Grand Canal

Along with the Great Wall, it is said to be one of the two major civil engineering projects left behind by old China, and is an important facility that connected the economic sphere in the south and the political sphere in the north and supported the foundations of successive dynasties. Since the Warring States period, various dynasties have painstakingly built this great waterway by skillfully connecting the main streams and tributaries of the Yellow River, Huai River, and Yangtze River, which flow from west to east, and dredging them deeper. Its total length is approximately 1,800 kilometers, connecting present-day Beijing and Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

First, in the 5th century BC, the Hangou Canal was opened near Huai'an in Jiangsu Province and near Yangzhou, connecting the Huai River with the Yangtze River. About a century later, the Gubian River was opened, which branches off from the Yellow River near Xingyang in Henan Province, passes through Kaifeng, and flows into the Huai River. These were mainly intended for transporting military supplies, but from the Han dynasty onwards, they were used to transport part of the tax revenue (canned food) to the capital, and a system called canal transport was created. From the Three Kingdoms period to the Northern and Southern Dynasties period (3rd to 6th centuries), the development of Jiangnan progressed, and its economic power surpassed that of Jiangbei, so the Sui dynasty, which unified the country in 589, developed canals from a national perspective in order to link the economic power of Jiangnan to the capital and also to facilitate exchanges and integration between the former Northern and Southern Dynasties. First, in 584, the Guangtong Canal (Fumin Canal) was opened between Xi'an and the Yellow River, in 587 the Shanyang Tu Canal (improvement of the Hangou Canal) was opened between Huai'an and Yangzhou, in 605 the Tongji Canal was opened from Heyin on the Yellow River, passing through Kaifeng and Shangqiu to the Huai River near Suqian, and in 610 the Jiangnan River was opened, passing through Suzhou from the opposite bank of Yizheng to Hangzhou, connecting the Yangtze River and the Qiantang River, and these four rivers directly connected Jiangnan to Guanzhong (Shaanxi). During this time, the Yongji Canal (improvement of the Wei River) was opened in 608 to transport military supplies for the invasion of Goguryeo, and a route from the Yellow River to Beijing was also opened, and finally Hangzhou and Beijing were connected by water. Thus the so-called Grand Canal was created.

This great project was completed by Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty. However, as a result of this, the peasants were forced to rebel against each other, with heavy taxes and hard labor, and were forced into military service, leading to their downfall within ten years. Emperor Yang has been harshly criticized for lacking the financial resources of a human ruler, but the historical significance of completing the Grand Canal to resolve the political issue of ending and unifying the 300-year-long North-South conflict during a time of great upheaval when the economic center of gravity on the mainland shifted to Jiangnan is great. The Tang dynasty created a magnificent culture and enjoyed a rare period of prosperity because the Grand Canal provided a great boost to domestic and international traffic, connecting it to seaports and welcoming Islamic merchants, fulfilling a function far superior to the Silk Road.

During the Song Dynasty, in order to avoid the rugged Sanmen Gorge, a difficult passage for water transport on the Yellow River, and to accommodate the booming South Sea trade linked to the Grand Canal, the capital was moved to Bianjing (Kaifeng), the Tongji Canal was renovated and renamed Bianhe, and the distance from Jiangnan was shortened.As a result, the amount of food transported was 1 to 2 million koku more per year than the approximately 3 million koku (1 koku is about 60 liters) during the Tang Dynasty.

After the Yuan Dynasty, the capital became Dadu (Beijing), far away from Jiangnan to the northeast. The Yuan Dynasty first used the Yuhe River (Yongji River), but this was a huge detour, so they opened the Jeju River, which connected the Huai River and the Daqing River, and the Huitong River, which connected the Daqing River and the Yuhe River, shortening the Grand Canal to a route closer to the east. However, due to the difficulty of boat travel, they gave up on canal transportation altogether and had to rely on sea transport from near Shanghai to Tianjin. During the Ming Dynasty, they succeeded in repairing the Yuan Dynasty's Huitong River, and in 1411, the Grand Canal, which is almost as we see it today, was functioning, steadily transporting 4 million koku (1 koku is about 170 liters) of food per year, and the Qing Dynasty also relied on this method. However, with the development of steamship and rail transport in the early 20th century, its original role came to an end.

Due to the domestic turmoil following the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, the canal was never restored, and the river course has changed, leaving many sections currently impassable. However, there are plans for a full restoration, and after renovations following liberation in 1949, some sections are now navigable for 3,000-ton steamships, and the canal is still used in parts for water transport and as irrigation water for agriculture.

[Hoshi Hideo]

“The Grand Canal” by Hoshi Bino (1971, Kondo Publishing) ▽ “The History of the Development of the Grand Canal” by Hoshi Bino (Heibonsha, Toyo Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

万里の長城とともに旧中国の残した二大土木事業といわれ、南の経済圏と北の政治圏とをつなぎ歴代王朝の基盤を養った重要施設。戦国時代以来、諸王朝が、西から東へ流れる黄河、淮水(わいすい)、揚子江(ようすこう)の本流・支流を巧みにつなぎ、深くさらって、営々としてつくりあげた大水道。現在の北京(ペキン)と浙江(せっこう)省杭州(こうしゅう)を結ぶ総延長おおよそ1800キロメートル。

　まず、紀元前5世紀、江蘇(こうそ)省淮安(わいあん)付近と揚州付近とで、淮水と揚子江とを連絡する邗溝(かんこう)が開かれ、約1世紀後に河南省滎陽(けいよう)付近から黄河を分流し、開封(かいほう)を過ぎ淮水に至る古汴河(こべんが)が開かれた。これらはおもに軍糧輸送を目的としたが、漢代からは租税収入の一部（漕糧(そうりょう)）を首都へ運ぶために用いられ、漕運(そううん)という制度がつくられた。三国から南北朝時代（3～6世紀）には江南の開発が進み、その経済力は江北をしのいだので、589年全国を統一した隋(ずい)は、江南の経済力を首都に結び付け、加えて旧南北両朝勢力を交流融和させるために、運河を全国的視野にたって整備した。初め、584年西安と黄河との間に広通渠(こうつうきょ)（富民渠）、587年淮安―揚州間に山陽涜(さんようとく)（邗溝の改修）、605年黄河畔の河陰から開封、商邱(しょうきゅう)を経て宿遷付近で淮水に至る通済渠(つうせいきょ)、610年儀徴の対岸から蘇州を過ぎ杭州に至り、揚子江と銭塘江(せんとうこう)とを連ねる江南河を開き、この4河によって江南と関中（陝西(せんせい)）とを直結した。この間、608年高句麗(こうくり)征討の軍糧輸送のため永済渠（衛河の改修）を開いたので、黄河畔から北京への路もでき、ついに杭州―北京間が水路で結ばれた。いわゆる大運河はこうしてできあがった。

　この大事業を完成したのは隋の煬帝(ようだい)である。しかし、このために重税、苛役(かえき)を課せられ、兵役に駆り立てられた農民が反抗し、隋はその後10年にして滅んだ。煬帝は人君の資に欠けると酷評されるが、大陸における経済の重心が江南に移動した大変動期に、300年にわたる南北抗争を終結統一する政治課題を解決するため大運河を完成させたことの歴史的意義は大きい。唐が華麗な文化を創造し、史上まれな盛時を現出したのは、大運河が内外の交通に大きな活力を与え、海港に連なってイスラム商人を迎えるなど、シルク・ロードにはるかに勝る機能を発揮したためである。

　宋(そう)代には、黄河水運の難所である三門峡の険を避け、大運河に連なる南海貿易の隆盛に対応するため、首都を汴京(べんけい)（開封）に移し、通済渠を改修して汴河と改称し、江南からの距離を短縮したので、漕糧の輸送額は、唐代の年間約300万石（1石は約60リットル）よりも、100万～200万石も多かった。

　元(げん)以後、首都は大都（北京）となり、江南からは北東へ遠く離れた。そこで元は、初め御河(ぎょか)（永済河）を利用したが、迂回(うかい)が甚だしく、ついで淮河と大清河とをつなぐ済州河(さいしゅうか)、大清河と御河とを結ぶ会通河(かいつうか)を開いて、大運河を東方寄りのルートに短縮した。しかし舟行困難のため、運河輸送をいっさい断念、上海(シャンハイ)付近から天津(てんしん)に至る海上輸送によらざるをえなかった。明(みん)代には、元代の会通河の改修に成功し、1411年、ほぼいまみるような大運河が機能を発揮し、年400万石（1石は約170リットル）の漕糧を安定的に輸送し続け、清(しん)代もこれによった。しかし、20世紀初め汽船、汽車による輸送の発達によって本来の役割は終わった。

　1911年の辛亥(しんがい)革命後の国内の混乱もあって運河の復旧は行われず、また河道の変化もあり、現在は不通となっている部分が多い。しかし、全面復旧の計画もあり、また1949年の解放後の改修により3000トン級の汽船の航行可能な部分もあり、部分的には水運に利用され、また農業用水としても利用されている。

［星　斌夫］

『星斌夫著『大運河』（1971・近藤出版社）』▽『星斌夫著『大運河発展史』（平凡社・東洋文庫）』

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