Water Conservancy And Regional Society

The special physic-geographical environment makes Bailizhou area confronted with sharp conflict between people and water.Since Ming and Qing Dynasty,the constant immigration from Yangtze River basin to this area has brought new vigor into development of this area,in the meantime,it is worsening people-water conflict.In order to reduce the threat of flood disaster,people of Bailizhou have built water conservancy facilities in different forms,such as dam,protective embankment,flood gate,channel.And particular authorities are also established governing the building and usage of these water facilities.These authorities play role of national rights and interfere with water affairs directly or indirectly for the purpose of imposing tax and sustaining domination.They implemented water pilot projects under the guideline of gentry class monitoring water projects,which are important form of national supervising water affairs,whereas the clan organization of immigrants are the basic force of reclaiming and developing wetland and water projects.During the reclamation and development of wetlands,forced by periodic flood of Yangtze River,different clans formed coordination organizations for the purpose of preventing flood.This kind of organization mainly gathers all forces to build and maintain flood preventing facilities such as dams.People balance and allocate obligations of repairing and preventing water facilities by way of sacrificing gods of repressing floods.Among this long and stable coordinate relationship,they get certain area recognition based on water coordination,which makes the coordinate organizations function as primary level self-governance.Therefore,case analysis and empirical research can be made to investigate their various social relations inthe area of Bailizhou,to practice and improve relative theories of water society and water community.