In fact, the Grand Canal is divided into Sui and Tang Grand Canal and Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. The former goes north and south, giving consideration to both east and west, right? Herringbone? Yes, the latter runs through the north and south, lying in the southeast, showing? A glyph? What caused the Grand Canal to straighten?
Above _ Yang Guang (569-6 18), namely Emperor Yang Di.
Past lives of the Grand Canal.
In March of the first year of Daye (605), Yang Di organized millions of civilian workers to dig the Yongji Canal connecting Huanghuai, which started the construction of the Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties. The entire canal is 2,700 kilometers long, with Luoyang as the center, starting from Zhuo Jun (now Beijing) in the north and Yuhang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang) in the south. It spans eight provinces and cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and connects five major water systems, namely the Yellow River, Haihe River, Huaihe River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River. It is the earliest and largest in the world.
The Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties runs through North China Plain, Huaihe Plain, Yangtze River Delta and Hangjiahu Plain. It was an important economic lifeline in Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties. Mainly transporting water and other commodities not only saves huge logistics costs, but also promotes the economic development of cities along the canal. At the same time, it will promote the integration of the northern minority culture and the Han culture in the Central Plains, and promote the formation, consolidation and growth of the big family of the Chinese nation.
In the 18th year of Zhiyuan (A.D. 128 1), Kublai Khan of Yuan Shizu ordered the partial restoration of the Sui and Tang Grand Canal, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal entered the historical stage. Although the starting point and the end point are the same, the total length is 1.797 km, passing through six provinces and cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Anhui and Jiangsu. The main water sources are Weishan Lake, Zhaoyang Lake, dushan lake and Nanyang Lake? Nansi Lake? Supplement. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is 903 kilometers shorter than the Sui and Tang Grand Canal. It is still an important shipping waterway, as well as the Great Wall and Karez? Three major projects in ancient China? .
Above _ Sui and Tang Grand Canal
The political center of gravity shifted, and the fate of the Sui and Tang Grand Canal was worrying.
The Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties benefited the Sui and Tang Dynasties and radiated world-class cities such as Chang 'an, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Hangzhou and Yangzhou, which laid the foundation for the prosperity of Kaiyuan in Tang Dynasty and the economic prosperity in Song Dynasty. It can be said that under the nourishment of the Sui and Tang Grand Canal, the long-term stability and ample food and clothing in the Tang and Song Dynasties were laid.
In 1272, after Kublai Khan of Yuan Shizu moved the capital, the Grand Canal of Sui and Tang Dynasties became obsolete. At that time, the political center was in Dadu, not the hinterland of the Central Plains in the Tang and Song Dynasties. With the eastward movement of the political center, there is an urgent need for money, food and goods transported in the south of the Yangtze River. Limited by the direction of the Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties, materials have to be repeatedly transported by land and water to reach their destinations, which leads to low transportation efficiency and increased logistics costs. Jiangnan region plays an increasingly important role in the national economic aggregate. The Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties is difficult to meet the requirements of social and economic exchanges, so it must be upgraded and straightened.
Above _ Sui Grand Canal (left) and Yuan Grand Canal (right)
The above _ Guo Shoujing (123 1 year-13 16 years) is thoughtful.
Three years after reunification (A.D. 1262), the famous scientist Guo Shoujing? Learning water conservancy, clever thinking? This caught Kublai Khan's attention. In the second year of Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 1265), Guo Shoujing was promoted to supervisor of Dushui sentry post and became a key member of water conservancy construction at that time. In the 12th year of Zhiyuan (AD 1275), Guo Shoujing was ordered to inspect the mountains and rivers in Hebei and Shandong. After investigation, he put forward a preliminary renovation plan for the Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties, and reported it to the court in the form of pictures and texts.
In the spring of the 29th year of Zhiyuan (1292), Guo Shoujing, as the water superintendent, began to preside over the canal water diversion project. In the past ten years, the project was built on the Qingjiang River in Jiangsu Province and divided into two banks. Excavation on the north bank of Qingjiang River? Luozhou River? And then what? Huitong River? The natural lakes along the river have added a huge amount of water, and ships can fly directly to Tianjin. At the same time, the northernmost end of the Grand Canal has been dug. Tonghui River? The canal runs from Tongzhou to Dadu Jishuitan, and the south bank of Qingjiang River passes through Hangou and Jiangnan Canal, reaching the destination of Hangzhou. As a result, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has begun to take shape. Zhu Shi, a famous minister in the middle of Qing Dynasty, praised Guo Shoujing? Chen Shuili's endless words have contributed a lot. .
Grand Canal and Water Transport in Yuan Dynasty
The Yellow River floods frequently, and the Sui and Tang Dynasties Grand Canal suffers constantly.
From the trend point of view, the Sui and Tang Grand Canal is divided into? A slap in the face? Two parts. One circle is the lower part of the canal. The canal starts from Yangzhou, extends to the northwest, obliquely passes through Anhui, enters the Huaihe River Basin, passes through Henan, connects with the Yellow River, and reaches Luoyang. Yisi is the upper reaches of the Canal. It turns from the Yellow River to the northeast, flows through Hebei, crosses the Haihe River and ends in Zhuo Jun.
Above _ The Sui and Tang Grand Canal, which meets the Yellow River.
Because of its connection with the Yellow River, it brought unstable factors to the Sui and Tang Grand Canal. The middle reaches of the Yellow River pass through the Loess Plateau, and the river is mixed with a lot of sediment. Fighting water and seven sands? Known as. According to statistics, the maximum annual sediment discharge of the Yellow River is 396,543.8+billion tons, and the average sediment discharge for many years is1.60 billion tons. The highest sediment concentration is 920kg /m, and the average annual sediment concentration is 37.8kg/m, so the Yellow River is the river with the highest sediment concentration in the world.
The Yellow River is surrounded by a large amount of sediment, which leads to the narrowing of the river course, the elevation of the river bed and the siltation of water conservancy facilities, forming a wonder of the above-ground river. When there is a flood, under the impact of a huge amount of water and sediment, the dams in the lower reaches of the Yellow River are prone to burst, which seriously threatens the lives and property of people on both sides of the strait. During the 543 years from 602 BC to 1938 and 2540, the Yellow River flooded 1590 times. The Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties was affected by the Yellow River flood, and most of the old roads in the lower part were buried underground. Only archaeological excavations can prove its existence.
Above _ Yellow River Basin Map
Geopolitical changes have made it difficult for the Sui and Tang Grand Canal to turn the tide.
After the reunification of the North and South, Emperor Wendi of the Sui Dynasty carried out many measures to strengthen centralization in the south of the Yangtze River, which caused the contradiction between local gentry and Guanlong nobles. In November, the tenth year of Emperor Yangdi (AD 590), the south of the Yangtze River fell into rebellion, exposing the internal cracks and instability of the Sui Dynasty.
In fact, Jiangnan is economically developed. Fu is out of the world, 19 miles south of the Yangtze River? As the capital, Guanzhong area is the political and military center of the whole country. Yang Di communicated with the north and south through the Sui and Tang Grand Canal, mobilized the money and grain in the southeast and supported the munitions consumption in the northwest. Both sides take what they need, reach a strategic balance and achieve harmony between the north and the south.
Above _ Map of Huaihe River Basin
With the eastward shift of the political center, new geopolitics came into being. Xin Qiji, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, once said frankly: A husband who defends the river and loses his Huai River can see the events of Wu, Chen and the Southern Tang Dynasty. ? It can be seen that the Huaihe River basin is important to the south of the Yangtze River. Gu Zuyu, a geographer in the Ming Dynasty, emphasized that the southern branch took the Jianghuai River as a risk, and those who kept the river were better than those who kept the Huaihe River. In other words, it is best to defend the Huaihe River militarily. He also proposed:? Huaidian is the lip of the country, and Jiangnan is the tooth of the country. ? Thus, the strategic relationship between Huaihe River and Jiangnan was established.
Therefore, it is undoubtedly a cost-effective investment to transform the east-west Sui and Tang Grand Canal into the north-south Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Efficient shipping can be used for military operations such as strategic maneuvering, personnel deployment and material replenishment, and it can also provide a military strategic barrier for the south, so that the political and military center in the north and the economic center in the south can be organically combined to form a unified whole.
Above _ Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in Ming and Qing Dynasties
No matter the Sui and Tang Grand Canal or the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, they are the economic arteries of the feudal dynasty to maintain vitality and vitality, creating unique and rich natural scenery and human resources. The straightening of the Grand Canal in Sui and Tang Dynasties met the needs of the political, economic and cultural development of the North and South, and played a positive role in promoting the progress of the times. If the Sui and Tang Dynasties Grand Canal is a bow arm, then the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is a bowstring. Together, they shot the arrow of the great prosperity of the Chinese nation.