 B.C.),most of present-day Shandong belonged to the territories of the State of Qi and the State of Lu. Therefore, it was called the “State of Qi and Lu”. Later,Shandong was also called “Lu” for short. Literally, the name “Shandong”means “to the east of the mountain”, so called because it is located to the east of Mount Taihang.

On the map of China’s vast territory, the shape of Shandong looks like an eagle. Its body stretches over 700 kilometers from east to west and over 400 kilometers from north to south.North Shandong and South Shandong look like the eagle’s two wings. Backing onto the vast hinterland, the eagle faces the sea, lifts its head, looks into the distance and prepares to fl y.

Shandong has been a place suitable for human habitation since ancient times,with the sea to its east, a large plain in its west, lakes in its south, the grand Yellow River in its north, and the imposing Mount Tai and exquisite springs at its center. With a warm climate,Shandong has four distinct seasons.With a beautiful natural environment,Shandong abounds in natural products and resources and is an important production base of farm and sideline products in China. The long coastline with flat beaches, shallow water, fine sand and gentle waves provides venues for countless holiday resorts. The deep gulfs have given Shandong a number of good natural harbors.

Shandong is one of the birthplaces of the Eastern civilization. The Yiyuan ape-man fossil proves that some 400,000－500,000 years ago Shandong had already been home to ancient mankind. Shandong boasts ample natural endowment, outstanding people and rich cultural tradition and attaches great importance to propriety and protocol. It has produced a large number of well-known people such as Confucius who have made huge contribution to the development of the Chinese culture and left an indelible mark in history.

Shandong is a cultural powerhouse in China. This ancient land enjoys a fusion of Confucian culture, Mount Tai culture, Yellow River culture and Canal culture and a mixture of folk culture,revolution-related culture and modern culture.

Shandong is aneconomic powerhouse in China. Over the years it has maintained rapid, sustained and sound economic development with its main economic indicators leading the country. It is vital to China’s economy.

The people in Shandong value tradition and credibility, and are openminded and broad-minded. They are spearheading China’s reform and opening-up endeavor by promoting allround openness from the coast to the inland and from cities to villages.

“What is the scenery like in Mount Tai? Blue and green belt stretches over the state of Qi and Lu. ” With open arms, Shandong is ready to embrace the world and the future.