Volume 87 Treatises 63: Rivers and Canals 5

淮河泇河衛河漳河沁河滹沱河桑乾河膠萊河

The Huai River; the Si River; the Wei River; the Zhang River; the Qin River; the Hutuo River; the Sanggan River; the Jiao-Lai River.

淮河，出河南平氏胎簪山。經桐伯，其流始大。東至固始，入南畿潁州境，東合汝、潁諸水。經壽州北，肥水入焉。至懷遠城東，渦水入焉。東經鳳陽、臨淮，濠水入焉。又經五河縣南，而納澮、沱、漴、潼諸水，勢盛流疾。經泗州城南，稍東則汴水入焉。過龜山麓，益折而北，會洪澤、阜陵、泥墩、萬家諸湖。東北至清河，南會於大河，即古泗口也，亦曰清口，是謂黃、淮交會之沖。淮之南岸，漕河流入焉，所謂清江浦口。又東經淮安北、安東南而達於海。

The Huai River has its source at Mount Taizan in Pingshi, Henan. After passing Tongbo, its current first grows substantial. It flows east to Gushi and enters Yingzhou prefecture in the Southern Metropolitan Area, where it joins the Ru, Ying, and other streams from the east. North of Shouzhou the Fei River flows into it. East of Huaiyuan city the Wo River joins it. Flowing east through Fengyang and Linhuai, it receives the Hao River. It then passes south of Wuhe county and takes in the Hui, Tuo, Chong, and Tong rivers, growing powerful and swift. South of Sizhou city it bends slightly eastward, where the Bian River joins it. At the foot of Guishan it turns further north and gathers Hongze, Fuling, Nidun, Wanjia, and the other lakes. It runs northeast to Qinghe and joins the Great River from the south—the ancient Sikou, also known as Qingkou, the point where the Yellow and Huai rivers converge. On the Huai's south bank the Grand Canal enters it at what is known as Qingjiangpu. It continues east, passing north of Huai'an and south of Andong, until it reaches the sea.

永樂七年，決壽州，泛中都。正統三年，溢清河。天順四年，溢鳳陽。皆隨時修築，無鉅害也。正德十二年，復決漕堤，灌泗州。泗州，祖陵在焉，其地最下。初，淮自安東雲梯關入海，無旁溢患。迨與黃會，黃水勢盛，奪淮入海之路，淮不能與黃敵，往往避而東。陳瑄鑿清江浦，因築高家堰舊堤以障之。淮、揚恃以無恐，而鳳泗間數為害。嘉靖十四年用總河都御史劉天和言，築堤衛陵，而高堰方固，淮暢流出清口，鳳、泗之患弭。隆慶四年，總河都御史翁大立復奏浚淮工竣，淮益無事。

In the seventh year of Yongle the river burst its banks at Shouzhou and inundated the central capital. In the third year of Zhengtong it overflowed at Qinghe. In the fourth year of Tianshun it overflowed at Fengyang. Each time dikes were repaired promptly, and no major disaster followed. In the twelfth year of Zhengde it again breached the canal embankment and flooded Sizhou. Sizhou, where the imperial ancestral tombs stand, lies in the lowest ground. Originally the Huai reached the sea through Yunti Pass at Andong, without spilling sideways. Once it joined the Yellow River, the Yellow's current was so strong that it took over the Huai's path to the sea; unable to resist, the Huai often veered eastward instead. Chen Xuan excavated Qingjiangpu and reinforced the old Gaojia embankment to hold the waters back. Huai'an and Yangzhou were thus protected, though the Fengyang–Sizhou region suffered repeated flooding. In the fourteenth year of Jiajing, acting on Grand Canal Commissioner Liu Tianhe's advice, dikes were built to protect the tombs; with the Gaojia embankment secure, the Huai ran freely out at Qingkou and the troubles at Fengyang and Sizhou subsided. In the fourth year of Longqing, Grand Canal Commissioner Weng Dali reported that Huai dredging was finished, and the river remained largely calm thereafter.

至萬曆三年三月，高家堰決，高、寶、興、鹽為巨浸。而黃水躡淮，且漸逼鳳、泗。乃命建泗陵護城石堤二百餘丈，泗得石堤稍寧。於是，總漕侍郎吳桂芳言：「河決崔鎮，清河路淤。黃強淮弱，南徙而灌山陽、高、寶，請急護湖堤。」帝令熟計其便。給事中湯聘尹議請導淮入江。會河從老黃河奔入海，淮得乘虛出清口。桂芳以聞，議遂寢。

In the third month of the third year of Wanli the Gaojia embankment gave way, and Gaoyou, Baoying, Xinghua, and Yancheng were submerged. Yellow River water pressed on the Huai and gradually threatened Fengyang and Sizhou. The court ordered more than two hundred zhang of stone embankment built to shield the Siling mausoleum walls, and Sizhou gained a measure of relief. Grand Grain Transport Vice Minister Wu Guifang then reported: "The river has burst at Cuizhen and the Qinghe channel is choked with silt. The Yellow is overpowering the Huai, which is shifting south to flood Shanyang, Gaoyou, and Baoying. I urge immediate reinforcement of the lake embankments. The emperor ordered a thorough review of the best course. Supervising Secretary Tang Pinyin proposed channeling the Huai into the Yangtze. Just then the Yellow River shifted down the old course to the sea, allowing the Huai to pour out through Qingkou. Guifang reported the change, and the proposal was dropped.

六年，總河都御史潘季馴言：「高堰，淮、揚之門戶，而黃、淮之關鍵也。欲導河以入海，必藉淮以刷沙。淮水南決，則濁流停滯，清口亦堙。河必決溢，上流水行平地，而邳、徐、鳳、泗皆為巨浸。是淮病而黃病，黃病而漕亦病，相因之勢也。」於是築高堰堤，起武家墩，經大小澗、阜陵湖、周橋、翟壩，長八十里，使淮不得東。又以淮水北岸有王簡、張福二口泄入黃河，水力分，清口易淤淺，且黃水多由此倒灌入淮，乃築堤捍之。使淮無所出，黃無所入，全淮畢趨清口，會大河入海。然淮水雖出清口，亦西淫鳳、泗。

In the sixth year of Wanli, Grand Canal Commissioner Pan Jixun wrote: "The Gaojia embankment is the gateway to Huai'an and Yangzhou and the linchpin of Yellow–Huai control. To send the Yellow River to the sea, the Huai must be used to scour its silt. If the Huai breaks south, muddy water stalls and Qingkou silts up. The Yellow River will inevitably burst its banks; upstream waters will spread across the plain, and Pi, Xu, Fengyang, and Sizhou will all be inundated. When the Huai fails, the Yellow fails; when the Yellow fails, the canal fails—a chain of mutual dependence. Accordingly an eighty-li embankment was built from Wujiadun through the Great and Small Jian streams, Fuling Lake, Zhouqiao, and Zhaiba, blocking the Huai's eastward escape. Because the Wangjian and Zhangfu outlets on the Huai's north bank drained into the Yellow River, splitting the current and silting Qingkou while letting Yellow water backflow into the Huai, dikes were built to seal them off. With no other outlet for the Huai and no entry for the Yellow, the entire Huai was forced through Qingkou to join the Great River and reach the sea. Even so, while the Huai discharged at Qingkou, it still flooded westward toward Fengyang and Sizhou.

八年，雨澇，淮薄泗城，且至祖陵墀中。御史陳用賓以聞。給事中王道成因言：「黃河未漲，淮、泗間霖雨偶集，而清口已不容泄。宜令河臣疏導堵塞之。」季馴言：「黃、淮合流東注，甚迅駛。泗州岡阜盤旋，雨潦不及宣洩，因此漲溢。欲疏鑿，則下流已深，無可疏；欲堵塞，則上流不可逆堵。」乃令季馴相度，卒聽之而已。十六年，季馴復為總河，加泗州護堤數千丈，皆用石。

In the eighth year of Wanli, heavy rains raised the Huai against Sizhou's walls almost to the ancestral tomb courtyard. Censor Chen Yongbin reported the danger to the throne. Supervising Secretary Wang Daocheng added: "The Yellow River has not yet risen; only seasonal rains have collected between the Huai and Si, yet Qingkou already cannot drain the water. The canal commissioners should be ordered to dredge and clear the obstructions. Jixun replied: "The Yellow and Huai unite and rush eastward with great speed. Sizhou's winding hills prevent the rainwater from draining quickly, which is why the waters have risen. To dredge would be futile—the lower reach is already deep and offers nothing to cut; to dam would be impossible—the upstream current cannot be held back. Jixun was sent to inspect the site, but in the end the court simply accepted his assessment. In the sixteenth year of Wanli, Jixun returned as Grand Canal Commissioner and added several thousand zhang of stone embankment to protect Sizhou.

十九年九月，淮水溢泗州，高於城壕，因塞水關以防內灌。於是，城中積水不泄，居民十九淹沒，侵及祖陵。疏泄之議不一，季馴謂當聽其自消。會嘔血乞歸，言者因請允其去。而帝遣給事中張貞觀往勘，會總河尚書舒應龍等詳議以上，計未有所定。連數歲，淮東決高良澗，西灌泗陵。帝怒，奪應龍官，遣給事中張企程往勘。議者多請拆高堰，總河尚書楊一魁與企程不從，而力請分黃導淮。乃建武家墩經河閘，泄淮水由永濟河達涇河，下射陽湖入海。又建高良澗及周橋減水石閘，以泄淮水，一由岔河入涇河，一由草子湖、寶應湖下子嬰溝，俱下廣洋湖入海。又挑高郵茆塘港，通邵伯湖，開金家灣，下芒稻河入江，以疏淮漲，而淮水以平。其後三閘漸塞。

In the ninth month of the nineteenth year of Wanli, the Huai rose above Sizhou's moat, and the water gates were closed to keep floodwater out of the city. Trapped water could not escape; nine households in ten were flooded, and the waters reached the ancestral tombs. Opinions on how to drain the city differed; Jixun argued the waters should be left to recede on their own. When he vomited blood and asked to retire, critics urged the court to accept his resignation. The emperor sent Supervising Secretary Zhang Zhenguan to investigate, while Grand Canal Minister Shu Yinglong and others submitted detailed proposals, but no decision was reached. For several years running the Huai burst east at Gaoliangjian and flooded west toward the Siling tombs. The emperor in anger dismissed Yinglong and sent Supervising Secretary Zhang Qicheng to inspect the damage. Many officials urged breaching the Gaojia embankment, but Grand Canal Minister Yang Yikui and Zhang Qicheng refused and instead pressed to split the Yellow River and channel the Huai. They built the Wujiadun canal sluice to release Huai water down the Yongji and Jing rivers into Sheyang Lake and thence to the sea. Stone flood sluices were also built at Gaoliangjian and Zhouqiao: one route sent water through Chai River into the Jing, another through Caozi and Baoying lakes down Ziying Gou—both reaching Guangyang Lake and the sea. Gaoyou's Maotang harbor was dredged to link Shaobo Lake, Jinjiawan was opened, and the Mangdao River was cut to the Yangtze to relieve the Huai flood, after which the river subsided. In time all three sluices gradually silted closed.

崇禎間，黃、淮漲溢，議者復請開高堰。淮、揚在朝者公疏力爭，議遂寢。然是時建義諸口數決，下灌興、鹽，淮患日棘矣。

During the Chongzhen era, as the Yellow and Huai swelled, officials again proposed breaching the Gaojia embankment. Officials from Huai'an and Yangzhou at court submitted joint memorials in fierce opposition, and the plan was abandoned. Yet the Jianyi outlets broke repeatedly, flooding Xinghua and Yancheng, and the Huai crisis grew steadily worse.

泇河，二源。一出費縣南山谷中，循沂州西南流，一出嶧縣君山，東南與費泇合，謂之東、西二泇河。南會彭河水，從馬家橋東，過微山、赤山、呂孟等湖，逾葛墟嶺，而南經侯家灣、良城，至泇口鎮，合蛤鰻、連汪諸湖。東會沂水，從周湖、柳湖，接邳州東直河。東南達宿遷之黃墩湖、駱馬湖，從董、陳二溝入黃河。引泗合沂濟運道，以避黃河之險，其議始於翁大立，繼之者傅希摯，而成於李化龍、曹時聘。

The Si River has two headwaters. One rises in the southern hills of Fei county and flows southwest along Yizhou; the other rises at Junshan in Yi county and runs southeast to join the Fei branch—the Eastern and Western Si. It joins the Peng River south of Majia Bridge, passes Weishan, Chishan, and Lvmeng lakes, crosses Gexu ridge, runs south through Houjiawan and Liangcheng to Sikou town, and gathers Haman, Lianwang, and the other lakes. It meets the Yi River from Zhou and Liu lakes and links to Pizhou's east straight channel. It runs southeast to Suqian's Huangdun and Luoma lakes and enters the Yellow River through the Dong and Chen channels. Diverting the Si to join the Yi and complete the transport route, avoiding the perils of the Yellow River—the plan began with Weng Dali, was pursued by Fu Xizhi, and was realized by Li Hualong and Cao Shipin.

隆慶四年九月，河決邳州，自睢寧至宿遷淤百八十里。總河侍郎翁大立請開泇河以避黃水，未決而罷。明年四月，河復決邳州，命給事中雒遵勘驗。工部尚書硃衡請以開泇口河之說下諸臣熟計。帝即命遵會勘。遵言：「泇口河取道雖捷，施工實難。葛墟嶺高出河底六丈餘，開鑿僅至二丈，硼石中水泉湧出。侯家灣、良城雖有河形，水中多伏石，難鑿，縱鑿之，湍激不可漕。且蛤鰻、周柳諸湖，築堤水中，功費無算。微山、赤山、呂孟等湖雖可築堤，然須鑿葛墟嶺以泄正派，開地浜溝以散餘波，乃可施工。」請罷其議。詔尚書硃衡會總河都御史萬恭等覆勘。衡奏有三難，大略如遵指。且言漕河已通，徐、邳間堤高水深，不煩別建置。乃罷。

In the ninth month of the fourth year of Longqing, the river burst at Pizhou and silted one hundred eighty li from Suining to Suqian. Grand Canal Vice Minister Weng Dali proposed opening the Si River to bypass the Yellow flood, but was dismissed before a decision was made. The following April the river burst again at Pizhou, and Supervising Secretary Luo Zun was sent to inspect. Minister of Works Zhu Heng asked that the proposal to open the Sikou River be referred to the ministers for thorough deliberation. The emperor immediately ordered Luo Zun to conduct a joint inspection. Luo Zun reported: "The Sikou River route is shorter in distance but genuinely difficult to build. Gexu ridge stands more than six zhang above the riverbed; after cutting only two zhang, springs burst from the hard rock. Houjiawan and Liangcheng show river channels, but submerged rocks make excavation difficult, and even if cut, the current would be too swift for grain transport. Moreover, dikes would have to be built across Haman, Zhouliu, and the other lakes at incalculable cost. Dikes might be built at Weishan, Chishan, and Lvmeng lakes, but Gexu ridge must be cut to release the main current and spillways opened to disperse the overflow—only then could construction proceed. He urged that the proposal be abandoned. The emperor ordered Minister Zhu Heng to re-inspect the route jointly with Grand Canal Commissioner Wan Gong and others. Zhu Heng reported three major difficulties, substantially as Luo Zun had described. He added that the canal was already open between Xu and Pi, with high dikes and deep water, so no new works were needed. The plan was dropped.

萬曆三年，總河都御史傅希摯言：「泇河之議嘗建而中止，謂有三難。而臣遣錐手、步弓、水準、畫匠，於三難處核勘。起自上泉河口，開向東南，則起處低窪，下流趨高之難可避也。南經性義村東，則葛墟嶺高堅之難可避也。從陡溝河經郭村西之平坦，則良城侯家灣之伏石可避也。至泇口上下，河渠深淺不一，湖塘聯絡相因，間有砂礓，無礙挑挖。大較上起泉河口，水所從入也，下至大河口，水所從出也。自西北至東南，長五百三十里，比之黃河近八十里，河渠、河塘十居八九，源頭活水，脈絡貫通，此天子所以資漕也。誠能捐十年治河之費，以成泇河，則黃河無慮壅決，茶城無慮填淤，二洪無慮艱險，運艘無慮漂損，洋山之支河可無開，境山之閘座可無建，徐、呂之洪夫可盡省，馬家橋之堤工可中輟。今日不貲之費，他日所省抵有餘者也。臣以為開泇河便。」乃命都給事中侯於趙往會希摯及巡漕御史劉光國，確議以聞。於趙勘上泇河事宜：「自泉河口至大河口五百三十里內，自直河至清河三百餘里，無賴於泇，事在可已。惟徐、呂至直河上下二百餘里，河沖蕭、碭則涸二洪，沖睢寧則淤邳河，宜開以避其害，約費百五十餘萬金。特良城伏石長五百五十丈，開鑿之力難以逆料。性義嶺及南禹陵俱限隔河流，二處既開，則豐、沛河決，必至灌入。宜先鑿良城石，預修豐、沛堤防，可徐議興功也。」部覆如其言，而謂開泇非數年不成，當以治河為急。帝不閱，責於趙阻擾，然議亦遂寢。

In the third year of Wanli, Grand Canal Commissioner Fu Xizhi wrote: "The Si River project was once proposed and abandoned on grounds of three difficulties. I have sent auger crews, surveyors, levels, and draftsmen to re-examine each of the three problem sites. Beginning at Shangquan River mouth and cutting southeast avoids the difficulty of a low headwater feeding into higher ground downstream. Running south past east Xingyi village bypasses the hard, high ridge at Gexu. Following Dougou River through the flat ground west of Guo village avoids the submerged rocks at Liangcheng and Houjiawan. Around Sikou the channel depth varies and lakes connect in sequence; occasional gravel would not prevent dredging. In sum, it would run from Quan River mouth, where water enters, down to Da River mouth, where it exits. From northwest to southeast it would stretch five hundred thirty li—eighty li shorter than the Yellow River route—with channels and ponds covering eight or nine tenths of the way, fed by living springs in a continuous network—the very resource the throne depends on for grain transport. If the court spent a decade's Yellow River budget on the Si River, the Yellow need never choke or burst again, Chacheng would not silt up, the Two Hong would pose no hazard, transport vessels would not be wrecked, Yangshan's branch channel would not need opening, Jingshan's sluices would not need building, flood labor at Xu and Lü could be eliminated, and work at Majia Bridge could stop halfway. The cost spent now would be more than repaid by future savings. I believe opening the Si River is the advantageous course. The emperor then ordered Supervising Secretary Hou Yuzhao to confer with Fu Xizhi and Grand Canal Inspector Liu Guangguo, settle the matter, and report back. Yuzhao surveyed the Si River project and reported: "Of the five hundred thirty li from Quan River mouth to Da River mouth, the stretch of more than three hundred li from Zhi River to Qing River does not depend on the Si at all, and that part of the project may be dropped. Only the two hundred-odd li from Xu and Lü to Zhi River is worth opening: when floods strike Xiao and Dang the Two Hong run dry, and when they strike Suining the Pi River silts up. Cutting a channel there would avert those disasters at an estimated cost of more than 1.5 million taels. At Liangcheng alone, submerged rock runs five hundred fifty zhang, and the labor required to cut through it cannot be predicted in advance. Xingyi Ridge and Southern Yuling both hem in the river, and once those two sections are opened the Feng and Pei rivers will burst their banks and flood the lowlands. The stone at Liangcheng should be cut first, dikes in Feng and Pei repaired in advance, and only then should construction be taken up at a measured pace. The ministry endorsed his report but added that opening the Si River could not be finished in a few years and that controlling the Yellow River remained the urgent priority. The emperor rejected the proposal, rebuked Yuzhao for obstruction, and the plan was shelved.

二十年，總河尚書舒應龍開韓莊以泄湖水，泇河之路始通。至二十五年，黃河決黃堌口南徙，徐、呂而下幾斷流。方議開李吉口、小浮橋及鎮口以下，建閘引水以通漕，而論者謂非永久之計。於是工科給事中楊應文、吏科給事中楊廷蘭皆謂當開泇河，工部覆議允行。帝命河漕官勘報，不果。二十八年，御史佴祺復請開泇河。工部覆奏云：「用黃河為漕，利與害參用；泇河為漕，有利無害。但泇河之外，由微山、呂孟、周柳諸湖，伏秋水發虞風波，冬春水涸虞淺阻，須上下別鑿漕渠，建閘節水。」從之。總河尚書劉東星董其事，以地多沙石，工艱未就。工科給事中張問達以為言。御史張養志復陳開泇河之說有四：

In the twentieth year of Wanli, Grand Canal Minister Shu Yinglong opened Hanzhuang to release lake water, and the Si River route first became navigable. By the twenty-fifth year of Wanli the Yellow River had burst at Huanggu mouth and shifted south, and the channel below Xu and Lü nearly dried up. Officials debated opening Lijikou, Xiao Fuqiao, and the stretch below Zhenkou and building sluices to draw water for the grain route, but critics argued that this was no lasting solution. Supervising Secretaries Yang Yingwen of the Works section and Yang Tinglan of the Personnel section both urged opening the Si River, and the Ministry of Works approved the proposal. The emperor ordered river and grain-transport officials to survey the site and report, but nothing came of it. In the twenty-eighth year of Wanli, Censor Ni Qi again petitioned to open the Si River. The Ministry of Works replied: "Using the Yellow River for grain transport mixes benefit with harm; using the Si River for grain transport brings benefit without harm. But beyond the Si River lie the lakes at Weishan, Lümeng, and Zhouliu, where autumn floods invite wind and waves and winter-spring low water invites shoals; separate grain channels must be cut upstream and downstream and sluices built to regulate the flow. The court approved. Grand Canal Minister Liu Dongxing took charge of the project, but the ground was so full of sand and rock that the work proved arduous and remained unfinished. Supervising Secretary Zhang Wenda of the Works section raised the issue at court. Censor Zhang Yangzhi again laid out four proposals for opening the Si River:

一曰開黃泥灣以通入泇之徑。邳州沂河口，入泇河門戶也。進口六七里，有湖名連二汪，其水淺而闊，下多淤泥。欲挑浚則無岸可修，欲為壩埽則無基可築。湖外有黃泥灣，離湖不遠，地頗低。自沂口至湖北崖約二十餘里，於此開一河以接泇口，引湖水灌之，運舟可直達泇口矣。

First, open Huangniwan to provide a direct route into the Si River. The Yi River mouth in Pizhou is the gateway into the Si River. Six or seven li inside the entrance lies a lake called Lian'erwang; its water is shallow but wide, and the bottom is thick with silt. Dredging is impracticable because there are no banks to shore up, and dams or revetments cannot be built because there is no firm foundation. Just beyond the lake is Huangniwan, not far away and on noticeably lower ground. From the Yi River mouth to Hubei Cliff is about twenty li; a channel cut there to join Sikou and fed with lake water would let transport vessels reach the Si River mouth directly.

一曰鑿萬家莊以接泇口之源。萬家莊，泇口迤北地也。與臺家莊、侯家灣、良城諸處，皆山岡高阜，多砂礓石塊，極難為工。東星力鑿成河。但河身尚淺，水止二三尺，宜更鑿四五尺，俾韓莊之水下接泇口，則運舟無論大小，皆沛然可達矣。

Second, cut through Wanjiachuang to link the headwaters at Sikou. Wanjiachuang is the stretch of ground running north from Sikou. Taijiachuang, Houjiawan, Liangcheng, and the other sites there are all ridges and high ground littered with gravel and stone, making the work extraordinarily difficult. Dongxing drove the cutting and opened a channel. The channel is still shallow, with only two or three chi of water; cutting another four or five chi would let Hanzhuang's flow reach Sikou, and transport vessels of every size would pass with ease.

一曰浚支河以避微口之險。微山湖在韓莊西，上下三十餘里，水深丈餘。必探深淺，立標為嚮導，風正帆懸，頃刻可過，突遇狂飆，未免敗沒。今已傍湖開支河四十五里，上通西柳莊，下接韓莊，牽挽有路。當再疏浚，庶無漂溺之患。

Third, dredge a branch channel to avoid the hazards at Weikou. Weishan Lake lies west of Hanzhuang and runs more than thirty li; its depth exceeds one zhang. Pilots must sound the depths and set markers as guides; in fair wind with sails set a crossing takes only moments, but a sudden squall can still wreck and sink a boat. A forty-five-li branch channel has already been cut along the lakeshore, linking Xiliuzhuang upstream with Hanzhuang downstream and providing a towpath. Further dredging would remove the risk of boats being swept under.

其一則以萬莊一帶勢高，北水南下，至此必速。請即其地建閘數座，以時蓄泄。詔速勘行。而東星病卒。御史高舉獻河漕三策，復及泇河。工部尚書楊一魁覆言：「泇河經良城、彭河、葛墟嶺，石礓難鑿，故口僅丈六尺，淺亦如之，當大加疏鑿。其韓莊渠上接微山、呂孟，宜多方疏導，俾無淤淺。順流入馬家橋、夏鎮，以為運道接濟之資。」帝以泇河既有成績，命河臣更挑浚。

Fourth, the Wanzhuang stretch sits on high ground; water from the north rushes south and accelerates sharply there. He asked that several sluices be built on the spot to store and release water as conditions required. An edict ordered a prompt survey and immediate action. Before the work could proceed, Dongxing died of illness. Censor Gao Ju submitted three proposals on river and grain transport that again addressed the Si River. Minister of Works Yang Yikui replied: "The Si River runs through Liangcheng, Peng River, and Gexu Ridge, where hard conglomerate resists cutting; the mouth is only one zhang six chi and just as shallow, and must be opened much wider and deeper. The Hanzhuang channel above links Weishan and Lümeng and should be dredged and guided in every practicable way to prevent shoaling. Water should be led on to Majia Bridge and Xiazhen to sustain the transport route. Because the Si River project had already shown results, the emperor ordered river officials to dredge it further.

三十年，工部尚書姚繼可言泇河之役宜罷，乃止不治。未幾，總河侍郎李化龍復議開泇河，屬之直河，以避河險。工科給事中侯慶遠力主其說，而以估費太少，責期太遠，請專任而責成之。三十二年正月，工部覆化龍疏，言：「開泇有六善，其不疑有二。泇河開而運不借河，河水有無聽之，善一。以二百主十里之泇河，避三百三十里之黃河，善二。運不借河，則我為政得以熟察機宜而治之，善三。估費二十萬金，開河二百六十里，視硃衡新河事半功倍，善四。開河必行召募，春荒役興，麥熟人散，富民不擾，窮民得以養，善五。糧船過洪，必約春盡，實畏河漲，運入泇河，朝暮無妨，善六。為陵捍患，為民禦災，無疑者一。徐州向苦洪水，泇河既開，則徐民之為魚者亦少，無疑者二。」帝深善之，令速鳩工為久遠之計。八月，化龍報分水河成，糧艘由泇者三之二。會化龍丁艱去，總河侍郎曹時聘代，上言頌化龍功。然是時，導河、浚泇，兩工並興，役未能竟。而黃河數溢，壞漕渠。給事中宋一韓遂詆化龍開泇之誤，化龍憤，上章自辯。時聘亦力言泇可賴，因畫善後六事以聞。部覆皆從其議。且言：「泇開於梗漕之日，固不可因泇而廢黃；漕利於泇成之後，亦不可因黃而廢泇。兩利俱存，庶幾緩急可賴。」因請築郗山堤，削頓莊嘴，平大泛口湍溜，浚貓兒窩等處之淺，建鉅樑吳沖閘，增三市徐塘壩，以終泇河未就之功。詔如議。越數年，泇工未竟，督漕者復舍泇由黃。舟有覆者，遷徙黃、泇間，運期久逾限。

In the thirtieth year of Wanli, Minister of Works Yao Jike argued that work on the Si River should stop, and repairs were abandoned. Before long, Vice Minister Li Hualong revived the proposal to open the Si River and tie it to Zhi River so as to avoid the hazards of the Yellow River route. Supervising Secretary Hou Qingyuan of the Works section strongly backed the plan, but objected that the cost estimate was too low and the deadline too distant, and asked that one official be given sole charge and held accountable for results. In the first month of the thirty-second year of Wanli the Ministry of Works responded to Li Hualong's memorial: "Opening the Si River offers six advantages and two points beyond dispute. Once the Si is open, grain transport no longer depends on the Yellow River; whether that river runs high or dry becomes irrelevant. That is the first advantage. A two-hundred-li Si River route would replace three hundred thirty li on the Yellow River. That is the second advantage. Because transport would no longer depend on the river, officials could study conditions closely and manage the route on their own terms. That is the third advantage. At an estimated cost of two hundred thousand taels for two hundred sixty li of channel, the yield would be twice Zhu Heng's new river for half the labor. That is the fourth advantage. Opening the channel would rely on hired labor: work would begin in the spring slack season and workers would disperse at harvest, sparing the well-off and giving the poor a livelihood. That is the fifth advantage. Grain boats on the Hong stretch must clear it before spring ends for fear of flood, but on the Si they could pass at any hour. That is the sixth advantage. It would shield the imperial tombs from disaster and the people from flood—beyond dispute, the first point. Xuzhou had long suffered inundation; once the Si was open, fewer of its people would be 'made into fish' by flood. Beyond dispute, the second point. The emperor strongly approved and ordered labor mobilized at once as a long-term solution. In the eighth month Li Hualong reported that the diversion channel was finished and that two-thirds of grain boats were using the Si River. Li Hualong then left office to observe mourning, and Vice Minister Cao Shipin took over and memorialized the throne praising his predecessor's work. At that time, however, work to guide the Yellow River and dredge the Si proceeded together, and neither project could be finished. The Yellow River overflowed repeatedly and damaged the grain canal. Supervising Secretary Song Yihan then attacked Li Hualong for the mistake of opening the Si River; Li Hualong, incensed, submitted a memorial in his own defense. Shipin also argued forcefully that the Si River could be relied upon and outlined six follow-up measures for the throne. The ministry approved all of their recommendations. It added: "The Si was opened when grain transport was blocked, so the Yellow River must not be abandoned because of the Si; but once the Si proved its worth for transport, the Si must not be abandoned because of the Yellow River either. Keeping both routes viable would provide resources for emergencies as well as normal times. It therefore proposed building the Xishan dike, trimming Dunzhuang Point, leveling the rapids at Dafan mouth, dredging shoals at Maowowa and elsewhere, constructing the Jüliang Wuchong sluice, and raising the Santoshi Xutang dam to complete the unfinished Si River works. An edict approved the plan. Several years later, with the Si project still incomplete, grain-transport officials again abandoned the Si for the Yellow River. Boats were wrecked as traffic shifted back and forth between the Yellow River and the Si, and delivery schedules fell far behind.

三十八年，御史蘇惟霖疏陳黃、泇利害，請專力於泇，略言：「黃河自清河經桃源，北達直河口，長二百四十里。此在泇下流，水準身廣，運舟日行僅十里。然無他道，故必用之。自直河口而上，曆邳、徐達鎮口，長二百八十餘里，是謂黃河。又百二十里，方抵夏鎮。其東自貓窩、泇溝達夏鎮，止二百六十餘里，是謂泇河。東西相對，舍此則彼。黃河三四月間淺與泇同。五月初，其流洶湧，自天而下，一步難行。由其水挾沙而來，河口日高。至七月初，則淺涸十倍。統而計之，無一時可由者。溺人損舟，其害甚劇。泇河計日可達，終鮮風波，但得實心任事之臣，不三五年缺略悉補，數百年之利也。」工科給事中何士晉亦言：「運道最險無如黃河。先年水出昭陽湖，夏鎮以南運道沖阻，開氵加之議始決。避淺澀急溜二洪之險，聚諸泉水，以時啟閉，通行無滯者六年。乃今忽欲舍泇由黃，致倉皇損壞糧艘。或改由大浮橋，河道淤塞，復還由泇。以故運抵灣遲，汲汲有守凍之慮，由黃之害略可見矣。顧泇工未竟，闊狹深淺不齊。宜拓廣浚深，與會通河相等。重運空回，往來不相礙，迴旋不相避，水常充盛，舟無留行。歲捐水衡數萬金，督以廉能之吏，三年可竣工。然後循駱馬湖北岸，東達宿遷，大興畚鍤，盡避黃河之險，則泇河之事訖矣。或謂泉脈細微，太闊太深，水不能有。不知泇源遠自蒙、沂，近挾徐塘、許池、文武諸泉河，大率視濟寧泉河略相等。呂公堂口既塞，則山東諸水總合全收，加以閘壩堤防，何憂不足？或謂直抵宿遷，此功迂而難竟，是在任用得人，綜理有法耳。」疏入，不報。

In the thirty-eighth year of Wanli, Censor Su Weilin memorialized on the relative merits of the Yellow River and the Si River and urged concentrating effort on the Si. He wrote in part: "From Qing River through Taoyuan north to Zhi River mouth the Yellow River runs two hundred forty li. This stretch lies downstream of the Si; the water stands high and the channel is broad, and transport boats make only ten li a day. There is no alternative route, so it must be used. From Zhi River mouth upstream through Pi and Xu to Zhenkou is more than two hundred eighty li—the stretch known as the Yellow River. Another one hundred twenty li must be traveled before reaching Xiazhen. To the east, from Maowo and the Si ditch to Xiazhen is only a little more than two hundred sixty li—the route called the Si River. The two routes lie side by side; use one and you forgo the other. In the third and fourth months the Yellow River is as shallow as the Si. At the beginning of the fifth month its current surges as if pouring from the sky, and a single step forward becomes nearly impossible. Because the current carries silt, the river mouth rises day by day. By early seventh month it is ten times shallower and often dry. Taken together, there is scarcely a season when it can be navigated reliably. Men drown and boats are lost; the damage is severe. The Si River can be traversed in a matter of days and is almost free of wind and waves; with a conscientious official in charge, every defect could be remedied within three to five years, securing a benefit that would last centuries. Supervising Secretary He Shijin of the Works section also wrote: "No stretch of the transport route is more perilous than the Yellow River. In earlier years, when water poured from Zhaoyang Lake and blocked the route south of Xiazhen, the proposal to open the Si River was finally adopted. It avoided the shoals, sluggish reaches, and swift currents of the Two Hong, pooled the local springs, and regulated the sluices by season, allowing unimpeded passage for six years. Yet now officials suddenly want to abandon the Si for the Yellow River, with the result that grain boats are being wrecked in haste. Some were diverted to the Great Floating Bridge route, but when that channel silted up they had to return to the Si. Grain therefore reached the capital late, and officials anxiously feared being trapped by ice; the harm of relying on the Yellow River is plain enough. The Si project remains unfinished, and its width, depth, and channel profile are uneven. It should be widened and deepened to match the Huizong River. Loaded and empty boats could pass in both directions without hindrance, turn without giving way, find the water always ample, and never be delayed. If tens of thousands of taels from the Waterworks Office were allocated each year and honest, capable officials put in charge, the work could be finished in three years. Then, following the north bank of Luoma Lake east to Suqian and mobilizing labor on a large scale, the Yellow River's hazards could be wholly avoided and the Si River project brought to completion. Some object that the springs are too weak and that a channel too wide and deep would not hold water. They fail to see that the Si draws from far upstream on the Meng and Yi rivers and nearby on the spring-fed streams at Xutang, Xuchi, Wenwu, and the like—on the whole comparable to the spring rivers at Jining. Once Lü Gongtang outlet is closed, every stream in Shandong can be gathered and held; with sluices, barrages, and dikes added besides, why fear the supply will fall short? Some object that pushing the channel straight through to Suqian would be a roundabout, hard-to-finish undertaking; success depends on appointing the right men and administering the work systematically. The memorial was submitted, but received no response.

明年，部覆總河都御史劉士忠《泇黃便宜疏》，言：「泇渠春夏間，沂、武、京河山水沖發，沙淤潰決，歲終當如南旺例修治。顧別無置水之地，勢不得不塞泇河壩，令水復歸黃流。故每年三月初，則開泇河壩，令糧艘及官民船由直河進。至九月內，則開召公壩，入黃河，以便空回及官民船往來。至次年二月中塞之。半年由泇，半年由黃，此兩利之道也。因請增驛設官。又覆惟霖疏，言：「直隸貓窩淺，為沂下流，河廣沙淤，不可以閘，最為泇患。宜西開一月河，以通沂口。凡水挾沙來，沙性直走，有月河以分之，則聚於洄伏之處，撈刷較易，而泇患少減矣。」俱報可，其後，無河遂為永利，但需補葺而已。然氵加勢狹窄，冬春糧艘回空仍由黃河焉。

The following year the ministry responded to Grand Canal Commissioner Liu Shizhong's memorial on Si and Yellow River arrangements, stating: "In spring and summer the Yi, Wu, and Jing rivers send down floodwater that silts the Si channel and breaks its banks; at year's end it should be repaired on the Nanwang model. But there is nowhere else to impound the water, and the Si River barrage must be closed so the current reverts to the Yellow River. Hence each year in early third month the Si barrage is opened so grain transports and public and private vessels may enter by the direct channel. By ninth month Zhao Gong barrage is opened to the Yellow River, allowing empty boats and other traffic to pass in both directions. It is closed again in mid-second month of the following year. Half the year on the Si, half on the Yellow: that is the way to secure both advantages. He also asked that courier stations be added and officials appointed. The ministry also responded to Su Weilin's memorial: "Maowo shoals in Zhili lie on the lower Yi; the channel is wide and silty and cannot be gated—this is the greatest source of trouble on the Si. A relief channel should be cut westward to connect with the Yi outlet. When water carries silt, the sand runs straight on; a relief channel can split the flow so sediment settles in backwaters where it is easier to dredge, and trouble on the Si diminishes. Both proposals were approved. Thereafter the Wu River proved a lasting benefit, requiring only upkeep. Yet the Si current remained narrow, and empty grain boats in winter and spring still had to use the Yellow River.

四十八年，巡漕御史毛一鷺言：「無河屬夏鎮者有閘九座，屬中河者止藉草壩。分司官議於直口等處建閘，請舉行之。」詔從其議。崇禎四年，總漕尚書楊一鵬浚泇河。九年，總河侍郎周鼎奏重浚泇河成。久之，鼎坐決河防遠戍。給事中沈胤培訟其修泇利運之功，得減論。

In the forty-eighth year of Wanli, Grain Transport Censor Mao Yilu wrote: "The Wu River section under Xia Town has nine sluice gates, while the Middle River section depends only on grass dams. Branch officials proposed building sluices at Zhikou and elsewhere and asked that the plan be carried out. An edict approved their proposal. In the fourth year of Chongzhen, Grand Canal Minister Yang Yipeng dredged the Si River. In the ninth year, Grand Canal Vice Minister Zhou Ding reported that major re-dredging of the Si River was complete. Before long Zhou Ding was convicted for mishandling river defenses and exiled to a distant garrison. Supervising Secretary Shen Yinpei pleaded in his defense, citing his work on the Si River and its benefit to transport, and the sentence was reduced.

衛河，源出河南輝縣蘇門山百門泉。經新鄉、汲縣而東，至畿南浚縣境，淇水入焉，謂之白溝，亦曰宿胥瀆。宋、元時名曰御河。由內黃東出，至山東館陶西，漳水合焉。東北至臨清，與會通河合。北曆德、滄諸州，至青縣南，合滹沱河。北達天津，會白河入海。所謂衛漕也。其河流濁勢盛，運道得之，始無淺澀虞。然自德州下漸與海近，卑窄易沖潰。

The Wei River rises at Baimen Spring on Sumen Mountain in Huixian, Henan. It flows east through Xinxiang and Ji county, and at Jixian in the southern metropolitan region the Qi River joins it—the stretch called White Ditch, also known as the Suxu Duct. In the Song and Yuan it was known as the Imperial River. East of Neihuang it reaches western Guantao in Shandong, where the Zhang River merges with it. It runs northeast to Linqing and joins the Huizong River. Northward it passes through Dezhou and Cangzhou and, south of Qing county, receives the Hutuo River. It reaches Tianjin in the north, where it meets the Bai River and enters the sea. This is the route known as Wei transport. Its waters are turbid and powerful; once the canal had them, shoals were no longer a constant worry. Yet below Dezhou it draws nearer the sea, lies low and narrow, and is easily breached.

初，永樂元年，瀋陽軍士唐順言：「衛河抵直沽入海，南距黃河陸路才五十里。若開衛河，而距黃河百步置倉廒，受南運糧餉，至衛河交運，公私兩便。」乃命廷臣議，未行。其冬，命都督僉事陳俊運淮安、儀真倉糧百五十萬餘石赴陽武，由衛河轉輸北京。五年，自臨清抵渡口驛決堤七處，發卒塞之。後宋禮開會通河，衛河與之合。時方數決堤岸，遂命禮並治之。禮言：「衛輝至直沽，河岸多低薄，若不究源析流，但務堤築，恐復潰決，勞費益甚。會通河抵魏家灣，與土河連，其處可穿二小渠以泄於土河。雖遇水漲，下流衛河，自無橫溢患。德州城西北亦可穿一小渠。蓋自衛河岸東北至舊黃河十有二里，而中間五里故有溝渠，宜開道七里，泄水入舊黃河，至海豐大沽河入海。」詔從之。

In the first year of Yongle, a soldier from Shenyang named Tang Shun suggested: "The Wei River reaches the sea at Zhigu, and overland it lies only fifty li south of the Yellow River. If the Wei were opened and granaries built a hundred paces from the Yellow River to receive grain shipped from the south and transfer it to the Wei, both public and private interests would gain. The court ordered deliberation, but nothing was done. That winter Assistant Commissioner-in-chief Chen Jun was ordered to move more than 1.5 million shi from the Huai'an and Yizhen granaries to Yangwu and transfer it to Beijing by the Wei River. In the fifth year the dike broke in seven places between Linqing and Dukou post; troops were sent to close the breaches. Later Song Li opened the Huizong River, and the Wei River was linked to it. At a time when the banks were breaking repeatedly, Li was ordered to repair them together with the new canal. Song Li said: "From Weihui to Zhigu the banks are generally low and weak; if one merely builds dikes without tracing sources and dividing the flow, they will breach again and the labor and cost will only grow. The Huizong River reaches Weijiawan where it links with the Earth River; there two small outlets can be cut to spill into the Earth River. Even in flood the lower Wei would not spill sideways. A small channel could also be cut northwest of Dezhou city. From the Wei bank northeast to the old Yellow River course is twelve li; five li of ditch already exist in the middle—a seven-li channel should be opened to spill into the old Yellow River and on to the Dagou River at Haifeng and the sea. An edict approved the plan.

英宗初，永平縣丞李祐請閉漳河以防患，疏衛河以通舟。從之。正統四年築青縣衛河堤岸。十三年從御史林廷舉請，引漳入衛。十四年，黃河決臨清四閘，御史錢清請浚其南撞圈灣河以達衛。從之。

Early in Yingzong's reign, Assistant Magistrate Li You of Yongping county asked to block the Zhang River against flooding and dredge the Wei to keep shipping open. The proposal was approved. In the fourth year of Zhengtong embankments were built on the Wei at Qing county. In the thirteenth year, on Censor Lin Tingju's petition, the Zhang River was diverted into the Wei. In the fourteenth year the Yellow River broke through at the four sluices at Linqing; Censor Qian Qing asked that Zhuangquan Bay River to the south be dredged to reach the Wei. The proposal was approved.

景泰四年，運艘阻張秋之決。河南參議豐慶請自衛輝、胙城洎於沙門，陸挽三十里入衛，舟運抵京師。命漕運都督徐恭覆報，如其策。山東僉事江良材嘗言：「通河於衛有三便。古黃河自孟津至懷慶東北入海。今衛河自汲縣至臨清、天津入海，則猶古黃河道也，便一。三代前，黃河東北入海，宇宙全氣所鐘。河南徙，氣遂遷轉。今於河陰、原武、懷、孟間導河入衛，以達天津，不獨徐、沛患息，而京師形勝百倍，便二。元漕舟至封丘，陸運抵淇門入衛。今導河注衛，冬春水準，漕舟至河陰，順流達衛。夏秋水迅，仍從徐、沛達臨清，以北抵京師。且修其溝洫，擇良有司任之，可以備旱澇，捍戎馬，益起直隸、河南富強之勢，便三。」詹事霍韜大然其畫，具奏以聞。不行。

In the fourth year of Jingtai transport vessels were blocked by the breach at Zhangqiu. Henan Assistant Administrator Feng Qing proposed hauling grain overland thirty li from Weihui and Zuocheng to Shamen, putting it on boats on the Wei, and shipping it to the capital. Grain Transport Commissioner Xu Gong was ordered to review the plan and report; he endorsed it as proposed. Shandong Vice Commissioner Jiang Liangcai once argued that linking the Yellow River with the Wei offered three advantages. The ancient Yellow River ran from Mengjin to the northeast of Huaiqing and entered the sea. Today's Wei River from Ji county through Linqing to Tianjin follows nearly the old Yellow River course—the first advantage. Before the Three Dynasties the Yellow River ran northeast to the sea, where the fullness of the world's vital force was concentrated. When the river shifted into Henan, that force moved with it. If the river were now led from Heyin, Yuanwu, Huai, and Meng into the Wei and on to Tianjin, not only would flooding at Xu and Pei cease but the capital's strategic position would be greatly strengthened—the second advantage. Under the Yuan, canal boats reached Fengqiu and grain was hauled overland to Qimen to enter the Wei. If the river were diverted into the Wei, in winter and spring when levels are steady boats could reach Heyin and flow down to the Wei. In summer and autumn, when the current runs fast, transport would still go by Xu and Pei to Linqing and north to the capital. With ditches maintained and capable officials in charge, drought and flood could be met, cavalry raids resisted, and the strength of Zhili and Henan enhanced—the third advantage. Grand Mentor Huo Tao strongly endorsed the plan and submitted a detailed memorial to the throne. Nothing was done.

崇禎十三年，總河侍郎張國維言：「衛河合漳、沁、淇、洹諸水，北流抵臨清，會閘河以濟運。自漳河他徙，衛流遂弱，挽漳引沁之議，建而未行。宜導輝縣泉源，且酌引漳、沁，闢丹水，疏通滏、洹、淇三水之利害得失，命河南撫、按勘議以聞。」不果行。

In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, Grand Canal Vice Minister Zhang Guowei wrote: "The Wei River gathers the Zhang, Qin, Qi, and Huan rivers, flows north to Linqing, and joins the gated canal to support transport. After the Zhang shifted course the Wei weakened, and though proposals to restore the Zhang and draw off the Qin had been raised, none was carried out. He proposed tapping the springs at Huixian, carefully supplementing with the Zhang and Qin, opening the Dan River, and weighing the pros and cons of involving the Fu, Huan, and Qi—with Henan provincial officials ordered to investigate and report. The plan was not carried out.

萬曆二十八年，給事中王德完言：「漳河決小屯，東經魏縣、元城，抵館陶入衛，為一變，其害小。決高家口，析二流於臨漳之南北，俱至成安東呂彪河合流，經廣平、肥鄉、永年，至曲周入滏水，同流至青縣口方入漕河，為再變，其害大。滏水不勝漳，而今納漳，則狹小不能束巨浪，病溢而患在民。衛水昔仰漳，而今舍漳，則細緩不能卷沙泥，病涸而患在運。塞高家河口，導入小屯河，費少利多，為上策。仍回龍鎮至小灘入衛，費鉅害少，為中策。築呂彪河口，固堤漳水，運道不資利，地方不罹害，為下策。」命河漕督臣集議行之。直隸巡按佴祺亦請引漳河。並下督臣，急引漳會衛，以圖永濟。不果行。

In the twenty-eighth year of Wanli, Supervising Secretary Wang Dewan wrote: "When the Zhang broke at Xiaotun and flowed east through Wei and Yuancheng counties into the Wei at Guantao, that was one shift and the damage was slight. When it broke at Gaojiakou and split north and south of Linzhang, both branches meeting at the Lübiao River east of Chengan, running through Guangping, Feixiang, and Yongnian to enter the Fu at Quzhou and only then reach the canal at Qing county, that was a second shift and the harm was severe. The Fu could not contain the Zhang; forcing the Zhang into it meant a narrow channel could not hold the flood—the affliction was overflow and the people suffered. The Wei had once depended on the Zhang; without it the current was too weak to carry off silt—the affliction was shallows and transport suffered. To block Gaojiakou and restore the Xiaotun course would cost little and gain much—the best plan. To bring the river back from Longzhen to Xiaotan into the Wei would cost greatly but do little harm—the middling plan. To dam the Lübiao outlet and confine the Zhang would neither help transport nor protect the locality—the worst plan. River and grain officials were ordered to meet and decide how to proceed. Zhili Investigating Censor Ni Qi also petitioned to divert the Zhang River. Both petitions went to the supervising officials with orders to join the Zhang to the Wei quickly and secure long-term navigation. Again nothing was done.

沁河，出山西沁源縣綿山東穀。穿太行山，東南流三十里入河南境。饒河內縣東北，又東南至武陟縣，與黃河會而東注，達徐州以濟漕。其支流自武陟紅荊口，經衛輝入衛河。元郭守敬言：「沁餘水引至武陟，北流合御河灌田。」此沁入衛之故跡也。

The Qin River has its source in the eastern valley of Mount Mian in Qinyuan county, Shanxi. It cuts through the Taihang range and, after thirty li to the southeast, enters Henan. It loops northeast of Henei county and flows southeast to Wuzhi, where it joins the Yellow River and runs east to Xuzhou to support the canal. A branch leaves the Qin at Hongjing in Wuzhi, passes Weihui, and enters the Wei River. Guo Shoujing of the Yuan said: "Surplus Qin water was brought to Wuzhi and flowed north to join the Imperial River for irrigation. That is the old course by which the Qin once entered the Wei.

明初，黃河自滎澤趨陳、潁，徑入於淮，不與沁合。乃鑿渠引之，令河仍入沁。久之，沁水盡入黃河，而入衛之故道堙矣。武陟者，沁、黃交會處也。永樂間，再決再築。宣德九年，沁水決馬曲灣，經獲嘉至新鄉，水深成河，城北又匯為澤。築堤以防，猶不能遏。新鄉知縣許宣請堅築決口，俾由故道。遣官相度，從之。沁水稍定，而其支流復入於衛。正統三、四年間，武陟沁堤復再決再築。十三年，黃河決滎澤，背沁而去。乃從武陟東寶家灣開渠三十里，引河入沁，以達淮。自後，沁、河益大合，而沁之入衛者漸淤。

Early in the dynasty the Yellow River ran from Xingze toward Chen and Ying and entered the Huai directly without joining the Qin. A canal was cut to lead it back into the Qin. In time the Qin's full volume went into the Yellow River, and the old channel into the Wei was buried. Wuzhi is where the Qin and Yellow rivers meet. In the Yongle era it broke twice and was repaired twice. In the ninth year of Xuande the Qin broke at Maqu Bay, flowed through Huojia to Xinxiang until the water was river-deep, and north of the city turned into a lake. Dikes were built in defense but could not hold it back. Magistrate Xu Xuan of Xinxiang asked that the breach be firmly closed and the river sent back along its old course. Officials were sent to survey the site and the proposal was approved. The Qin settled somewhat, and its branch again flowed into the Wei. In the third and fourth years of Zhengtong the Qin dikes at Wuzhi broke and were rebuilt twice again. In the thirteenth year the Yellow River broke out at Xingze and left the Qin behind. A thirty-li channel was therefore opened east of Wuzhi at Baojiawan to lead the Yellow River into the Qin and on toward the Huai. After that the Qin and the Yellow River joined ever more fully, while the channel by which the Qin entered the Wei gradually silted up.

景泰三年，僉事劉清言：「自沁決馬曲灣入衛，沁、黃、衛三水相通，轉輸頗利。今決口已塞，衛河膠淺。運舟悉從黃河，嘗遇險阻。宜遣官浚沁資衛，軍民運船視遠近之便而轉輸之。」詔下巡撫集議。

In the third year of Jingtai, Vice Commissioner Liu Qing said: "Ever since the Qin broke through at Maqu Bay and entered the Wei, the Qin, Yellow, and Wei rivers were linked, and grain transport was greatly eased. The breach has now been closed, and the Wei has grown sluggish and shallow. All transport vessels now take the Yellow River and have often met with hazards. Officials should be sent to dredge the Qin and feed the Wei, and soldiers' and civilians' transport ships should haul grain by whichever route—near or far—proves most convenient. An edict was issued directing the grand coordinators to meet and deliberate.

明年，清復言：「東南漕舟，水淺弗能進。請自滎澤入沁河，浚岡頭百二十里以通衛河。且張秋之決，由沁合黃，勢遂奔急。若引沁入衛，則張秋無患。」行人王晏亦言：「開岡頭置閘，分沁水，使南入黃，北達衛。遇漲則閉閘，漕可永無患。」並下督漕都御史王竑等核實以聞。明年，給事中何升言：「沁河有漏港已成河。臨清屯聚膠淺之舟，宜使從此入黃，度二旬可達淮。」詔竑及都御史徐有貞閱之。既而罷引沁河議。初，王晏請漕沁，有司多言弗利。晏固爭。吏部尚書王直請遣官行河，命侍郎趙榮同晏往。榮亦言不利，議乃寢。天順八年，都察院都事金景輝復請浚陳橋集古河，分引沁水，北通長垣、曹州、鉅野，以達漕河。詔按實以聞，未能行也。

The next year Liu Qing spoke again: "The grain ships from the southeast cannot advance because the water is too shallow. I ask that they enter the Qin from Xingze, dredge one hundred and twenty li at Gangtou to link with the Wei River. Moreover, the breach at Zhangqiu came from the Qin joining the Yellow River, and the current became swift and violent. If the Qin were led into the Wei, Zhangqiu would be spared further trouble. Courier Wang Yan also said: "Open Gangtou and install locks to divide the Qin so that one branch flows south into the Yellow River and another north to the Wei. When the waters rise, close the locks, and the grain transport will never again be in danger. Both proposals were forwarded to Wang Hong, the supervising censor-in-chief of grain transport, and others for verification and report. The next year, Supervising Secretary He Sheng said: "On the Qin there is a leaking port that has already formed a full channel. The boats stalled in shallow water at Linqing should be sent through it into the Yellow River; in about twenty days they could reach the Huai. The emperor ordered Wang Hong and Censor-in-Chief Xu Youzhen to inspect the site. Soon afterward the plan to divert the Qin was dropped. At first, when Wang Yan proposed using the Qin for grain transport, many local officers said it would not pay. Wang Yan pressed his case stubbornly. Minister Wang Zhi of the Ministry of Personnel asked that officials be sent to survey the river, and Vice Minister Zhao Rong was ordered to go with Wang Yan. Zhao Rong also reported that it would not work, and the plan was shelved. In the eighth year of Tianshun, Clerk Jin Jinghui of the Censorate again asked to dredge the Jigu River at Chenqiao, divide off part of the Qin, link it north through Changyuan, Caozhou, and Juye to the grain-transport canal. An edict ordered verification and report, but it could not be carried out.

弘治二年夏，黃河決埽頭五處，入沁河。其冬，又決祥符翟家口，合沁河，出丁家道口。十一年，員外郎謝緝以黃河南決，恐牽沁水南流，徐、呂二洪必涸。請遏黃河，堤沁水，使俱入徐州。方下所司勘議，明年漕運總兵官郭鋐上副使張鼐《引沁河議》，請於武陟木欒店鑿渠抵荊隆口，分沁水入賈魯河，由丁家道口以下徐、淮。倘河或南徙，即引沁水入渠，以濟二洪之運。帝即令鼐理之。而曹縣知縣鄒魯又駁鼐議，謂引沁必塞沁入河之口，沁水無歸，必漫田廬。若俟下流既通而始塞之，水勢搗虛，千里不折，其患更大，甚於黃陵。且起木欒店至飛雲橋，地以千里計，用夫百萬，積功十年，未能必其成也。兗州知府龔弘主其說，因上言：「鼐見河勢南行，故建此議。但今秋水逆流東北，亟宜浚築。」乃從河臣撫臣議，修丁家口上下堤岸，而鼐議卒罷。

In the summer of the second year of Hongzhi the Yellow River broke through in five places at Saotou and poured into the Qin. That winter it broke again at Zhaijiakou in Xiangfu, merged with the Qin, and flowed out at Dingjiadao. In the eleventh year, Outside Section Secretary Xie Ji, noting the Yellow River's breach to the south, feared it would pull the Qin south as well and dry up the Xu and Lü rapids. He asked that the Yellow River be checked, the Qin be diked, and both be forced into Xuzhou. While the matter was still before the relevant offices for survey and debate, the next year Grain Transport Commander Guo Hong forwarded Vice Commissioner Zhang Nai's "Proposal to Divert the Qin River," asking that a channel be cut at Muluan in Wuzhi to reach Jinglong, that part of the Qin be sent into the Jia Lu River, and that from Dingjiadao it flow on toward Xuzhou and the Huai. If the Yellow River should shift south, the Qin could then be led into the canal to keep grain moving through the two rapids. The emperor at once put Zhang Nai in charge. But Magistrate Zou Lu of Caoxian also attacked Zhang Nai's plan, arguing that diverting the Qin would require blocking the mouth where it enters the Yellow River, leaving the Qin with nowhere to go and flooding fields and homes. If one waited until the lower course was open before closing it, the water would strike at an empty channel and run unchecked for a thousand li—a disaster far worse than Huangling. Moreover, from Muluan to Feiyun Bridge the distance runs to a thousand li; it would take a million laborers and ten years of work, with no certainty of success. Yanzhou Prefect Gong Hong backed him and memorialized: "Zhang Nai saw the river trending south and therefore made this proposal. But now the autumn flood is running back northeast and dredging and diking should be undertaken at once. The court followed the river commissioners and grand coordinators, repaired the dikes above and below Dingjiakou, and Zhang Nai's plan was finally dropped.

至萬曆十五年，沁水決武陟東岸蓮花池、金屹曵當，新鄉、獲嘉盡淹沒。廷議築堤障之。都御史楊一魁言：「黃河從沁入衛，此故道也。自河徙，而沁與俱南，衛水每涸。宜引沁入衛，不使助河為虐。」部覆言：「沁入黃，衛入漕，其來已久。頃沁水決木欒蓮花口而東，一魁因建此議。而科臣常居敬往勘，言：『衛輝府治卑於河，恐有沖激。且沁水多沙，入漕反為患，不如堅築決口，廣闢河身』。」乃罷其議。

By the fifteenth year of Wanli the Qin broke through at Lotus Pool and Jinyi on Wuzhi's east bank, and Xinxiang and Huojia were wholly inundated. The court debated building dikes to contain it. Censor-in-Chief Yang Yikui said: "The Yellow River once entered the Wei through the Qin—this was the old course. Since the river shifted south, the Qin went with it, and the Wei often runs dry. The Qin should be led into the Wei so that it does not join the Yellow River in making havoc. The ministry replied: "The Qin has long flowed into the Yellow River and the Wei into the grain canal. Recently the Qin broke east at the Lotus opening at Muluan, and Yang Yikui made this proposal on that account. But Supervising Secretary Chang Jujing inspected the site and said: "The Weihui prefectural seat lies lower than the river, and there is fear of a destructive flood. Moreover the Qin carries much silt; sending it into the grain canal would only create trouble. Better to firm up the breach and widen the river channel. The proposal was therefore dropped.

三十三年，茶陵知州範守己復言：「嘉靖六年，河決豐、沛。胡世寧言：『沁水自紅荊口分流入衛，近年始塞。宜擇武陟、陽武地開一河，北達衛水，以備徐、沛之塞。』會盛應期主開新渠，議遂不行。近者十年前，河沙淤塞沁口，沁水不得入河，自木欒店東決岸，奔流入衛，則世甯紅荊口之說信矣。彼時守土諸臣塞其決口，築以堅堤，仍導沁水入河。而堤外河形直抵衛滸，至今存也。請建石閘於堤，分引一支，由所決河道東流入衛。漕舟自邳溯河而上，因沁入衛，東達臨清，則會通河可廢。」帝命總河及撫、按勘議，不行。

In the thirty-third year, Prefect Fan Shouji of Chaling spoke again: "In the sixth year of Jiajing the river broke out at Feng and Pei. Hu Shining had said: "The Qin was divided off at Hongjing to flow into the Wei, and only in recent years was that blocked. A new channel should be cut through Wuzhi and Yangwu to reach the Wei in the north, as a reserve if Xu and Pei should silt up. But as Sheng Yingqi favored opening a new canal, the plan was never carried out. About ten years ago sand from the Yellow River choked the Qin's mouth; the Qin could no longer enter the river and broke through east of Muluan, pouring into the Wei—so Hu Shining's words about Hongjing were vindicated. Local officials then closed the breach, built stout dikes, and still sent the Qin into the Yellow River. But the riverbed outside the dike runs straight toward the Wei and is still there today. I ask that a stone sluice be built on the dike and one branch led off along the old breach channel east into the Wei. Grain ships ascending from Pi could enter the Wei by the Qin, reach Linqing to the east, and the Huizong River could be dispensed with. The emperor ordered the chief canal officer and the grand and regional coordinators to survey and deliberate; the plan was not adopted.

滹沱河，出山西繁峙泰戲山。循太行，掠晉、冀，逶迤而東，至武邑合漳。東北至青縣岔河口入衛，下直沽。或云九河中所稱徒駭是也。

The Hutuo River rises on Mount Taiji in Fanzhi, Shanxi. It runs along the Taihang range, crosses Shanxi and Hebei, winds eastward, and at Wuyi joins the Zhang. Northeast it reaches Chakou in Qingxian and enters the Wei, then flows down to Zhigu. Some identify it as the Tuhai among the Nine Rivers.

成化七年，巡撫都御史楊璿言：「霸州、固安、東安、大城、香河、寶坻、新安、任丘、河間、肅甯、饒陽諸州縣屢被水患，由地勢平衍，水易瀦積。而唐、滹沱、白溝三河上源堤岸率皆低薄，遇雨輒潰。官吏東西決放，以鄰為壑。宜求故跡，隨宜浚之。」帝即命璿董其事，水患稍寧。至十八年，衛、漳、滹沱並溢，潰漕河岸，自清平抵天津決口八十六。因循者久之。

In the seventh year of Chenghua, Grand Coordinator Yang Xuan said: "The prefectures and counties of Bazhou, Gu'an, Dong'an, Dacheng, Xianghe, Baodi, Xin'an, Renqiu, Hejian, Suning, Raoyang have suffered flooding again and again because the land is flat and water pools easily. The upper reaches of the Tang, Hutuo, and Baigou—all their dikes are low and thin and burst whenever it rains. Officials breach them east or west and make their neighbors bear the flood. Channels should follow old courses and be dredged as local conditions require. The emperor at once put Yang Xuan in charge, and the flooding eased somewhat. By the eighteenth year the Wei, Zhang, and Hutuo all flooded together, breaking the grain canal's banks in eighty-six places from Qingping to Tianjin. Repair dragged on for a long while.

弘治二年修真定縣白馬口及近城堤三千九百餘丈。五年又築護城堤二道。後復比年大水，真定城內外俱浸。改挑新河，水患始息。

In the second year of Hongzhi the dikes at Baima mouth and near Zhengding city—more than three thousand nine hundred zhang—were repaired. In the fifth year two more protective dikes around the city were built. But flooding returned year after year, and both inside and outside Zhengding city were submerged. A new channel was cut and the flooding finally stopped.

萬曆九年，給事中顧問言：「臣令任丘，見滹沱水漲，漂沒民田不可勝紀。請自饒陽、河間以下水佔之地，悉捐為河，而募夫深浚河身，堅築堤岸，以圖永久。」命下撫、按官勘議。增築雄縣橫堤八里，任丘東堤二十里。

In the ninth year of Wanli, Supervising Secretary Gu Wen said: "When I was assigned to Renqiu I saw the Hutuo rise and wash away farmland beyond counting. I ask that all land below Raoyang and Hejian now under water be surrendered to the river, that labor be hired to dredge the channel deeply and build strong dikes, and that this be done for a lasting remedy. Orders were sent to the grand and regional coordinators for survey and debate. The transverse dike at Xiong County was extended eight li and the east dike at Renqiu twenty li.

桑乾河，盧溝上源也。發源太原之天池，伏流至朔州馬邑雷山之陽，有金龍池者渾泉溢出，是為桑乾。東下大同古定橋，抵宣府保安州，雁門、應州、雲中諸水皆會。穿西山，入宛平界。東南至看舟口，分為二。其一東由通州高麗莊入白河。其一南流霸州，合易水，南至天津丁字灃入漕河，曰盧溝河，亦曰渾河。河初過懷來，束兩山間，不得肆。至都城西四十里石景山之東，地平土疏，沖激震盪，遷徙弗常。《元史》名盧溝曰小黃河，以其流濁也。上流在西山後者，盈涸無定，不為害。

The Sanggan River is the upper reach of the Lugou. It rises at Heaven Pool near Taiyuan, runs underground to the south flank of Mount Lei at Mayi in Shuozhou, where muddy springs well up at Golden Dragon Pool—that is the Sanggan. It flows east past Guding Bridge at Datong to Bao'an in Xuanfu, where the waters of Yanmen, Yingzhou, Yunzhong, and others all gather. It cuts through the Western Hills and enters Wanping. Southeast to Kanzhou mouth it splits in two. One branch runs east from Gaoli Village in Tongzhou into the Bai River. The other flows south through Bazhou, joins the Yishui, and south of Tianjin at Dingzifeng enters the grain canal—it is the Lugou River, also called the Hun River. Early on, passing Huailai, it is confined between two mountains and cannot spread freely. Forty li west of the capital, east of Shijingshan, the ground is flat and the soil loose; the current strikes and churns, and the channel shifts without rest. The Yuan History calls the Lugou the Lesser Yellow River because its waters are turbid. The upper course behind the Western Hills rises and falls without pattern and does little harm.

嘉靖三十三年，御史宋儀望嘗請疏鑿，以漕宣、大糧。三十九年，都御史李文進以大同缺邊儲，亦請「開桑乾河以通運道。自古定橋至盧溝橋務裏村水運五節，七百餘里，陸運二節，八十八里。春秋二運，可得米二萬五千餘石。且造淺船由盧溝達天津，而建倉務裏村、青白口八處，以備撥運。」皆不能行。下流在西山前者，泛溢害稼，畿封病之，堤防急焉。

In the thirty-third year of Jiajing, Censor Song Yiwang once asked that it be dredged to move grain from Xuanfu and Datong. In the thirty-ninth year, Censor-in-Chief Li Wenjin, citing Datong's shortfall in border stores, also asked to "open the Sanggan River to link the transport route. From Guding Bridge to Wulicun at Lugou Bridge there would be five stages by water, more than seven hundred li, and two stages by land, eighty-eight li. Two shipments in spring and autumn would yield more than twenty-five thousand shi of grain. Shallow-draft boats would run from the Lugou to Tianjin, with granaries at eight sites including Wulicun and Qingbaikou to support transfer shipments. Neither plan could be carried out. The lower course before the Western Hills floods and ruins crops; the capital region has long suffered from it, and diking is urgent.

洪武十六年浚桑乾河，自固安至高家莊八十里，霸州西支河二十里，南支河三十五里。永樂七年，決固安賀家口。十年，壞盧溝橋及堤岸，沒官田民廬，溺死人畜。洪熙元年，決東狼窩口。宣德三年，潰盧溝堤。皆發卒治之。六年，順天府尹李庸言：「永樂中，運河決新城，高從周口遂致淤塞。霸州桑圓裏上下，每年水漲無所泄，漫湧倒流，北灌海子凹、牛欄佃，請亟修築。」從之。七年，侍郎王佐言：「通州至河西務河道淺狹，張家灣西舊有渾河，請疏浚。」帝以役重止之。九年，決東狼窩口，命都督鄭銘往築。正統元年復命侍郎李庸修築，並及盧溝橋小屯廠潰岸，明年工竣。越三年，白溝、運河二水俱溢，決保定縣安州堤五十餘處。復命庸治之，築龍王廟南石堤。七年築渾河口。八年築固安決口。

In the sixteenth year of Hongwu the Sanggan was dredged—eighty li from Gu'an to Gaojia Village, twenty li on Bazhou's west branch, and thirty-five li on the south branch. In the seventh year of Yongle it broke out at Hejiakou in Gu'an. In the tenth year it destroyed the Lugou Bridge and its dikes, submerged official and private land, and drowned people and livestock. In the first year of Hongxi it broke at East Langwo. In the third year of Xuande the Lugou dikes gave way. Soldiers were dispatched to repair them on each occasion. In the sixth year, Prefect Li Yong of Shuntian said: "During Yongle the canal broke at Xincheng; from Gaocongkou it silted up. Above and below Sangyuanli in Bazhou, the waters rise every year with nowhere to drain; they surge backward and flood north into Haizi'ao and Niulandian. Urgent repairs are requested. The emperor approved the proposal. In the seventh year, Vice Minister Wang Zuo said, "The waterway from Tongzhou to Hexiwu is shallow and narrow. West of Zhangjiawan there was once the Hun River; dredging is requested. The emperor stopped the project because the labor burden would be too heavy. In the ninth year the river broke through at East Langwo, and Grand Defender Zheng Ming was ordered to go and build defenses there. In the first year of Zhengtong, Vice Minister Li Yong was again ordered to carry out repairs, including the breached banks at the Xiaotun works by the Lugou Bridge. The work was finished the following year. Three years later both the Baigou and the canal overflowed, breaking the dikes at Anzhou in Baoding County in more than fifty places. Li Yong was again ordered to deal with the damage, and stone dikes were built south of Longwang Temple. In the seventh year work was carried out at the mouth of the Hun River. In the eighth year the breach at Gu'an was repaired.

嘉靖十年從郎中陸時雍言，發卒浚導。三十四年修柳林至草橋大河。四十一年命尚書雷禮修盧溝河岸。禮言：「盧溝東南有大河，從麗莊園入直沽下海，沙澱十餘里。稍東岔河，從固安抵直沽，勢高。今當先浚大河，令水歸故道，然後築長堤以固之。決口地下水急，人力難驟施。西岸故堤綿亙八百丈，遺址可按，宜並築。」詔從其請。明年旋工，東西岸石堤凡九百六十丈。

In the tenth year of Jiajing, following the proposal of Section Director Lu Shiyong, soldiers were sent to dredge and channel the river. In the thirty-fourth year the main river from Liulin to Caoqiao was repaired. In the forty-first year Minister Lei Li was ordered to repair the banks of the Lugou. Lei Li said, "Southeast of the Lugou there is a great river that enters the sea at Zhigu by way of Lizhuang Garden, with sand shoals extending more than ten li. Slightly to the east a branch river runs from Gu'an to Zhigu at a higher elevation. The great river should first be dredged so that the water returns to its old course, and only then should long dikes be built to hold it firm. Below the breach the subsurface current is swift, and labor cannot be applied there all at once. The old dike on the west bank runs on for eight hundred zhang, and its remains can still be traced; it should be rebuilt along with the new work. An edict approved his request. The work was finished the next year, with stone dikes on the east and west banks totaling nine hundred and sixty zhang.

萬曆十五年九月，神宗幸石景山，臨觀渾河。召輔臣申時行至幄次，諭曰：「朕每聞黃河沖決，為患不常，欲觀渾河以知水勢。今見河流洶湧如此，知黃河經理倍難。宜飭所司加慎，勿以勞民傷財為故事。至選用務得人，吏、工二部宜明喻朕意。」

In the ninth month of the fifteenth year of Wanli, the Shenzong Emperor visited Shijingshan and personally inspected the Hun River. He summoned Grand Secretary Shen Shixing to his tent and said, "I often hear of the Yellow River breaking its banks and causing harm without cease. I wished to see the Hun River for myself and learn the force of the waters. Now that I have seen a river surge like this, I know that managing the Yellow River must be twice as hard. The responsible offices should be sternly warned to be more careful and not treat the waste of labor and treasure as business as usual. Above all, the right men must be chosen for the task. The Ministries of Personnel and Works should make my intent perfectly clear."

膠萊河，在山東平度州東南，膠州東北。源出高密縣，分南北流。南流自膠州麻灣口入海，北流經平度州至掖縣海倉口入海。議海運者所必講也。元至元十七年，萊人姚演獻議開新河，鑿地三百餘里，起膠西縣東陳村海口，西北達膠河，出海倉口，謂之膠萊新河。尋以勞費難成而罷。

The Jiao-Lai River lies southeast of Pingdu Prefecture in Shandong and northeast of Jiaozhou. It rises in Gaomi County and divides into southern and northern branches. The southern branch enters the sea at Mayawan in Jiaozhou; the northern branch runs through Pingdu Prefecture to Haicang in Ye County and then reaches the sea. This is a subject that anyone debating sea transport must always take up. In the seventeenth year of Zhiyuan under the Yuan, Yao Yan of Lai proposed opening a new canal by cutting more than three hundred li of ground from the sea mouth at Dongchen Village in Jiaoxi County northwest to the Jiao River and out at Haicang. It was called the Jiao-Lai New Canal. The project was soon abandoned because the labor and expense made completion impracticable.

明正統六年，昌邑民王坦上言：「漕河水淺，軍卒窮年不休。往者江南常海運，自太倉抵膠州。州有河故道接掖縣，宜浚通之。由掖浮海抵直沽，可避東北海險數千里，較漕河為近。。部覆寢其議。

In the sixth year of Zhengtong under the Ming, Wang Tan, a commoner of Changyi, submitted a memorial saying, "The canal is shallow, and the soldiers toil year after year without respite. In former times Jiangnan often shipped grain by sea from Taicang to Jiaozhou. The prefecture still has an old river course linking it to Ye County; that course should be dredged and reopened. From Ye one could sail to Zhigu and avoid several thousand li of peril on the northeastern seas, a route shorter than the canal. The ministry reviewed the proposal and let it die.

嘉靖十一年，御史方遠宜等復議開新河。以馬家墩數里皆石岡，議復寢。十七年，山東巡撫胡纘宗言：「元時新河石座舊跡猶在，惟馬壕未通。已募夫鑿治，請復浚淤道三十餘里。」命從其議。

In the eleventh year of Jiajing, Censor Fang Yuanyi and others again proposed opening the new canal. Because several li around Majia Dun are all stony ridges, the proposal was again set aside. In the seventeenth year, Grand Coordinator Hu Zuanzong of Shandong said, "Traces of the Yuan new canal's stone foundations still survive; only Ma Hao remains unopened. Laborers have already been hired to cut through it; he asked that the silted stretch of more than thirty li be dredged again. The court ordered his proposal to be followed.

至十九年，副使王獻言：「勞山之西有薛島、陳島，石砑林立，橫伏海中，最險。元人避之，故放洋走成山正東，逾登抵萊，然後出直沽。考膠萊地圖，薛島西有山曰小竺，兩峯夾峙。中有石岡曰馬壕，其麓南北皆接海崖，而北即麻灣，又稍北即新河，又西北即萊州海倉。由麻灣抵海倉才三百三十里，由淮安逾馬壕抵直沽，才一千五百里，可免鐃海之險。元人嘗鑿此道，遇石而止。今鑿馬壕以趨麻灣，浚新河以出海倉，誠便。」獻乃於舊所鑿地迤西七丈許鑿之。其初土石相半，下則皆石，又下石頑如鐵。焚以烈火，用水沃之，石爛化為燼。海波流匯，麻灣以通，長十有四里，廣六丈有奇，深半之。由是江、淮之舟達於膠萊。逾年，復浚新河，水泉旁溢，其勢深闊，設九閘，置浮樑，建官署以守。而中間分水嶺難通者三十餘里。時總河王以旂議復海運，請先開平度新河。帝謂妄議生擾，而獻亦適遷去，於是工未變而罷。

By the nineteenth year, Vice Commissioner Wang Xian said, "West of Laoshan lie Xue Island and Chen Island, where reefs stand in dense ranks across the sea and make the passage most perilous. The Yuan avoided them, so their ships put out to sea due east of Chengshan, passed Deng, reached Lai, and only then sailed out toward Zhigu. According to the map of the Jiao-Lai region, west of Xue Island stands a mountain called Xiaozhu, with two peaks facing each other. Between them is a stony ridge called Ma Hao. Its slopes north and south meet the sea cliffs; to the north lies Mayawan, a little farther north the new canal, and northwest Laizhou Haicang. From Mayawan to Haicang is only three hundred and thirty li, and from Huai'an across Ma Hao to Zhigu only fifteen hundred li, avoiding the dangers of a long voyage around the open sea. The Yuan had once tried to cut this route but stopped when they struck rock. To cut through Ma Hao toward Mayawan and dredge the new canal out at Haicang would truly be the easier course. Wang Xian then dug about seven zhang farther west from the old excavation. At first earth and stone came up in equal measure; lower down there was only stone, and below that stone as stubborn as iron. They burned it with fierce fire and poured water over it until the stone crumbled into ash. Sea water flowed in and Mayawan was opened: fourteen li long, a little more than six zhang wide, and half as deep. From then on, boats from the Yangzi and Huai regions could reach the Jiao-Lai route. The next year the new canal was dredged again. Springs welled up on both sides and the channel grew deep and broad. Nine locks were installed, floating bridges were set in place, and official offices were built to guard the works. Yet more than thirty li of the watershed divide in the middle remained difficult to open. At the time Grand Canal Director Wang Yiji proposed reviving sea transport and asked that the new canal at Pingdu be opened first. The emperor said reckless proposals only bred trouble, and Wang Xian happened to be transferred away at the same time, so the work was abandoned before it could be finished.

三十一年，給事中李用敬言：「膠萊新河在海運舊道西，王獻鑿馬家壕，導張魯、白、現諸河水益之。今淮舟直抵麻灣，即新河南口也，從海倉直抵天津，即新河北口也。南北三百餘里，潮水深入。中有九穴湖、大沽河，皆可引濟。其當疏浚者百餘里耳，宜急開通。」給事中賀涇、御史何廷鈺亦以為請。詔廷鈺會山東撫、按官行視。既而以估費浩繁，報罷。

In the thirty-first year, Supervising Secretary Li Yongjing said, "The Jiao-Lai New Canal lies west of the old sea-transport route. Wang Xian cut through Majia Hao and brought in the Zhang, Lu, Bai, and Xian rivers to feed it. Huai boats now reach Mayawan directly, which is the canal's southern mouth; from Haicang straight to Tianjin is its northern mouth. For more than three hundred li from north to south, the tidal water runs deep. Jiuxue Lake and the Dagou River lie along the route and can both be tapped to supply water. Only a little more than a hundred li still needs dredging; the canal should be opened without delay. Supervising Secretary He Jing and Censor He Tingyu made the same request. An edict ordered He Tingyu to join the provincial governor and surveillance officials of Shandong in an on-site inspection. In the end the projected costs proved enormous, and the project was reported abandoned.

隆慶五年，給事中李貴和復請開浚，詔遣給事中胡檟會山東撫、按官議。檟言：「獻所鑿渠，流沙善崩，所引白河細流不足灌注。他若現河、小膠河、張魯河、九穴、都泊皆潢汙不深廣。膠河雖有微源，地勢東下，不能北引。諸水皆不足資。上源則水泉枯涸，無可仰給；下流則浮沙易潰，不能持久。擾費無益。」巡撫樑夢龍亦言：「獻誤執元人廢渠為海運故道，不知渠身太長，春夏泉涸無所引注，秋冬暴漲無可蓄泄。南北海沙易塞，舟行滯而不通。」乃復報罷。

In the fifth year of Longqing, Supervising Secretary Li Guihe again asked that the canal be opened and dredged, and an edict sent Supervising Secretary Hu Jiao to confer with the governor and surveillance officials of Shandong. Hu Jiao said, "The channel Wang Xian cut is liable to collapse in shifting sand, and the slender current he drew from the Bai River is not enough to keep it filled. The Xian River, the Little Jiao River, the Zhang-Lu River, Jiuxue, and Dubo are all shallow, stagnant pools, neither deep nor broad. The Jiao River has only a slight source, and because the land slopes eastward its water cannot be drawn north. None of these waters can serve as a dependable supply. At the upper reaches the springs run dry and offer nothing to draw on; at the lower course loose sand gives way easily and the channel cannot be kept open. The effort would waste labor and money to no purpose. Grand Coordinator Liang Menglong also said, "Wang Xian wrongly treated the Yuan abandoned canal as the old sea-transport route. He did not see that the channel is too long: in spring and summer the springs dry up and there is nothing to feed it, while in autumn and winter sudden floods have nowhere to be stored or released. Sand from the northern and southern seas blocks the route easily, and boats bog down and cannot get through." Once again the project was reported abandoned.

萬曆三年，南京工部尚書劉應節、侍郎徐栻復議海運，言：「難海運者以放洋之險，覆溺之患。今欲去此二患，惟自膠州以北，楊家圈以南，浚地百里，無高山長阪之隔，楊家圈北悉通海潮矣。綜而計之，開創者什五，通浚者什三，量浚者什二。以錐探之，上下皆無石，可開無疑。」乃命栻任其事。應節議主通海。而栻往相度，則膠州旁地高峻，不能通潮。惟引泉源可成河，然其道二百五十餘里，鑿山引水，築堤建閘，估費百萬。詔切責栻，謂其以難詞沮成事。會給事中光懋疏論之，且請令應節往勘。應節至，謂南北海口水俱深闊，舟可乘潮，條悉其便以聞。

In the third year of Wanli, Nanjing Minister of Works Liu Yingjie and Vice Minister Xu Shi again debated sea transport, saying, "Those who oppose it point to the dangers of the open sea and the risk of capsizing and drowning. To remove these two dangers, one need only dredge a hundred li of ground from north of Jiaozhou to south of Yangjiaquan. No high mountains or long ridges stand in the way, and north of Yangjiaquan the route would connect fully with the sea tides. Taken altogether, new cutting would account for half, full dredging for three-tenths, and partial dredging for two-tenths. Probing with iron spikes showed no rock above or below; the route could be opened without question. Xu Shi was then ordered to take charge of the work. Liu Yingjie argued chiefly for opening the route to the sea. When Xu Shi went to survey the ground, he found the land beside Jiaozhou high and steep and unable to connect with the tides. Only by bringing in spring sources could a river be made, but the route would run more than two hundred and fifty li, requiring mountains to be cut, water to be diverted, dikes to be built, and locks to be erected, at an estimated cost of one million taels. An edict sharply rebuked Xu Shi, accusing him of using objections to block the project. About the same time Supervising Secretary Guang Mao submitted a memorial on the matter and asked that Liu Yingjie be sent to inspect the site. When Liu Yingjie arrived, he reported that both the northern and southern sea mouths were deep and broad, that boats could ride the tides, and he listed every advantage in detail.

山東巡撫李世達上言：「南海麻灣以北，應節謂沙積難除，徙古路溝十三里以避之。又慮南接鴨綠港，東連龍家屯，沙積甚高，渠口一開，沙隨潮入，故復有建閘障沙之議。臣以為閘閉則潮安從入？閘啟則沙又安從障也？北海倉口以南至新河閘，大率沙淤潮淺。應節挑東岸二里，僅去沙二尺，大潮一來，沙壅如故，故復有築堤約水障沙之議。臣以為障兩岸之沙則可耳，若潮自中流沖激，安能障也？分水嶺高峻，一工止二十丈，而費千五百金。下多鵜岡鵜句石，掣水甚難。故復有改挑王家丘之議。臣以為吳家口至亭口高峻者共五十里，大概多鵜岡鵜句石，費當若何？而舍此則又無河可行也。夫潮信有常，大潮稍遠，亦止及陳村閘、楊家圈，不能更進。況日止二潮乎？此潮水之難恃也。河道紆曲二百里，張魯、白、膠三水微細，都泊行潦，業已乾涸。設遇亢旱，何泉可引？引泉亦難恃也。元人開浚此河，史臣謂其勞費不貲，終無成功，足為前鑒。」巡按御史商為正亦言：「挑分水嶺下，方廣十丈，用夫千名。才下數尺為鵜岡鵜句石，又下皆沙，又下盡黑沙，又下水泉湧出，甫挑即淤，止深丈二尺。必欲通海行舟，更須挑深一丈。雖二百餘萬，未足了此。」給事中王道成亦論其失。工部尚書郭朝賓覆請停罷。遂召應節、栻還說，罷其役。嗣是中書程守訓，御史高舉、顏思忠，尚書楊一魁相繼議及之，皆不果行。

Grand Coordinator Li Shida of Shandong submitted a memorial saying, "North of Mayawan on the southern sea, Liu Yingjie said the accumulated sand was hard to remove and proposed shifting the route thirteen li to Gulu Ditch to avoid it. He also feared that because the route south connects with Yalv Port and east with Longjiatun, where sand has piled very high, opening the channel mouth would let sand pour in with the tide, and so the idea of building locks to block the sand was revived. I ask: if the lock is closed, how is the tide to enter? And if the lock is opened, how is the sand to be kept out? From Haicang south to the new canal lock, the channel is mostly silted with sand and shallow even at high tide. Liu Yingjie dredged two li along the east bank and removed only two chi of sand; when the spring tide came, the channel silted up again as before, and so the idea of building dikes to hold back the water and block the sand was revived. I think sand on both banks might be held back, but if the tide surges through the middle of the channel, how can it be blocked? The watershed is high and steep: one twenty-zhang section of work costs fifteen hundred taels. Below lie many pelican-ridge and pelican-hook rocks, making it very hard to control the flow. For that reason the proposal to shift dredging to Wangjiaqiu was revived. I ask: from Wujiakou to Tingkou the high, steep stretch runs fifty li and is mostly pelican-ridge and pelican-hook rock — what would the cost come to? Yet if this route is abandoned, there is no other waterway that can be used. Tides follow a fixed schedule, and even the spring tide reaches no farther than Chencun Sluice and Yangjiaquan—it cannot push inland beyond that. Besides, there are only two tides a day. That is why tidal water cannot be counted on. The channel twists two hundred li, while the Zhang, Lu, Bai, and Jiao streams are meager; the pools that catch runoff have already gone dry. In a severe drought, what springs could supply water? Spring water, too, is unreliable. When the Yuan dredged this river, historians wrote that the labor and cost were incalculable and the project ultimately failed—a warning from the past. Touring Inspector Shang Weizheng also reported: "Below Fen Shui ridge we dredged an area ten zhang square with a thousand workers. A few chi down we hit hard Tigang and Tigou rock, then sand, then black sand, then gushing springs; the cut silted shut almost at once and reached only one zhang two chi deep. To open a seagoing channel would require dredging another full zhang. Even more than two million taels would not cover the cost. Supervising Secretary Wang Daocheng also criticized the plan's flaws. Minister of Works Guo Chaobin memorialized to halt the project. Liu Yingjie and Xu Shi were recalled to court to answer for the project, and the work was abandoned. Later Secretariat Drafter Cheng Shouxun, Censors Gao Ju and Yan Sizhong, and Minister Yang Yikui raised the plan again in turn, but none of their proposals was carried out.

崇禎十四年，山東巡撫曾櫻、戶部主事邢國璽復申王獻、劉應節之說。給內帑十萬金，工未舉，櫻去官。十六年夏，尚書倪元璐請截漬糧由膠萊河轉餉，自膠河口用小船抵分水嶺，車盤嶺脊四十里達於萊河，復用小船出海，可無島礁漂損之患。山東副總兵黃廕恩獻議略同。皆未及行。

In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Shandong Grand Coordinator Zeng Ying and Ministry of Revenue Principal Secretary Xing Guoxi revived the proposals of Wang Xian and Liu Yingjie. The court allocated one hundred thousand taels from the inner treasury, but before work began Zeng Ying left his post. In the summer of the sixteenth year, Minister Ni Yuanlu proposed shipping stored grain via the Jiao-Lai Canal: small boats from Jiao River mouth to Fen Shui ridge, carts over the forty-li ridge to the Lai River, then small boats to sea—avoiding reefs and shipwreck. Shandong Vice Commander Huang Yinen submitted a similar proposal. None of these plans was ever carried out.

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