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A performance celebrating the Festival of Water. by cfp |
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Dujiangyan (Dujiang Weir), an ancient water conservancy work, is the name later also adopted by the city where the weir was built, in southwestern SichuanProvince. The age-old project became famous for its structure and irrigation functions, which contribute greatly to the fertility of Sichuan soil.
The Dujiangyan Weir was constructed during the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.). In 316 B.C., after conquering the State of Shu in present day SichuanProvince, the forces of northern China’s State of Qin occupied the regions on the upper reaches of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River, and then pressed on towards the State of Chu, on the lower reaches of the Yangtze. The city of Chengdu was then one of the most important in Southwest China, and within its fortifications were stored a great quantity of military provisions and supplies. However, the MinjiangRiver, a tributary of the Yangtze, did not flow through Chengdu. To open a strategic riverine route from Chengdu to the Yangtze, upon the waters of which military supplies would be transported, Governor Li Bing of Shu in the State of Qin designed the Dujiangyan Weir, altering the course of the Minjiang to pass Chengdu.
In 256 B.C., construction of the weir was completed. In 223 B.C., the troops of the State of Qin pushed forward along the MinjiangRiver and down the Yangtze. The State of Chu was soon conquered. Two years later, the First Emperor of Qin put an end to the independent, disunited feudal states and founded the first centralized, autocratic feudal empire in the history of China.
By virtue of its ingenious design, besides its military application the weir has also played an important role in the development of agricultural production on the Chengdu Plain.
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A performance of Nuo Opera at the Festival of Water. by imaginechina |
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The Dujiangyan Weir is 56 kilometers west of Chengdu at the point where the MinjiangRiver surges downward from the MinshanMountain and the waters slow upon the flatland. A long and narrow dyke in the shape of a fish was designed and built .in the center of the MinjiangRiver, dividing the river into inner and outer flows. The inner river diverts water to the Chengdu Plain for irrigation and the outer river flows toward the Yangtze, serving for navigation and water conservancy. Before the inner river water reaches the Chengdu Plain, it becomes much clearer because of the functions of the Feishayan Spillway, which controls the volume and silt of the water of the inner river. Since the establishment of the Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Work, the system has greatly benefited the development of agriculture along the Plain. The irrigated area of the Dujiangyan Weir in 34 counties has reached 10.09 million mu (1 mu = 1/15 hectare), producing 6 billion kilograms of grain.
In ancient times, people believed that floods were the earthly wrath of an angry water god. To pray for good harvests, each year they held ceremonies along the banks of rivers to offer sacrifices to their gods. Since the Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Work averted the occurrence of floods, instead of offering sacrifices to gods people living within its irrigated area conceived of a ceremony to commemorate Li Bin, the designer of the system. Every April 5, grand ceremonies honoring Li Bin would be held on the banks of the inner river, after which the water was diverted to irrigation channels for spring farming.
In 978, the ceremony was officially designated the Festival of Water, and the important evernt was thereafter presided over by governors. On April 4, the governor set out from Chengdu to Dujiangyan, and en route he honored two emperors of the ancient State of Shu who did meritorious deeds in regulating rivers and watercourses.
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Dismantling the cofferdam in the inner river. by imaginechina |
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In the early morning of April 5, the Festival of Water began. Following a band and an honor guard, officials from different parts of the irrigated area offered sacrifices to Li Bin and revered the statues of the meritorious workers who built the weir. After the sacrificial ceremonies, officials went to the banks of the inner river. Upon order of the host, and with a deafening sound of gongs and drums, husky fellows dismantled the cofferdam, which was built of wood stakes and bamboo baskets filled with cobbles to retain water in the dry winter season, and the released water surged into the irrigation network. People would run along with the current, slap the water with bamboo poles and threw cobbles into the flow, hoping that the water would be controlled and provide good harvests. The elderly ladled the water to pray to the gods to ward off calamities and grant blessings.
The Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Work is the oldest such system in the world and it still functions perfectly. In 2000 it was listed as one of the World Cultural Heritages by UNESCO. The Festival of Water, an important traditional practice in western SichuanProvince, has entered the List of Chinese Intangible Heritages.
