Ming And Qing Dynasty Shandong Canal Regional Water Environmental Change And Its Impact On Agricultural Research

Shandong Canal is an impotrant part of the Beijing-IIangzhou Grand Canal. It had aprofound impact along socio-economic and cultural, created the rise of the commercial andindustrial towns of Jining，Linqing, Liaocheng and Zhangqiu, formed the network systemas the center of canal town，promoted the exchange and fusion of the Notrh-South cultural，and promoted the transformation of the social atmosphere to mercantilism and luxury. Interms of agricultural production and agro-ecological environment, Shandong canal hadboth the positive role and negative role. On the positive side, it led to the cause of regionalgovernance River, rcduccd the threat of floods on people; facilitated the transportation ofrelief supplies，improved the eiffciency of disaster relief; the willow cultivation along theriver and fountains protected the regional vegetation. However, the negative effects of thecanal is also reflected in all aspects, such as the destruction of the water system, thedelcrioralion of the ccological environment, the abandon of farmland water conscrvancy,and thus caused a profound impact on the agricultural society.This thesis studies the changcs of the regional water environment which was causedby the cxcavation of the Shandong Canal and its inlfuences on the society of the canal areafrom the view of Ecological Environmental History. Through the analysis of a largenumber of local rccords, files and other data the effect of the Shandong canal on the mainrivers and lakes in the canal zone was that the canal, s cross and other functions was thedircct cause of the regional water system disorder as well as flood disasters.Also therelations between the canal and other elements of the water environment, such asvegetation, soil, locusts is included. The physical material for river regulation projectscaused by floods put great pressure on the regional vegetation, in return, the vegetationdeifciency led to the decrease in the quality of Ihe projects by the way of damaging thevegetation. Therefore, Hoods became frequent; the vegetation deifciency, the sediment ofboth rivers and the Shandong Canal and the inefficiency of drainage should be responsiblefor the wide distribution of sandy land and saline-alkali land during this area; The complicated landform of an alternation of lakes and depressions as well as the hydrologicalconditions of an circulation of drought and lfood created the most suitable environmentwhere locust could be able to survive and reproduce, which made the western Shandong bea source of a plague of locusts.These changes of the regional water environment above had enormous impact on theregional society. The dredge of the Shandong Canal may beneift the farmland waterconservancy of some places, but its negative cffccts were more obvious and broad; Thedeterioration of the environment, the bad construction of water conservancy, especially thefrequent outbreak of vairous disasters led to starvations and the restriction of the wealthaccumulation of the people in the countryside, which promoted the formation of socialvalues such as enjoying the pleasures of the here and now, living in luxury. Besides’ thesechanges of the regional water environment put some effect on the structure of crop plantingduring the canal area.In a word, this thesis tries to restore the original relation between the Shandong Canaland the regional ecological environment as well as the agricultural society during theperiod of Ming and Qing Dynasties so as to correct the deviation of the historical roles ofthe canal. In addition, this thesis strives to be innovative in theory and research methodsand promote the development of the research On Ecological Environmental History fromthe perspective of Environmental History.