A Study On Wanjiang Dike Construction Projects From Qing Dynasty To ROC And Its Ecological Effects

Wanjiang refers to the main stream of Yangtze River flowing through Anhui Province with a distance of 416 km and an area of 66 thousand sq. Km,which stretches across the cities such as Anqing, Tongling, Wuhu, Maanshan and so on. It’s part of the Middle-lower Yangtze Plain and becomes the main production base of agriculture and industry in Anhui Province. Wanjiang dike construction projects are composed of Yangtze River dike, river branch and lake dike, dike paddy field and so on. If we take a panoramic view of the agriculture development history, the rise and decline of agriculture has a close relation with the water conservancy projects. So these dike construction projects, especially those main dikes and agricutural development become interdependent and mutually surviving in terms of resource and environment. Wanjiang dike construction projects are the inevitable hydraulic measures taken by Wanjiang people in developing agricutural production, so the rise and fall of dike construction correspond with the success and failure of agricultural development. Therefore, the past governments and people in Wanjiangh region have regardedt dike construction projects as their priority. From Qing Dynasty to ROC with the development of society and economy, Wanjiang dike construction projects achieved a lot which also was the miniature of the current dike.The formation and development of Wanjiang dike construction projects depend on the natural ecology and social conditions. Wanjiang region is located in the plain area along the Yangtze River characterized by dense river and lake systems interlaced with most dike paddy field, continent field and hilly field. It’s part of flood-mitigation storage projects along the Yangtze River. Due to the typical monsoon climate, rainfall concentrates on the end of spring and the beginning of summer and plum rains make Wanjiang region liable to be flooded. In addition to a large number of main and branch stream systems lakes dot around like stars in the sky, so Wanjiang region has its unique environment and abundant water resource. The typical geomorphic feature, plentiful water resource and fertile soil and vegetation, on the one hand, ensure the residents to possess abundant agricutural resource and breed Wanjiang civilization, but on the other hand, because of low terrain and catastrophic climate, during the flood season the overflow of rivers and lakes makes Wanjiang region vulnerable to be flooded. In order to protect agriculture and lives, dike construction projects have become the most ancient, fundamental and widely-used infrastructure of the flood prevention and mitigation.Wanjiang region along the Yangtze River is a low-lying terrain when the plum rainy season comes and the water overfows the dike paddy field tend to be at the risk of flowing backward. The dikes are on the hazard. So the construction of the dike along the Yangtze River is vital. During the period of Qing Dynasty to ROC owing to the intensity and frequency of flood disaster, the quickening of river sand silting-up and the increase of alluvion, many problems arise like dike degeneration, the narrowing of the space used forconstructing dike and so on. Wanjiang successive governments and people has taken dike construction as their priority, Tongma Dike gradually built in the late Qing Dynasty, Anqing Guangjiwei Dike also built at around that time, Wuwei Dike in Qing Dynasty becoming the rudiment of the current dike. Despite the inefficient govenment, corrupted officials and constant wars in ROC, residents along the Yangtze River achieved a lot in constructing the dike to ensure the agricultural production. After the construction and governance from Qing Dynasty to ROC, a line-like dike was formed along the Yangtze River including Tongma Dike,Guangjiwei Dike, Zongyang Dike, Wuwei Dike and so on.From Qing Dynasty to ROC, there were many Wanjiang dike hydraulic projects, which needed a lot of materials, labor force, funds and so on. Therefore, materials, labor and funds was prerequisite in constructing the dike. The materials were mainly muck and woods. To guarantee the quality, Wanjiang people had rules and regulations on the source and quality of the materials. Due to the diversity of materials and its application and exploitation, they exerted positive as well as negative impacts on the the environment and society in Wangjiang region.Wanjiang dike construction projects was divided into "official dike" "folk dike", the operatio forms were government funded ones, or run by local people and assisted by government, or constructed by civilians and supervised by officials, or run and funded by the civilians. The ways of labor recruitment and funds-raising are also diverse. Labor recruitment changed from building the dike to reaping the crops to employment and so on. In addition, benefits labor and obligatory labor became more and more popular during the ROC period. The ways of funds-raising were:Ⅰ.the direct investment of government including the direct grants from the central and local government; the hydraulic loans frcm the public; the various donation from the government; Ⅱ.the various hydraulic fund raising in the public. The measures mainly included "donations according to the mu" "donations according to the power" "donation from the household" "squire donation" and so on.The establishment and improvement of the hydraulic governing agencies were the important guarantee of Wanjiang dike construction projects, which in Qing Dynasty mainly included four stratas. The first one was governing agencies of central and provincial government including the supervisers designated by the imperial court; the second one was local government branches of separate city or prefecture or county; the third one was the special flood-prevention agencies alongside the Yangtze River; the fourth one was the non-governmental management organization. The ROC was a time of frequent regime change, social upheavals and inconsistent water administration, but the institutional setup of the water-board made much progress, featuring meticulously reasonable setup and clearly specified powers and responsibilities. Related to the development of water-board, the rules and regulations, including feudal official rules as well as local one vallid for villagers, concerning Wanjiang river dikes during Qing dynasty and ROC tended to be perfect and provided institutional guarantee for the dike construction. The epitaph relevant to rectifying the dike construction inscribed during Tongzhi Emperor period was the first written rules issued by local government in the history of Wuwei County river dike construction which was crucial to the region’s dike construction and repair. During the ROC influenced by western water conservancy culture, the construction and management all over China took on some new look and modern hydraulic legal construction began to get off the ground.Dike construction projects are the products interacting between humans and the nature. Dike construction and evolution has played an protective and promoting role in the development of local society and economy; in the meantime, it also affect the stability of local ecosystem, transform the drainage pattern and geomorphological structure of the rivers and lakes and even destroy the ecological environment of the water systems, accordingly bringing about the natural disasters. The factors of impacts exerted by Wanjiang dike construction projects on the drainage pattern are mainly concerned with the dredging projects, gated dam projects and Yangtze River dam projects. Wanjiang region is dotted with rivers and lakes with plentiful water systems and vast water area as well as exellent navigation. The natural ecosystem of the internal navigation passage is greatly affected by the water syste, but with the intensification of economic activities the human factors are gradually highlighting more influence. During the period of Qing Dynasty to ROC to ensure the smoothness of internal navigation passage Wanjiang people have transformed the drainage pattern through many water-conservancy projects whose apparent side effects have led to siltation of branch river, disorder of water system and ecological destruction.In addition, the so-many dike construction projects have helped people control the waters of the rivers and lakes, causing the changes of microclimate and water environment exerting a certain influence upon the local life diversity. Therefore, the animals and plants species alongside the Yangtze River have declined sharplys some of which endangered or extinct, and fish obviously suffered a great deal.Dike construction projects as a significant means of reshaping and utilizing the nature have caused a range of effects on social ecology. Wanjiang dike construction projects as the barrier of preventing floods, on the one hand, have protected the agriculture and people’s lives, and,on the other hand, promoted the development of cereal grains trade among Wanjiang region, reflecting the hydraulic interests for socail and economic development. Meanwhile, Wanjiang dike construction projects have had positive as well as negative influence upon agricultural production and rural living environment. For one thing, dike construction projects blocked the floods, secured the rural area and improved people’s living surroundings; for another, because of the drainage pattern transformation irrigation disputes among different interest groups arose. It was noteworthy that dike breach would cause larger floods and bring more destruction. The floods from the dike breach could sweep away houses, land, crops, food as well as death of people’s lives and livestocks. If a large quantity of people migrated, the labor force in rural areas would decrease sharply and agricultural production would dilapidate. Moreover, the dike breach would turn the flooded land into be desertified or waterlogged in addition to the deteriation of the soil and the decline of soil fertility. Inevitably, the dike breach would result in the land loss due to low cultivated land collapsing or sinking into the water alongside the rivers. What’s worse, the corrupt practices and stupid customs accompanying the dike construction projects could undermine the dike quality and work efficiency leaving serious hazards that gave rise to the accidents in local agricutural production and rural development..Today, based on the historical facts to investigate the interactive relationship between the Wanjiang dike construction projects and the ecology, we don’t intend to speculate the technical contents of ancient Wanjiang dike construction projects or show the great achievement. We don’t accuse Wangjiang ancestors of their destroying the environment caused by their activities, either. Instead, through the investigation of Wanjiang dike construction projects and the environment in Wanjiang region rom Qing Dynasty to ROC we try to provide some historical perspective and research mind for the sustainable development of current hydraulic projects and agriculture, and furthermore give inspiration to the current dike construction. So here are the three tips:Ⅰ. dike construction projects have witnessed the battle against the natural disasters and are the inevitable outcome of social and economic development; Ⅱ.dike construction projects are double edged swords, bringing the hydraulic interests while exerting negative impacts on the ecological environment: in.dike construction projects should be guided by scientific development concepts and insist on the harmony between man and the nature. We should resolve the current problems and eliminate the roots. When controling the flood we should store it simultaneously to maintain a sustainable development.