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Encyclopedia > Dujiangyan Irrigation System

Du Jiang Yan (Simplified Chinese: 都江堰; Traditional Chinese: 都江堰; pinyin: du jiang yàn) is an irrigation infastucture built in 256 BC during the Warring States Period of China by the Kingdom of Qin. It is even older than the Great Wall of China. It is located in the Mekong River (岷江, mǐn jiang) in Sichuan Province (四川省, sì chuan shěng) China near the capital Chengdu (成都, chéngdu). It is still in use today and still irrigates over 5,300 square kilometers of land in the region. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Traditional Chinese (Traditional Chinese: 正體字/繁體字, Simplified Chinese: 正体字/繁体字) refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Alternative meaning: Warring States Period (Japan) The Warring States Period (Traditional Chinese: 戰國時代; Simplified Chinese: 战国时代; Pinyin: Zhànguó Shídài) covers the period from sometime in the 5th century BC to the unification of China by the Qin in 221 BC. It is nominally considered to be the second part... Qin, Qín or Chin (Wade-Giles) can refer to. ... A section of the Great Wall near Beijing during winter The course of the Great Wall is shown in this map dated from 1805 The Great Wall (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: , literally long city wall) is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built between 5th century... View of the Mekong before the sunset The Mekong is one of the worlds major rivers. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ­4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Cheng-tu), located in southwest China, is the capital of the Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. ... Chengdus location within China   (Chinese: ; Pinyin: Chéngdu; Wade-Giles: Cheng-tu), located in southwest China, is the capital of the Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. ...

Contents

Before Construction

Devastating annual floods plagued the people living by the the Mekong. Qin official Li Bing (李冰,lǐ bing), who was the sent to Chengdu as an official, decided to do something about it. He investigated the river with some locals. He familiarized himself with the land forms and water flows, and found the source of the water. The waters melted from Mount Min at the beginnings of every summer, went into the Mekong and flooded the farms. Map of the Mekong River watershed. ... Qin, Qín or Chin (Wade-Giles) can refer to. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Cheng-tu), located in southwest China, is the capital of the Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. ... Map of the Mekong River watershed. ...

Du Jiang Yan
Du Jiang Yan

Download high resolution version (1400x900, 211 KB)I took this photo myself in June 2004. ... Download high resolution version (1400x900, 211 KB)I took this photo myself in June 2004. ...

Plan for a Dam

Li Bing decided to divide the river into two streams, allowing one stream to continue on its normal course, while the other stream would flow into the farmer's fields. But there was one big problem. The Yulei Mountains blocked the way to the Chengdu Plain. He had to break a path through a mountain. The rock was too hard to break. So he had men throw wood and grass on the rocks and set it on fire, then poured cold water over it. This made the hard rock crack so the men could remove it. This labor took 7 years and they finally made an opening through the mountains to the plains that is 20 meters (65 feet) wide. The peasants called it 宝瓶口, bǎo píng kǒu (Bottleneck). Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ... The Chengdu Plain is in China. ...


Problems Encountered

Li Bing split the river into two parts, but the part that was suppose to flow into the fields was higher than the other side, so very little water went there. He changed his plan a bit. He decided to build a man-made island levee to seperate to two parts to force more water to go into the Bottleneck. Using the some concepts of physics, he made the man-made island curved so the water would travel faster. Building a man-made island in the middle proved hard also. Li Bing tried to construct the base using pebbles and clay, but the water washed it away. He tried using huge boulders, but when the floods came, even the huge boulders were scattered. Li Bing was stuck with this problem. One day, as he was walking by a small stream, he saw women had put some bamboo cages with clothes in the steam, waiting to be washed. Even fast waters didn't move it. This gave him a brilliant idea. He had men construct huge bamboo cages, each several dozen meters long, and placed boulders inside them. He made hundreds of these, and dropped them in the middle of the river. In this way, nothing could move it. With a solid foundation, he constructed a large island and connected it waith a bridge from the Yulei Mountain. Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Dike (construction). ... Physics (Greek: (phúsis), nature and (phusiké), knowledge of nature) is the science concerned with the fundamental laws of the universe and their precise formulation in a mathematical framework. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ...

 Place where the two streams divide. Simplified Chinese:鱼嘴 (Fish Mouth).
Place where the two streams divide. Simplified Chinese:鱼嘴 (Fish Mouth).

Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ...

Results of Construction

With the dam finished, no more floods ever came. The irrigation made Sichuan the most productive agricultural place in China. Li Bing was loved so much that he became a god to the people there. On the east side of Du Jiang Yan, people built a shrine in rememberance of Li Bing. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ­4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ...


Du Jiang Yan Today

Today, Du Jiang Yan has become a major tourist attraction. It is also the admiration of scientists around the world, because it has one ingenious feature. Unlike contemporary dams where the water is blocked with a huge wall, Du Jiang Yan still lets water go thorugh naturally. Modern dams do not let fish go through very well, since it is a wall and and the water levels are different. In 2000, Du Jiang Yan became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. DAMS is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. ... DAMS is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. ... Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ...


See Also


  (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Cheng-tu), located in southwest China, is the capital of the Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ... Map of the Mekong River watershed. ... Alternative meaning: Warring States Period (Japan) The Warring States Period (Traditional Chinese: 戰國時代; Simplified Chinese: 战国时代; Pinyin: Zhànguó Shídài) covers the period from sometime in the 5th century BC to the unification of China by the Qin in 221 BC. It is nominally considered to be the second part...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ­4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... State of Qin (small seal script, 220 BC) Qin or Chin (Wade-Giles) (秦) (778 BC-207 BC) was a state during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of China. ...

External Links

  • Du Jiang Yan and Chengdu in the LA Times


  Results from FactBites:
 
Irrigated agriculture (2487 words)
Center pivot irrigation is a form of overhead irrigation consisting of several segments of pipe (usually galvanized steel or aluminum) joined together and supported by trusses, mounted on wheeled towers with sprinklers positioned along its length.
The system moves in a circular pattern and is fed with water from the pivot point at the center of the arc.
Irrigation Works of Ancient Sri Lanka were one of the most complex irrigation systems of the ancient world, the sinhalese managed to build major irrigation schemes to support the agriculture which thrived at the time.
Dujiangyan Irrigation System Summary (590 words)
The name Dujiangyan means "the dam on the capital's river." Construction of the project began in 256 BCE and was directed by the engineer Li Bing and his son Li Erlang.
The Dujiangyan Irrigation System (都江堰; pinyin: Dū Jiāng Yàn) is a historical Chinese irrigation system constructed around 250 BCE by governor of Shu, Li Bing (李冰) and his son, 56 km west of present day Chengdu, which it still supplies with water.
The system also includes a dike in the middle of the river to help reduce the amount of silt that flows into the aqueduct.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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