Ximen Bao (西門豹) was an ancient Chinese government minister and court advisor to Marquis Wen of Wei (文侯) (445 BC-396 BC) during the Warring States (481 BC-221 BC) period of China. He was known as an early rationalist, who had the State of Wei abolish by law the inhumane practice of sacrificing people to river deities.^[1] Although the earlier statesman Sunshu Ao is credited as China's first hydraulic engineer (damming a river to create a large irrigation reservoir), Ximen Bao is nonetheless credited as the first engineer in China to create a large canal irrigation system. Middle Chinese (中古漢語, pinyin: zhōnggǔ Hànyǔ), or Ancient Chinese as used by linguist Bernhard Karlgren, refers to the Chinese language spoken during Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties (6th century - 10th century). ... Marquis Wen of Wei (魏文侯)(r. ... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC - 440s BC - 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC Years: 450 BC 449 BC 448 BC 447 BC 446 BC - 445 BC - 444 BC 443 BC... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC - 390s BC - 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC Years: 401 BC 400 BC 399 BC 398 BC 397 BC - 396 BC - 395 BC 394 BC... 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) takes place from sometime in the 5th century BC to the unification of China by Qin in 221 BC. It is nominally... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 530s BC 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC Years: 486 BC 485 BC 484 BC 483 BC 482 BC _ 481 BC _ 480 BC... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC - 220s BC - 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC Years: 226 BC 225 BC 224 BC 223 BC 222 BC - 221 BC - 220 BC 219 BC... This article is not about continental rationalism. ... The following details the state of Wei of the Warring States Period. ... Sunshu Ao (孫叔敖) was an ancient Chinese court minister serving the administration of Duke Zhuang of Chu during the reign of King Ding of Zhou (606 BC-586 BC), during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. ... Hydraulics is a branch of science and engineering concerned with the use of liquids to perform mechanical tasks. ... High-altitude aerial view of irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara ( ) Irrigation is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops or plants. ... ... The Canal du Midi, Toulouse, France Canals are man-made channels for water. ...

Hydraulic engineering

Ximen Bao became well known in his lifetime and posthumously for his grandiose works in hydraulic engineering during the 5th century BC. He organized a massive diversion of the Zhang River (漳河), which had formerly flowed into the Huang He River at Anyang. The new course that the river took under his diversion project brought the river to meet the Huang He further down its course at a bend near modern-day Tianjin.^[1] The Zhang River rises in the mountains of Shanxi province, flowing southeastwards, and at the time added to the burden of overflow for the Huang He. Ultimately though, the purpose of this enormous project of engineering was to irrigate a large agricultural region of Henei (in the left lower Huang He basin) by providing it with a natural contour canal.^[1][2] Hydraulic engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water. ... For other Yellow Rivers, see Yellow River (disambiguation). ... Anyang (Simplified Chinese: 安阳, Traditional Chinese: 安陽; pinyin: Ä€nyáng) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, Peoples Republic of China. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: TiānjÄ«n; Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is one of the four municipalities of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Shanxi (Chinese: 山西; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Shansi) is a province in the northern part of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Work on the canal system began sometime between 403 BC and 387 BC, when Marquis Wen and his successor Marquis Wu reigned over the State of Wei. Due to several setbacks (including some temporary local resistance to corvee labor service) it was not fully completed until a century later, during the time of Wen's grandson, King Xiang (襄王) (319 BC-296 BC).^[1] It was during this time that the Wei engineer Shi Chi completed the work of Ximen Bao.^[1] Corvée, or corvée labor, is a term used in feudal societies. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 324 BC 323 BC 322 BC 321 BC 320 BC 319 BC 318 BC 317 BC 316... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 301 BC 300 BC 299 BC 298 BC 297 BC 296 BC 295 BC 294 BC 293...

In honor of the Zhang River diversion project, the local populace made a popular song about it, as recorded in the historical work of the later Han Dynasty historian Ban Gu.^[1] Later Han redirects here. ... Ban Gu (Chinese: ; Wade-Giles: Pan Ku, 32-92), was a 1st century Chinese historian. ...

See also

• Li Kui (legalism)
• Hydraulics
• Dykes
• Dams
• Canals

Li Kui was the once an officer in the state of Wei. ... Table of Hydraulics and Hydrostatics, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... Dyke (normal International spelling) or Dike (normal American spelling) can mean several things: A dyke / dike is a long wall built to keep out the sea or enclose land. ... DAMS is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. ... Categories: Water-transport stubs | Canals | Water transport ...

Notes

References

• Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 3. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.

External links

• Ximen Bao at Chinaculture.org