Canal Is Formed When Water Comes: Qing Archival and Cartographical Materials on River Engineering in the National Palace Museum |
Introduction China has been an agriculture-based country since ancient times. The stable development of agricultural economy is the foundation of social stability and the livelihood of the masses, as well as the basis for imperial regime and its financial income. It is in this connection that the imperial governments over the ages had pooled a large number of experts and a tremendous amount of resources into the enterprises of river regulation and water conservancy, expecting to stabilize agricultural production and national economy, so as to maintain social order and stability. After occupying the central plains, the Manchus extended the economic tradition of agriculture-based economy of previous dynasties. As it continued to absorb the flood control experiences of its predecessors, the Qing government was able to develop more mature knowledge of flood control, as well as innovated and improved techniques in disaster prevention and river engineering. River engineering is a general term for government-initiated projects in regulating river courses, such as the construction of dams, the excavation of irrigation channels, the reinforcement of dikes, and river dredging. The infrastructures to be constructed would include dams, dikes, fascines, gates, culverts, slopes, and life-saving piles. As for maintenance, the infrastructures would undergo minor repair every three years, medium repair every five years, and major repair every ten years. Routine maintenance was implemented on an annual basis as well. Moreover, urgent repair would be made in case of emergency. The National Palace Museum is home to a rich collection of Qing cartographical and archival materials generated for purposes of river engineering. Apart from such written records on the regulation of the Yellow River, the Huai River and the Canal, as well as those addressing the dredging of the Hongze Lake and the construction of the Qiantang River, the collection features many fine engineering drawings specifically made by local governors to accompany their reports to the emperors on the process of river engineering. Intended in the past for the exclusive review by the emperors, these materials are now showcased in the present exhibition to allow the audiences an opportunity to get to know the important achievements of the Qing dynasty in river regulating and engineering. The presentation is made up of three sections: "Famous Rivers and Lakes," "Measures in River Regulation," and "Famous Governors in River Regulation." The first section focuses on the locales of waterways, and on view are the maps of the courses of the Yellow River, the Huai River, and the Canal, as well as the Hongze Lake, the junction between the Yellow and the Huai Rivers where regulating measures were implemented during the Qing dynasty, and the Qiantang River in the province of Zhejiang, so as to present an overview of the landforms of famous rivers and lakes of the Qing. The second section focuses on events, and several instances of river regulation of the Qing dynasty were highlighted to illustrate the regulating strategies brought up by Qing emperors and officials when facing river floods. The third section focuses on individuals, introducing famous governors who successfully implemented river regulation measures in the Qing Dynasty, so that the visitors may recognize their contributions to river engineering and their efforts in advancing flood control techniques. Famous Rivers and Lakes It is noted in the "Counsels of Yu the Great" section of the Shangshu (Book of Documents) that "the earth has been reduced to order, and the influences of heaven are producing their complete effect," suggesting that Yu's success in river regulation made it possible for all living things on earth to grow and prosper. The description had since then been taken as a reminder of emperors of succeeding dynasties to exert every effort to prevent floods, in order to establish a strong country where their people can enjoy a wealthy life. River courses are the water supply networks required by agricultural irrigation. However, the periodic river surge is a menace to agriculture. Such important rivers as the Yellow River, the Huai River, the Yongding River, the Hongze Lake, and the Qiantang River, significantly affect national economy and people' livelihood, and were the foci of river engineering in the Qing dynasty. On view in this section are maps of waterways and official gazetteers on river and water conservancy of the Qing dynasty, guiding the audiences to understand the close relations between river engineering and the destiny of the regime.
Measures in River Regulation The success or failure of a plan is subject to the efforts exerted. The emperors of the Qing dynasty were in the belief that finding the governors capable of controlling floods was more important than developing measures. To fulfill the objective of river regulation, they ordered river administrators and local governors to draw river maps for imperial review. They also read books on flood control, and even conducted on-site inspections to supervise river engineering. Moreover, they proposed specific river regulation measures, such as how to construct dams, how to remove silt, and where to excavate the irrigation channels. This section highlights the instances of several engineering sites, the Yongding River (also known as the "Small Yellow River"), the Hongze Lake at the junction of the Yellow River, the Huai River, and the Canal, as well as the Yifeng area in the mid-stream of the Yellow River in the province of Henan, and the Qiantang River, known for its ever-changing tides. It is hoped that the presentation will help the audiences better understand the specific and concrete river regulation measures brought up by Qing emperors and governors, and that they will discover the correlation between construction engineering and changes in landforms.
There were many talented river administrators who made substantial contributions in the Qing dynasty. They devoted their lives to river engineering, and accumulated abundant experiences in flood control. They never hesitated to express their personal opinions on river regulation in their written memorials to the throne, reports, and books, which also reflected the advances in river regulation techniques and flood control measures in the Qing dynasty. Among the more famous river administrators are Jin Fu, Chen Huang, and Zhang Peng-ho of the Kangxi reign, Qi Su-le and Ji Zeng-yun of the Yongzheng reign, Gao Bin, Ji Huang, and Kang Jitian of the Qianlong reign, as well as Lin Ze-xu and Lin Qing of the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns. Aside from those of Han Chinese ethnicity, many of these governors were Manchus and Mongols, revealing that concerted and collective efforts, regardless of one’s ethnicity or place of origin, were essential when it came to stabilizing and improving people’s livelihood and national economy.
Text and images are provided by National Palace Museum
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