Research On Evolutions Of Lakes Along Shandong Canal And Relevant Historical And Geographical Issues In Ming And Qing Dynasty

There used to be dispersed with a series of lakes along Shandong Canal in Mingand Qing Dynasty. Revolving around Jining City, they are classified into NorthFive Lakes (Anshan Lake, Nanwang Lake, Mata Lake, Shushan Lake and Machang Lake)and South Four Lakes (Weishan Lake, Zhaoyang Lake, Dushan Lake and Nanyang Lake).Ming and Qing Dynasty are considered as a vital period for the formation anddevelopment of North Five Lakes and South Four Lakes: on one hand, their evolutionsbrought a great influence on the Grand Canal and local social economy in Ming andQing Dynasty; on the other hand, human beings’ exploitations on these lakes alsoaffected their development.Due to the water shortage in Shandong Canal, one of the measures taken in Mingand Qing Dynasty was to set lakes along the Canal as “Water Tank” for regulatingits water amount. To guarantee the running of water transportation, governmentsin Ming and Qing Dynasty attached great importance to the administration andmaintenance of “Water Tank” through regular engineering maintenance and relatedlegislative establishment, which proved to be effective in a certain period.However,“Water Tank” led to the immediate conflicts between governments forits maintenance and peasants for reclamation and enclosure around lakes, whichwere extremely intense in North Five Lakes region. Eventually, with the declineof water transportation in Qing Dynasty, these conflicts aroused by respectiveinterests ended up with the triumph of civilians’ reclamation and enclosure aroundlakes. Peasants attained land while North Five Lakes vanished in the history.On the contrary, the fate of South Four Lakes made a great difference. On accountof their low-lying positions and Yellow River flood as well as some waterconservative projects constructed in Ming and Qing Dynasty, South FourLakes(particularly Weishan Lake)expanded constantly in areas, and consequentlyflooding and drought took place frequently in counties around the lakes,particularly in Jining City, Yutai County, Tanxian County and Peixian County. Livesand possessions of dwellers around these lakes were greatly threatened along withthe running of water transportation and the social stability. Ming and Qinggovernments made great efforts to relieve these natural calamities. South FourLakes region was distinguished from other regions in calamity relief, resultingfrom their peculiar geography. Besides, flood and drought resulted in immigration,and the Weishanhu Lake Regiment Case in Late Qing Dynasty is typical of immigrantconflicts.