春风十里不如你

巴以新一轮冲突不见停火迹象，以色列正准备对加沙南部城市拉法发起大规模地面进攻，这一态势，正引发国际社会强烈关切。         Zhou Jiang speaks at an event. Photo: Courtesy of Zhou Jiang
Zhou Jiang, a researcher at the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, has a favorite book:  White Deer Tableland or Bai Lu Yuan by renowned writer Chen Zhongshi.
As vice president of the Regional Science Association of China (RSAC), Zhou told the Global Times that a lifetime of reading has profoundly shaped the way he sees and understands the world. It ultimately led him to a career in research and academia, where he teaches and pursues scholarly work.
Since earning his PhD in economics in 2000, he has devoted himself to the study of regional science and economics, a field that demands a constant crossing of disciplinary boundaries, drawing on the fields of geography, sociology, history, and ecology among others.
"Reading has kept alive my sense of curiosity and taught me to ask questions with patience and persistence: Where do disparities in regional development come from? How do policies affect different groups in society? And how can a region pursue both efficiency and equity so that development is not merely effective, but also imbued with a greater sense of humanity and warmth?" Zhou noted. 
Founded in 1991, RSAC is a national academic society dedicated to advancing domestic and international academic exchange and cooperation, providing consulting services on spatial planning, urbanization, and regional development, and offering intellectual support for China's modernization drive.
The 57-year-old researcher noted that reading has empowered him in two distinct ways.
"The first is discernment. When confronted with a complex issue, I try not to settle for a simple conclusion. Instead, I make an effort to understand its broader context, how it has unfolded, and the perspectives of the different people involved," he said. 
"The second is a sense of inner steadiness. Setbacks are an inevitable part of both life and work. Good books remind us that hardship is never ours alone to bear; countless people before us have faced circumstances more difficult than our own, made difficult choices, and found the strength to carry on. Reading cannot solve every problem for us, but it can help us remain calm when challenges arise, giving us the clarity and resilience that allow us not to panic or give up too easily," he said. 
Historical depth

Each time Zhou returns to the White Deer Tableland, he finds something different in its pages. 
"When I first read it as a young person, I was drawn primarily to the characters and the twists and turns of their lives. Later, as I began researching regional economics, I found myself paying closer attention to the changes in the land, the countryside, families and social order presented in the story. Now, approaching 60, I have come to appreciate more deeply the choices the characters make, the constraints they face, and the quiet perseverance they show amid the sweeping currents of their times," he said. 
White Deer Tableland uses Bai Lu village in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province as a microcosm, tracing the feuds and intertwined fortunes of three generations of the Bai (literally meaning white) and Lu families. Through their stories, it captures more than half a century of sweeping historical change, from the final years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to the 1970s and 1980s. The novel won the Mao Dun Literature Prize, one of China's top literature awards, in 1997.
Zhou prefers literary works with historical depth and a keen eye for social change. 
Regional economics may appear to be concerned with the spatial distribution of industries, population and resources, but at its heart, it is about how people live on a particular piece of land, and why some places flourish while others decline, he noted. 
In this sense, literature and history are more than pastimes beyond professional research. They often help him understand the historical context, cultural traditions and social mentality that lie behind economic data, he said. 
When reading novels, Zhou said that he often pays close attention to the relationship between people and the places they inhabit: How the land shapes the local character, how transportation transforms a region, and how shifts in industry reshape families and villages. Such details may not offer a direct conclusion, but they broaden a researcher's perspective. They also serve as a reminder that research should look beyond growth rates and statistical indicators to consider the sense of fulfillment experienced by ordinary people and the dignity of human beings.
Understanding ourselves
Once, while tidying his study, he came across a book filled with notes he had scribbled in his early years. Among them was a question that particularly caught his attention: "In the face of sweeping changes in the times and profound social transformation, what can a person truly determine for himself?"
Looking at those words he had written in his youth was like coming face to face with the person he had been decades ago.
Reading is not simply the act of understanding a book; it is also a record of a person's own growth, he said. The same book can reveal something entirely different when read at different stages of life. 
When we are young, we turn to books in search of answers; but when we become seasoned, we read more to understand life, to understand others, and ultimately, to better understand ourselves, Zhou said. 
In this era of fragmented information, AI can help people access information quickly, organize materials, and gain a basic understanding of unfamiliar fields. Yet deep reading, Zhou said, allows people to see how a conclusion is reached — what evidence supports it, where its boundaries lie, and what alternative interpretations it may invite.
What truly shapes a person, after all, is not how much information they have browsed, but the words that have made them pause and reflect - and the words that have remained with them for many years, he added. 
。与此同时，另外一件震惊世界的事情，也在中东发生了。

二 | 据观察者网报道，伊朗总统莱希乘坐的专用直升机，5月19日在该国东阿塞拜疆省“硬着陆”，如今已超12个小时，伊朗迈赫尔通讯社发布的最新消息称，总统和外长已在坠毁事件中遇难。事件发生后，以色列、俄罗斯、美国和土耳其都做出了反应。

三 | 那么，该怎么看这件事？我们聊三个话题。

从伊朗方面对外发布的信息来看，莱希是在前往该国东阿塞拜疆省，出席了一坐大坝的开工典礼后，在返回时遭遇大雾天气，而导致专机“硬着陆”的，说直白点，就是坠机了。地点位于伊朗西北部，与土耳其、阿塞拜疆和亚美尼亚相邻，距伊朗首都德黑兰600公里，是地形条件恶劣的高山地区，地面甚至没有公路能进去。

据称，与总统专机一起在开工典礼后离开的，还有另外两架直升机，但它们都已经回到目的地，只有总统专机失事。目前，伊朗方面正出动军队和专业的搜救队，前往失事地点。

四 | 虽然天气原因是导致坠机的一个很大因素，但其中也有不少疑点，包括下面五个。

一，大雾天气，总统出发前就没提前预判到？看到大雾还硬要闯，还是无法回头？二，作为一国总统的专机，在恶劣天气下竟然无法有效应对？三，另外两架应该是护卫机，为何在总统专机失事后，不就地迫降第一时间进行搜救，反而开回去了？四，周边在打仗，又是边境地区，山区密林只要被提前知道路线，极易被肩扛导弹埋伏；五，总统的随行人员一定有卫星电话吧？为何会联系不上？

这些疑惑，相信会被伊朗方面一一调查，但总统和外长同时遇难，真的是伊朗不可承受之重。

五 |

伊朗是俄罗斯在中东地区的重要盟友，莱希的专机失事后，俄总统普京第一时间听取了相关报告，并指示紧急情况部部长，向伊朗派遣一批救援人员，协助搜索莱希乘坐的直升机。

六 | 据称，俄派往伊朗协助执行搜救行动的队伍，包括47名专业人员、越野车和1架BO-105直升机。

七 | 此外，普京还第一时间召见了伊朗驻俄大使，请求向伊朗最高领袖哈梅内伊，转达俄方“愿提供一切搜救所需”的信息。

此外，因为出事地点邻近土耳其，应伊朗要求，土耳其已向伊朗提供了一架带有夜视系统的直升机和一架无人机，参与搜寻伊朗总统莱希乘坐的直升机的工作。之后，土耳其无人机发现疑似载有伊朗总统的直升机残骸的热源，并将坐标分享给了伊朗。土耳其总统埃尔多安表示，得知直升机事故，他感到难过，并期待有好消息。

正所谓患难见真情，对土耳其和俄罗斯来说，都不希望莱希“出事”，因为伊朗在中东事务中，承担着非常重要的角色，特别是在目前巴以冲突的背景下，伊朗的稳定对土耳其和俄罗斯来说，都非常重要。

那么，一个人们非常关注的事情是，莱希乘坐的到底是什么型号的直升机？伊朗对外发布的信息中，并没有直接公布型号，但从图片看，是一架美国制造的“贝尔212”直升机。俄卫星通讯社发布的该机技术参数是：发动机数量2个；最多载客量13人；最大起飞重量5.3吨；最大速度260公里/小时；最大飞行高度6100米；飞行距离980公里。

伊朗发布的最新消息显示，莱希的直升机坠机地点已找到，螺旋桨以及驾驶舱被烧毁，通过热成像，无法探测到温度，没有人员生还。对此，伊朗最高领导人哈梅内伊表示，“总统失事”不会影响伊朗的国家运转。

之所以这样说，一来是以色列正准备从地面进攻拉法，而伊朗是哈马斯的主要支持者之一，国际社会虽然反对，但根本拦不住以色列，伊朗对此恐怕不会坐视不管；二来，以色列与伊朗之间“相互打击本土”，已经过去一个月，国际社会刚刚将关注的目光从这件事上移开，这个时候，伊以之间或者美伊之间，会不会有什么新动作，外界确实也无法判断。

此前，无论美国还是以色列，都不止一次对伊朗搞暗杀，比如伊朗曾经的“三号人物”苏莱曼尼，就是被美国用无人机暗杀的；而伊朗“核武之父”法克里扎德，则是被以色列暗杀的，在这样的背景下，伊朗总统专机失事后，以色列和美国当然会首先被当成“怀疑对象”。

以色列对此也很清楚，在第一时间就向世界各国表明，此事自己与无关。美国也做出了回应，发言人称拜登已听取了相关简报，目前正密切关注，没有进一步评论。客观讲，美以目前没有“暗杀莱希和阿卜杜拉希扬”的必要，因为巴以冲突已经让美以不堪重负了，如果再“暗杀伊朗领导人”，德黑兰不仅会开战，还将获得国际社会的广泛支持。

当然，经过调查后，如果是意外，则只是整个伊朗的巨痛；如果有其他“外在因素”，则中东地区局势恐将出现大变，让我们拭目以待。