Chapter 4 The third section connects the Lingqu of Xiangli

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, canal projects in my country first emerged in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and between the Yellow River and the Huaihe River.In the Qin and Han Dynasties, the scope expanded, and canals were dug from Wuling in the south, Guanzhong in the west, and Youyan in the north.Lingqu is one of them. In ancient times, there was a large number of Yue people in southern my country. They were active in the vast lands of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Guangxi.During the Warring States period, Nanyue had a certain relationship with Chu State. When Wu Qi reformed in Chu State, he was about to merge Cangwu in southern Hunan, northern Guangdong, and northeast Guangxi into the territory of Chu State.After Qin destroyed Chu, it further developed to the south and entered the hinterland of South Vietnam.At that time, due to the barriers, the traffic was inconvenient, and the transportation of grain and fodder was difficult. Therefore, in the twenty-eighth year of Qin Shihuang (219 BC), he ordered Yu Shilu to dig the canal to solve the problem of the army's supplies.

There is a valley between Yuechengling and Dupangling in the Wuling Mountains. There are two natural rivers in the valley, one is the Haiyang River in the upper reaches of the Xiangjiang River, and the other is the Shi'an River in the Yuejiang River system.If a canal is dug between the two rivers, the Yangtze River and the Yuejiang River can be connected, and the problem of grain transportation for the Qin army can be solved.However, digging a canal here has both advantages and disadvantages in terms of engineering.The advantage is that the distance between Haiyang River and Sian Water is very close, and the closest point is only 1.5 kilometers.The disadvantage is that there is a small hill about 20-30 meters high and 300-500 meters wide between the Haiyang River and Shi'an River; and the slope of the entire valley is also relatively large.Supervisor Shi Lu and others decided to overcome difficulties and build the canal.After several years of hard work, the project was basically completed in the 33rd year of Qin Shihuang (214 BC).The earliest name of this canal has been difficult to check, and later people called it Qinzhuo Canal, Ling Canal, Ling Canal, Xing'an Canal and so on.

Lingqu consists of three parts: water diversion project, south canal and north canal.The water diversion project was built on the Haiyang River with relatively abundant water, and its specific location is Fenshui Village, two kilometers southeast of Xing'an County.This is not the closest place to Si'an Water, so we chose the location here because the river bed here is relatively high, which is roughly equivalent to that of Si'an Water.The water diversion project is in the shape of "┚", like a carpenter's curved ruler, with the tip facing the upper reaches of Haiyang River.Usually, it intercepts the ocean and river water, prevents the river from flowing into the original channel, divides it into two, seven into the North Canal, and three into the South Canal.This curved ruler-shaped water diversion project, later known as the herringbone embankment, is the predecessor of today's large and small balances.The big and small balances are rolling dams. When there is a flood, the water can overflow from the dam and flow into the old channel, so as to reduce the pressure on the balance itself and the south and north channels.Later, in front of the tops of the large and small balances, a share mouth was built to improve the water diversion function and protect the balance.According to research, Huazui was added in the Tang Dynasty.

The South Canal can be divided into upper and lower sections. The upper section runs from Xiaotianping to the northwest, to the north of Xing'an County, and connects to Shi'an River. It is about 4.5 kilometers long.This section is rock-drilled to form canals, all of which are artificially opened. Although the width is small, about 7-14 meters, the project is relatively arduous.The lower section goes westward along Shi'an Water and Lingshui, and is now near Rongjiang Town, connected to the Lijiang River. It is about 30 kilometers long. It is expanded on the basis of Shi'an Water and Lingshui, and its width is about 10-60 meters.The total length of the South Canal is more than 30 kilometers, with a drop of 29 meters. The slope of the river bed is very large. There are no auxiliary works on the canal, which is inconvenient for boats to get on and off.Later generations speculated that in order to facilitate navigation, original steep gates may have been built along the canal.Steep gates are now called ship locks, which are closed at ordinary times and opened sequentially as the boats advance, thereby reducing the difficulty of navigation.my country's official Doumen was formed in the Tang Dynasty at the latest, and some people believe that its prototype can be traced back to the time when Lingqu was built.Lingqu is the earliest locked canal in the world.

The North Canal is about 3.5 kilometers long from Datianping to the north, to the vicinity of Zhouzishang Village and back to the old Xiangjiang River.The area where the North Canal passes is a small plain between mountains. Although the ground here has few gullies, the slope is relatively steep. It adopts a straight line channel. Like the South Canal, the water flow is too fast and it is inconvenient for navigation.In order to reduce the gradient of this channel, builders use curved channels, which are shaped like snakes.The length of the canal is skillfully extended to achieve the purpose of reducing the slope and facilitating the passage of the boat.

The wisdom and wisdom of the builders are shining everywhere in Lingqu Project.Although Lingqu Canal is less than 40 kilometers long and is a small canal, its status is very important because it connects the two major water systems of the Yangtze River and the Guangdong River.Not only in the Qin Dynasty, but also in the next 2,000 years, it was the main communication channel between the inland and Lingnan, which was of great significance to promoting the economic and cultural exchanges between the two places and accelerating the development of Lingnan. Fan Chengda, a man of Song Dynasty, was deeply impressed by the ingenious structure of Lingqu and the convenience of shipping, and wrote a poem to praise it:

(Volume 15 of Shihu Jushi Poetry Collection) In 1936 and 1941, the Guangdong-Han Railway and the Hunan-Guangxi Railway were built successively, and Lingqu gave way to modern transportation.It was finally shut down in 1956 and turned into a farm irrigation and urban water supply project, and has become an important scenic spot in Guilin for people to watch.

---

Notes: