淺析水與人生之關聯

Comment on the connection between water and life

水在人生命中扮演非常緊密關聯的角色，從出生到死亡；從家庭到聚落；從社會營造到國家建設；從農業生產到工業製造；從產業供給到休閒娛樂；從科學探索到文學吟詠等等，凡生命所及無不牽連。水的樣態可以從平波如鏡轉為滔天巨浪；從柔軟溫煦轉為寒凍徹骨。水的特性千變萬化，可讓世界文明誕生，也足以毀滅文明。對水的描述讚嘆，亦從古至今未曾間斷。
人類的文明，一旦移除水元素，這個世界恐將無法運行。水既然對人類生命、生活有著如此神聖、舉足輕重地位，但現今人們顯然未善待與珍惜。古人對天地與水敬畏有加，安奉諸多神祇祭祀。今人卻未感恩大自然雨露恩澤，動輒人定勝天，與大自然對抗，超限利用自然資源、竭澤而漁，可謂逆天而行。大自然相對的以颱風、海嘯、洪水、地震、瘟疫及異常天候來反噬、懲治人類。
本文將從水的起源與歷史、水的特性與作用、水的現行狀況與治理。從科學、哲學與文學三個面向來敘述水與人生的關聯。我們須重新審視這個地球上最重要的生命元素，思考未來我們與水的相處之道。以古鑑今，觀察古人與水相處之智慧，審視當代水資源之管理。

Water is an important role in human life. From birth to death, from family to village, from social construction to national construction, from agricultural production to industrial manufacturing, from industry to entertainment, from scientific exploration to literary appreciation, it encompasses all life. The relationship of water has changed from calm to cruel, from warm to cold, and the characteristics of water have changed tremendously, which can either give rise to or eradicate a civilization. The description and admiration of water has never stopped. Human civilization has not stopped from ancient times to the present. The human civilization, once devoid of water, may no longer be able to function in this world. The importance of water to humans is huge and sacred, and its status is important, but now people don’t cherish it. The ancients respected nature and gods, but now people don’t appreciate nature’s blessings and fight against it. Nature, in return, often punishes humanity with disasters such as typhoons, tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, plagues, and abnormal weather conditions. This paper studies the origin and history of water, the characteristics and functions of water, and the current state of water. This article will describe the relationship between water and human life from three perspectives: science, philosophy, and literature. We need to reexamine the most vital element of life on this planet, water, and reflect on how we can coexist with water in the future. Learning from the past, we can observe the wisdom of ancient civilizations in their relationship with water, and evaluate the contemporary water resource management practices.