On Thought Changes Of The Huai River Regulation In Modern Times

Huai River Basin is located in the hinterland of China,with a basin perimeter of 270 thousand square kilometers covering 5 provinces of Henan,Hubei,Anhui,Shandong and Jiangsu.Within the basin are two major river systems:Huai River System and Yishusi River System,taking abandoned the Yellow River as the boundary.The Huai River is the mainstream of Huai River System,while Yishusi River System is located on the north of Huai River System.The Huai River was once a single river flowing into the sea.The Huai River,the Yangtze River,the Yellow River and the Ji river were called as "Four Single Rivers Flowing into the Sea".In 1198,the 5th year of Shao Xi emperor's reign in the Southern Song Dynasty,the Yellow River burst at today's Yuanyang(Henan),flowing southward and carrying along large quantities of mud and sands into the the Huai River.Over the 600 years of erosion by the Yellow River,natural and humanistic environment within the Huai River Basin had undergone devastating changes,with continual occurrence of floods,making people along the basin suffer a lot.In 1855,the 5th year of Xianfeng emperor's reign in the Qing Dynasty,the Yellow River burst at Tong Waxiang of Lanyi(today's Lankao),Henan,flowing northward into Bohai Sea at Oyster mouth of Lij in,Shandong,which finally ended Huaihe's erosion by the Yellow River.In modern times,the Huai River means that after 1855.Although the Yellow River has flowed northward,but frequent occurrence of floods still remained as a prominent issue within Huai River Basin.To solve this problem,far-sighted personages in modern times contributed ideas and exerted efforts for solution to this problem.In the late Qing Dynasty,Huaiyang gentries,with Ding Xian as their representative,put forward the Huai River regulation of "Recover the Huai River",and this theory gained support from some local high-ranking officials such as Zeng Guofan and Zuo Zongtang.Afterwards,Zhang Jian inherited and developed this theory,in addition,he also realized the importance of measured data and began to conduct field survey along the Huai River.During the Republic of China era,thought of the Huai River regulation reached its peak of development.In this period,theory of "Recover the Huai River" gradually stepped down from the historical stage,instead,"Shunt the Huai River" became a new main trend of the Huai River regulation.Chinese and foreign institutions and individuals,such as Zhang Jian,John Ripley Freeman,Engineering Group of American Red Cross and National Bureau of Water Resources came up with nearly 10 plans of shunting the Huai River,with the emergence of thoughts of "All the Huai Water Flowing into the Yangtze River","All the Huai Water Flowing into the Yellow Sea" and "Separation of Huai Water between the Yangtze River and the Yellow Sea".Besides,they also proposed ideas of "Block up and Let out","Treatment of both Manifestation and Root Cause","Disarmament for Shunting the Huai River","Drain Lake for Farmland" and so on.By absorbing past experience,thoughts and data of the Huai River regulation,the Nanjing national government established Huaihe Shunting Committee and compiled Huaihe Shunting Project Plan.This plan inherited the idea of separation of Huai water between the Yangtze River and the Yellow Sea,and further presented thoughts concerning flood control and waterlogged elimination such as "Flood Storage" and "Curve Cut-off",and began to focus on comprehensive regulation within the whole Huai River Basin.After the People's Republic of China came into being,floods still remained as an unsolved problem in Huai River Basin.The party and the government attached great importance to the work of the Huai River regulation,inheriting and developing ideas of blocking up and letting out,treatment of both manifestation and root cause and separation of Huai water between the Yangtze River and the Yellow Sea.With the progress of the Huai River regulation and its project,key point of the Huai River regulation has also transformed from initial flood control and waterlogged elimination to present more systematic and overall regulation.In the late Qing Dynasty,all practice of "Recover the Huai River" almost failed,which was caused by limitations of the theory itself and limitations of political and social environment.And for some thoughts relating to the Huai River regulation during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era,they served as a connecting link between the preceding and the following development of the Huai River regulation thoughts in modern times.After the People's Republic of China came into being and through more than 60 years of regulation,the situation of "small rain,small disaster;heavy rain,heavy disaster"has been improved to some extent,promoting the development of agriculture and inland navigation.However,there are still many deficiencies in regulation work,issues such as water pollution,water loss and soil erosion and "hanging lake" of Hung-tse Lake still remain unsolved and wait for further research and solution.