It is a symbol of the development of the integration of Jiangnan and the Central Plains, with the simple seven words "Jiangnan | Culture | Zuo Zhuan" in "Zuo Zhuan"

Water is the foundation of life and the source of civilization. A corner of Jiangnan has been inextricably connected to water since the Liangzhu period. In water conservancy development, wasteland is cultivated, depressions become fertile fields, economic exchanges between the north and south, and cultural integration between the east and the west.

Liangzhu Dam——

More than 5000 years ago, the ancestors of the Jiangnan region settled in search of water and grass, and engaged in unremitting struggles against floods. The peripheral water conservancy system of Liangzhu Ancient City is located in the northwest direction of the ancient city and is the earliest large-scale water conservancy system discovered in China so far.

The peripheral water conservancy system of Liangzhu Ancient City has an impact area of about 100 square kilometers, consisting of 11 artificial dams such as Gukou High Dam, Plain Low Dam, and Shanqian Long Embankment, as well as natural mountains and spillway. It can retain 13 square kilometers of water surface and has a total storage capacity of about 46 million cubic meters, which is 1.5 times and 4 times that of West Lake in Hangzhou. It has various functions such as flood control, irrigation, and transportation.

In order to choose the best location for building a dam, the ancestors of Liangzhu carefully selected the watershed located at the southeast of the Dongtiaoxi River basin, connecting Daxiong Mountain, Daguan Mountain, and the northern Dazhe Mountain. The terrain here is relatively high, which can effectively avoid the threat of floods during the rainy season, and has the conditions to build dams to block and store water in a 52 square kilometer stagnant basin.

During the process of dam construction, the technological inventions of our ancestors fully displayed their charm. For example, using crushed stones to cushion the bottom, using locally grown reeds and bamboo strips to wrap them in "grass wrapped mud", and stacking them in staggered seams according to local conditions. Subsequent measurements show that its compressive strength is 2.8 times that of silt.

The four groups of dams constitute the main body of water conservancy projects outside the ancient city, which also have functions such as flood control, transportation, defense, and irrigation. Based on the characteristics of Dazhe Mountain, the ancestors fully utilized the natural terrain of the mountain and built high and low dams in the front of the mountain, forming different water spaces. This not only weakened the direct threat of mountain floods, but also introduced water into the city and farmland through the Tudun water outlet, meeting the water needs for production and daily life.

The vast water conservancy system of this project is a witness to the early water management civilization of humanity, and also shows the world a major source and cradle of Chinese civilization.

The smooth flow of the Songjiang River——

The Taihu Lake Lake is sparkling and vast; The Song River flows smoothly, accompanied by civilization. The Wusong River today is a canal that was excavated 4000 years ago. It is said to be the legacy of 13 years of water management by Emperor Yu, who focused on dredging and combined dredging and blocking.

In the "Yu Gong", there is a record of the Great Yu's flood control, which states that "the three rivers have already entered, and the bottom of the Zhenze River is stable.". "Zhenze" is the ancient name of the Taihu Lake Lake. "Earthquake" refers to the East. "There is water below, which is called" Ze ". It is also called" Runze ". It is the three waterways dug for the flood discharge and transportation of the Taihu Lake Lake. Some say it is Dongjiang, Loujiang, and Wusong River, while others say it is Wusong River, Qiantang River, and Yangtze River.

Although there are different interpretations of the "Three Rivers", the Wusong River is all among them. In 1569, Hai Rui wrote the Imperial Court's "Opening the Wusong River", stating that "the water conservancy of the three Wus should be dredged to the sea. From the ancient times, Loujiang River and Dongjiang River are the paths to the sea, but Wusong River discharges the water of the Taihu Lake Lake".

More importantly, famous cities in Jiangnan have emerged along the banks of the Wusong River, playing the prosperous music of Jiangnan. Among them, the most well-known one is undoubtedly Gusu.

The mountain pond between the Changmen Gate of Gusu City and Huqiu is 7 miles long. On both sides of the river, the street market is prosperous, with houses, guilds, temples, other industries, and ancestral tombs scattered among them. At the end is the famous scenic spot of Huqiu in Jiangnan.

At today's Suzhou Railway Station, there is a sculpture of the "Eight Sages of Suzhou" carved. The first monarch of Wu, Taibo, was praised by later generations as the ancestor of Eastern Wu culture. The ancients called Taibo "three times giving up the virtuous", giving up the 800 year history of the Zhou royal family, and even "giving up" the beautiful Jiangnan.

After Taibo fled to Wu, he established the state of Wu in Meicun, Wuxi. In order to assist the people of Wu in irrigation, flood discharge, and transportation, he actively developed water conservancy and excavated the first artificial river in Wu, with a total length of 43 kilometers. He also opened 9 tributaries from Bodu to flow in all directions, such as Meijing, Xiangjing, Longjing, etc.

Communicate with Jianghuai region——

In Gaochun, Nanjing, a statue of Wu Zixu stands in a square, telling people the story of digging the Xu River.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu Zixu assisted King Helu of Wu to vigorously develop production and build water conservancy. He not only encouraged land reclamation in hilly areas and dug paddy fields in marshes, but also built the Xuxi Canal connecting the southwest of the Taihu Lake Lake with the Qingyi River and the Shuiyang River. It was used for irrigation, transportation and water transport in peacetime, and for transporting soldiers, food and grass in wartime.

Xuhe River, also known as Xuxi River, Xujiang River and Xuxi Canal, is located in the west of the Taihu Lake Lake. It is a canal built in 506 BC from Suzhou to Nanjing. In that year, 60000 troops of the State of Wu crossed the the Taihu Lake Lake, along the Xu River, and into the Yangtze River. Suddenly, they appeared in front of the Chu army and won five battles and five victories.

After conquering the capital of Chu, Wu Zixu was once again ordered to cross the Yangtze River and dig a waterway called Hangou, which connected the Yangtze River and Huai River, forming a water transportation network deep into the central plains.

The Zuo Zhuan records that "Wu Zhuhan communicated with the Jianghuai region." These simple seven characters are a pinnacle of the rise and leap of Chinese civilization, and also a symbol of the development of the great integration of Jiangnan and the Central Plains.

During the Five Dynasties period, various regions in Jiangnan began to further promote water conservancy, dredge waterways, set up gates and weirs, and build river embankments and seawalls, creating favorable conditions for stable and high-yield agriculture. By the Northern Song Dynasty, the proverb "Su Changshu, the world is full" gradually spread.

Qinhuai River Rhyme——

Rivers are the cradle of human civilization, and most world-renowned cities are built along rivers and live by the water. Nanjing is a typical mountain and water city, surrounded by dragons and tigers.

Nanjing is located in the central part of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with continuous flowing river water passing through the city. It not only nurtures the profound Qinhuai culture, but also carries a romantic and magnificent humanistic sentiment. The Qinhuai River surrounds the city both inside and outside, with lakes of all sizes scattered around, including Xuanwu Lake, Mochou Lake, Zixia Lake, Ginkgo Lake, Baijia Lake, Huashen Lake, Jinniu Lake, Wulong Lake, and Pearl Spring. There are also many flowing and continuous ditches, channels, ponds, ponds, beaches, and islands, embedded like pearls in every corner of the city.

"Ling" in Jinling is an ancient Chu dialect, meaning a highland by the water. About 2400 years ago, King Wei of Chu established a town on Shitou Mountain, a crucial location along the Yangtze River and the Huai River. The song "Jiangnan is a beautiful place, Jinling Emperor's Prefecture, winding with green water, holding up the Zhu Tower from afar" embodies the cultural beauty, humanistic sentiment, and urban spirit of "a Nanjing city, half of the Qinhuai River".

The life prototypes of many plots, characters, and landscapes in the literary classic Dream of the Red Chamber can be found by the Qinhuai River. The beautiful scenery that once existed, such as "Taodu Linliu", "Changqiao Yanshang", "Wuyi Evening Rain", "Changgan Hometown", "Xingcun Gujiu", and "Fengtai Sanshan", resonates with the saying "wild grass and flowers by the Zhuque Bridge, and the sunset at the entrance of Wuyi Lane".

In the afterglow of being born and recited here, Nanjing was regarded as the "starting point of life" and the "source of all memories", and the beautiful line was recited: "Where there is water, there are people homesick; where there is shore, Chu songs rise everywhere, and you are in the wind, songs, and water.".

Clear wave pulse——

In 605 AD, Emperor Yang of Sui took the eastern capital of Luoyang as the center, excavated the Tongji Canal and Yongji Canal, and renovated the Han Canal and the Jiangnan Canal, further strengthening north-south exchanges.

The Sui Tang Grand Canal spans more than ten latitudes, runs through the fertile North China Plain and southeast coastal areas, and spans eight provinces and cities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang. It is the main artery of north-south transportation and a great project created by the ancient working people.

Hangou opened the prelude to the history of the Grand Canal. The earliest canal in the world was originally located in Yangzhou. More than 300 years later, King Liu Bi of Wu opened the second Han River to the east, leading to the salt fields by the sea in the east. This waterway opened the way for wealth in ancient eastern China. The salt source of Baihuahua continuously gathers in Yangzhou and then sends it to various parts of the country.

In the 13th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Xuan, the then chief military officer of the imperial court, excavated Qingjiangpu along the ancient Shahe Road of the Northern Song Dynasty, making Huai'an a famous canal capital, as well as a national transportation command center, river management center, grain storage and transportation center, salt tax center, and transportation ship manufacturing center. This created a prosperous scene of ships carrying sails and masts, starting boats to cover the water, masts and flags covering the sky, boats and carts gathering, department stores, and traders gathering.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Wuxi, along with Changsha, Jiujiang, and Wuhu, was known as the "Four Major Rice Cities in China". According to historical records, the annual storage of rice in Wuxi exceeds 1.3 million stones, making the grain industry the "crown of all industries". The prosperity of the rice market has driven the prosperity of various industries. At that time, people came and went along the canal, with numerous shops and merchants from all over the country gathering here to negotiate business, making Wuxi a place where "merchants gather and boats ride endlessly".

"After passing through Linping, there are no green mountains at all." The Yuan Dynasty poet Wu Jingkui's "Passing through Linping" depicts a vivid scene along the Grand Canal. Jiangnan is a place that produces, releases, disseminates, and amplifies beauty. Jiangnan itself is also magnified and produced, becoming a beautiful and shared "Chinese image". The Grand Canal has brought a millennium long opportunity to Hangzhou, and Hangzhou has also used its prosperity to give back to the Jiangnan water culture with depth and agility.

Some people say that tea, lotus, apricot blossoms, plum blossoms, ancient temples, smoke and moon, and bell sounds are not unique to Jiangnan. However, the reason why Jiangnan has become Jiangnan is precisely due to a wonderful cultural mechanism. Once connected with Jiangnan, once in Jiangnan, once poets or painters sing and paint these beautiful things, they will strive for excellence and "add goodness to goodness".

Furthermore, the Grand Canal not only laid the transportation and material foundation for creating diverse cultures on both sides, but also integrated different cultures from the north, south, east, and west, creating new cultures. It includes both elegant cultures such as architecture, gardens, literature, painting, and drama, as well as popular cultures such as daily utensils, customs, folk songs, and folk art. It can be called a "museum" and "cultural corridor" for the flow of Chinese civilization.

The Qingbo River connects ancient and modern times. The Grand Canal is a cultural river that embodies the wisdom of the Chinese nation, symbolizes the spirit of the Chinese nation, and witnesses the development history of the Chinese nation. It embodies the spirit of the Grand Canal, which is grand and grand, leading excellence, inclusive and resilient, and showcasing the cultural style of "diversity and unity" and "harmony but difference".