Volume 88 Treatises 64: Rivers and Canals 6

直省水利

Water Conservancy in the Direct Provinces

三代疆理水土之制甚詳。自井田廢，溝遂堙，水常不得其治，於是穿鑿渠塘井陂，以資灌溉。明初，太祖詔所在有司，民以水利條上者，即陳奏。越二十七年，特諭工部，陂塘湖堰可蓄泄以備旱潦者，皆因其地勢修治之。乃分遣國子生及人材，遍詣天下，督修水利。明年冬，郡邑交奏。凡開塘堰四萬九百八十七處，其恤民者至矣。嗣後有所興築，或役本境，或資鄰封，或支官料，或採山場，或農隙鳩工，或隨時集事，或遣大臣董成。終明世水政屢修，可具列云。

The Three Dynasties maintained elaborate systems for surveying land and regulating water and soil. Once the well-field system fell away and ditches and drains silted up, water could rarely be controlled effectively, so people excavated canals, ponds, wells, and dikes to provide irrigation. Early in the Ming, the Hongwu Emperor ordered local authorities that whenever commoners petitioned on waterworks, they were to report these at once to the court. Twenty-seven years on, he specifically directed the Ministry of Works to repair every reservoir, lake, and dam capable of storing or releasing water against drought or flood, each according to local topography. He then sent Imperial Academy students and talented men across the realm to oversee hydraulic works. The following winter, reports poured in from prefectures and counties across the land. In all, 40,987 ponds and weirs were opened—a measure of his solicitude for the people that could scarcely be exceeded. Thereafter, new works might draw labor from the local district or aid from neighboring jurisdictions, official supplies or materials from mountain quarries; crews might be assembled in farming slack seasons or on short notice, and high ministers were sometimes sent to oversee completion. Water administration was repaired again and again through the Ming; the main undertakings may be set forth as follows.

洪武元年修和州銅城堰閘，週迴二百餘里。四年修興安靈渠，為陡渠者三十六。渠水發海陽山，秦時鑿，溉田萬頃。馬援葺之，後圮。至是始復。六年發松江、嘉興民夫二萬開上海胡家港，自海口至漕涇千二百餘丈，以通海船，且浚海鹽澉浦。八年開登州蓬萊閣河。命耿炳文浚涇陽洪渠堰，溉涇陽、三原、醴泉、高陵、臨潼田二百餘里。九年修彭州都江堰。十二年，李文忠言：「陝西病鹹鹵，請穿渠城中，遙引龍首渠東注。」從其請，甃以石。十四年築海鹽海塘。十七年築磁州漳河決堤。決荊州嶽山壩以灌民田。十九年築長樂海堤。二十三年修崇明、海門決堤二萬三千九百餘丈，役夫二十五萬人。四川永甯宣慰使言：「所轄水道百九十灘，江門大灘八十二，皆被石塞。」詔景川侯曹震往疏之。二十四年修臨海橫山嶺水閘，寧海、奉化海堤四千三百餘丈。築上虞海堤四千丈，改建石閘。浚定海、鄞二縣東錢湖，灌田數萬頃。二十五年鑿溧陽銀墅東壩河道，由十字港抵沙子河胭脂壩四千三百餘丈，役夫三十五萬九千餘人。二十七年浚山陽支家河，鬱林州民言：「州南北二江相去二十餘里，乞鑿通，設石陡諸閘。」從之。二十九年修築河南洛堤。復興安靈渠。時尚書唐鐸以軍興至其地，圖渠狀以聞。請浚深廣，通官舟以餉軍。命御史嚴震直燒鑿陡澗之石，餉道果通。三十一年，洪渠堰圮，復命耿炳文修治之。且浚渠十萬三千餘丈。建文四年疏吳淞江。

In Hongwu 1 (1368), the Tongcheng Weir and sluice in He Prefecture were repaired, enclosing more than two hundred li of irrigation. In Hongwu 4 (1371), the Ling Canal at Xing'an was restored, with thirty-six stepped channels built along it. Its waters rise on Haiyang Mountain; excavated in Qin times, the canal irrigates ten thousand qing of farmland. Ma Yuan had restored it in Han times, but it later fell into ruin. It was only now brought back into service. In Hongwu 6 (1373), twenty thousand laborers from Songjiang and Jiaxing opened Shanghai's Hujia Harbor, dredging more than 1,200 zhang from the estuary to Caojing to admit seagoing craft, and also cleared the saltworks channel at Cangpu in Haiyan. In Hongwu 8 (1375), the river at Penglai Pavilion in Deng Prefecture was opened. Geng Bingwen was ordered to dredge the Hongqu Weir at Jingyang, watering more than two hundred li of fields in Jingyang, Sanyuan, Liquan, Gaoling, and Lintong. In Hongwu 9 (1376), the Dujiangyan irrigation system in Peng Prefecture was repaired. In Hongwu 12 (1379), Li Wenzhong reported: "Shaanxi is afflicted by brackish and saline water; I ask that a canal be cut within the city to bring the Longshou Canal from afar and channel it eastward. The request was granted, and the canal was faced with stone. In Hongwu 14 (1381), the seadike at Haiyan was constructed. In Hongwu 17 (1384), the breached Zhang River dike at Ci Prefecture was repaired. The Yueshan Dam in Jingzhou was opened to irrigate farmland. In Hongwu 19 (1386), the seadike at Changle was built. In Hongwu 23 (1390), more than 23,900 zhang of breached dikes at Chongming and Haimen were repaired, employing 250,000 laborers. The Yongning Pacification Commissioner in Sichuan reported: "Within my jurisdiction are 190 rapids on the waterways, including 82 major ones at Jiangmen, all choked by rock. The emperor ordered Marquis Cao Zhen of Jingchuan to go and clear them. In Hongwu 24 (1391), the sluice at Hengshan Ridge in Linhai was repaired, and more than 4,300 zhang of seadike at Ninghai and Fenghua were built. At Shangyu a 4,000-zhang seadike was built and the sluice rebuilt in stone. East Qian Lake in Dinghai and Yin counties was dredged, watering tens of thousands of qing of farmland. In Hongwu 25 (1392), the channel at Liyang's Yinshu eastern dam was excavated for more than 4,300 zhang from Shizi Harbor to the Yanzhi Dam on the Shazi River, employing over 359,000 laborers. In Hongwu 27 (1394), the Zhijia River in Shanyang was dredged. The people of Yulin Prefecture petitioned: "The prefecture's northern and southern rivers lie more than twenty li apart; we ask that they be linked by excavation and fitted with stone stepped locks and other gates. The request was granted. In Hongwu 29 (1396), the Luo River dikes in Henan were repaired. The Ling Canal at Xing'an was restored once more. Minister Tang Duo had arrived there on military business and submitted a diagram of the canal's condition to the throne. He asked that it be dredged deeper and wider so official transports could pass and provision the army. Censor Yan Zhenzhi was ordered to blast and cut through the rock in the steep gorges, and the supply route was duly opened. In Hongwu 31 (1398), the Hongqu Weir collapsed, and Geng Bingwen was again ordered to repair it. More than 103,000 zhang of canal were dredged as well. In Jianwen 4 (1402), the Wusong River was dredged.

命夏原吉治蘇、鬆、嘉興水患，浚華亭、上海運鹽河，金山衛閘及漕涇分水港。原吉言：「浙西諸郡，蘇、鬆最居下流，嘉、湖、常頗高，環乙太湖，綿亙五百里。納杭、湖、宣、歙溪澗之水，散注澱山諸湖，以入三泖。頃為浦港堙塞，漲溢害稼。拯治之法，在浚吳淞諸浦。按吳淞江袤二百餘里，廣百五十餘丈，西接太湖，東通海，前代常疏之。然當潮汐之沖，旋疏旋塞。自吳江長橋抵下界浦，百二十餘里，水流雖通，實多窄淺。從浦抵上海南倉浦口，百三十餘里，潮汐淤塞，已成平陸，氵豔沙遊泥，難以施工。嘉定劉家港即古婁江，徑入海，常熟白茆港徑入江，皆廣川急流。宜疏吳淞南北兩岸、安亭等浦，引太湖諸水入劉家、白茆二港，使其勢分。松江大黃浦乃通吳淞要道，今下流遏塞難浚。旁有範家浜，至南倉浦口徑達海。宜浚深闊，上接大黃浦，達泖湖之水，庶幾復《禹貢》「三江入海「之舊。水道既通，乃相地勢，各置石閘，以時啟閉。每歲水涸時，預修圩岸，以防暴流，則水患可息。」帝命發民丁開浚。原吉晝夜徙步，以身先之，功遂成。

Xia Yuanji was ordered to address flooding in Suzhou, Songjiang, and Jiaxing, and to dredge the salt transport canals at Huating and Shanghai, the Jinshan Guard sluice, and the Caojing distributary. Yuanji reported: "In western Zhejiang, Suzhou and Songjiang lie lowest downstream; Jiaxing, Huzhou, and Changzhou stand higher, ringing Lake Tai for five hundred li. It receives streams from Hangzhou, Huzhou, Xuanzhou, and Shezhou, which spread into lakes such as Dianshan and then flow into the three Mao channels. Lately the estuary channels have silted up, causing floods that damage the harvest. The remedy is to dredge the Wusong River and its tributary channels. The Wusong River runs more than two hundred li, over 150 zhang wide, joining Lake Tai on the west and the sea on the east; earlier dynasties dredged it repeatedly. Yet it lies in the tidal surge zone, so that no sooner is it cleared than it silts up again. From Changqiao in Wujiang to Xiajie Harbor, more than 120 li, the water flows but the channel is often narrow and shallow. From there to Nancang Harbor at Shanghai, more than 130 li, tidal silt has filled the channel until it is level ground; shifting sand and drifting mud make work nearly impossible. Liujia Harbor in Jiading is the ancient Lou River, running straight to the sea; Baimao Harbor in Changshu runs straight to the main stream—both are broad channels with swift current. The north and south banks of the Wusong and channels such as Anting should be dredged to divert Lake Tai's waters into Liujia and Baimao harbors and divide the current. Songjiang's Dahuangpu is the main route to the Wusong, but its lower reach is now blocked and difficult to dredge. Nearby is Fanjia Creek, which from Nancang Harbor runs straight to the sea. It should be dredged deep and wide, linking above to the Dahuangpu and the Mao lake waters, so that the Yu Gong's "three rivers entering the sea" might be restored in some measure. Once the waterways are open, stone sluices should be placed according to terrain and opened or closed seasonally. Each year when waters run low, polder dikes should be repaired in advance against sudden floods, and flooding can be brought under control. The emperor ordered corvée labor mobilized for the dredging. Yuanji walked the works day and night on foot, leading by example, until the project was finished.

二年，修泰州河塘萬八千丈，興化南北堤、泰興沿江圩岸、六合瓜步等屯。浚丹徒通潮舊江，又修象山茭湖塘岸，海康、徐聞二縣那隱坡、調黎等港堤岸，黃嚴混水等十五閘、六陡門，孟津河堤，分宜湖塘，武陟馬田堤岸，香山竹徑水陂，復興安分水塘。興安有江，源出海陽山。江中橫築石埭，分南北渠，溉民田甚溥。埭上疊石如鱗，以防沖溢。嚴震直撤石增埭，水迫無所泄，沖塘岸，盡趨北渠，南渠淺澀，民失利。至是修復如舊。

In Yongle 2 (1404), 18,000 zhang of Taizhou river embankment were repaired, along with Xinghua's north and south dikes, Taixing's riverside polders, and the garrisons at Guabu in Liuhe and elsewhere. The old tidal channel at Dantu was dredged; embankments were repaired at Xiangshan's Jiaohu, harbor dikes at Nayinpo and Diaoli in Haikang and Xuwen, fifteen Huangyan sluices including Hunshui and six stepped gates, the Mengjin River dike, Fenyi's lake embankment, Wuzhi's Matian dike, Xiangshan's Zhujing barrage, and Xing'an's Fenishuitang were restored. At Xing'an a river rises on Haiyang Mountain. A stone weir built across the river divided north and south channels and irrigated a vast extent of farmland. Stones were laid on the weir like fish scales to withstand flood surges. Yan Zhenzhi had removed the stones and raised the weir; with nowhere to discharge, the water burst the pond banks and all rushed into the north channel, leaving the south channel shallow and depriving the people of irrigation. It was now restored to its former condition.

海門民請發淮安、蘇、常民丁協修張墩港、東明港百餘里潰堤。帝曰：「三郡民方苦水患，不可重勞。」遣官行視，以揚州民協築之。當塗民言：「慈湖瀕江，上通宣、歙，東抵丹陽湖，西接蕪湖。久雨浸淫，潮漲傷農，宜遣勘修築。」帝從其請，且諭工部，安、徽、蘇、鬆，浙江、江西、湖廣，凡湖泊卑下，圩岸傾頹，亟督有司治之。夏原吉復奉命治水蘇、鬆，盡通舊河港。又浚蘇州千墩浦、致和塘、安亭、顧浦、陸皎浦、尤涇、黃涇共二萬九千餘丈，松江大黃浦、赤雁浦、範家浜共萬二千丈，以通太湖下流。

The people of Haimen asked that corvée from Huai'an, Suzhou, and Changzhou be mobilized to help repair more than 100 li of breached dikes at Zhangdun and Dongming harbors. The emperor said: "The people of those three prefectures are already suffering from flooding; they must not be burdened further. Officials were sent to inspect the site, and Yangzhou labor was used for the repairs instead. The people of Dangtu reported: "Cihu lies on the Yangtze, linking upstream to Xuanzhou and Shezhou, east to Danyang Lake, and west to Wuhu. Prolonged rain and rising tides have damaged the crops; officials should be sent to survey and repair the works. The emperor granted the request and instructed the Ministry of Works to urge officials in Anhui, Suzhou, Songjiang, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Huguang to repair promptly wherever lakes lay low and polder dikes had collapsed. Xia Yuanji was again ordered to manage Suzhou and Songjiang waters and fully reopen the old river channels. He also dredged more than 29,000 zhang of Suzhou channels including Qiandun Harbor, Zhihe Pond, Anting, Gupu, Lujiaopu, Youjing, and Huangjing, and 12,000 zhang in Songjiang including the Dahuangpu, Chiyanpu, and Fanjiabang, to open Lake Tai's lower outflow.

先是，修含山崇義堰。未幾，和州民言：「銅城閘上抵巢湖，下揚子江，決圩岸七十餘處，乞修治。」其吏目張良興又言：「水淹麻、澧二湖田五萬餘頃，宜築圩埂，起桃花橋，訖含山界三十里。」俱從之。

Earlier, the Chongyi Weir in Hanshan had been repaired. Soon after, the people of He Prefecture reported: "The Tongcheng Sluice reaches Chaohu upstream and the Yangtze downstream; more than seventy breaches have opened in the polder dikes; we ask for repairs. Clerk Zhang Liangxing added: "Floods have submerged more than 50,000 qing of fields in the Ma and Li lakes; polder embankments should be built from Taohua Bridge for thirty li to the Hanshan border." Both requests were granted.

三年，修上虞曹娥江壩埂，溫縣馱塢村堤堰四千餘丈，南海衛蓮塘、四會縣鴉鵲水等堤岸，無為州周興等鄉及鷹揚衛烏江屯江岸。築昌黎及曆城小清河決堤，應天新河口北岸，從大勝關抵江東驛三千三百丈。浚海州北舊河，上通高橋，下接臨洪場及山陽運鹽河十八里。

In Yongle 3 (1405), the Cao'e River dam at Shangyu was repaired; more than 4,000 zhang of dikes at Tuowu Village in Wen County; dikes at Nanhai Guard's Liantang and Sihui's Yaque Water; and river banks at Wuwei's Zhouxing townships and Yingyang Guard's Wujiang garrison. Breached Xiaoqing River dikes at Changli and Licheng were repaired; 3,300 zhang of north bank at Yingtian's new river mouth from Dasheng Pass to Jiangdong Post. Haizhou's old north river was dredged, linking Gaoqiao upstream to Linhong Station and Shanyang's eighteen-li salt canal downstream.

四年，修築宣城十九圩，豐城穆湖圩岸，石首臨江萬石堤，溧水決圩。修懷寧鬥潭河、彭灘圩岸，順天固安，保定荊岱，樂亭魯家套、社河口，吉水劉家塘、雲陂，江都劉家圩港。築湖廣廣濟、武家穴等江岸。新建石頭岡圩岸、江浦沿江堤。開泰州運鹽河、普定秦潼河、西溪南儀阡三處河口，導流興化、鹽城界入海。浚常熟福山塘三十六里。

In Yongle 4 (1406), nineteen Xuancheng polders were repaired, Fengcheng's Mu Lake polder embankment and Shishou's riverside Wanshi Dike were built, and breached Lishui polders were restored. Huaining's Doutan River and Pengtan polder, Shuntian's Gu'an, Baoding's Jingdai, Leting's Lujiatou and Shehekou, Jishui's Liujiatang and Yunpo, and Jiangdu's Liujiaweigang were repaired. River banks at Huguang's Guangji and Wujiaxue were constructed. New works included the Shitougang polder embankment and Jiangpu's riverside dike. Taizhou's salt canal, Puding's Qintong River, and three mouths at Xixi's Nanyiqian were opened to channel water from the Xinghua–Yancheng border to the sea. Changshu's Fushantang was dredged for thirty-six li.

五年，修長洲、吳江、崑山、華亭、錢塘、仁和、嘉興堤岸，餘姚南湖壩，築高要銀岡、金山等潰堤，溉田五百餘頃。治杭州江岸之淪者。六年浚浙江平陽縣河。七年修安陸州渲馬灘決岸、海鹽石堤，築泰興攔江堤三千九百餘丈。且浚大港北淤河，抵縣南，出大江，四千五百餘丈。八年修丹陽練湖塘，汝陽汝河堤岸，南陵野塘圩、蚌蕩壩，鬆滋張家坑、何家洲堤岸，平度州濰水、浮糠河決口百十二，堤堰八千餘丈，吳江石塘官路橋樑。

In Yongle 5 (1407), dikes at Changzhou, Wujiang, Kunshan, Huating, Qiantang, Renhe, and Jiaxing were repaired, Yuyao's Nanhu Dam was restored, breached dikes at Gaoyao's Yingang and Jinshan were rebuilt, irrigating more than 500 qing. Collapsed sections of Hangzhou's riverbank were repaired. In Yongle 6 (1408), Pingyang County's river in Zhejiang was dredged. In Yongle 7 (1409), Anlu's breached Xuanmatan bank and Haiyan's stone dike were repaired, and more than 3,900 zhang of Taixing's river-blocking dike were built. The silted north branch of Dagang was also dredged south of the county seat to the main river for more than 4,500 zhang. In Yongle 8 (1410), Danyang's Lianhu embankment, Ruyang's Ru River dikes, Nanling's Yetang polder and Bangdang Dam, Songzi's Zhangjiakeng and Hejiazhou dikes, 112 Pingdu breaches on the Weishui and Fukang River with over 8,000 zhang of dikes and weirs, and Wujiang's Shitang road bridges were repaired.

九年，修安福丁陂等塘堰，安仁鐃家陂、壽光堤，安陸京山景陵圩岸，長樂官塘，長洲至嘉興石土塘橋路七十餘里，泄水洞百三十一處，監利車水堤四千四百餘丈，高安華陂屯陂堤，仁和、海寧、海鹽土石塘岸萬餘丈。築沂州沭河口決岸，並瀹述陽述河。。築直隸新城張村等口決堤，仁和黃濠塘岸三百餘丈，孫家圍塘岸二十餘里。浚濰縣幹丹河、定襄故渠六十三里，引滹沱水灌田六百餘頃。疏福山官渠，浚江陰青陽河道，鄒平白條溝河三十餘里。

In Yongle 9 (1411), Anfu's Dingpi and other ponds and weirs, Anren's Raojia Barrage, Shouguang's dike, Anlu Jingshan's Jingling polder, Changle's official pond, more than seventy li of stone and earth embankments and bridges from Changzhou to Jiaxing, 131 drainage culverts, Jianli's 4,400-zhang water-lifting dike, Gao'an's Huapi garrison barrage, and over 10,000 zhang of embankments in Renhe, Haining, and Haiyan were repaired. The breached Shu River mouth at Yi Prefecture was repaired, and the Shuyang River was dredged. Breached dikes at Zhangcun and other openings in Zhili's Xincheng were repaired; more than 300 zhang of Renhe's Huanghao embankment; and more than twenty li of Sunjiawei embankment were built. Wei County's Gandan River and Dingxiang's old channel—sixty-three li—were dredged to draw Hutuo water and irrigate more than 600 qing. Fushan's official canal was cleared, Jiangyin's Qingyang channel was dredged, and Zouping's Baitiao Ditch for more than thirty li.

麗水民言：「縣有通濟渠，截鬆陽、遂昌諸溪水入焉。上、中、下三源，流四十八派，溉田二千餘頃。上源民泄水自利，下源流絕，沙壅渠塞。請修堤堰如舊。」部議從之。齊東知縣張升言：「小清河洪水沖決，淹沒諸鹽場及青州田。請浚上流，修長堤，使水行故道。」皇太子遣官經理之。鄜州民言：「洛水橫決而西，沖塌州城東北隅。請浚故道，循州東山麓南流。」從之。

The people of Lishui reported: "The county has the Tongji Canal, which diverts stream waters from Songyang, Suichang, and elsewhere into it. Its upper, middle, and lower sources divide into forty-eight channels and irrigate more than 2,000 qing of farmland. Upstream communities drain the water for their own use, the lower reach runs dry, sand accumulates, and the canal is choked. They ask that the dikes and weirs be restored to their former condition. The ministry deliberated and approved the request. Zhang Sheng, magistrate of Qidong, reported: "Floods on the Xiaoqing River have broken through and submerged the salt works and farmland of Qingzhou. We ask that the upper reach be dredged, long dikes be rebuilt, and the water be returned to its former channel. The crown prince sent officials to take charge of the work. The people of Fu Prefecture reported: "The Luo River broke out westward and washed away the northeastern corner of the prefectural city. We ask that the old channel be dredged so the river may run south along the foothills east of the prefecture. The court approved the request.

十年，修浙江平陽捍潮堤岸，黃梅臨江決岸百二十餘里，海門捍潮堤百三十里。築新會圩岸二千餘丈，獻縣、饒陽恭儉等岸，安丘紅河決岸，安州直亭等河決口八十九，華容、安津等堤決口四十六。浚上海蟠龍江、濰縣白浪河。北京行太僕卿楊砥言：「吳橋、東光、興濟、交河及天津等衛屯田，雨水決堤傷稼。德州良店驛東南二十五里有黃河故道，與州南土河通。穿渠置閘，分殺水勢，大為民便。」命侍郎蘭芳往理之。

In the tenth year, tide-blocking embankments at Pingyang in Zhejiang were repaired, more than 120 li of breached Yangtze banks at Huangmei were restored, and 130 li of tide-blocking dikes at Haimen were built. More than 2,000 zhang of polder embankment were built at Xinhui; embankments including Gongjian in Xian and Raoyang were repaired; Anqiu's breached Hong River bank was rebuilt; eighty-nine breaches were closed on rivers such as Zhiting in Anzhou; and forty-six dike breaches were repaired at Huarong, Anjin, and elsewhere. Shanghai's Panlong River and Wei County's Bailang River were dredged. Yang Di, acting Grand Steward of the Beijing branch, reported: "Rainwater has burst the dikes and damaged the crops of military colony fields in the guards of Wuqiao, Dongguang, Xingji, Jiaohe, Tianjin, and elsewhere. Twenty-five li southeast of Liangdian Post in Dezhou lies the old Yellow River channel, which connects with the earthen river south of the prefecture. Cutting a canal and installing sluice gates would split and tame the flood, greatly benefiting the people. Vice Minister Lan Fang was ordered to go and oversee the work.

十一年，修蕪湖陶辛、政和二圩，保定、文安二縣河口決岸五十四，應天新河圩岸，天長福勝、戚家莊二塘，滎澤大濱河堤。浚崑山太平河。十二年修鳳陽安豐塘水門十六座及牛角壩、新倉鋪塌岸，武陟郭村、馬曲堤岸，聊城龍灣河，濮州紅船口，範縣曹村河堤岸。築三河決堤。浚海州官河二百四十里。解州民言：「臨晉涑水河逆流，決姚暹渠堰，入砂地，淹民田，將及鹽池。」尋又言：「硝池水溢，決豁口，入鹽池。」以涑水渠、姚暹渠並流，故命官修築如其請。

In the eleventh year, Wuhu's Taoxin and Zhenghe second polders were repaired, fifty-four breached river mouths in Baoding and Wen'an counties were restored, Yingtian's Xinghe polder embankment was rebuilt, Tianchang's Fusheng and Qijiazhuang ponds were repaired, and Xingze's Dabin River dike was restored. Kunshan's Taiping River was dredged. In the twelfth year, sixteen sluice gates at Fengyang's Anfeng Pond were repaired, along with the Niujiao Dam and the collapsed bank at Xincangpu; dikes at Guocun and Maqu in Wuzhi; Liaocheng's Longwan River; Puzhou's Hongchuankou; and Fan County's Cacun River dike. Breached dikes at Sanhe were repaired. Haizhou's official canal was dredged for 240 li. The people of Xie Prefecture reported: "The Suishui River at Linjin is flowing backward, has burst the Yaoqian Canal weir, spread into sandy ground, flooded farmland, and is nearing the salt ponds. They soon reported again: "Nitrate-pond water has overflowed, broken through a breach, and entered the salt ponds. Because the Suishui and Yaoqian canals had merged, officials were ordered to carry out repairs as requested.

十三年，修興濟決岸、南京羽林右衛刁家圩屯田堤。吳江縣丞李升言：「蘇、鬆水患，太湖為甚，急宜泄其下流。若常熟白茆諸港，崑山千墩等河，長洲十八都港汊，吳縣、無錫近湖河道，皆宜循其故跡，浚而深之。乃修蔡涇等閘，候潮來往，以時啟閉。則氾濫可免，而民獲耕種之利。」從之。十五年修固安孫家口及臨漳固塚堤岸。十六年，修魏縣決岸。

In the thirteenth year, Xingji's breached bank and the Dijia polder colony dike of Nanjing's Right Yulin Guard were repaired. Li Sheng, assistant magistrate of Wujiang, reported: "Suzhou and Songjiang are afflicted by flooding, Lake Tai above all; its lower outflow must be opened without delay. Harbors such as Baimao in Changshu, rivers such as Qiandun in Kunshan, the harbor branches in Changzhou's Eighteenth Ward, and the lake-side channels in Wu and Wuxi counties should all be traced to their former courses and dredged deep. Sluice gates such as those at Caijing should be rebuilt and opened and closed in time with the tides. Flooding would then be averted and the people would regain the benefit of cultivation. The court approved the proposal. In the fifteenth year, Sunjiakou in Gu'an and the Guzhong dike in Linzhang were repaired. In the sixteenth year, Wei County's breached bank was repaired.

十七年，蕭山民言：「境內河渠四十五里，溉田萬頃，比年淤塞。乞疏浚，仍置閘錢清小江壩東，庶旱潦無憂。」山東新城民言：「縣東鄭黃溝源出淄川，下流壅沮，霖潦妨農。陳家莊南有乾河，上與溝接，下通烏江，乞浚治。」並從之。十八年，海甯諸縣民言：「潮沒海塘二千六百餘丈，延及吳家等壩。」通政嶽福亦言：「仁和、海寧壞長降等壩，淪海千五百餘丈。東岸赭山、嚴門山、蜀山舊有海道，淤絕久，故西岸潮愈猛。乞以軍民修築。」並從之。明年修海寧等縣塘岸。

In the seventeenth year, the people of Xiaoshan reported: "Rivers and canals within the county run forty-five li and irrigate ten thousand qing, but in recent years they have silted shut. We ask that they be dredged and sluice gates installed east of the Qianqing Xiaojiang Dam, so that drought and flood may both be borne without fear. The people of Xincheng in Shandong reported: "Zhenghuang Ditch east of the county rises in Zichuan, but its lower reach is choked and stagnant, and heavy rains are ruining the crops. South of Chenjiazhuang lies the Gan River, which joins the ditch above and reaches Wujiang below; we ask that it be dredged and restored. Both petitions were approved. In the eighteenth year, the people of Haining and neighboring counties reported: "Tides have destroyed more than 2,600 zhang of seawall, reaching dams such as Wujia. Supervising Secretary Yue Fu also reported: "At dams such as Changjiang in Renhe and Haining, more than 1,500 zhang have been lost to the sea. On the east shore at Zheshan, Yanmenshan, and Shushan there were once sea channels, long since silted closed, which is why tides on the west shore have grown fiercer. We ask that soldiers and civilians be mobilized for the repairs. Both requests were approved. The following year, seawall embankments in Haining and other counties were repaired.

二十一年，修嘉定抵松江潮圮圩岸五千餘丈、交恥順化衛決堤百餘丈。文水民言：「文谷山常稔渠分引文穀河流，袤三十餘里，灌田。今河潰泄水。」從其奏，葺治之。二十二年，修臨海廣濟河閘。

In the twenty-first year, more than 5,000 zhang of tide-wrecked polder dikes from Jiading to Songjiang were repaired, along with more than 100 zhang of breached dikes at Jiaozhi's Shunhua Guard. The people of Wenshui reported: "The Changren Canal on Wengu Mountain draws off the Wengu River, runs more than thirty li, and irrigates farmland. The river has now breached and the water is draining away. The court approved their memorial and ordered repairs. In the twenty-second year, the sluice on Linhai's Guangji River was repaired.

洪熙元年修黃巖濱海閘壩。視永樂初，增府判一員，專其事。修獻縣、鐃陽恭儉堤及窯堤口。

In Hongxi 1, Huangyan's coastal sluice dam was repaired. Compared with the early Yongle reign, one assistant prefect was added to oversee the work exclusively. The Gongjian dike in Xian and Raoyang counties and Yaodikou were repaired.

宣德二年，浙江歸安知縣華嵩言：「涇陽洪渠堰溉五縣田八千四百餘頃。洪武時，長興侯耿炳文前後修浚，未久堰壞。永樂間，老人徐齡言於朝，遣官修築，會營造不果。乞專命大臣起軍夫協治。」從之。三年修灌縣都江等堰四十四。臨海民言：「胡巉諸閘瀦水灌田，近年閘壞而金鰲、大浦、湖淶、舉嶼等河遂皆壅阻，乞為開築。」帝曰：「水利急務，使民自訴於朝，此守令不得人爾。」命工部即飭郡縣秋收起工。仍詔天下：「凡水利當興者，有司即舉行，毋緩視。」

In Xuande 2, Hua Song, magistrate of Gui'an in Zhejiang, reported: "The Hongqu Weir in Jingyang irrigates more than 8,400 qing across five counties. During the Hongwu reign, the Marquis of Changxing, Geng Bingwen, dredged and repaired it more than once, yet the weir broke again before long. During Yongle, the elder Xu Ling petitioned the court and officials were sent to rebuild the works, but other construction projects intervened and the work was never completed. We ask that a senior minister be specially appointed to mobilize soldiers and corvée labor for a joint repair effort. The court approved the request. In the third year, forty-four weirs including Dujiang in Guan County were repaired. The people of Linhai reported: "Sluice gates such as those at Huyan hold back water to irrigate fields, but in recent years the gates have broken and rivers such as Jin'ao, Dapu, Hulai, and Juyu are all choked; we ask that they be reopened and rebuilt. The emperor said: "Waterworks are urgent business. When the people must petition the court themselves, it shows that the prefects and magistrates are not the right men for their posts. He ordered the Ministry of Works to instruct the prefectures and counties to begin work immediately after the autumn harvest. He also issued an edict to the empire: "Wherever waterworks ought to be undertaken, local officials shall act at once and must not neglect them."

巡按江西御史許勝言：「南昌瑞河兩岸低窪，多良田。洪武間修築，水不為患。比年水溢，岸圮二十餘處。豐城安沙繩灣圩岸三千六百餘丈，永樂間水沖，改修百三十餘丈。近者久雨，江漲堤壞。乞敕有司募夫修理。」中書舍人陸伯倫言：「常熟七浦塘東西百里，灌常熟、崑山田，歲租二十餘萬石。乞聽民自浚之。」皆詔可。

Xu Sheng, the touring censor of Jiangxi, reported: "Both banks of the Rui River at Nanchang are low-lying and hold much good farmland. After repairs during the Hongwu reign, the river no longer caused harm. In recent years the river has overflowed and more than twenty stretches of bank have collapsed. More than 3,600 zhang of polder bank at Shengwan in Ansha, Fengcheng, were washed away during Yongle and more than 130 zhang were rebuilt. Recently, prolonged rain swelled the river and the dikes gave way. We ask that local officials be ordered to recruit laborers for the repairs. Supervising Secretary Lu Bolun reported: "Qipu Pond in Changshu runs a hundred li east to west, irrigating fields in Changshu and Kunshan and yielding more than 200,000 shi in annual grain tribute. We ask that the people be permitted to dredge it themselves. All the petitions were approved by imperial decree.

四年，修獻縣柳林口堤岸。潛江民言：「蚌湖、陽湖皆臨襄河，水漲岸決，害荊州三衛、荊門、江陵諸州縣官民屯田無算。乞發軍民築治。從之。福清民言：「光賢裏官民田百餘頃，堤障海水。堤壞久，田盡荒。永樂中，嘗命修治，迄今未舉，民不得耕。」帝責有司亟治，而諭尚書吳中嚴飭郡邑，陂池堤堰及時修浚，慢者治以罪。

In the fourth year, the dike at Liulin Mouth in Xian County was repaired. The people of Qianjiang reported: "Banghu and Yanghu both lie on the Xiang River; when the water rises the banks break, damaging beyond reckoning the official and civilian colony fields of the three Jingzhou guards and the prefectures and counties of Jingmen, Jiangling, and elsewhere. We ask that soldiers and civilians be mobilized for the repairs. The court approved the request. The people of Fuqing reported: "More than 100 qing of official and civilian fields in Guangxian Village are protected from the sea by dikes. The dikes have long been ruined and the fields lie wholly fallow. During Yongle repairs were once ordered, yet to this day nothing has been done and the people cannot cultivate the land. The emperor rebuked the local officials and ordered immediate repairs, and instructed Minister Wu Zhong to strictly require prefectures and counties to maintain ponds, reservoirs, dikes, and weirs in good repair; negligent officials would be punished.

五年，巡撫侍郎成均言：「海鹽去海二里，石嵌土岸二千四百餘丈，水齧其石，皆已刓敝。議築新石於岸內，而存其舊者以為外障。乞如洪武中令嘉、嚴、紹三府協夫舉工。」從之。

In the fifth year, Vice Minister and Grand Coordinator Cheng Jun reported: "Haiyan lies two li from the sea; more than 2,400 zhang of stone-faced earthen bank have been worn away where the water gnaws at the stones. It is proposed to set new stonework on the inner side of the bank while retaining the old facing as an outer barrier. We ask that, as in the Hongwu reign, the three prefectures of Jiaxing, Yanzhou, and Shaoxing be ordered to supply corvée jointly for the work. The court approved the proposal.

六年，修瀏陽、廣濟諸縣堤堰，豐城西北臨江石堤及西南七圩壩，石首臨江三堤。浚餘姚舊河池。巡撫侍郎周忱言：「溧水永豐圩周圍八十餘里，環以丹陽、石臼諸湖。舊築埂壩，通陟門石塔，農甚利之。今頹敗，請葺治。」教諭唐敏言：「常熟耿涇塘，南接梅裏，通昆承湖，北達大江。洪武中，浚以溉田。今壅阻，請疏導。」並從之。

In the sixth year, dikes and weirs in Liuyang, Guangji, and other counties were repaired, along with the northwest riverfront stone dike and seven southwestern polder dams in Fengcheng and three riverfront dikes in Shishou. Yuyao's old river pool was dredged. Vice Minister and Grand Coordinator Zhou Chen reported: "Yongfeng Polder in Lishui runs more than eighty li in circuit and is ringed by lakes such as Danyang and Shijiu. Embankment dams were once built linking Shengmen and Shita, greatly benefiting agriculture. They have now fallen into ruin; we ask that they be restored. Instructor Tang Min reported: "Gengjing Pond in Changshu joins Meili to the south and Lake Kun-Cheng, and reaches the great river to the north. During the Hongwu reign it was dredged to irrigate fields. It is now choked; we ask that it be dredged and cleared. Both petitions were approved.

七年，修眉州新津通濟堰。堰水出彭山，分十六渠，溉田二萬五千餘畝。河東鹽運使言：「鹽池近地姚暹河，流入五星湖轉黃流河，兩岸窪下。比歲雨溢水漲，沖至解州。浪益急，遂潰南岸，沒民田三十餘里，鹽池護堤皆壞。復因下流涑水河高，壅淤逆流，姚暹以決。乞起民夫疏瀹。」從之。蘇州知府況鐘言：「蘇、鬆、嘉、湖湖有六，曰太湖、龐山、陽城、沙湖、昆承、尚湖。永樂初，夏原吉浚導，今復淤。乞遣大臣疏浚。」乃命周忱與鐘治之。是歲，汾河驟溢，敗太原堤。鎮守都司李謙、巡按御史徐傑以便宜修治，然後馳奏。帝嘉獎之。

In the seventh year, the Tongji Weir at Xinjin in Meizhou was repaired. Its waters rise on Peng Mountain, divide into sixteen channels, and irrigate more than 25,000 mu. The Hedong Salt Transport Commissioner reported: "The Yaoqian River near the salt ponds flows into Wuxing Lake and then into the Huangliu River; both banks are low-lying. In recent years heavy rains have swollen the waters, which have rushed as far as Xie Prefecture. The surge grew fiercer, the south bank gave way, more than thirty li of farmland was submerged, and all the protective dikes around the salt ponds were destroyed. Moreover, because the lower Suishui River stood higher, silt accumulated and the current reversed, causing Yaoqian to breach. We ask that civilian corvée be mobilized to dredge and clear the channels. The court approved the request. Kuang Zhong, prefect of Suzhou, reported: "In Suzhou, Songjiang, Jiaxing, and the Lake region there are six lakes: Tai Lake, Pangshan, Yangcheng, Shahu, Kun-Cheng, and Shang Lake. At the beginning of the Yongle reign, Xia Yuanji dredged and cleared them, but they have silted up again. We ask that a senior minister be dispatched to dredge them. The court then ordered Zhou Chen and Zhong to oversee the dredging. That year the Fen River surged over its banks and destroyed the Taiyuan dikes. Regional Commander Li Qian and touring censor Xu Jie repaired the dikes under emergency authority and then reported by urgent dispatch. The emperor commended and rewarded them.

八年，葺湖廣偏橋衛高陂石洞，完縣南關舊河。復和州銅城堰閘。修安陽廣惠等渠，磁州滏陽河、五爪濟民渠。九年修江陵枝江沿江堤岸。築薊州決岸。毀蘇、鬆民私築堤堰。十年築海鹽潮決海塘千五百餘丈。主事沈中言：「山陰西小江，上通金、嚴，下接三江海口，引諸暨、浦江、義烏諸湖水以通舟。江口近淤，宜築臨浦戚堰障諸湖水，俾仍出小江。」詔部覆奪。

In the eighth year, the Gaopo stone sluice at Bianqiao Guard in Huguang was restored and Wan County's old river at the south gate was completed. He Prefecture's Tongcheng Weir and sluice were restored. The Guanghui and other canals in Anyang were repaired, along with Ci Prefecture's Fuyang River and the Wuzhao Jimin Canal. In the ninth year, Jiangling's Zhijiang riverfront dikes were repaired. Breached banks at Ji Prefecture were repaired. Privately built dikes and weirs in Suzhou and Songjiang were demolished. In the tenth year, more than 1,500 zhang of seadike torn open by tidal surges at Haiyan was rebuilt. Section Director Shen Zhong reported: "Shanyin's West Small River connects upstream to Jinhua and Yanzhou and downstream to the Three Rivers estuary, channeling lake waters from Zhuji, Pujiang, and Yiwu to allow navigation. The river mouth has recently silted up; a Linpu Qi Weir should be built to hold back the lake waters and keep their discharge through the small river. An edict ordered the ministry to review the proposal, which was then rejected.

正統元年，修吉安沿江堤。築海陽、登雲、都雲、步村等決堤。浚陝西西安灞橋河。二年築蠡縣王家等決口。修新會鸞臺山至瓦塘浦頹岸，江陵、鬆滋、公安、石首、潛江、監利近江決堤。又修湖廣老龍堤，以為漢水所潰也。三年疏泰興順德鄉三渠，引湖溉田；潞州永祿等溝渠二十八道，通於漳河。四年修容城杜村口堤。設正陽門外減水河，並疏城內溝渠。荊州民言：「城西江水高城十餘丈，霖潦壞堤，水即灌城。請先事修治。」寧夏巡撫都御史金濂言：「鎮有五渠，資以行溉，今明沙州七星、漢伯、石灰三渠久塞。請用夫四萬疏浚，溉蕪田千三百餘頃。」並從之。

In Zhengtong 1, Ji'an's riverfront dikes were repaired. Breached dikes at Haiyang, Dengyun, Duyun, Bucun, and elsewhere were repaired. Xi'an's Baqiao River in Shaanxi was dredged. In the second year, breached openings at Wangjia and elsewhere in Li County were repaired. Collapsed banks from Luantai Mountain to Watang Estuary in Xinhui were repaired, along with river-adjacent breached dikes in Jiangling, Songzi, Gong'an, Shishou, Qianjiang, and Jianli. Huguang's Old Dragon Dike was also repaired, as it had been breached by the Han River. In the third year, three channels in Taixing's Shunde Township were cleared to draw lake water for irrigation; and twenty-eight ditches and channels including Yonglu in Lu Prefecture were opened to the Zhang River. In the fourth year, Rongcheng's dike at Ducun Estuary was repaired. A flood-relief channel was established outside Zhengyang Gate, and the city's ditches and drains were cleared. The people of Jingzhou reported: "West of the city the river stands more than ten zhang above ground; heavy rains destroy the dikes and water immediately floods the city. We ask that repairs be carried out in advance. Grand Coordinator and Censor-in-Chief Jin Lian of Ningxia reported: "The garrison has five irrigation channels, but the three at Qixing, Hanbo, and Shihui in Mingsha Prefecture have long been blocked. We ask that forty thousand laborers be mobilized to dredge them and irrigate more than 1,300 qing of abandoned farmland. Both petitions were approved.

五年，修太湖堤，海鹽海岸，南京上中下新河及濟川衛新江口防水堤，漷縣、南宮諸堤。築順天、河間及容城杜村口、郎家口決堤。塞海寧蠣巖決堤口。浚鹽城伍祐、新興二場運河。初，溧水有鎮曰廣通，其西固城湖入大江，東則三塔堰河入太湖。中間相距十五里，洪武中鑿以通舟。縣地稍ＡＨ，而湖納甯國、廣德諸水，遇潦即溢，乃築壩於鎮以禦之，而堰水不能至壩下。是歲，改築壩於葉家橋。胭脂河者，溧水入秦淮道也。蘇、鬆船皆由以達，沙石壅塞，因並浚之。山陽涇河壩，上接漕河，下達鹽城，舊置絞關以通舟，歲久且敝，又恐盜泄水利，遂築塞河口。是歲，從民請，修壩並復絞關。

In the fifth year, Tai Lake dikes, the Haiyan coast, Nanjing's upper, middle, and lower new rivers and Jichuan Guard's flood-control dikes at Xinjing Estuary, and dikes in Huo County, Nangong, and elsewhere were repaired. Breached dikes in Shuntian, Hejian, and at Rongcheng's Ducun and Langjia estuaries were repaired. The breached dike opening at Liyan in Haining was sealed. Yancheng's transport canals at the Wuyou and Xinxing saltworks were dredged. Previously, Lishui had a market town called Guangtong; to the west Gucheng Lake flowed into the great river, and to the east the Sanba Weir River flowed into Tai Lake. Fifteen li separated the two, and during the Hongwu reign a channel was excavated to allow navigation. The county's land lay slightly low, and the lake received waters from Ningguo, Guangde, and elsewhere; when floods came it spilled over, so a dam was built at the town to hold the water back, but the weir waters could not reach below the dam. That year the dam was relocated and rebuilt at Ye Family Bridge. The Yanzhi River is Lishui's channel into the Qinhuai. Suzhou and Songjiang boats all passed through it; sand and stone had choked the channel, so it was dredged as well. At Shanyang's Jing River Dam, which connects upstream to the transport canal and downstream to Yancheng, a rope sluice had once allowed boats through; after long years it had decayed, and fearing illicit drainage of irrigation water, the river mouth was blocked up. That year, at the people's request, the dam was repaired and the rope sluice restored.

六年，造宣武門東城河南岸橋。修江米巷玉河橋及堤，並浚京城西南河。築豐城沙月諸河堤、蕪湖陶辛圩新埂。浚海寧官河及花塘河、硤石橋塘河，築瓦石堰二所。疏南京江洲，殺其水勢，以便修築塌岸。高郵知州韓簡言：「官河上下二閘皆圮，河亦不通，且子嬰溝塞，減水陰洞閉，致旱澇無所濟。俱乞浚治。」詔部核實以行。

In the sixth year, a bridge was built on the south bank of the eastern moat outside Xuanwu Gate. The Yuhe Bridge and its embankment at Jiangmi Lane were repaired, and the southwestern river within the capital was dredged. River dikes at Shayue and elsewhere in Fengcheng were built up, along with new embankments at Wuhu's Taoxin Polder. Haining's official canal, the Huatang River, and the Qiaoshi Bridge Pond River were dredged, and two tile-and-stone weirs were built. Yangtze sandbars at Nanjing were cleared to reduce the current and facilitate repair of collapsed banks. Han Jian, prefect of Gaoyou, reported: "Both upper and lower sluices on the official canal have collapsed, the canal is blocked, Ziying Ditch is choked, and the flood-relief culverts are shut, so neither drought nor flood can be relieved. We ask that all be dredged and repaired. An edict ordered the ministry to verify the facts and carry out the repairs.

七年，修江西廣昌江岸、蕭山長山浦海塘、彭山通濟堰。築南京浦子口、大勝關堤，九江及武昌臨江塌岸。浚江陵、荊門、潛江淤沙三十餘里。八年修蘭溪卸橋浦口堤，弋陽官陂三所。浚南京城河。

In the seventh year, Guangchang's Jiang riverbank in Jiangxi, Xiaoshan's Changshan Estuary seadike, and Peng Mountain's Tongji Weir were repaired. Dikes at Nanjing's Puzikou and Dasheng Pass were built up, along with collapsed riverfront banks at Jiujiang and Wuchang. More than thirty li of silt in Jiangling, Jingmen, and Qianjiang was dredged. In the eighth year, Lanxi's dike at Xieqiao Estuary and three official reservoirs in Yiyang were repaired. Nanjing's city moat was dredged.

九年，修德州耿家灣等堤岸、杞縣離溝堤。築容城杜村堤決口。易上虞菱湖土壩為石閘。挑無錫裏谷、蘇塘、華港、上村、李走馬塘諸河，東南接蘇州苑山湖塘，北通揚子江，西接新興河，引水灌田。浚杞縣牛墓岡舊河，武進太平、永興二河。疏海鹽永安省，茶市院新涇、陶涇塘諸河。都御史陳鎰言：「朝邑多沙鹻，難耕。縣治洛河，與渭水通，請穿渠灌之。」新安民言：「城南長溝河，西通徐、漕二水，東連雄縣直沽，沙土淤塞，請發丁夫疏浚。」海陽民蕭瑤言：「縣有長溪，源出山麓，流抵海口，周袤潮郡，故登隆等都俱置溝通溉。惟隆津等都陸野絕水，歲旱無所賴。乞開溝如登隆。」長樂民劉彥樑言：「嚴湖二十餘里，南接稠菴溪，西通倒流溪，可備旱溢。又有張塘涵、塘前涵、大塘涵、陳塘港，其利如嚴湖。乞令有司疏浚。」廣濟民言：「縣與鄰邑黃梅，歲運糧三萬石於望牛墩。小車盤剝，不堪其勞。連城湖港廖家口有溝抵墩前，淤淺不能行船。請與黃梅合力浚通，以便水運。」並從之。

In the ninth year, embankments at Dezhou's Gengjia Bay and elsewhere and Qi County's Ligo Dike were repaired. The breach in Rongcheng's Ducun Dike was repaired. Shangyu's earthen dam at Ling Lake was replaced with a stone sluice. Wuxi's Ligou, Sutang, Huagang, Shangcun, and Lizoumatang rivers were excavated to link southeast to Suzhou's Yuan Mountain lake and pond, north to the Yangtze, and west to the Xinxing River, drawing water to irrigate fields. Qi County's old river at Niumugang and Wujin's Taiping and Yongxing rivers were dredged. Haiyan's Yong'an River and the Xinjing, Taojing Pond, and other rivers at Chashiyuan were cleared. Censor-in-Chief Chen Yi reported: "Chaoyi has much sandy alkaline soil and is difficult to cultivate. The county adjoins the Luo River, which connects to the Wei; we ask that a canal be cut for irrigation. The people of Xin'an reported: "The Changgou River south of the city connects west to the Xu and transport canal waters and east to Zhigu in Xiong County; sand and silt have choked it; we ask that corvée labor be mobilized to dredge it. Xiao Yao, a man of Haiyang, reported: "The county has the Long Stream, rising in the foothills and flowing to the sea, encircling Chaozhou prefecture; the Denglong and other districts therefore all have irrigation channels. Only the Longjin and other districts on dry upland have no water supply; in drought years they have nothing to fall back on. We ask that channels be opened as in the Denglong districts. Liu Yanliang, a man of Changle, reported: "Yan Lake runs more than twenty li, joining Chou'an Stream to the south and Daoliu Stream to the west, and can buffer both drought and flood. There are also Zhangtang Han, Tangqian Han, Datang Han, and Chentang Harbor, offering benefits comparable to Yan Lake. We ask that the local authorities be ordered to dredge them. The people of Guangji reported: "Together with neighboring Huangmei, the county transports thirty thousand shi of grain each year to Wangniudun. Small carts transfer the grain at every stage, and the labor is unbearable. At Liaojia Mouth in Liancheng Lake Harbor a ditch runs to the pier, but it is silted too shallow for boats. We ask that Huangmei join in dredging it open to facilitate water transport. All petitions were approved.

十一年，修洞庭湖堤。築登州河岸。浚通州金沙場八里河，以通運渠。任丘民言：「淩城港去縣二十五里，內有定安橋河，北十八里通流，東七里沙塞。宜疏通與港相接。入直沽張家灣。」巡撫周忱言：「應天、鎮江、太平、甯國諸府，舊有石臼等湖。其中溝港，歲辦魚課。其外平圩淺灘，聽民牧放孳畜、採掘菱藕，不許種耕。故山溪水漲，有所宣洩。近者富豪築圩田，遏湖水，每遇泛溢，害即及民，宜悉禁革。」並從之。

In the eleventh year, Dongting Lake dikes were repaired. Deng Prefecture's riverbank was repaired. Tongzhou's Bali River at Jinsha Field was dredged to connect with the transport canal. The people of Renqiu reported: "Lingcheng Harbor lies twenty-five li from the county; within it is Ding'an Bridge River—eighteen li to the north are open, but seven li to the east are sand-choked. It should be dredged and linked to the harbor. It would enter Zhangjiawan at Zhigu. Grand Coordinator Zhou Chen reported: "The prefectures of Yingtian, Zhenjiang, Taiping, and Ningguo once had lakes such as Shijiu. Ditches and inlets within them supplied annual fish taxes. Outside them, on level polders and shallows, people were allowed to pasture livestock and gather water chestnuts and lotus roots, but not to farm. Thus when mountain streams swelled, the waters had an outlet. Recently the wealthy have built polder fields and blocked lake waters; whenever floods rise, the harm reaches the common people; all such encroachment should be banned. The proposal was approved.

十二年，疏平度州大灣口河道，荊州公安門外河，以便公安、石首諸縣輸納。浙江聽選官王信言：「紹興東小江，南通諸暨七十二湖，西通錢塘江。近為潮水湧塞，江與田平，舟不能行，久雨水溢，鄰田輒受其害。乞發丁夫疏浚。」從之。

In the twelfth year, the channel at Pingdu's Dawankou and the river outside Gong'an Gate in Jingzhou were cleared to facilitate tax transport from Gong'an, Shishou, and other counties. Wang Xin, a selected official in Zhejiang, reported: "Shaoxing's East Small River connects south to Zhuji's seventy-two lakes and west to the Qiantang River. Recently tidal surges have choked it; the river stands level with the fields and boats cannot pass; after prolonged rains it overflows and neighboring fields suffer. We ask that corvée labor be mobilized to dredge it. The court approved the request.

十三年，築寧夏漢、唐壩決口。疏山西涑水河、南海縣通海泉源。鑿宣府城濠，引城北山水入南城大河。湖廣五開衛言：「衛與苗接，山路峻險。去衛三十里有水通靖州江，亂石沙灘，請疏以便輸運。」雲南鄧川州言：「本州民田與大理衛屯田接壤湖畔，每歲雨水沙土壅淤，禾苗淹沒。乞命州衛軍民疏治。」並從之。

In the thirteenth year, breached openings at Ningxia's Han and Tang dams were repaired. Shanxi's Suishui River and Nanhai County's spring source leading to the sea were cleared. Xuanfu's moat was excavated to channel mountain waters from north of the city into the great river south of the city. Wukai Guard in Huguang reported: "The guard adjoins Miao territory and the mountain roads are steep and perilous. Thirty li from the guard a waterway connects to the Jingzhou River, but boulders and sandy shoals block it; we ask that it be dredged to facilitate transport. Dengchuan Prefecture in Yunnan reported: "Civilian fields in this prefecture and garrison fields of Dali Guard adjoin the lakeshore; each year rain washes sand and silt that choke the waterways, submerging the crops. We ask that troops and civilians from the prefecture and guard be ordered to dredge and repair the channels. Both requests were approved.

十四年，浚南海潘埇堤岸，置水閘。和州民言：「州有姥鎮河，上通麻、澧二湖，下接牛屯大河，長七十里許，廣八丈。又有張家溝，連銅城閘，通大江，長減姥鎮之半，廣如之，灌溉降福等七十餘圩及南京諸衛屯田，近年河潰閘圮，率皆淤塞。請興役疏浚，仍於姥鎮、豐山嘴、葉公坡各建閘以備旱澇。」從之。

In the fourteenth year, Nanhai's Panweng embankments were dredged and water sluices installed. The people of He Prefecture reported: "The prefecture has the Laozhen River, connecting upstream to the Ma and Li lakes and downstream to the Niutun Great River, about seventy li long and eight zhang wide. There is also Zhang Family Ditch, linking to Tongcheng Sluice and the great river at half Laozhen's length but the same width, irrigating more than seventy polders including Jiangfu and Nanjing garrison fields; in recent years the river has breached and sluices collapsed, and nearly everything is choked with silt. We ask that labor be mobilized to dredge them, and that sluices be built at Laozhen, Fengshan Mouth, and Ye Family Slope to guard against drought and flood. The court approved the request.

景泰元年，築丹陽甘露等壩。二年修玉河東、西堤。浚安定門東城河，永嘉三十六都河，常熟顧新塘，南至當湖，北至揚子江。三年修泰和信豐堤。築延安、綏德決河，綿州西岔河通江堤岸。浚常熟七浦塘，劍州海子。疏孟瀆河浜涇十一。工部言：「海鹽石塘十八里，潮水沖決，浮土修築，不能久。」詔別築石塘捍之。

In Jingtai 1, dams such as Ganlu in Danyang were built up. In the second year, the eastern and western embankments of the Yu River were repaired. The eastern moat at Anding Gate, Yongjia's thirty-six district rivers, and Gu Xin's pond in Changshu were dredged, south to Dang Lake and north to the Yangtze. In the third year, Xinfeng dikes in Taihe were repaired. Breached rivers at Yan'an and Suide were repaired, along with the embankment where Mian Prefecture's Xicha River reaches the Yangtze. Changshu's Qipu Pond and Jian Prefecture's Haizi were dredged. Eleven Hongjing channels along the Mengdu River banks were cleared. The Ministry of Works reported: "An eighteen-li stone seadike at Haiyan has been breached by tidal surges; repairs with loose earth cannot endure. An edict ordered a separate stone seadike built to hold back the tides.

四年，浚江陰順塘河十餘里，東接永利倉大河，西通夏港及揚子江。雲南總兵官沐璘言：「城東有水南流，源發邵甸，會九十九泉為一，抵松花壩分為二支：一繞金馬山麓，入滇池；一從黑窯村流至雲澤橋，亦入滇池。舊於下流築堰，溉軍民田數十萬頃，霖潦無所泄。請令受利之家，自造石閘，啟閉以時。」報可。五年疏靈寶黎園莊渠，通鴻瀘澗，溉田萬頃。六年浚華容杜預渠，通運船入江，避洞庭險。修容城白溝河杜村口、固安楊家等口決堤。

In the fourth year, more than ten li of Jiangyin's Shuntang River were dredged, east to Yongli Granary's great river and west to Xiogang and the Yangtze. Mu Lin, regional commander of Yunnan, reported: "East of the city water flows south from Shaodian, gathering ninety-nine springs into one stream that reaches Songhua Dam and divides into two branches: one circling the foot of Golden Horse Mountain into Dian Lake; the other flowing from Heiyao Village to Yunze Bridge, also into Dian Lake. Formerly a weir was built downstream to irrigate hundreds of thousands of qing of military and civilian fields, but torrential rains had no outlet. We ask that benefiting households be ordered to build stone sluices themselves and open and close them according to the season. The memorial was approved. In the fifth year, Lingbao's Liyuanzhuang Canal was cleared to connect with Honglu Stream and irrigate ten thousand qing of fields. In the sixth year, Huarong's Du Yu Canal was dredged so transport boats could reach the river and avoid the hazards of Dongting. Breached dikes at Rongcheng's Ducun Estuary on Baigou River and at Yangjia and other openings in Gu'an were repaired.

七年，尚書孫原貞言：「杭州西湖舊有二閘，近皆傾圮，湖遂淤塞。按宋蘇軾雲『杭本江海故地，水泉堿苦。自唐李泌引湖水入城為六井，然後井邑日富，不可許人佃種。』周淙亦言：『西湖貴深闊。』因招兵二百，專一撈湖。其後，豪戶復請佃，湖日益填塞，大旱水涸。詔郡守趙與亹開浚，芰荷茭蕩悉去，杭民以利。此前代經理西湖大略也。其後，勢豪侵佔無已，湖小淺狹，閘石毀壞。今民田無灌溉資，官河亦澀阻。乞敕有司興浚，禁侵佔以利軍民。」從之。

In the seventh year, Minister Sun Yuanzhen reported: "Hangzhou's West Lake formerly had two sluices, but both have recently collapsed and the lake has silted up. As Su Shi of the Song wrote: 'Hangzhou was originally seabed, and its springs are brackish and bitter. Since Li Bi of Tang drew lake water into the city for six wells, the wells and town grew daily in prosperity, and lease-farming must not be permitted.' Zhou Cong also said: 'West Lake must be kept deep and broad. Two hundred soldiers were therefore recruited to dredge the lake exclusively. Afterward powerful households again requested leases; the lake grew daily more choked, and in great drought the water dried up. An edict ordered Prefect Zhao Yu'e to open and dredge the lake; water caltrop, lotus, and all aquatic growth were removed, and the people of Hangzhou benefited. This is roughly how earlier generations managed West Lake. Afterward powerful families encroached without end; the lake grew small, shallow, and narrow, and the sluice stonework was ruined. Now civilian fields lack irrigation, and official canals are also silted and blocked. We ask that officials be ordered to dredge the lake and forbid encroachment for the benefit of troops and civilians. The court approved the request.

天順二年，修彭縣萬工堰，灌田千餘頃。五年，僉事李觀言：「涇水出涇陽仲山谷，道高陵，至櫟陽入渭，袤二百里。漢開渠溉田，宋、元俱設官主之。今雖有瓠口鄭、白二渠，而堤堰摧決，溝洫壅瀦，民弗蒙利。」乃命有司浚之。

In Tianshun 2, Peng County's Wangong Weir was repaired, irrigating more than a thousand qing of fields. In the fifth year, Vice Commissioner Li Guan reported: "The Jing River rises from Zhong Mountain Valley in Jingyang, passes Gaoling, and at Liyang enters the Wei, running two hundred li. The Han opened channels to irrigate fields, and both Song and Yuan established officials to manage them. Although the Hugu Zheng and Bai channels still exist, dikes and weirs are destroyed and breached, ditches and drains are choked and stagnant, and the people receive no benefit. Local officials were then ordered to dredge them.

八年，永平民言：「漆河繞城西南流入海，城趾皆石，故水不能決。其餘則沙土易潰，前人於東北築土堤，西南甓岸。今歲久日塌，宜作堤於東流，橫以激之，使合西流，庶無蕩析患。」都御史項忠言：「涇陽之瓠口鄭、白二渠，引涇水溉田數萬頃，至元猶溉八千頃。其後渠日淺，利因以廢。宣德初，遣官修鑿，畝收四三石。無何復塞，渠旁之田，遇旱為赤地。涇陽、醴泉、三原、高陵皆患苦之。昨請於涇水上源龍潭左側疏浚，訖舊渠口，尋以詔例停止。今宜畢其役。西安城西井泉堿苦，飲者輒病。龍首渠引水七十里，修築不易，且利止及城東。西南皁河去城一舍許，可鑿，令引水與龍首渠會，則居民盡利。」邳州知州孟琳言：「榆行諸社俱臨沂河，久雨岸崩二十八處，低田盡淹。乞與修築。並從之。

In the eighth year, the people of Yongping reported: "The Qi River wraps southwest around the city and flows to the sea; the city foundations are all stone, so the water cannot breach them. The rest is sandy soil easily breached; predecessors built earthen dikes to the northeast and brick embankments to the southwest. Now after long years they have collapsed; a dike should be built on the eastern flow with a transverse barrier to force the waters into the western channel, so there may be no scour and destruction. Censor-in-Chief Xiang Zhong reported: "The Hugu Zheng and Bai channels at Jingyang, drawing Jing water to irrigate tens of thousands of qing of fields, still irrigated eight thousand qing under the Yuan. Afterward the channels grew daily shallower, and the benefits were lost. Early in the Xuande reign, officials were dispatched to repair and excavate them, and harvests reached three or four shi per mu. Before long they silted again, and fields beside the channels became bare red earth in drought. Jingyang, Liquan, Sanyuan, and Gaoling all suffered from this. We recently requested dredging on the left side of Longtan at the upper Jing source, reaching the old channel mouth, but it was soon halted under an edict regulation. The work should now be completed. West of Xi'an the well springs are brackish and bitter, and those who drink them fall ill at once. Longshou Canal draws water seventy li, but repair and construction are difficult, and its benefit reaches only east of the city. Zao River to the southwest lies about one she from the city and can be excavated; drawing its water to join Longshou Canal would benefit all residents. Meng Lin, prefect of Pizhou, reported: "Yuhang and other communities all border the Yi River; after prolonged rain twenty-eight places on the banks collapsed and low fields were all flooded. We ask for assistance with repairs. All petitions were approved.

成化二年，修壽州安豐塘。四年，疏石州城河。六年，修平湖周家涇及獨山海塘。七年，潮決錢塘江岸及山陰、會稽、蕭山、上虞，乍浦、瀝海二所，錢清諸場。命侍郎李顒修築。八年，堤襄陽決岸。十年，廷臣會議：江浦北城圩古溝，北通滁河浦子口；城東黑水泉古溝，南入大江。二溝相望，岡壟中截。宜鑿通成河，旱引澇泄。從之。

In Chenghua 2, Shou Prefecture's Anfeng Pond was repaired. In the fourth year, Shizhou's city moat was cleared. In the sixth year, Pinghu's Zhou Family Hong and Dushan's seadike were repaired. In the seventh year, tides breached the Qiantang River bank and areas in Shanyin, Kuaiji, Xiaoshan, and Shangyu, the two salterns at Zhapu and Lihai, and various salterns at Qianqing. Vice Minister Li Yong was ordered to oversee repairs. In the eighth year, breached banks at Xiangyang were repaired. In the tenth year, court ministers conferred: the ancient ditch at Jiangpu's north city polder connects north to Chuzhou River at Puzikou; the ancient ditch at Heishui Spring east of the city flows south into the great river. The two ditches face each other but are cut off in the middle by ridges. They should be excavated and connected into a river to draw water in drought and drain in flood. The court approved.

十一年，浚杭州錢塘門故渠，左屬湧金門，建橋閘以蓄湖水。巡撫都御史牟俸言：「山東小清河，上接濟南趵突諸泉，下通樂安沿海高家港鹽場。大清河，上接東平坎河諸泉，下通濱州海豐、利津，沿海富國鹽場。淤塞，苦盤剝，雨水又患淹沒。勸農參政唐虞浚河造閘，請令兼治水利。」詔可。

In the eleventh year, the old channel at Hangzhou's Qiantang Gate was dredged, linking left to Yongjin Gate, and bridge sluices were built to store lake water. Grand Coordinator and Censor-in-Chief Mou Feng reported: "Shandong's Xiaoqing River connects upstream to Jinan's Baotu and other springs and downstream to the Gaojia Harbor saltern on the Le'an coast. The Daqing River connects upstream to Dongping's Kan River and other springs and downstream to Haifeng and Lijin in Bin Prefecture and the Fuguo coastal saltern. Silt has choked them; transfer and unloading are arduous, and rain also brings flooding. Agriculture-promoting Vice Commissioner Tang Yu dredged rivers and built sluices; we ask that he also be ordered to oversee water conservancy. An edict approved the request.

十二年，巡按御史許進言：「河西十五衛，東起莊浪，西抵肅州，綿亙幾二千里，所資水利多奪於勢豪。宜設官專理。」詔屯田僉事兼之。

In the twelfth year, touring censor Xu Jin reported: "The fifteen guards west of the river, from Zhuanglang in the east to Suzhou in the west, stretch nearly two thousand li, and much of their water resources has been seized by powerful families. Officials should be appointed to manage this exclusively. An edict ordered the garrison-field vice commissioner to take on the additional duty.

十四年，俸言：「直隸蘇、鬆與浙西各府，頻年旱澇，緣周環太湖，乃東南最窪地，而蘇、鬆尤最下之沖。故每逢積雨，眾水奔潰，湖泖漲漫，淹沒無際。按太湖即古震澤，上納嘉、湖、宣、歙諸州之水，下通婁、東、吳淞三江之流，東江今不復見，婁、淞入海故跡具存。其地勢與常熟福山、白茆二塘俱能導太湖入江海，使民無墊溺，而土可耕種，歷代開浚具有成法。本朝亦常命官修治，不得其要。而濱湖豪家盡將淤灘栽蒔為利。治水官不悉利害，率於泄處置石樑，壅土為道，或慮盜船往來，則釘木為柵。以致水道堙塞，公私交病。請擇大臣深知水利者專理之，設提督水利分司一員隨時修理，則水勢疏通，東南厚利也。」帝即令俸兼領水利，聽所浚築。功成，乃專設分司。

In the fourteenth year, Mou Feng reported: "Directly administered Suzhou and Songjiang and the various prefectures of western Zhejiang have suffered drought and flood in successive years because they surround Tai Lake, the lowest land in the southeast, with Suzhou and Songjiang especially the lowest outlet. Therefore whenever rains accumulate, all waters rush and burst forth, lakes and marshes swell and spread, and flooding knows no bounds. Tai Lake is the ancient Zhenze; upstream it receives waters from Jiaxing, Huzhou, Xuanzhou, and Shezhou, and downstream it connects to the Lou, Dong, and Wusong rivers; the Dong River is no longer seen today, but the old traces of the Lou and Wusong entering the sea remain fully intact. Their terrain, together with Changshu's Fushan and Baimao embankments, can channel Tai Lake into river and sea so the people need not drown and the land can be cultivated; successive dynasties dredged and opened them by established methods. Our dynasty also often ordered officials to repair them, but without grasping the essentials. Yet lakeside magnates all planted crops on silted shoals for profit. Water officials did not understand the trade-offs; they habitually placed stone weirs at discharge points and piled earth for paths, or fearing bandit boats, nailed wooden palisades. Thereby water channels were choked shut, and public and private interests alike suffered. We ask that a senior minister who deeply understands water conservancy be chosen to manage this exclusively, and a Water Conservancy Assistant Commissioner be established for timely repair; then the water flow would be cleared and the southeast would reap great benefit. The emperor immediately ordered Mou Feng also to oversee water conservancy, authorizing whatever dredging and construction he saw fit. When the work was completed, a dedicated assistant commission was then established.

十五年，修南京內外河道。十八年，浚雲南東西二溝，自鬆華壩黑龍潭抵西南柳壩南村，灌田數萬頃。修居庸關水關、城券及隘口水門四十九，樓鋪、墩臺百二。二十年，修嘉興等六府海田堤岸，特選京堂官往督之。二十二年，浚南京中下二新河。

In the fifteenth year, Nanjing's inner and outer canals were repaired. In the eighteenth year, eastern and western ditches in Yunnan were dredged from Black Dragon Pool at Songhua Dam to Nan Village at Liu Dam southwest, irrigating tens of thousands of qing of fields. Juyong Pass water gates, ramparts and archways, and forty-nine pass water gates were repaired, along with one hundred and two tower-posts and beacon platforms. In the twentieth year, seafield dikes and embankments in six prefectures including Jiaxing were repaired, and capital officials were specially selected to supervise. In the twenty-second year, Nanjing's middle and lower new rivers were dredged.

弘治三年，從巡撫都御史丘鼐言，設官專領灌縣都江堰。六年，敕撫民參政硃瑄浚河南伊、洛，彰德高平、萬金，懷慶廣濟，南陽召公等渠，汝寧桃陂等堰。

In Hongzhi 3, following Grand Coordinator and Censor-in-Chief Qiu Xi's memorial, an official was appointed to manage Guan County's Dujiang Weir exclusively. In the sixth year, an edict ordered Vice Commissioner for Pacifying the People Zhu Xuan to dredge the Yi and Luo in Henan; Gaoping and Wanjin in Zhangde; Guangji in Huaiqing; the Duke Shao and other channels in Nanyang; and Taopi and other weirs in Runing.

七年，浚南京天、潮二河，備軍衛屯田水利。七月命侍郎徐貫與都御史何鑒經理浙西水利。明年四月告成。貫初奉命，奏以主事祝萃自隨。萃乘小舟究悉源委。貫乃令蘇州通判張旻疏各河港水，瀦之大壩。旋開白茆港沙面，乘潮退，決大壩水沖激之，沙泥刷盡。潮水蕩激，日益闊深，水達海無阻。又令浙江參政周季麟修嘉興舊堤三十餘里，易之以石，增繕湖州長興堤岸七十餘里。貫乃上言：「東南財賦所出，而水患為多。永樂初，命夏原吉疏浚。時以吳淞江氵豔沙浮蕩，未克施工。迨今九十餘年，港浦愈塞。臣督官行視，浚吳江長橋，導太湖散入氵殿山、陽城、昆承等湖泖。復開吳淞江並大石、趙屯等浦，泄氵殿山湖水，由吳淞江以達於海。開白茆港白魚洪、鯰魚口，泄昆承湖水，由白茆港以注於江。開斜堰、七鋪、鹽鐵等塘，泄陽城湖水，由七丫港以達於海。下流疏通，不復壅塞。乃開湖州之漊涇，泄西湖、天目、安吉諸山之水，自西南入於太湖。開常州之百瀆，泄溧陽、鎮江、練湖之水，自西北入於太湖。又開諸陡門，泄漕河之水，由江陰以入於大江。上流亦通，不復堙滯。」是役也，修浚河、港、涇、瀆、湖、塘、陡門、堤岸百三十五道，役夫二十餘萬，祝萃之功多焉。

In the seventh year, Nanjing's Tian and Chao rivers were dredged for garrison-field water conservancy. In the seventh month, Vice Minister Xu Guan and Censor-in-Chief He Jian were ordered to manage water conservancy in western Zhejiang. The following year in the fourth month the work was reported complete. When Xu Guan first received his commission, he memorialized that Director Zhu Cui accompany him. Zhu Cui took a small boat and traced every source and course. Xu Guan then ordered Suzhou Assistant Prefect Zhang Min to clear the waters of the various river channels and impound them behind a great dam. Then Baimao Harbor's sand flats were opened; when the tide ebbed, the great dam was breached and the released water scoured them until sand and mud were swept clean. Tidal surges washed and churned the channel daily wider and deeper, and water reached the sea without obstruction. He also ordered Zhejiang Vice Commissioner Zhou Jilin to repair more than thirty li of old dikes at Jiaxing, replacing them with stone, and to extend repairs to more than seventy li of dikes and embankments at Changxing in Huzhou. Xu Guan then submitted a memorial: "The southeast is where tax revenues originate, yet flooding is frequent. Early in the Yongle reign, Xia Yuanji was ordered to dredge and clear the waterways. At the time drifting silt in the Wusong River prevented work from proceeding. Nearly ninety years have passed since then, and harbors and channels have grown ever more choked. Your subject supervised officials on inspection tours, dredged Chang Bridge at Wujiang, and channeled Tai Lake to disperse into the lake marshes of Dianshan, Yangcheng, Kunshchen, and others. The Wusong River was reopened along with Dashi, Zhaotun, and other channels to drain Dianshan lake waters through the Wusong River to the sea. Baiyu Hong and Nianyu Estuary at Baimao Harbor were opened to drain Kunshchen lake waters through Baimao Harbor into the river. Xieyan, Qipu, Yantie, and other embankments were opened to drain Yangcheng lake waters through Qiya Harbor to the sea. Downstream channels were cleared and no longer choked. Then Loujing in Huzhou was opened to drain waters from West Lake, Tianmu Mountain, Anji, and other mountain sources southwest into Tai Lake. Baifu in Changzhou was opened to drain waters from Liyang, Zhenjiang, and Lian Lake northwest into Tai Lake. Various sluice gates were also opened to drain Grand Canal waters through Jiangyin into the great river. Upstream channels were also cleared and no longer blocked and stagnant. In this project one hundred thirty-five rivers, harbors, channels, lakes, embankments, sluice gates, and dikes were dredged or repaired, with more than two hundred thousand corvée laborers; Zhu Cui's contributions were especially great.

巡撫都御史王珣言：「寧夏古渠三道，東漢、中唐並通。惟西一渠傍山，長三百餘里，廣二十餘丈，兩岸危峻，漢、唐舊跡俱堙。宜發卒浚鑿，引水下流。即以土築東岸，建營堡屯兵以遏寇沖。請帑銀三萬兩，並靈州六年鹽課，以給其費。」又請於靈州金積山河，開渠灌田，給軍民佃種。並從之。

Grand Coordinator and Censor-in-Chief Wang Xun reported: "Ningxia has three ancient canals; all three were open in Eastern Han and mid-Tang. Only the western canal runs along the mountains, more than three hundred li long and more than twenty zhang wide; both banks are steep and perilous, and Han and Tang relics are all buried. Troops should be dispatched to dredge and excavate, drawing water downstream. With the excavated earth the eastern bank should be built up and fortresses established with garrison troops to block raiding incursions. We request thirty thousand taels from the treasury, together with six years of salt tax from Ling Prefecture, to cover the expense. He also requested that at Jinji Mountain River in Ling Prefecture channels be opened to irrigate fields and allocate them to troops and civilians for tenant farming. Both requests were approved.

十八年，修築常熟塘壩，自尚湖口抵江，及黃、泗等浦，新莊等沙三十餘處。浚杭州西湖。

In the eighteenth year, Changshu embankments and dams were built and repaired from Shang Lake Estuary to the river, and at Huang, Si, and other channels and more than thirty sandbanks including Xinzhuang. Hangzhou's West Lake was dredged.

正德七年，修廣平滏陽河口堤岸。十四年浚南京新江口右河。十五年，御史成英言：「應天等衛屯田在江北滁、和、六合者，地勢低，屢為水敗。從金城港抵濁河達烏江三十餘里，因舊跡浚之，則水勢泄而屯田利。」詔可。

In Zhengde 7, dikes and embankments at the Fuyang River estuary in Guangping were repaired. In the fourteenth year, the right branch river at Nanjing's Xinjiang Estuary was dredged. In the fifteenth year, Censor Cheng Ying reported: "Garrison fields of Yingtian and other guards in Chuzhou, He, and Luhe north of the Yangtze lie on low ground and have been ruined by flood again and again. Dredging more than thirty li from Jincheng Harbor through Zhuo River to Wujiang along the old course would release the water pressure and benefit the garrison fields. An edict approved the request.

嘉靖元年，築浚束鹿、肥鄉、獻、魏堤渠。初，蘇、鬆水道盡為勢家所據。巡撫李充嗣畫水為井地，示開鑿法，戶佔一區，計工刻日。造浚川爬，用巨筏數百，曳木齒，隨潮進退，擊汰泥沙。置小艇百餘，尾鐵帚以導之。浚故道，穿新渠，巨浦支流，罔不灌注。帝嘉其勞，賚以銀幣。二年，修德勝門東、朝陽門北城垣河道，築儀真、江都官塘五區。

In Jiajing 1, dikes and channels at Shulu, Feixiang, Xian, and Wei were built and dredged. Initially all waterways in Suzhou and Songjiang had been seized by powerful families. Grand Coordinator Li Chongsi charted the waters into a grid, showed how to excavate, assigned each household one section, and set labor quotas with deadlines. River dredgers were built: several hundred giant rafts dragged wooden teeth, advancing and retreating with the tide to pound and wash away sand and mud. More than a hundred small boats were deployed, each trailing iron brooms to guide the flow. Old channels were dredged, new canals cut, and main harbors and tributaries all brought into flow. The emperor commended his labors and rewarded him with silver and silk. In the second year, canals along the walls east of Desheng Gate and north of Chaoyang Gate were repaired, and five sections of official embankment at Yizhen and Jiangdu were built.

十年，工部郎中陸時雍言：「良鄉盧溝河，涿州琉璃、胡良二河，新城、雄縣白溝河，河間沙河，青縣滹沱河，下流皆淤。宜以時浚，使達於海。」詔巡撫議之。

In the tenth year, Director Lu Shiyong of the Ministry of Works reported: "Lugou River at Liangxiang, the Liuli and Huliang rivers at Zhuozhou, Baigou River at Xincheng and Xiong County, Sha River at Hejian, and Hutuo River at Qing County are all silted downstream. They should be dredged in season so they reach the sea. An edict ordered the grand coordinator to deliberate.

十一年，太僕卿何棟勘畿封河患有二。一論滹沱河。其一言：「真定鴨、沙、磁三河，俱發源五臺。會諸支水，抵唐河蘭家圈，合流入河間。東南經任丘、霸州、天津入海，此故道也。河間東南高，東北下，故水決蘭家口，而肅寧、新安皆罹其害。宜築決口，浚故道。涿州胡良河，自拒馬分流，至州東入渾河。良鄉琉璃河，發源磁家務，潛入地中，至良鄉東入渾河。比者渾河壅塞，二河不流。然下流淤沙僅四五里，請亟浚之。」部覆允行。

In the eleventh year, Minister of the Imperial Stud He Dong surveyed river disasters in the metropolitan region and found two general categories. One concerned the Hutuo River. The first stated: "The Ya, Sha, and Ci rivers at Zhending all rise on Wutai Mountain. Gathering tributary waters, they reach Lanjiaquan at Tang River and merge to flow into Hejian. Southeast they passed through Renqiu, Bazhou, and Tianjin to the sea—this was the old course. Hejian is higher to the southeast and lower to the northeast, so water breached at Lanjiakou and both Suning and Xin'an suffered. The breach should be dammed and the old course dredged. Huliang River at Zhuozhou branches from the Juma River and east of the prefectural seat enters the Hun River. Liuli River at Liangxiang rises at Cijiawu, runs underground, and east of Liangxiang enters the Hun River. Recently the Hun River has been choked and neither river flows. Yet downstream silt extends only four or five li; we urgently request dredging. The ministry reviewed and approved implementation.

郎中徐元祉受命振災，上言：「河本以泄水，今反下壅；澱本以瀦水，今反上溢。故畿輔常苦水，順天利害相半，真定利多於害，保定害多於利，河間全受其害。弘、正間，嘗築長堤，排決口，旋即潰敗。今惟疏浚可施，其策凡六。一浚本河，俾河身寬邃。九河自山西來者，南合滹沱而不侵真定諸郡，北合白溝而不侵保定諸郡。此第一義也。一浚支河。令九河之流，經大清河，從紫城口入；經文都村，從涅槃口入；經白洋澱，從蘭家口入；經章哥ＡＨ，從楊村河入。直遂以納細流，水力分矣。一浚決河。九河安流時，本支二河可受，遇漲則岸口四沖。宜每衝量存一口，復浚令合成一渠，以殺湍急，備淫溢。一浚澱河。令澱澱相通，達於本支二河，使下有所泄。一浚淤河。九河東逝，悉由故道，高者下，下者通。佔據曲防者抵罪。一浚下河。九河一出青縣，一出丁字沽，二流相匝於苑家口。故施工必自苑家口始，漸有成效，然後次第舉行，庶減諸郡水害。」帝嘉納之。

Director Xu Yuanzhi, ordered to relieve disaster, submitted a memorial: "Rivers exist to discharge water, yet now they choke downstream instead; Marshes exist to store water, yet now they overflow upstream instead. Therefore the metropolitan region constantly suffers from water: Shuntian sees benefit and harm in equal measure, Zhending sees more benefit than harm, Baoding more harm than benefit, and Hejian suffers harm entirely. Between the Hongzhi and Zhengde reigns, long dikes were built and breaches cleared, but they soon collapsed again. Now only dredging can be applied; the plan has six points in all. First, dredge the main river so its bed is wide and deep. The nine rivers coming from Shanxi should merge with the Hutuo to the south without flooding Zhending prefectures, and with Baigou to the north without flooding Baoding prefectures. This is the first principle. Second, dredge branch rivers. Let the flow of the nine rivers pass through the Daqing River and enter at Zicheng Estuary; pass through Wendu Village and enter at Nirvana Estuary; pass through Baiyang Marsh and enter at Lanjiakou; pass through Zhangge Ao and enter at Yangcun River. Straight channels to receive minor flows would divide the water's force. Third, dredge breach channels. When the nine rivers flow smoothly the main and branch rivers can absorb them; when waters rise, the banks breach in four places. At each breach one outlet should be retained as appropriate, then dredged and united into a single channel to tame the torrent and guard against overflow. Fourth, dredge marsh channels. Let marsh connect to marsh until they reach the main and branch rivers, giving downstream an outlet. Fifth, dredge silted rivers. The nine rivers flowing east should all follow their old courses—the high lowered, the low cleared. Those who seize land and build crooked dikes shall be punished. Sixth, dredge the lower rivers. One of the nine rivers exits at Qing County, another at Dingzigu, and the two streams circle each other at Yuanjiakou. Therefore work must begin at Yuanjiakou; when results appear, projects may proceed in sequence, so water disasters in the various prefectures may be reduced. The emperor praised and accepted the memorial.

明年，香河郭家莊自開新河一道，長百七十丈，闊五十丈，近舊河十里餘。詔河官亟繕治。

The following year at Guojiazhuang in Xianghe a new river opened of its own accord, one hundred seventy zhang long and fifty zhang wide, about ten li from the old river. An edict ordered river officials to repair it urgently.

十三年，巡撫都御史周金言：「蘭家圈決口，塞之則東溢，病河間；不塞則東流漸淤，病保定。宜存決口而浚廣新河，使水東北平流，無壅涸患。」從之。

In the thirteenth year, Grand Coordinator and Censor-in-Chief Zhou Jin reported: "The breach at Lanjiaquan, if sealed, will overflow eastward and afflict Hejian; if left unsealed the eastward flow will gradually silt up and afflict Baoding. The breach should be retained while the new river is dredged and widened, so water flows level east and north without choking or drying up. The court approved the request.

二十四年，浚南京後湖。初，胡體乾按吳，以松江泛溢，進六策：「曰開川，曰浚湖，曰殺上流之勢，曰決下流之壑，曰排潮漲之沙，曰立治田之規。是年，呂光洵按吳，復奏蘇、鬆水利五事：

In the twenty-fourth year, Nanjing's Rear Lake was dredged. Initially Hu Tigan, while investigating Wu, submitted six policies because the Songjiang River had overflowed: "Open channels, dredge lakes, reduce upstream force, open downstream outlets, flush out tidal sand, and establish rules for managing fields. That year Lü Guangxun, while investigating Wu, again memorialized on five matters of water conservancy in Suzhou and Songjiang:

一曰廣疏浚以備瀦泄。三吳澤國，西南受太湖諸澤，水勢尤卑。東北際海，岡隴之地，視西南特高。高苦旱，卑苦澇。昔人於下流疏為塘浦，導諸湖水北入江，東入海，又引江潮流衍於岡隴外。瀦泄有法，水旱無患。比來縱浦橫塘，多堙不治，惟黃浦、劉河二江頗通。然太湖之水源多勢盛，二江不足以泄之。岡隴支河又多壅絕，無以資灌溉。於是高下俱病，歲常告災。宜先度要害，於氵殿山等茭蘆地，導太湖水散入陽城、昆承、三泖等湖。又開吳淞江及大石、趙屯等浦，泄澱山之水以達於海。浚白茆、鯰魚諸口，泄昆承之水以注於江。開七浦、鹽鐵等塘，泄陽城之水以達於江。又導田間之水，悉入小浦，以納大浦，使流者皆有所歸，瀦者皆有所泄。則下流之地治，而澇無所憂矣。乃浚艾祁、通波以溉青浦，浚顧浦、吳塘以溉嘉定，浚大瓦等浦以溉崑山之東，浚許浦等塘以溉常熟之北，浚臧村等港以溉金壇，浚澡港等河以溉武進。凡隴岡支河堙塞不治者，皆浚之深廣，使復其舊。則上流之地亦治，而旱無所憂矣。此三吳水利之經也。

First, broaden dredging to guard against impounding and discharge. The Three Wu region is a land of marshes; southwest it receives the marshes of Tai Lake, and its water level is especially low. Northeast it borders the sea, and the ridge lands there are especially high compared with the southwest. The high ground suffers drought; the low ground suffers flood. Former generations dredged embankments and harbors downstream, channeling lake waters north into the river and east into the sea, and also drew river and tidal waters to spread beyond the ridges. With proper rules for impounding and discharge, drought and flood brought no disaster. Recently longitudinal harbors and transverse embankments have largely been choked and left unrepaired; only the Huangpu and Liuhe rivers remain fairly open. Yet Tai Lake has many sources and a powerful flow, and the two rivers are not enough to drain it. Branch rivers on the ridge lands are again largely choked off, leaving nothing to supply irrigation. Thus both high and low ground alike suffer, and each year brings reports of disaster. Critical points should first be surveyed; at rush-and-reed lands such as Dianshan, Tai Lake water should be directed to disperse into Yangcheng, Kunshchen, Sanmao, and other lakes. The Wusong River and Dashi, Zhaotun, and other harbors should also be opened to drain Dianshan lake waters to the sea. Baimao, Nianyu, and other estuaries should be dredged to drain Kunshchen lake waters into the river. Qipu, Yantie, and other embankments should be opened to drain Yangcheng lake waters into the river. Field waters should also be channeled into smaller harbors to feed larger ones, so that all flowing water has somewhere to go and all impounded water has somewhere to drain. Then the lower reaches would be restored and there would be no cause to fear flooding. Aiqi and Tongbo would be dredged to irrigate Qingpu; Gupu and Wutang to irrigate Jiading; Dawu and other harbors to irrigate eastern Kunshan; Xupu and other embankments to irrigate northern Changshu; Zangcun and other channels to irrigate Jintan; and Zaogang and other rivers to irrigate Wujin. All ridge and hill branch rivers that are choked and left unrepaired should be dredged deep and wide until restored to their former condition. Then the upper reaches would also be restored and there would be no cause to fear drought. This is the enduring principle of water conservancy in the Three Wu region.

一曰修圩岸以固橫流。蘇、鬆、常、鎮東南下流，而蘇、鬆又常、鎮下流，易瀦難泄。雖導河浚浦引注江海，而秋霖泛漲，風濤相薄，則河浦之水逆行田間，沖齧為患。宋轉運使王純臣嘗令蘇、湖作田塍禦水，民甚便之。司農丞郟亦云：「治河以治田為本。」故老皆云，前二三十年，民間足食，因餘力治圩岸，田益完美。近皆空乏，無暇修繕，故田圩漸壞，歲多水災。合敕所在官司專治圩岸。岸高則田自固，雖有霖澇，不能為害。且足制諸湖之水鹹歸河浦中，則不待決泄，自然湍流。而岡隴之地，亦因江水稍高，又得畝引以資灌溉，不特利於低田而已。

Second, repair polder embankments to guard against cross-flow. Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, and Zhenjiang lie downstream to the southeast, with Suzhou and Songjiang below Changzhou and Zhenjiang; water pools easily here but drains with difficulty. Even when rivers and harbors are dredged to channel water into the river and sea, autumn rains swell the floods and wind and waves clash; river and harbor waters then reverse course through the fields, eroding the land and causing harm. In Song times Transport Commissioner Wang Chunchen once ordered Suzhou and Huzhou to build field ridges against the water, and the people found it greatly to their benefit. Director of the Ministry of Revenue Jia Yi also said: "Managing rivers means taking field management as the foundation. Elders all say that twenty or thirty years ago the people had enough to eat and, with their surplus labor, maintained polder embankments, so the fields grew ever more productive. Lately people are depleted and have no leisure for repairs, so field embankments gradually decay and water disasters come almost every year. An order should issue directing local offices to devote themselves exclusively to maintaining polder embankments. When embankments are high the fields secure themselves; even with heavy rains and flooding they cannot be harmed. Moreover, it suffices to keep all lake waters under control and return them to the rivers and harbors; then without deliberate breaches and drainage, swift flow arises of itself. Ridge lands, because river water stands slightly higher, could also draw it field by field for irrigation—not benefiting low fields alone.

一曰復板閘以防汙氵殿。河浦之水皆自平原流入江海，水慢潮急，以故沙隨浪湧，其勢易淤。昔人權其便宜，去江海十里許夾流為閘，隨潮啟閉，以禦淤沙。歲旱則長閉以蓄其流，歲澇則長啟以宣其溢，所謂置閘有三利，蓋謂此也。近多堙塞，惟常熟福山閘尚存。故老以為河浦入海之地，誠皆置閘，自可曆久不壅。

Third, restore plank sluice gates to guard against silting. River and harbor waters all flow from the plains into the river and sea; the current is slow and the tide swift, so sand rises with the waves and silting comes easily. Former generations, weighing convenience, built gates spanning the flow about ten li from the river and sea, opening and closing with the tide to block incoming silt. In drought years they kept the gates long closed to store the flow; in flood years long open to release the overflow—the so-called three benefits of installing gates refer to this. Recently most have been choked and sealed; only the Fushan Gate at Changshu still survives. Elders believe that at every place where rivers and harbors enter the sea, if gates were truly installed, channels could remain unchoked for years on end.

一曰量緩急以處工費。

Fourth, weigh urgency against ease in allocating labor and expense.

一曰重委任以責成功。

Fifth, invest heavy commission and responsibility to demand success.

詔悉如議。光洵因請專委巡撫歐陽必進。從之。二十六年，給事中陳斐請仿江南水田法，開江北溝洫，以祛水患，益歲收。報可。

An edict approved all as proposed. Lü Guangxun thereupon requested that Grand Coordinator Ouyang Bijing be exclusively entrusted with the work. The request was approved. In the twenty-sixth year, Supervising Secretary Chen Fei requested that following the Jiangnan paddy-field method, ditches and canals be opened north of the Yangtze to dispel water disasters and increase annual harvests. The memorial was approved.

三十八年，總督尚書楊博請開宣、大荒田水利。從之。巡撫都御史翁大立言：「東吳水利，自震澤浚源以注江，三江導流以入海，而蘇州三十六浦，松江八匯，毘陵十四瀆，共以節宣旱澇。近因倭寇衝突，汊港之交，率多釘柵築堤以為捍禦，因致水流停瀦，淤滓日積。管道之間，仰高成阜。且具區湖泖，並水而居者雜蒔茭蘆，積泥成蕩，民間又多自起圩岸。上流日微，水勢日殺。黃浦、婁江之水又為舟師所居，下流亦淤。海潮無力，水利難興，民田漸磽。宜於吳淞、白茆、七浦等處造成石閘，啟閉以時。挑鎮江、常州漕河深廣，使輸挽無阻，公私之利也。」詔可。

In the thirty-eighth year, Governor-in-Chief Yang Bo requested that water conservancy for wasteland in Xuancheng and Datong be developed. The request was approved. Grand Coordinator and Censor-in-Chief Weng Dali reported: "Eastern Wu's water conservancy, from dredging the source at Zhenze to channel water into the river, and the Three Rivers guiding flow into the sea—Suzhou's thirty-six harbors, Songjiang's eight confluences, and Biling's fourteen channels together regulated drought and flood. Recently, because of wokou raids, at the junctions of branch harbors many have nailed palisades and built dikes for defense, causing water to stagnate and silt to accumulate day by day. Between the channels, silt piled high into mounds. Moreover, at Lake Juqu and the lake marshes, those dwelling along the water planted water chestnuts and reeds in the shallows; mud accumulated into boggy flats, and among the people many built their own polder embankments. Upstream flow grew daily weaker and the force of the water daily diminished. The waters of the Huangpu and Lou rivers were again occupied by naval fleets, and the lower reaches also silted up. Sea tides lacked force, water conservancy was hard to revive, and civilian fields gradually turned barren. Stone gates should be built at Wusong, Baimao, Qipu, and other places, opened and closed according to season. The Grand Canal at Zhenjiang and Changzhou should be dredged deep and wide so that transport haulage meets no obstruction—a benefit to public and private alike. An edict approved the request.

四十二年，給事中張憲臣言：「蘇、鬆、常、嘉、湖五郡水患疊見。請浚支河，通潮水；築圩岸，禦湍流。其白茆港、劉家河、七浦、楊林及凡河渠河蕩壅淤沮洳者，悉宜疏導。」帝以江南久苦倭患，民不宜重勞，令酌浚支河而已。四十五年，參政淩雲翼請專設御史督蘇、鬆水利。詔巡鹽御史兼之。

In the forty-second year, Supervising Secretary Zhang Xianchen reported: "Water disasters have struck repeatedly in the five prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou. We request dredging branch rivers to connect tidal waters; building polder embankments to resist torrential flow. Baimao Harbor, Liujia River, Qipu, Yanglin, and all rivers, channels, and lake marshes that are choked, silted, and boggy should all be dredged and cleared. The emperor, because Jiangnan had long suffered from wokou raids and the people should not be overburdened, ordered that only branch rivers be dredged as appropriate. In the forty-fifth year, Vice Commissioner Ling Yunyi requested that a censor be specially appointed to oversee water conservancy in Suzhou and Songjiang. An edict ordered the Salt Circuit Censor to take this duty concurrently.

隆慶三年，開湖廣竹筒河以泄漢江。巡撫都御史海瑞疏吳淞江下流上海淤地萬四千丈有奇。江面舊三十丈，增開十五丈，自黃渡至宋家橋長八十里。明年春，瑞言：「三吳入海之道，南止吳淞，北止白茆，中止劉河。劉河通達無滯，吳淞方在挑疏。土人請開白茆，計浚五千餘丈，役夫百六十四萬餘。」又言：「吳淞役垂竣，惟東西二壩未開。父老皆言崑山夏駕口、吳江長橋、長洲寶帶橋、吳縣胥口及凡可通流下吳淞者，逐一挑畢，方可開壩。」並從之。是年築海鹽海塘。越四年，從巡撫侍郎徐栻議，復開海鹽秦駐山，南至澉浦舊河。

In Longqing 3, Zhutong River in Huguang was opened to discharge Han River waters. Grand Coordinator and Censor-in-Chief Hai Rui dredged more than fourteen thousand zhang of silted land along the lower Wusong River at Shanghai. The river surface was originally thirty zhang wide; an additional fifteen zhang was opened, from Huangdu to Songjia Bridge a distance of eighty li. The following spring Hai Rui reported: "The Three Wu routes to the sea are bounded on the south by the Wusong, on the north by Baimao, and in the center by the Liu River. The Liu River runs clear without obstruction; the Wusong is presently being dredged. Local people request opening Baimao; dredging is estimated at more than five thousand zhang, requiring more than 1,640,000 corvée labor-days. He also reported: "The Wusong project is nearly complete, but the two east-west dams have not yet been opened. Elders all say that Xiakou at Kunshan, Chang Bridge at Wujiang, Baodai Bridge at Changzhou, Xukou in Wu County, and every place where water can flow down to the Wusong must be dredged one by one before the dams may be opened. All were approved. That year sea walls at Haiyan were built. Four years later, following Vice Grand Coordinator Xu Shi's proposal, Qinzhushan at Haiyan was reopened, south to the old river at Ganpu.

萬曆二年，築荊州採穴，承天泗港、謝家灣諸決堤口。復築荊、嶽等府及鬆滋諸縣老垸堤。

In Wanli 2, breach dikes at Caixue in Jingzhou, Sigang in Chengtian, Xiejiawan, and other places were built up. Old polder dikes in Jingzhou, Yuezhou, and other prefectures and in Songzi and other counties were also rebuilt.

四年，巡撫都御史宋儀望言：「三吳水勢，東南自嘉、秀沿海而北，皆趨松江，循黃浦入海；西北自常、鎮沿江而東，皆趨江陰、常熟。其中太湖瀦蓄，匯為巨浸，流注龐山、瀆墅、澱山、三泖，陽城諸湖。乃開浦引湖，北經常熟七浦、白茆諸港入於江，東北經崑山、太倉穿劉家河，東南通吳淞江、黃浦，各入於海。諸水聯絡，四面環護，中如仰盂。杭、嘉湖、常、鎮勢繞四隅，蘇州居中，松江為諸水所受，最居下。乞專設水利僉事以裨國計。」部議遣御史董之。

In the fourth year, Grand Coordinator and Censor-in-Chief Song Yiwang reported: "The water regime of the Three Wu: from the southeast, from Jiaxing and Xiuzhou along the coast northward, all waters trend toward Songjiang and reach the sea along the Huangpu; from the northwest, from Changzhou and Zhenjiang along the Yangtze eastward, all waters trend toward Jiangyin and Changshu. Within, Tai Lake stores and impounds, gathering into a great expanse and flowing into the lakes of Pangshan, Dushu, Dianshan, Sanmao, Yangcheng, and others. Harbors are opened to draw from the lakes: north through Changshu's Qipu, Baimao, and other harbors into the river; northeast through Kunshan and Taicang via the Liujia River; southeast through the Wusong River and Huangpu—each reaching the sea. The waters connect, encircled and protected on four sides, like an upturned bowl at the center. Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou, Changzhou, and Zhenjiang surround the four corners; Suzhou sits at the center; Songjiang receives all these waters and lies lowest. We request that a water conservancy assistant commissioner be specially established to aid state revenue. The ministry deliberated and dispatched Censor Dong Zhi to handle it.

六年，巡撫都御史胡執禮請先浚吳淞江長橋、黃浦。先是，巡按御史林應訓言：

In the sixth year, Grand Coordinator and Censor-in-Chief Hu Zhili requested that Chang Bridge and the Huangpu on the Wusong River be dredged first. Earlier, Investigating Censor Lin Yingxun had reported:

「蘇、鬆水利在開吳淞江中段，以通入海之勢。太湖入海，其道有三：東北由劉河，即古婁江故道；東南由大黃浦，即古東江遺意；其中為吳淞江，經崑山、嘉定、青浦、上海，乃太湖正脈。今劉河、黃浦皆通，而中江獨塞者，蓋江流與海潮遇，海潮渾濁，賴江水迅滌之。劉河獨受巴、陽諸湖，又有新洋江、夏駕浦從旁以注；大黃浦總會杭、嘉之水，又有澱山、泖蕩從上而灌。是以流皆清駛，足以敵潮，不能淤也。

"Water conservancy in Suzhou and Songjiang lies in opening the middle reach of the Wusong River to restore the momentum toward the sea. Tai Lake enters the sea by three routes: northeast through the Liu River, the old course of ancient Lou River; southeast through the Great Huangpu, the remnant of ancient Dong River; and in the center the Wusong River, passing Kunshan, Jiading, Qingpu, and Shanghai—the main artery of Tai Lake. Now the Liu River and Huangpu both run clear while the middle river alone is choked, because when river flow meets the sea tide the tide is turbid and relies on swift river water to wash it clean. The Liu River alone receives the Ba and Yang lakes, and has Xinyang River and Xiakou Harbor feeding it from the side; the Great Huangpu gathers waters from Hangzhou and Jiaxing, and has Dianshan and the lake marshes pouring in from above. Thus all their currents run clear and swift, enough to hold off the tide so that silting cannot occur.

惟吳淞江源出長橋、石塘下，經龐山、九里二湖而入。今長橋、石塘已堙，龐山、九里復為灘漲，其來已微。又有新洋江、夏駕浦掣其水以入劉河，勢乃益弱，不能勝海潮洶湧之勢而滌濁渾之流，日積月累，淤塞僅留一線。水失故道，時致淫濫。支河小港，亦復壅滯。舊熟之田，半成荒畝。

Only the Wusong River rises below Chang Bridge and Shitang, passing through the two lakes of Pangshan and Jiuli before entering. Now Chang Bridge and Shitang are choked, Pangshan and Jiuli have again become tidal flats, and the inflow is already slight. Moreover Xinyang River and Xiakou Harbor draw off its water into the Liu River, so its force grows ever weaker; it cannot overcome the surging sea tide and wash away the turbid flow; day by day and month by month silt accumulates until only a thread remains. Water has lost its old course and sometimes causes excessive flooding. Branch rivers and small harbors are again choked and stagnant. Fields once fertile are half turned to wasteland.

前都御史海瑞力破羣議，挑自上海江口宋家橋至嘉定艾祁八十里，幸尚通流。自艾祁至崑山慢水港六十餘里，則俱漲灘，急宜開浚，計淺九千五百餘丈，闊二十丈。此江一開，太湖直入於海，濱江諸渠得以引流灌田，青浦積荒之區俱可開墾成熟矣。」

Former Censor-in-Chief Hai Rui forcefully overcame widespread opposition and dredged from Songjia Bridge at the Shanghai river mouth to Aiqi in Jiading, eighty li; fortunately flow still continues. From Aiqi to Manshuigang in Kunshan, more than sixty li, all are raised shoals and urgently need dredging—an estimated shallow stretch of more than nine thousand five hundred zhang, twenty zhang wide. Once this river is opened, Tai Lake will flow directly to the sea, riverside channels will be able to draw water to irrigate fields, and Qingpu's accumulated wasteland can all be opened and brought to cultivation."

並從之。至是，工成。應訓又言：

All were approved. By this time the work was complete. Lin Yingxun again reported:

「吳江縣治居太湖正東，湖水由此下吳淞達海。宋時運道所經，畏風阻險，乃建長橋、石塘以通牽挽。長橋百三十丈，為洞六十有二。石塘小則有竇，大則有橋，內外浦涇縱橫貫穿，皆為泄水計也。石塘涇竇半淤，長橋內外俱圮，僅一二洞門通水。若不疏浚，雖開吳淞下流，終無益也。宜開龐山湖口，由長橋抵吳家港。則湖有所泄，江有所歸，源盛流長，為利大矣。

"The seat of Wujiang County lies directly east of Tai Lake; lake water from here flows down the Wusong to the sea. In Song times it lay on the transport route; fearing wind and obstructive hazards, Chang Bridge and Shitang were built to allow towing. Chang Bridge spans one hundred thirty zhang and has sixty-two culvert openings. At Shitang, small sections have sluice openings and large ones have bridges; harbors and channels within and without run crisscross through it—all planned for draining water. Shitang's channel sluices are half choked with silt; Chang Bridge has collapsed on both sides, and only one or two culvert gates still pass water. Without dredging, even opening the lower Wusong will ultimately do no good. The mouth of Pangshan Lake should be opened, with a channel from Chang Bridge to Wujia Harbor. Then the lake would have an outlet and the river a proper course; with a strong headwater and a long run, the gain would be immense.

松江大黃浦西南受杭、嘉之水，西北受氵殿、泖諸蕩之水，總會於浦，而秀州塘、山涇港諸處實黃浦來源也。氵殿山湖入黃浦道漸多淤淺，宜為疏瀹。而自黃浦、橫澇、洙涇，經秀州塘入南泖，至山涇港等處，萬四千餘丈，待浚尤急。

Songjiang's Dahuangpu takes in waters from Hangzhou and Jiaxing to the southwest and from the Dian and Mao lake marshes to the northwest; all converge in the pu, while Xiuzhou Canal, Shanjing Harbor, and the like are in truth the Huangpu's headwaters. The channel from Dianshan Lake into the Huangpu is growing increasingly silted and shallow and should be dredged and cleared. From the Huangpu, Henglao, and Zhujing, through Xiuzhou Canal into South Mao and on to Shanjing Harbor and beyond—more than fourteen thousand zhang in all—dredging is especially urgent.

他如蘇之茜涇、楊林、白茆、七浦諸港，鬆之蒲匯、官紹諸塘，常、鎮之澡港、九曲諸河，並宜設法開導，次第修舉。」

Likewise Suzhou's Qianjing, Yanglin, Baimao, and Qipu harbors; Songjiang's Puhui and Guanshao embankments; and Changzhou and Zhenjiang's Zaogang, Jiuqu, and other rivers—all should be opened and guided by deliberate measures and repaired in turn."

八年，又言：「蘇、鬆諸郡幹河支港凡數百，大則泄水入海，次則通湖達江，小則引流灌田。今吳淞江、白茆塘、秀州塘、蒲匯塘、孟瀆河、舜河、青暘港俱已告成，支河數十，宜盡開浚。」俱從其請。

In the eighth year he reported again: "Suzhou, Songjiang, and the other prefectures have trunk rivers and branch harbors by the hundreds—the largest drain floodwater to the sea, the next rank connect lakes to rivers, and the smallest draw water to irrigate fields. The Wusong River, Baimao Canal, Xiuzhou Canal, Puhui Canal, Mengdu River, Shun River, and Qingyang Harbor are now finished; several dozen branch rivers should all be opened and dredged. All were approved.

久之，用儀望議，特設蘇、鬆水利副使，以許應逵領之。乃浚吳淞八十餘晨，築塘九十餘處，開新河百二十三道，浚內河百三十九道，築上海李家洪老鴉嘴海岸十八里，發帑金二十萬。應逵以其半訖工。三十七、八年間，霪雨浸溢，水患日熾。越數年，給事中歸子顧言：「宋時，吳淞江闊九里。元末淤塞。正統間，周忱立表江心，疏而浚之。崔恭、徐貫、李充嗣、海瑞相繼浚者凡五，迄今四十餘年，廢而不講。宜使江闊水駛，塘浦支河分流四達。」疏入留中。巡按御史薛貞復請行之，下部議而未行。至天啟中，巡撫都御史周起元復請浚吳淞、白茆。崇禎初，員外郎蔡懋德、巡撫都御史李待問皆以為請。久之，巡撫都御史張國維請疏吳江長橋七十二谼及九里、石塘諸洞。御史李謨復請浚吳淞、白茆。俱下部議，未能行也。

After some time, on Song Yiwang's recommendation, a special Deputy Commissioner for Suzhou and Songjiang waterworks was created, with Xu Yingkui placed in charge. He dredged more than eighty li of the Wusong, built embankments at more than ninety sites, opened one hundred twenty-three new canals, dredged one hundred thirty-nine interior canals, constructed eighteen li of coast at Laoyazui on Shanghai's Lijiahong shore, and spent two hundred thousand taels from the treasury. Yingkui finished half the work. In the thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth years, unending rain spread floodwaters and water disasters grew worse by the day. Several years later, Supervising Secretary Gui Ziguan memorialized: "In Song times the Wusong River was nine li across. By the end of the Yuan it had silted shut. In the Zhengtong era Zhou Chen set gauge marks midstream and dredged it clear. Cui Gong, Xu Guan, Li Chongsi, and Hai Rui dredged it in turn—five efforts in all—and for more than forty years since, the work has been abandoned and neglected. The river should be widened and its current quickened, with embankment harbors and branch rivers dividing the flow in every direction. The memorial was submitted and held at court. Investigating Censor Xue Zhenfu again asked that it be carried out; the matter was referred to the ministry for discussion but never implemented. In the Tianqi period Grand Coordinator Zhou Qiyuan again petitioned to dredge the Wusong and Baimao. At the start of Chongzhen, Vice Director Cai Maode and Grand Coordinator Li Daiwen both submitted the same request. After some time Grand Coordinator Zhang Guowei asked that the seventy-two culverts of Wujiang's Chang Bridge and the openings at Jiuli and Shitang be cleared. Censor Li Mo again petitioned to dredge the Wusong and Baimao. All were referred to the ministry for deliberation, but none could be carried out.

十年，增築雄縣橫堤八里，禦滹沱暴漲。

In the tenth year the transverse dike at Xiong County was extended eight li to hold back Hoodu flood surges.

十三年，以尚寶少卿徐貞明兼御史，領墾田使。貞明為給事中，嘗請興西北水利如南人圩田之制，引水成田。工部覆議：「畿輔諸郡邑，以上流十五河之水泄於貓兒一灣，海口又極束隘，故所在橫流。必多開支河，挑浚海口，而後水勢可平，疏浚可施。然役大費繁，而今以民勞財匱，方務省事，請罷其議。」乃已。後貞明謫官，著《潞水客譚》一書，論水利當興者十四條。時巡撫張國彥、副使顧養謙方開水利於薊、永有效，於是給事中王敬民薦貞明，特召還，賜敕勘水利。貞明乃先治京東州邑，如密雲燕樂莊，平谷水峪寺、龍家務莊，三河塘會莊、順慶屯地。薊州城北黃厓營，城西白馬泉、鎮國莊，城東馬伸橋，夾林河而下別山鋪，夾陰流河而下至於陰流。遵化平安城，夾運河而下沙河鋪西，城南鐵廠、湧珠湖以下韭菜溝、上素河、下素河百餘里。豐潤之南，則大寨、剌榆坨、史家河、大王莊，東則榛子鎮，西則鴉紅橋，夾河五十餘里。玉田青莊塢、後湖莊、三里屯及大泉、小泉，至於瀕海之地，自水道沽關、黑嚴子墩至開平衛南宋家營，東西百餘里，南北百八十里。墾田三萬九千餘畝。至真定將治滹沱近堧地，御史王之棟言：「滹沱非人力可治，徒耗財擾民。」帝入其言，欲罪諸建議者。申時行言：「墾田興利謂之害民，議甚舛。顧為此說者，其故有二。北方民遊惰好閑，憚於力作，水田有耕耨之勞，胼胝之苦，不便一也。貴勢有力家侵佔甚多，不待耕作，坐收蘆葦薪芻之利；若開墾成田，歸於業戶，隸於有司，則已利盡失，不便二也。然以國家大計較之，不便者小，而便者大。惟在斟酌地勢，體察人情，沙堿不必盡開，黍麥無煩改作，應用伕役，必官募之，不拂民情，不失地利，乃謀國長策耳。」於是貞明得無罪，而水田事終罷。

In the thirteenth year Xu Zhenming, Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Studs, was additionally made Censor and placed in charge of the Reclamation Commissioner. While serving as a supervising secretary, Zhenming had once asked that northwestern waterworks be developed on the southern polder model, drawing water to create fields. The Ministry of Works replied: "In the capital region's prefectures and districts, the waters of fifteen upstream rivers all empty into Maor Bay alone, and the river mouth is extremely narrow—so water spreads sideways everywhere. Many branch rivers must be opened and the river mouth excavated before the water can be brought under control and dredging made practicable. Yet the labor is vast and the cost heavy, and with the people exhausted and the treasury empty the court is now bent on reducing burdens—please drop the proposal. And so the matter was dropped. Later Zhenming was demoted and wrote Clients' Talk on Lu River Water, setting out fourteen points on waterworks that ought to be developed. At the time Grand Coordinator Zhang Guoyan and Vice Commissioner Gu Yangqian were opening waterworks in Ji and Yong with good results; Supervising Secretary Wang Jingmin then recommended Zhenming, who was specially recalled and granted an imperial commission to survey waterworks. Zhenming first worked the eastern capital districts—places such as Yanlezhuang in Miyun; Shuiyusi and Longjiawuzhuang in Pinggu; and Tanghuizhuang and Shunqingtun in Sanhe. At Huangya Camp north of Jizhou city; Baima Spring and Zhenguozhuang west of the city; Mashen Bridge east of the city; along the Jialin River down to Bieshanpu; and along the Yinliu River down to Yinliu. At Ping'an City in Zunhua, along the Grand Canal down past Shahepu West; south of the city at the ironworks and below Yongzhu Lake—Yongcaigou, the upper and lower Su rivers—for more than one hundred li. South of Fengrun lay Dazhai, Layuotuo, Shijia River, and Dawangzhuang; to the east, Zhenzizhen; to the west, Yahong Bridge—more than fifty li along the river. At Qingzhuangwu, Houhuzhuang, Sanlitun, and the Da and Xiao springs in Yutian, reaching the coastal lands—from Shuiguoguan and Heiyanzidun along the water route to Songjiaying south of Kaiping Guard—more than one hundred li east to west and one hundred eighty li north to south. More than thirty-nine thousand mu of land were reclaimed. When he was about to work the lands near the Hoodu levee in Zhending, Censor Wang Zhidong said: "The Hoodu is beyond human control; the effort would only waste money and trouble the people. The Emperor took his view and wanted to punish those who had proposed the projects. Shen Shixing said: "To call reclamation that serves the public good harmful to the people is a grievous error. Those who say this, however, have two reasons. Northern commoners are idle and love ease, and shrink from hard labor; paddy fields demand the toil of plowing and hoeing and the pain of blistered hands—this is the first inconvenience. Powerful families have encroached on vast tracts and, without ever farming them, sit collecting profits from reeds, rushes, and fodder; if the land were opened, reclaimed, and turned over to farming households under official oversight, those profits would vanish—this is the second inconvenience. Yet weighed against the nation's larger interest, the inconveniences are small and the benefits great. What matters is to weigh the terrain and read the people's mood—not opening every patch of sandy alkaline soil, not forcing millet and wheat fields to be converted, and when corvée is needed recruiting it through official channels, so that popular feeling is not offended nor local advantage wasted. That is the long-term policy for the state. Zhenming was spared punishment, but the paddy-field project was abandoned in the end.

巡撫都御史樑問孟築橫城堡邊牆，慮寧夏有黃河患，請堤西岔河，障水東流。從之。十九年，尚寶丞周弘禴言：「寧夏河東有漢、秦二壩，請依河西漢、唐壩築以石，於渠外疏大渠一道，北達鴛鴦諸湖。」詔可。

While building transverse forts and the border wall, Grand Coordinator Liang Wenmeng, fearing Yellow River flooding in Ningxia, asked that the West Cha River be diked to block water flowing eastward. The request was approved. In the nineteenth year Director Zhou Hongxi said: "East of the river in Ningxia stand the Han and Qin dams; please rebuild them in stone on the model of the Han and Tang dams west of the river, and outside the canal open a great channel running north to the Yuanyang lakes. An edict approved the plan.

二十三年，黃、淮漲溢，淮、揚昏墊。議者多請開高家堰以分淮。寶應知縣陳煃為御史，慮高堰既開，害民產鹽場，請自興、鹽迤東，疏白塗河、石鵜達口、廖家港為數河，分門出海；然後從下而上，浚清水、子嬰二溝，且多開瓜、儀閘口以泄水。給事中祝世祿亦言：「議者欲放淮從廣陽、射陽二湖入海。廣陽闊僅八里，射陽僅二十五丈，名為湖，實河也。且離海三百里，迂迴淺窄，高、寶七州縣水惟此一線宣洩之，又使淮注焉，田廬鹽場，必無幸矣。廣陽湖東有大湖，方廣六十里，湖北口有舊官河，自官蕩至鹽城石鵜達口，通海僅五十三里，此導淮入海一便也。」下部及河漕官議，俱格不行。既而總河尚書楊一魁言：「黃水倒灌，正以海口為阻。分黃工就，則石鵜達口、廖家港、白駒場海口，金灣、芒稻諸河，急宜開刷。」乃命如議行之。

In the twenty-third year the Yellow and Huai rivers surged and spilled over; the Huai and Yang regions were drowned in mud. Many in the deliberations asked to open the Gaojia Embankment to divert the Huai. Chen Chun, magistrate of Baoying and now serving as censor, fearing that opening the high embankment would ruin the people's saltworks, asked that from Xing and Yan eastward the Baitu River, Shipu Dakou, and Liaojia Harbor be dredged into several rivers, each with its own outlet to the sea; then, working from downstream upward, dredge the Qingshui and Ziying channels and open many sluice gates at Gua and Yi to release the water. Supervising Secretary Zhu Shilu also said: "Those deliberating wish to release the Huai through Guangyang and Sheyang lakes into the sea. Guangyang is only eight li across; Sheyang only twenty-five zhang—they are called lakes but are really rivers. Moreover they lie three hundred li from the sea, winding, shallow, and narrow; the seven prefectures and districts of Gaoyou and Baoying have only this single line by which to drain—and if the Huai is poured in as well, fields, homes, and saltworks will surely be ruined. East of Guangyang Lake lies a great lake sixty li on a side; at its north mouth is an old official canal from Guandang to Shipu Dakou at Yancheng—only fifty-three li to the sea. That is one convenient route for guiding the Huai to the sea. The proposals were referred to the ministry and river-transport officials for discussion—all were blocked and never carried out. Soon afterward Minister of the Grand Canal Yang Yikui reported: "Yellow water is backing up precisely because the river mouth is blocked. Once the work of diverting the Yellow River is finished, Shipu Dakou, Liaojia Harbor, the Baima field estuary, Jinwan, Mangdao, and the other rivers should urgently be opened and cleared. He was then ordered to proceed as proposed.

三十年，保定巡撫都御史汪應蛟言：「易水可溉金臺，滹水可溉恆山，溏水可溉中山，滏水可溉襄國，漳水可溉鄴下，而瀛海當眾河下流，故號河中，視江南澤國不異。至於山下之泉，地中之水，所在皆有，宜各設壩建閘，通渠築堤，高者自灌，下則車汲。用南方水田法，六郡之內，得水田數萬頃，畿民從此饒，永無旱澇之患。不幸濱河有梗，亦可改折於南，取糴於北。此國家無窮利也。」報可。應蛟乃於天津葛沽、何家圈、雙溝、白塘，令防海軍丁屯種，人授田四畝，共種五千餘畝，水稻二千畝，收多，因上言：「墾地七千頃，歲可得穀二百餘萬石，此行之而效者也。」

In the thirtieth year Grand Coordinator Wang Yingjiao said: "The Yi River can irrigate Jintai, the Hu River Hengshan, the Tang River Zhongshan, the Fu River Xiangguo, and the Zhang River the Ye region—and Yinghai sits where all these rivers converge downstream, hence its name River Central; it differs little from the water country of Jiangnan. As for springs below the hills and water in the ground, they are found everywhere; dams and sluices should be built at each site, channels opened and dikes raised—where the land is high, let it irrigate itself; where it is low, lift water with wheels. Using the southern paddy method, several tens of thousands of qing of paddy fields could be created within the six prefectures; the people of the capital region would grow prosperous and be forever free of drought and flood. Should the river transport route be blocked, grain tribute could also be diverted southward and grain purchased from the north. This would be boundless profit for the state. Approval was granted. Yingjiao then at Gezhu, Hejiaquan, Shuanggou, and Baitang in Tianjin ordered coastal-defense garrison soldiers to farm colony land, granting each man four mu—more than five thousand mu planted in all, including two thousand mu of rice paddies with abundant harvests—whereupon he memorialized: "Reclaim seven thousand qing and the yearly yield could exceed two million shi of grain. This is what has already been tried with success."

是年，真定知府郭勉浚大鳴、小鳴泉四十餘穴，溉田千頃。邢臺達活、野狐二泉流為牛尾河，百泉流為澧河，建二十一閘二堤，灌田五百餘頃。

That year Zhending Prefect Guo Mian cleared more than forty springs at Daming and Xiaoming, irrigating one thousand qing of fields. At Xingtai the Dahuoying and Yehu springs flow into the Niwei River and the Hundred Springs into the Li River; twenty-one sluices and two dikes were built, irrigating more than five hundred qing.

天啟元年，御史左光鬥用應蛟策，復天津屯田，令通判盧觀象管理屯田水利。明年，巡按御史張慎言言：「自枝河而西，靜海、興濟之間，萬頃沃壤。河之東，尚有鹽水沽等處為膏腴之田，惜皆蕪廢。今觀象開寇家口以南田三千餘畝，溝洫蘆塘之法，種植疏浚之方，皆具而有法，人何憚而不為？大抵開種之法有五：一官種。謂牛、種、器具、耕作、僱募皆出於官，而官亦盡收其田之入也。一佃種。謂民願墾而無力，其牛、種、器具仰給於官，待納稼之時，官十而取其四也。一民種。佃之有力者，自認開墾若干，迨開荒既熟，較數歲之中以為常，十一而取是也。一軍種。即令海防營軍種葛沽之田，人耕四畝，收二石，緣有行、月糧，故收租重也。一屯種。祖宗衛軍有屯田，或五十畝，或百畝。軍為屯種者，歲入十七於官，即以所入為官軍歲支之用。國初兵農之善制也。四法已行，惟屯種則今日兵與軍分，而屯僅存其名。當選各衛之屯餘，墾津門之沃土，如官種法行之。」章下所司，命太僕卿董應舉管天津至山海屯田，規畫數年，開田十八萬畝，積穀無算。

In Tianqi 1 (1621) Censor Zuo Guangdou, adopting Yingjiao's plan, restored Tianjin colony fields and put Vice Prefect Lu Guanxiang in charge of colony land and waterworks. The next year Investigating Censor Zhang Shenyan said: "West of the branch river, between Jinghai and Xingji, lies tens of thousands of qing of rich land. East of the river, places such as Yanshuigu still hold fertile fields—yet all lie abandoned and overgrown. Guanxiang has already opened more than three thousand mu south of Koujiakou; his methods for ditches, drains, and reed embankments and his plans for planting and dredging are all complete and systematic—why should people hesitate to follow? Broadly speaking, there are five methods of opening land for cultivation: first, official cultivation. This means oxen, seed, tools, farming, and hired labor all come from the government, and the government takes the entire harvest. Second, tenant cultivation. This is for commoners willing to reclaim land but without means—their oxen, seed, and tools are supplied by the government, and at harvest the government takes four parts in ten. Third, private cultivation. Tenants with means claim a set amount of land to open and reclaim; once the wasteland is brought under cultivation, the yield is averaged over several years as the standard, and one part in ten is taken. Fourth, military cultivation. This means ordering coastal-defense garrison soldiers to farm Gezhu fields—each man cultivates four mu and yields two shi; because they already receive traveling and monthly rations, the rent collected is heavier. Fifth, colony cultivation. Under the founding system guard soldiers held colony fields of fifty or one hundred mu each. Soldiers farming colony land paid seven parts in ten to the government, and that income supplied the guard soldiers' yearly expenses. It was a fine early-dynasty institution joining soldiers and farmers. Of the four methods already in use, only colony cultivation has decayed—today soldiers and garrison troops are separate, and colonies survive in name alone. The surplus colony land of each guard should be chosen to reclaim the fertile soil around Tianjin, using the official-cultivation method. The memorial was sent to the responsible offices; Director of the Court of the Imperial Stud Dong Yingju was ordered to oversee colony fields from Tianjin to Shanhaiguan; after several years of planning, one hundred eighty thousand mu were opened and grain accumulated beyond reckoning.

崇禎二年，兵部侍郎申用懋言：「永平濼河諸水，逶迤寬衍，可疏渠以防旱潦。山坡隙地，便栽種。宜令有司相地察源，為民興利。」從之。

In Chongzhen 2 (1629) Vice Minister of War Shen Yongmao said: "The rivers of Yongping, such as the Lu River, wind broadly and can have channels dredged to guard against drought and flood. Hillside pockets of land are well suited to planting. Local officials should be ordered to survey the terrain, trace the water sources, and bring benefit to the people. The request was granted.

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