Research On The Yellow River Management During The Beijing Government Of The Republic Of China(1912-1928)

During the period of the Beijing government of the Republic of China,the original regulation of river regulation in the Qing Dynasty has been completely disintegrated,while the new regulation of river regulation has not been fully established.Therefore,this period has become a transitional period to explore the modernization of the Yellow River governance system.During this period,the disintegration trend of the old river regulation system,which continued from the Tongwaxiang breach and diversion during the Xianfeng Period of the Qing Dynasty,has not been reversed,and the Beijing government’s financial strength is weak,the political situation is turbulent,and the North-South military exchanges occur from time to time,resulting in the loss of maintenance of most sections of the Yellow River and frequent occurrence of disasters in large and small rivers.The Yellow River breach and blocking project almost ran through the whole Beijing government period.In the face of increasingly serious river disasters and collapse of the river regulation system,the Beijing government tried to explore the concept of modern river regulation,and also made an attempt to unify the river regulation system,but it did not go deep.Chinese and foreign water conservancy experts have also actively explored effective ways to harness the Yellow River,and China’s concept of harnessing the Yellow River has gradually absorbed foreign advanced experience.In addition,with the strengthening of exchanges between China and foreign countries,some advanced water conservancy technologies have also been applied to the Yellow River governance.Due to the weak power of the Beijing government in the Republic of China,the financial difficulties of the state,and the separation of local warlords,floods still occurred frequently in the lower reaches of the Yellow River.Among them,the shuangheling breach in Puyang,Zhili,the gongjiaba breach in Lijin,Shandong,and the lishengtun and huanghuasi breaches were relatively serious cases of floods in the Yellow River at that time.The causes of the three and the closure project reflected the characteristics and problems of flood control in the Yellow River during the period of the Beijing government.On the one hand,social forces at home and abroad have been widely absorbed into the Yellow River flood control process,and even occupy a dominant position,while the government has become a helper.For example,in the Lijin Gongjia dam mouth breaking project,the government was unable to block it alone.Finally,according to the introduction of the China foreign relief conference,the American Asian construction company contracted the mouth breaking project,while the government was responsible for the recruitment,material procurement and other corresponding assistance work;In addition,modern engineering machinery and river regulation technology have also been applied to the Yellow River flood control.For example,mechanical pile drivers were used in the Lijin gongjiaba closure project,and telegrams were used in the Puyang shuangheling closure project.On the other hand,the three yellow river burst cases also reflect the problems existing in the Yellow River governance during the Beijing government period.First,the Yellow River governance funds are insufficient,which makes it difficult to prevent and eliminate floods in time.Second,the Yellow River governance system is scattered,and the lack of coordination among various regions and departments makes it difficult to form a timely and effective unified command.Faced with the current situation of frequent flooding of the Yellow River at that time and various problems existing in the Yellow River governance,the Beijing government and water conservancy experts at home and abroad began to explore effective methods for the Yellow River governance.In terms of river regulation system,Beijing government and Zhili,Shandong and Henan provinces in the lower reaches of the Yellow River started to try to unify the Yellow River regulation system.The Beijing government promulgated the establishment of the National Water Conservancy Bureau and the regulations on unifying the official system of the river Affairs Bureau.The three provinces of Zhili,Shandong and Henan in the lower reaches of the Yellow River were reorganized according to the regulations of the Beijing government.Although the reform of the Beijing government only focused on the reform of the official system and did not completely unify the Yellow River governance system at the national level,it was still a good start.In addition to reforming the official system,the Ministry of internal affairs of the Beijing government set up a national river Affairs Research Association to explore ways to solve the problem of Yellow River governance,and convened the National Central and local river affairs executives to hold a national river affairs conference to discuss and propose proposals on the problems existing in the river affairs work at that time.Among them,the Yellow River governance was one of the important topics,and the proposals proposed by the members mainly focused on the establishment of river defense undertakings Standardizing or unifying the river management system and cultivating river management talents.At the same time,the exchange of Chinese and Western ideas on harnessing the Yellow River is also deepening.The returned water conservancy professionals,such as Shenyi and liyizhi,have systematically learned western water conservancy technology and combined it with the practice of Yellow River Control in China,forming the concept of combining China and the West.Western experts in water conservancy,such as Engels and felimen,have put forward their ideas of harnessing the Yellow River through hydraulic experiments and field visits,and have influenced the practice and thought of harnessing the Yellow River in China.With the deepening of exchanges between China and the west,modern science and technology and ideas have been continuously introduced into China,which has had a profound impact on the hydrological survey and flood transmission of the Yellow River.On the basis of inheriting the tradition,the flood transmission and hydrological survey have been continuously developed and improved.Rainfall stations,flow stations and other measuring facilities are gradually popularized in the Yellow River Basin,making the hydrological monitoring of the Yellow River more accurate.Modern communication technologies such as Telegraph and telephone have also changed the transmission mode of the flood situation of the Yellow River,which is more timely and accurate.