Grand Canal In Ancient China

resources need for to flow from south to north as the southern grain belt feeds the northern [19]. The reason for building the expensive cost Grand Canal was administered, due to dry weather, the plain was unusual unable to produce enough grain to support the bureaucracy centered in Beijing and the army, which has not only stationed in the capital but also spread over the northern border areas in ancient China. This endemic shortage of grain sometimes is exacerbated by famine caused by floods and drought. It was one of the main causes of these natural disasters was the nature of the alluvial loess, found distributed widely on the north plain [19]. As a supplement to domestic grain supplies in the capital, the continuous transport of grain taxes

Since then the canal fortunes have turned violently. In the 12th century, large areas around it were deliberately flooded to keep out invaders, making the waterway is useless, and in 1195 meandering Yellow River changed its course cutting the canal from one of the main arteries. But the Grand Canal was not yet dead in the water [17]. In 1934 ships locks were added, allowing by that large ships to use the canal, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, a large-scale of the restoration project was began to turn the canal into a major modern transport link. [18]

Currently, with ecological and economic costs of road transport and rail rising, the Grand Canal back to into its own. Its ancient course continues to be dredged and also straightened, while a scheme to improve the water quality has made its historic banks the home to some of the most expensive apartments in the country has achieved. [19]

It is an amazing huge project in the history of Chinese civilization. By using perhaps six million workers recruited, a thousand kilometers of new canal and canalized rivers was constructed. The technological achievement was a stunning. [17] The massive spending on the Grand Canal (and rebuilding the Great Wall of China and many other places) didn’t endear the Sui to its people, the dynasty collapsed in 619. This was wonderful news for the Tang Dynasty succeeding because it couldn’t be blamed for high costs, but benefited from the revenues of the new canal [18].

In the 18th century, transportation through the canal was still dangerous and difficult. The Grand Canal at Qingkou, where the Huai and the Yellow Rivers met, and it were extremely hazardous. In light of this, what made the Grand Canal the main long-distance trade route in the 18th century was not convenience (relative, for instance, to the coastal shipping). Perhaps we should draw our attention to other factors that have encouraged traders to transport their goods through the Canal. [17]