Volume 129 Treatises 104: Rivers and Canals 4, Zhi Sheng Shui Li

志一百四

Treatise 104

河渠四

Rivers and Canals IV

直省水利

Water Conservancy in the Metropolitan Provinces

清代軫恤民艱，亟修水政，黃、淮、運、永定諸河、海塘而外，舉凡直省水利，亦皆經營不遺餘力，其事可備列焉。

Mindful of the people's hardships, the Qing court gave urgent priority to water administration. Beyond the Yellow, Huai, and Grand Canal rivers, the Yongding River, and the seawalls, provincial waterworks throughout the empire were pursued with equal vigor; the record of those efforts may be set forth here in full.

順治四年，給事中梁維請開荒田、興水利，章下所司。十一年，詔曰：「東南財賦之地，素稱沃壤。近年水旱為災，民生重困，皆因水利失修，致誤農工。該督撫責成地方官悉心講求，疏通水道，修築堤防，以時蓄泄，俾水旱無虞，民安樂利。」

In Shunzhi 4, Supervising Secretary Liang Wei memorialized the throne to open wasteland and promote irrigation; the memorial was forwarded to the relevant ministries. In Shunzhi 11, an edict declared: "The southeast, heartland of the empire's revenue, has long been famed for its fertile soil. In recent years floods and droughts have brought disaster, and the people's livelihood has grown dire—all because irrigation and drainage have been neglected, disrupting the agricultural calendar. Governors-general and governors are to hold local officials accountable to investigate the matter thoroughly, clear waterways, repair dikes and embankments, and regulate storage and release in season, so that neither flood nor drought need be feared and the people may live in security and prosperity."

康熙元年，重修夾江龍興堰，又鑿大渠以廣灌溉。二年，修和州銅成堰，龍首、通濟二渠。交城磁瓦河漲，水侵城，築堤障之。三年，修嘉定楠木堰。九年，修郿縣金渠、寧曲水利。十二年，重修城固五門堰。十九年，濬常熟白茆港、武進孟瀆河。二十三年，修五河南湖堤壩。二十七年，修徽州魚梁壩。三十七年，命河督王新命修畿輔水利。

In Kangxi 1, the Longxing Weir at Jiajiang was rebuilt and a major canal was excavated to extend irrigation. In Kangxi 2, Hezhou's Tongcheng Weir and the Longshou and Tongji canals were repaired. When the Ciwa River at Jiaocheng swelled and threatened the city, dikes were raised to hold it back. In Kangxi 3, Jiading's Nanmu Weir was repaired. In Kangxi 9, Mei County's Jin Canal and the Ningqu irrigation works were repaired. In Kangxi 12, Chenggu's Wumen Weir was rebuilt. In Kangxi 19, Changshu's Baimao Harbor and Wujin's Mengdu River were dredged. In Kangxi 23, the South Lake dikes and dams in Wuhe were repaired. In Kangxi 27, Huizhou's Yuliang Dam was repaired. In Kangxi 37, Director-General of Rivers Wang Xinming was charged with repairing waterworks in the metropolitan region.

三十八年，聖祖南巡，至東光，命直隸巡撫李光地察勘漳河、滹沱河故道。覆疏言：「大名、廣平、真定、河間所屬，凡兩河經行之處，宜開濬疏通，由館陶入運。老漳河與單家橋支流合，至鮑家嘴歸運，可分子牙河之勢。」三十九年，帝巡視子牙河堤，命於閻、留二庄間建石閘，隨時啟閉。御史劉珩言，永平、真定近河地，應令引水入田耕種。諭曰：「水田之利，不可太驟。若剋期齊舉，必致難行。惟於興作之後，百姓知其有益，自然鼓勵效法，事必有成。」四十年，李光地言：「漳河分四支，三支歸運皆弱，一支歸淀獨強。遇水大時，當用挑水壩等法，使水分流，北不至挾滹沱以浸田，南不至合衛河以害運。」如所請行。

In Kangxi 38, on his southern tour the Kangxi Emperor reached Dongguang and ordered Zhili Governor Li Guangdi to survey the former courses of the Zhang and Hutuo rivers. In a follow-up memorial he reported: "In the districts of Daming, Guangping, Zhending, and Hejian, wherever the two rivers run, the channels should be opened and dredged so that water may enter the Grand Canal through Guantao. The old Zhang River would join a branch at Danjiaqiao and rejoin the canal at Baojiazui, thereby diverting part of the Ziya River's current." In Kangxi 39 the emperor inspected the Ziya River dikes and ordered a stone sluice built between Yan and Liu villages, to be opened and closed as conditions required. Censor Liu Heng proposed that in Yongping and Zhending, on lands near the rivers, irrigation water should be led into the fields for rice cultivation. The emperor replied: "The benefits of paddy cultivation cannot be rushed. If everything is launched on a fixed timetable at once, the plan will surely prove impracticable. Only after projects are completed and the people see their benefit will they take them up of their own accord; then the undertaking will surely succeed." In Kangxi 40, Li Guangdi reported: "The Zhang River divides into four branches. Three that rejoin the canal are weak; the one that flows into the Baiyang marshes alone is strong. When floods are high, diversion dams and similar works should be used to split the current, so that to the north it does not sweep the Hutuo into the fields, and to the south it does not unite with the Wei River to endanger the Grand Canal." His request was approved and carried out.

四十三年，挑楊村舊引河。先是子牙河廣福樓開引河時，文安、大城民謂有益，青縣民謂不便，各集河干互控。至是河成，三縣民皆稱便。天津總兵官藍理請於豐潤、寶坻、天津開墾水田，下部議。旋諭曰：「昔李光地有此請，朕以為不可輕舉者，蓋北方水土之性迥異南方。當時水大，以為可種水田，不知驟漲之水，其涸甚易。觀琉璃河、莽牛河、易河之水，入夏皆涸可知。」次年部臣仍以開墾為請，諭以此事暫宜存置，可令藍理於天津試開水田，俟冬後踏勘。

In Kangxi 43, the old diversion channel at Yangcun was dredged. Earlier, when a diversion channel was opened at Guangfulou on the Ziya River, the people of Wen'an and Dacheng welcomed it while those of Qing County opposed it; both sides gathered at the riverbank and filed suits against each other. Once the channel was completed, all three counties found it advantageous. Tianjin Regional Commander Lan Li petitioned to open paddy fields in Fengrun, Baodi, and Tianjin; the memorial was sent to the ministries for deliberation. The emperor soon replied: "When Li Guangdi made this same request, I held that it must not be undertaken lightly, for the character of northern water and soil differs utterly from that of the south. At the time the rivers were high, and it seemed that rice might be grown—but flash floods dry out just as quickly. Consider the Liuli, Mangniu, and Yi rivers: by midsummer they are all dry. That is proof enough." The following year the ministries again urged opening paddy fields. The emperor ordered the matter held in abeyance for now, but permitted Lan Li to trial rice cultivation at Tianjin, with an on-site survey after winter.

四十八年，濬鄭州賈魯河故道，自東趙訖黃河涯口新莊。於東趙建閘一，黃河涯口築草壩石閘各一。甘肅巡撫舒圖言：「唐渠口高於身，水勢不暢，應引黃河之水匯入宋澄堡。如水不足用，更於上游近黃處開河引水，酌建閘壩，以資蓄泄。」從之。江蘇巡撫於准言：「丹陽練湖，冬春泄水濟運，夏秋分灌民田。自奸民圖利，將下湖之地佃種升科，民田悉成荒瘠。請復令蓄水為湖，得資灌溉。」從之。五十七年，以沛縣連年被水，命河督趙世顯察勘。世顯言：「金鄉、魚台之水，由沛之昭陽湖歷微山湖，從荊山口出貓兒窩入運。近因荊山口十字河淤墊，致低田被淹。應將沙淤濬通，再於十字河上築草壩。若遇運河水淺，即令堵塞，俾水全歸微山湖，出湖口閘以濟運，則民田漕運兩有裨益。」從之。

In Kangxi 48, the old course of the Jia Lu River at Zhengzhou was dredged from Dongzhao to Xinzhuang on the Yellow River bank. A sluice was built at Dongzhao, and at the riverbank one grass dam and one stone sluice were constructed. Gansu Governor Shutu reported: "The Tang Canal's intake sits higher than its bed, so the current does not run freely. Yellow River water should be led in to replenish Songcheng Fort. If that supply proves inadequate, a feeder channel should be cut upstream near the Yellow River, with sluices and dams built as needed for storage and release." The proposal was approved. Jiangsu Governor Yu Zhun reported: "Danyang's Lian Lake releases water in winter and spring to supply the Grand Canal, and in summer and autumn irrigates the people's fields. Unscrupulous men, seeking profit, had leased out the lower lakebed for cultivation and registered it for tax; the people's fields had all turned barren. He asked that the lake be restored to hold water again, so that irrigation might be secured." The request was granted. In Kangxi 57, because Pei County had flooded year after year, Director-General Zhao Shixian was ordered to inspect the situation. Zhao Shixian reported: "The waters of Jinxiang and Yutai pass through Pei's Zhaoyang Lake and Weishan Lake, then leave by Jingshankou through Mao'erwo into the Grand Canal. Recently the Cross River at Jingshankou has silted up, flooding the low-lying fields. The silt should be dredged away and a grass dam built across the Cross River. When the canal runs low, the dam should be closed so that all water returns to Weishan Lake and is released through the lake outlet sluice to feed transport—benefiting both the fields and the grain fleet." The plan was approved.

世宗時，於畿輔水利尤多區畫。雍正三年，直隸大水，命怡親王允祥、大學士硃軾相度修治。因疏請濬治衛河、淀池、子牙、永定諸河，更於京東之灤、薊，京南之文、霸，設營田專官，經畫疆理。召募老農，謀導耕種。四年，定營田四局，設水利營田府，命怡親王總理其事，置觀察使一。自五年分局至七年，營成水田六千頃有奇。後因水力贏縮靡常，半就湮廢。是年命侍郎通智、單疇書，會同川督岳鍾琪，開惠農渠於查漢托護，以益屯守，復建昌潤渠於惠農渠東北。六年，浚文水近汾河渠，引灌民田，開嵩明州楊林海以泄水成田。八年，帝以寧夏水利在大清、漢、唐三渠，日久頹壞，命通智同光祿卿史在甲勘修。是年修廣西興安靈渠，以利農田，通行舟。濬陳、許二州溝洫。

Under the Yongzheng Emperor, waterworks in the metropolitan region received especially careful planning. In Yongzheng 3, a great flood struck Zhili; Prince Yi Yunxiang and Grand Secretary Zhu Shi were ordered to survey the damage and plan repairs. They memorialized to dredge the Wei River, the Baiyang marshes, the Ziya River, and the Yongding River, and to appoint special officers for military colony fields along the Luan and Ji rivers east of the capital and the Wen and Ba rivers to the south, to survey and lay out the land. Experienced farmers were recruited to guide cultivation. In Yongzheng 4, four colony bureaus were established and a Water Conservancy and Military Colony Office was created; Prince Yi was placed in overall charge and one surveillance commissioner was appointed. From Yongzheng 5, when the bureaus were divided, through Yongzheng 7, more than six thousand qing of paddy were brought under cultivation. Later, because water levels fluctuated unpredictably, half the project fell into ruin. That year Vice Ministers Tongzhi and Dan Choushu were sent, together with Sichuan Governor Yue Zhongqi, to open the Huinong Canal at Chahantuohu to expand garrison farming, and to rebuild the Changrun Canal northeast of it. In Yongzheng 6, the canal near the Wenshui where it meets the Fen was dredged to irrigate the people's fields, and Yanglin Lake in Songming Prefecture was opened to drain water and reclaim land. In Yongzheng 8, noting that Ningxia's irrigation depended on the Daqing, Han, and Tang canals, which had long decayed, the emperor ordered Tongzhi and Court of Imperial Entertainments official Shi Zaijia to survey and repair them. That year Guangxi's Ling Canal at Xing'an was repaired to benefit agriculture and restore navigation. The irrigation ditches of Chen and Xu prefectures were dredged.

十年，雲貴總督鄂爾泰言：「滇省水利全在昆明海口，現經修濬，膏腴田地漸次涸出。惟盤龍江、金棱、銀棱、寶象等河俱與海口近，亟宜建築壩台。」又言：「楊林海水勢暢流，周圍草塘均可招民開墾。宜良江頭村舊河地形稍高，宜另開河道以資灌溉。尋甸河整石難鑿，宜另濬沙河，俾得暢流。東川城北漫海，水消田出，亦可招墾。」均從之。十二年，營田觀察使陳時夏言：「文安、大城界內修橫堤千五百餘丈，營田四十八頃俱獲豐收。但恐水涸即成旱田，請於大堤東南開建石閘，北岸多設涵洞，以資宣洩。」從之。

In Yongzheng 10, Yunnan-Guizhou Governor Ortai reported: "Yunnan's irrigation hinges on the Kunming lake outlet. It has now been dredged, and fertile land is gradually emerging as the water falls. The Panlong River, Jinling, Yinling, Baoxiang, and other streams all lie near the outlet; dams and sluice platforms should be built at once." He added: "At Yanglinhai the current runs freely; the surrounding marshlands can all be opened to settlers. At Yiliang's Jiangtou Village the old channel sits too high; a new canal should be cut for irrigation. The Xundian River's bedrock is too hard to cut; a sandy bypass channel should be dredged so the water can run freely. North of Dongchuan city lies flooded marshland; as the water recedes, fields emerge and may be opened to cultivation." All proposals were approved. In Yongzheng 12, Military Colony Surveillance Commissioner Chen Shixia reported: "Within the Wen'an–Dacheng border a transverse dike of more than 1,500 zhang was built, and all forty-eight qing of colony fields yielded a rich harvest. He feared that when the water fell the fields would revert to dry land, and asked that a stone sluice be built southeast of the main dike and culverts added along the north bank for drainage." The request was granted.

乾隆元年，大學士嵇曾筠請疏濬杭、湖水利。兩廣總督鄂彌達言：「廣、肇二屬沿江一帶基圍，關係民田廬舍，常致沖坍，請於險要處改土為石，陸續興建。」下部議行。江南大雨水，淮陽被淹，命濬宿遷、桃源、清河、安東及高郵、寶應各水道。二年，命總督尹繼善籌畫雲南水利，無論通粵通川及本省河海，凡有關民食者，及時興修。陝西巡撫崔紀陳鑿井灌田以佐水利之議。諭令詳籌，勿擾閭閻。

In Qianlong 1, Grand Secretary Ji Zengyun petitioned to dredge the waterworks of Hangzhou and Huzhou. Liangguang Governor E'mida reported: "Along the river in Guangzhou and Zhaoqing, the foundation embankments protect fields and homes but often erode and collapse. At critical points earthworks should be replaced with stone, built in stages." The memorial was referred to the ministries for deliberation and implementation. Heavy rains flooded Jiangnan and inundated Huaiyang; dredging was ordered for the waterways of Suqian, Taoyuan, Qinghe, Andong, Gaoyou, and Baoying. In Qianlong 2, Governor Yin Jishan was charged with planning Yunnan's waterworks—whether routes to Guangdong or Sichuan or the province's own rivers and coast—whatever bore on the people's livelihood was to be repaired promptly. Shaanxi Governor Cui Ji proposed digging wells to irrigate fields as a supplement to conventional waterworks. The emperor ordered careful planning and warned officials not to disturb the common people.

三年，大學士管川陝總督事查郎阿言：「瓜州地多水少，民田資以灌溉者，惟疏勒河之水，河流微細。查靖逆衛北有川北、鞏昌兩湖，西流合一，名蘑菇溝。其西有三道柳條溝，北流歸擺帶湖。請從中腰建閘，下濬一渠，截兩溝之水盡入渠中，為回民灌田之利。」貴州總督張廣泗請開鑿黔省河道，自都勻經舊施秉通清水江至湖南黔陽，直達常德，又由獨山三腳坉達古州，抵廣西懷遠，直達廣東，興天地自然之利。均下部議行。四年，安徽布政使晏斯盛言，江北鳳、潁以睢水為經，廬州以巢湖為緯，他如六安舊有堤堰，滁、泗亦多溪壑，概應動帑及時修濬，從之。川陝總督鄂彌達等言：「寧夏新渠、寶豐，前因地震水涌，二縣治俱沉沒。請裁其可耕之田，將漢渠尾展長以資灌溉。惟查漢渠百九十餘里，渠尾餘水無多，若將惠農廢渠口修整引水，使漢渠尾接長，可灌新、寶良田數千頃。」上嘉勉之。

In Qianlong 3, Grand Secretary Zha Lang'a, acting as Sichuan-Shaanxi Governor, reported: "Guazhou has abundant land but little water. The people's fields depend for irrigation on the Shule River alone, and its current is slight. North of Jingniwei lie the Chuanbei and Gongchang lakes, whose waters flow west and unite in a channel called Mushroom Ditch. To the west are three Willow Branch ditches that flow north into Baidai Lake. He asked that a sluice be built at the midpoint, a channel dredged below, and the waters of both ditches diverted into it to irrigate the Hui people's fields. Guizhou Governor Zhang Guangsi petitioned to open Guizhou's waterways—from Duyun through old Shibing to the Qingshui River and on to Qianyang in Hunan, reaching Changde directly; and from Dushan's Sanjiaotun to Guzhou, then to Huaiyuan in Guangxi and on to Guangdong—to unlock the region's natural advantages. Both memorials were referred to the ministries for deliberation and implementation. In Qianlong 4, Anhui Provincial Administration Commissioner Yan Sisheng reported that north of the Yangtze, Fengyang and Yingzhou took the Sui River as their main artery and Luzhou relied on Chaohu Lake; Lu'an still had old dikes and weirs, and Chuzhou and Sizhou had many streams and gullies—all should be repaired promptly with state funds. The proposal was approved. Sichuan-Shaanxi Governor E'mida and others reported: "At Ningxia's Xinqu and Baofeng, an earthquake had caused waters to surge and both county seats were submerged. They asked to survey the arable land and extend the Han Canal's lower reach to restore irrigation. The Chahan Canal runs more than 190 li, but little water remains at its tail. If the abandoned Huinong Canal intake were repaired to feed the Han Canal's lower reach, several thousand qing of good land at Xinqu and Baofeng could be irrigated." The emperor commended the proposal.

五年，河督顧琮言：「前經總河白鍾山奏稱『漳河復歸故道，則衛河不致泛溢，為一勞永逸之計』。臣等確勘，自和兒寨東起，至青縣鮑家嘴入運之處止，計程六百餘里，河身淤淺，兩岸居民稠密。若益以全漳之水，勢難容納，則改由故道，於直隸不能無患，然不由故道，又于山東不能無患。惟有分泄防禦，使兩省均無所害，庶為經久之圖。」總辦江南水利大理卿汪漋言：「鹽城東塘河及阜寧、山陽各河道，高郵、寶應下游，及串場河、溱潼河，俱淤淺，應挑濬。其串場河之范堤，及拼茶角二場堤工，俱逼海濱，應加寬厚。揚州各閘壩應疏築，限三年告成。」均如所請行。安徽巡撫陳大受言：「江北水利關係田功。原任籓司晏斯盛奏定興修，估銀四十餘萬。竊思水利固為旱澇有備，而緩急輕重，必須熟籌。各州縣所報，如河圩湖澤，及大溝長渠，工程浩繁，民力不能獨舉，自應官為經理。其餘零星塘荅，現有管業之人，原皆自行疏濬，朝廷豈能以有限錢糧，為小民代謀畚鍤？」上韙之。河南巡撫雅爾圖言：「豫省水利工程，惟上蔡估建堤壩，系防蔡河異漲之水。其餘汝河、滍河堤堰，應令地主自行修補。至開濬汝河、潁河等工，請停罷以節糜費。」報聞。

In Qianlong 5, Director-General Gu Cong reported: "Formerly Chief Director Bai Zhongshan had memorialized that if the Zhang River were restored to its old course, the Wei River would not overflow—a permanent solution in a single effort. On detailed survey, from He'erzhai east to where the river enters the canal at Baojiazui in Qing County—a distance of more than 600 li—the channel is silted and shallow and both banks are densely settled. If the full Zhang River current were added, the channel could hardly hold it. Restoring the old course would harm Zhili; keeping the present course would harm Shandong. Only by dividing the flow and building defensive works so that neither province suffers can a lasting solution be found. Chief Coordinator of Jiangnan Water Conservancy, Minister of Justice Wang Yong, reported: "Yancheng's Dongtang River, the waterways of Funing and Shanyang, the lower reaches below Gaoyou and Baoying, and the Chuanchang and Qintong rivers are all silted shallow and should be dredged. The Fan dike on the Chuanchang River and the embankments at Pincha and Jiao stations all lie against the coast and should be widened and strengthened. Yangzhou's sluices and dams should be dredged and rebuilt, with completion set for three years." All proposals were approved and carried out. Anhui Governor Chen Dashou reported: "Waterworks north of the Yangtze bear directly on agricultural output. Former Provincial Treasurer Yan Sisheng had memorialized a repair program estimated at more than 400,000 taels. I grant that irrigation guards against drought and flood, but priorities must be weighed with care. What the counties report—river embankments, lakes and marshes, major ditches and long canals—involves works too large for the people to undertake alone; the state should manage these. Scattered ponds and pools, already maintained by their owners, have always been dredged privately. How can the court spend limited revenue to supply shovels for every household?" The emperor endorsed his reasoning. Henan Governor Yartu reported: "Of Henan's water projects, only at Shangcai are dikes and dams needed—to hold back abnormal floods on the Cai River. The dikes and weirs on the Ru and Zhi rivers should be left to landowners to repair. Dredging the Ru, Ying, and similar rivers should be suspended to avoid waste." The memorial was noted.

六年春，雅爾圖言：「永城地窪積潦，城南舊有渠身長三萬一千餘丈，通澮河，年久淤淺。現乘農隙，勸諭紳民挑濬，俾水有歸。」又言：「前奉諭旨，開濬省城乾涯河，復於中牟創開新河一，分賈魯河水勢，由沙河會乾涯河，以達江南之渦河而匯於淮，長六萬五千餘丈，今已竣工。」賜名惠濟。

In spring of Qianlong 6, Yartu reported: "Yongcheng lies low and holds standing water. South of the city an old channel more than 31,000 zhang long connects to the Hui River but has silted shallow after many years. During the farming slack season, gentry and commoners are being urged to dredge it so the water may drain away." He added: "By imperial order the Qianya River at the provincial capital was dredged, and at Zhongmou a new canal was cut to divert the Jia Lu River through the Sha River into the Qianya, thence to Jiangnan's Wo River and the Huai—a length of more than 65,000 zhang—now completed." It was granted the name Huiji (Beneficent Aid).

九年，御史柴潮生言：「北方地勢平衍，原有河渠淀泊水道可尋。如聽其自盈自涸，則有水無利而獨受其害。請遣大臣齎帑興修。」命吏部尚書劉於義往保定，會同總督高斌，督率辦理。尋請將宛平、良鄉、涿州、新城、雄縣、大城舊有淀渠，與擬開河道，並堤埝涵洞橋閘，次第興工。下廷議，如所請行。先是御史張漢疏陳湖廣水利，命總督鄂彌達查勘。至是疏言：「治水之法，有不可與水爭地者，有不能棄地就水者。三楚之水，百派千條，其江邊湖岸未開之隙地，須嚴禁私築小垸，俾水有所匯，以緩其流，所謂不可爭者也。其倚江傍湖已辟之沃壤，須加謹防護堤塍，俾民有所依以資其生，所謂不能棄者也。其各屬迎溜頂沖處，長堤連接，責令每歲增高培厚，寓疏濬於壅築之中。」報聞。

In Qianlong 9, Censor Chai Chaosheng reported: "The northern plain still holds traceable river channels, marshes, and waterways. Left to fill and dry at will, the water brings no benefit—only harm. He asked that a senior minister be dispatched with funds to undertake repairs." Minister of Personnel Liu Yuyi was sent to Baoding to join Governor-General Gao Bin in supervising the work. He soon requested that old marsh channels in Wanping, Liangxiang, Zhuozhou, Xincheng, Xiong, and Dacheng, together with proposed new waterways, dikes, culverts, bridges, and sluices, be built in turn. The proposal was referred to court deliberation and approved. Earlier, Censor Zhang Han had memorialized on Huguang's waterworks, and Governor-General E'mida was ordered to survey. He now reported: "In water control there are places where man must not contend with water for land, and places where land cannot be abandoned to the water. The Three Chu regions have countless streams. Unclaimed gaps along rivers and lakes must be kept free of private polders so water can pool and slow its course—this is where man must not contend with water. Fertile land already reclaimed along rivers and lakes must be protected with dikes so the people may live on it—this is land that cannot be abandoned. Where currents strike head-on, long dikes should be linked and raised thicker each year, combining dredging with embankment work." The memorial was noted.

十一年，大學士署河督劉於義等疏陳慶雲、鹽山續勘疏濬事宜，下部議行。青州瀰河水漲，沖開百餘丈決口，旋堵。博興、樂安積水，挑引河導入溜河。十二年夏，宿遷、桃源、清河、安東之六塘河，及沭陽、海州之沭河，山水漲發，地方被淹，命大學士高斌、總督尹繼善，會同河臣周學健往勘。議於險處加寬挑直，建石橋，開引河，官民協力防護，從之。十三年，湖北巡撫彭樹葵言：「荊襄一帶，江湖袤延千餘里，一遇異漲，必借餘地容納。宋孟珙知江陵時，曾修三海八櫃以瀦水。無如水濁易淤，小民趨利者，因於岸腳湖心，多方截流以成淤，隨借水糧魚課，四圍築堤以成垸，人與水爭地為利，以致水與人爭地為殃。惟有杜其將來，將現垸若干，著為定數，此外不許私自增加。」報聞。十四年，雲南巡撫圖爾炳阿以疏鑿金沙江底績，纂進金沙江志。

In Qianlong 11, Grand Secretary Liu Yuyi, acting as Director-General of Rivers, memorialized on further survey and dredging at Qingyun and Yanshan; the proposal was referred to the ministries. The Mi River at Qingzhou flooded, opening a breach more than 100 zhang wide; it was soon closed. Standing water at Boxing and Le'an was drained by cutting a diversion channel into the Liu River. In summer of Qianlong 12, floods on the Liutang River at Suqian, Taoyuan, Qinghe, and Andong and on the Shu River at Shuyang and Haizhou inundated the region. Grand Secretary Gao Bin and Governor Yin Jishan, with river official Zhou Xuejian, were ordered to inspect. They proposed widening and straightening dangerous sections, building stone bridges, and opening diversion channels, with officials and people working together. The plan was approved. In Qianlong 13, Hubei Governor Peng Shukui reported: "In the Jingxiang region, rivers and lakes stretch more than a thousand li. When abnormal floods strike, spare land must hold the overflow. When Song Menggong governed Jiangling, he built the Three Seas and Eight Cabinets to impound floodwater. But the water is turbid and silts easily. Commoners seeking profit block flow at shore and lake center to create silt flats, then register water and fish taxes and ring the land with dikes to form polders. Men contend with water for profit until water contends with men for survival. The only remedy is to cap the existing polders at a fixed number and forbid any further private reclamation." The memorial was noted. In Qianlong 14, Yunnan Governor Tuerbing'a, for dredging the Jinsha River, submitted a progress report and compiled a Jinsha River gazetteer for the throne.

十七年，江蘇巡撫庄有恭言：「蘇州之福山塘河，太倉之劉河，乃常熟等八州縣水利攸關，歲久不修，旱澇無備。請於附河兩岸霑及水利各區，按畝酌捐，興工修建。」得旨嘉獎。十八年，陝甘總督黃廷桂言：「巴里坤之尖山子至奎素，百餘里內地畝皆取用南山之水，自山口以外，多滲入沙磧，必用木槽接引，方可暢流。請於甘、涼、肅三處撥種地官兵千名，前往疏濬。」如所請行。以江南、山東、河南積年被水，而山東之水匯於淮、徐，河南之水達於鳳、潁，須會三省全局以治之，命侍郎裘曰修、夢麟往來察閱，會江蘇、安徽、河南各巡撫計議。尋曰修言：「包、澮二河在宿、永連界處，為泄水通商之要道。入安徽境內有石橋六，應加寬展。洪河、睢河與虹縣之柏家河、下江之林子河、羅家河，應補修子堰。鳳台之裔溝、黑濠、涇泥三河應挑深，使暢達入淮。」夢麟言：「碭山、蕭縣、宿遷、桃源、山陽、阜寧、沭陽共有支河二十餘，應分晰疏濬。」均從之。

In Qianlong 17, Jiangsu Governor Zhuang Yougong reported: "Suzhou's Fushantang River and Taicang's Liu River are vital to irrigation in eight prefectures and counties including Changshu. Neglected for years, the region lacks defense against drought and flood. He asked that districts along both banks contribute by the mu to fund repairs." The emperor commended the proposal. In Qianlong 18, Shaanxi-Gansu Governor Huang Tinggui reported: "From Jianshanzi to Kuisu in Barkol, fields for more than 100 li draw on southern mountain water. Beyond the pass much seeps into sand; wooden flumes are needed to carry the flow. He asked that a thousand garrison troops be drawn from Ganzhou, Liangzhou, and Suzhou to dredge the channels." The request was approved. Because Jiangnan, Shandong, and Henan had flooded repeatedly—Shandong's waters gathering at Huai and Xu, Henan's reaching Fengyang and Yingzhou—a coordinated plan was needed. Vice Ministers Qiu Yuexiu and Meng Lin were ordered to inspect the region and confer with the governors of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Henan. Qiu Yuexiu reported: "The Bao and Hui rivers at the Suqian–Yongcheng border are the main channel for drainage and commerce. Six stone bridges within Anhui should be widened. Subsidiary weirs on the Hong, Sui, Hong County's Baijia River, and Xiajiang's Linzi and Luojia rivers should be repaired. Fengtai's Yigou, Heihao, and Jingni rivers should be deepened to flow freely into the Huai. Meng Lin reported: "More than twenty branch rivers in Dangshan, Xiao, Suqian, Taoyuan, Shanyang, Funing, and Shuyang should each be dredged in turn." Both proposals were approved.

二十三年，豫省開濬河道工竣，允紳民請，於永城建萬歲亭，並御制文志之。山東巡撫阿爾泰言：「濟寧、汶上、嘉祥毗連蜀山湖，地畝湮沒約千餘頃，擬將金線、利運二閘啟閉，使湖水濟運，坡水歸湖，可以盡數涸出。」得旨嘉獎。二十四年，濬京師護城河及圓明園一帶河。御史李宜青請疏濬畿輔水源，命直隸總督方觀承條議以聞。觀承言：「東西二淀千里長堤，即宋臣何承矩興堰遺迹。今昔情形有異。倘泥往跡，害將莫救。如就淀言利，則三百餘里中水村物產，視昔加饒，惟遇旱而求通雨澤於水土之氣，則人事有當盡者耳。」四川總督開泰言：「灌縣都江大堰引灌成都各屬及眉、邛二州田畝，寧遠南有大渡河，自冕寧抵會理三口，與金沙江合，支河雜出，堰壩最多，俱應相機修濬。」部議從之。

In Qianlong 23, Henan's river dredging was completed. At gentry and commoners' request, the Wansui Pavilion was built at Yongcheng with an imperial inscription to commemorate it. Shandong Governor Aertai reported: "Jining, Wenshang, and Jiaxiang border Shushan Lake, where about a thousand qing lie submerged. By regulating the Jinxian and Liyun sluices, lake water can feed the canal while hillside runoff returns to the lake, reclaiming all submerged land." The emperor commended the plan. In Qianlong 24, the capital moat and the waterways around the Old Summer Palace were dredged. Censor Li Yiqing petitioned to dredge the metropolitan region's water sources; Zhili Governor Fang Guancheng was ordered to submit a detailed plan. Fang Guancheng reported: "The thousand-li dikes of the eastern and western marshes are remnants of Song official He Chengju's weir works. Present conditions differ from those days. To cling blindly to the old plan would invite irreparable harm. As for the marshes' benefit, villages along 300 li of shoreline are more prosperous than ever. In drought, coaxing rain from the land's moisture is a matter for human effort—and that is all. Sichuan Governor Kaitai reported: "Guan County's Dujiang Weir irrigates Chengdu and the prefectures of Mei and Qiong. South of Ningyuan the Dadu River runs from Mianning to Huili's three mouths and joins the Jinsha; branch streams and weirs abound and all should be repaired as conditions allow." The ministries approved.

初，御史吳鵬南請責成興修水土之政，命各督撫經畫。浙江巡撫庄有恭言水之大利五，江、湖、海、渠、泉。他省得其二三，而浙實兼數利。金、衢、嚴三郡，各有山泉溪澗，灌注成渠，堰壩塘盪，無不具備。惟仁和、錢塘之上中市、三河垸、區塘、苕溪塘，海鹽之白洋河、湯家鋪廟、涇河，長興之東西南漊港，永嘉之七都新洲陡門、九都水湫、三十四都黃田浦陡門，實應修舉，以收已然之利。至杭州臨平湖、紹興夏蓋湖，有關田疇大利，應設法疏挑，或召佃墾種，再體勘辦理。」允之。

Earlier, Censor Wu Pengnan had urged accountability for water and soil works; each governor was ordered to draw up plans. Zhejiang Governor Zhuang Yougong observed that water offers five great benefits: rivers, lakes, sea, canals, and springs. Other provinces enjoy two or three of these; Zhejiang enjoys them all. Jinhua, Quzhou, and Yanzhou each have mountain springs feeding canals, with weirs, dams, ponds, and reservoirs fully in place. But Shangzhongshi in Renhe and Qiantang, Sanhewan, Qutang, and Tiaoxitang; Haiyan's Baiyang River, Tangjiapumiao, and Jing River; Changxing's eastern, southern, and western Lou harbors; and Yongjia's Qidu Xinzhou, Jiudu Shuiqiu, and Huangtianpu sluice gates—all need repair to preserve existing benefits. Hangzhou's Linping Lake and Shaoxing's Xiagai Lake, vital to agriculture, should be dredged or opened to tenant cultivation after further survey." Approved.

二十五年，阿爾泰疏言：「東省水利，以濟運為關鍵，以入海為歸宿。濟、東、泰、武之老黃河、馬頰、徒駭等河，兗、沂、曹之洸、涑等河，共六十餘道，皆挑濬通暢。運河民埝計長七百餘里，亦修整完固。青、萊所屬樂安、平度、昌邑、濰縣、高密等州縣，應挑支河三十餘，俱節次挑竣。萊州之膠萊河，納上游諸水，高密有膠河，亦趨膠萊，易致漫溢，應導入百脈湖，以分水勢。沂州屬蘭、郯境內應開之武城等溝河二十五道，又續挑之響水等溝河二十五道，引窪地之水由江南邳州入運，並已工竣。」帝嘉之。

In Qianlong 25, Aertai memorialized: "Shandong's waterworks serve canal transport first and the sea as their ultimate outlet. More than sixty channels—the old Yellow River, Majia, and Tuhai in Ji, Dong, Tai, and Wu, and the Guang and Shu in Yan, Yi, and Cao—have all been dredged clear. More than 700 li of private embankments along the canal have also been repaired and strengthened. More than thirty branch rivers in Le'an, Pingdu, Changyi, Weixian, Gaomi, and other counties of Qing and Lai have all been dredged in turn. Laizhou's Jiaolai River receives upstream waters; Gaomi's Jiao River also feeds it and causes overflow. It should be diverted into Baimai Lake to split the current. Twenty-five ditches including Wucheng in Lan and Tan under Yizhou, and twenty-five more including Xiangshui, now drain lowlands through Jiangnan's Pizhou into the canal—all completed." The emperor commended the report.

二十六年，河東鹽政薩哈岱言：「鹽池地窪，全恃姚暹渠為宣洩。近因渠身日高，漲漫南北堤堰禁牆內。黑河實產鹽之本，年久淺溢。涑水河西地勢北高南下，倘汛漲南趨，則鹽池益難保護。五姓湖為眾水所匯，恐下游阻滯，逆行為患。均應及時疏通。」從之。明年，帝南巡，諭曰：「江南濱河阻洳之區，霖潦堪虞，而下游蓄泄機宜，尤以洪澤湖為關鍵。自邵伯以下，金灣及東西灣滾壩，節節措置，特為三湖旁疏曲引起見。若溯源絜要，莫如廣疏清口，乃及今第一義。至六塘河尾閭橫經鹽河以達于海，所有修防事宜，該督、撫、河臣會同鹽政，悉心覈議以聞。」

In Qianlong 26, Hedong Salt Commissioner Sahadai reported: "The salt ponds lie low and depend entirely on the Yaoxian Canal for drainage. Recently the canal bed has risen daily, flooding within the north and south dikes and enclosure walls. The Hei River is the source of salt production; after years of neglect it has grown shallow and overflows. West of the Shu River the land slopes north to south; if floods surge southward, the salt ponds will be even harder to protect. Wuxing Lake gathers many streams; if the lower reach is blocked, backflow will bring disaster. All should be dredged promptly." Approved. The following year, on his southern tour, the emperor declared: "In Jiangnan's riverine lowlands, prolonged rains are a constant threat. The key to storage and release downstream lies in Hongze Lake. From Shaobo downstream, the Jinwan and east and west bay spill dams are arranged in stages—measures introduced here to illustrate drainage beside the three lakes. Tracing the problem to its root, nothing matters more than broadly dredging Qingkou—that is the first priority today. As for the Liutang River's outlet crossing the salt river to the sea, the governors, river officials, and salt administration should jointly review all repair and defense work and report."

二十八年，帝以天津、文安、大城屢被霪潦，積水未消，命大學士兆惠督率經理。又以曰修前辦豫省水利有效，命馳往會勘，覆命阿桂會同總督方觀承酌辦。阿桂等以「子牙河自大城張家莊以下，分為正、支二河，支河之尾歸入正河，形勢不順。請於子牙河村南斜向東北挑河二十餘里；安州依城河為入淀尾閭，應挑長二千二百餘丈；安、肅之漕河，應挑長三千七百餘丈。其上游之姜女廟，應建滾水石壩，使水由正河歸淀。新安韓家埝一帶為西北諸水匯歸之所，應挑引河十三里有奇」。如所議行。

In Qianlong 28, because Tianjin, Wen'an, and Dacheng had repeatedly suffered soaking rains and standing water had not receded, Grand Secretary Zhaohui was ordered to supervise relief work. Because Qiu Yuexiu had previously managed Henan's waterworks effectively, he was sent posthaste to survey; Agui was then ordered to join Governor Fang Guancheng in planning repairs. Agui and others reported: "Below Zhangjiazhuang in Dacheng the Ziya River splits into main and branch channels, but the branch rejoins the main at its tail—an unfavorable configuration. They proposed dredging a channel more than 20 li northeast from south of Ziyahe Village; Anzhou's city moat river, the marsh outlet, should be dredged more than 2,200 zhang; and the grain canal of An and Su more than 3,700 zhang. At upstream Jiangnü Temple a spill stone dam should be built to return water to the marshes via the main channel. The Hanjia'na area in Xin'an, where northwestern waters converge, needs a diversion channel of more than 13 li." The plan was approved and carried out.

二十九年，改建惠濟河石閘。修湖北溪鎮十里長堤，及廣濟、黃梅江堤。濬江都堰，開支河一，使漲水徑達外江。三十二年，修築淀河堤岸，自文安三灘里至大城庄兒頭，長二千七百餘丈。山東巡撫崔應階言：「武定近海地窪，每遇汛漲，全恃徒駭、馬頰二河分流入海。徒駭下游至霑化入海處，地形轉高，難議興挑。勘有壩上庄舊漫口河形地勢順利，應開支河，俾兩道分泄。」江蘇巡撫明德言：「蘇州南受浙江諸山經由太湖之水，北受揚子江由鎮江入運之水，伏秋汛發，多致漫溢。請修吳江、震澤等十縣塘路。」均從之。

In Qianlong 29, the Huiji River's stone sluice was rebuilt. Hubei's ten-li dike at Xizhen and the Guangji and Huangmei river dikes were repaired. The Jiangdu Weir was dredged and a branch channel opened so floodwater could reach the outer river directly. In Qianlong 32, dikes and banks along the Dian River were built and repaired from San Tanli in Wen'an to Zhuang'ertou in Dacheng—a stretch of more than 2,700 zhang. Shandong Governor Cui Yingjie reported: "Wuding lies low near the sea and depends entirely on the Tuha and Ma'er rivers to split their flow toward the sea whenever flood season arrives. From the lower Tuha to its mouth at Zhanhua the ground rises, so dredging there is hard to justify. Survey work found that at Bashangzhuang an old breach offers a favorable course; a branch channel should be opened so water can be split between the two routes. Jiangsu Governor Mingde reported: "Suzhou takes water from Zhejiang's mountains through Lake Tai in the south and from the Yangtze entering the canal at Zhenjiang in the north; when summer and autumn floods arrive, overflow is common. He asked that embankment roads in ten counties, including Wujiang and Zhenze, be repaired. Both proposals were approved.

三十三年，滹沱水漲，逼臨正定城根，添築城西南新堤五百七十餘丈，回水堤迤東築挑水壩五。河神祠前築魚鱗壩八十丈。藁城東北兩面，滹水繞流，順岸築埽三百六十丈，埽後加築土埝。三十五年，挑濬蘇郡入海河道，白茆河自支塘鎮至滾水壩，長六千五百三十餘丈；徐六涇河自陳盪橋至田家壩，長五千九百九十餘丈。三十六年，濬海州之薔薇、王家口、下坊口、王家溝四河。以直隸被水，命侍郎袁守侗、德成分往各處督率疏消。尚書裘曰修往來調度，總司其事。山東巡撫徐績查勘小清河情形，請自萬丈口挑至還河口，計四十里，使正、引兩河分流，由河入泊，由泊達溝歸海。詔如所議行。廣西巡撫陳輝祖言：「興安陡河源出海陽山，至分水潭，舊築鏵嘴以分水勢，七分入湘江為北陡，三分入灕江為南陡，於進水陡口內南北建大小天坪，以資蓄泄，復建梅陽坪，以遏旁行故道，並以引灌糧田。近因連雨衝陷，請修復土石各工。」下部知之。

In Qianlong 33, a rising Hutuo pressed against Zhengding's foundations; more than 570 zhang of new dike were added southwest of the city, and five water-deflecting dams were built east of the backwater dike. An eighty-zhang fish-scale dam was built in front of the River God Temple. Where the Hutuo wraps around the northeast and east of Gaocheng, 360 zhang of fascine revetments were laid along the bank, with earthen embankments added behind them. In Qianlong 35, Suzhou's sea-bound channels were dredged: the Baimao River from Zhitang town to the Gunshui dam, more than 6,530 zhang; and the Xuliu Jing River from Chendang Bridge to the Tianjia dam, more than 5,990 zhang. In Qianlong 36, four Haizhou rivers—the Qiangwei, Wangjiakou, Xiafangkou, and Wangjiagou—were dredged. Because Zhili had flooded, Vice Ministers Yuan Shoutong and Decheng were sent to different districts to supervise drainage. Minister Qiu Yuexiu traveled between sites to coordinate the effort and took overall charge. Shandong Governor Xu Ji surveyed the Xiaoqing River and proposed dredging from Wanzhangkou to Huanhekou—forty li in all—so the main and diversion channels could split the flow: river to lake, lake to channel, channel to sea. The emperor approved the plan for implementation. Guangxi Governor Chen Huizu reported: "The Xing'an Irrigation Canal rises on Haiyang Mountain and reaches Fenshui Pool, where a plowshare weir once split the flow—seven parts into the Xiang as the North Canal and three into the Li as the South Canal. Large and small Tianping platforms were built north and south of the intake to store and release water; Meiyang platform was rebuilt to block an old side channel and irrigate grain fields. Recent rains had washed parts of it away, and he asked that all earthen and stone works be restored. The memorial was forwarded to the appropriate ministry.

三十八年，挑濬禹城漯河、高密百脈湖引河。四十年，修築武昌省城金河洲、太乙宮濱江石岸。江南旱，高、寶皆歉收。總督高晉，河督吳嗣爵、薩載合疏言：「嗣後洪湖水勢，應以高堰志椿為準，各閘壩涵洞相機啟放，總使運河存水五尺以濟漕，餘水侭歸下河以資灌溉。」從之。四十一年，修西安四十七州縣渠堰共千一百餘處。總督高晉言：「瓜洲城外查子港工接連回瀾壩，江岸忽於六月裂縫，坍塌入江約百餘丈，西南城牆塌四十餘丈。現在水勢已平，擬將瓜洲量為收進，讓地於江，並沿岸築土壩以通纖路。」諭令妥善經理。

In Qianlong 38, Yucheng's Luo River and Gaomi's Baimai Lake diversion channel were dredged. In Qianlong 40, stone riverbanks at Jinhezhou and Taiyi Palace in Wuchang city were built and repaired. Jiangnan was in drought, and Gaoyou and Baoying both had poor harvests. Governor-General Gao Jin and River Directors Wu Sijue and Sa Zai jointly memorialized: "Henceforth Hongze Lake levels should follow the Gaoyan marker stake; sluices, dams, and culverts should be opened as conditions require, keeping five chi in the canal for grain transport while sending all surplus water to the lower river for irrigation. The proposal was approved. In Qianlong 41, more than 1,100 canals and weirs in forty-seven Xi'an prefectures and counties were repaired. Governor-General Gao Jin reported: "Outside Guazhou city, the Chazigang works adjoin the Huilan dam. In the sixth month the riverbank suddenly split; more than a hundred zhang collapsed into the river, and more than forty zhang of the southwest city wall gave way. With the water now calm, he proposed surveying Guazhou to pull the town back, yielding ground to the river, and building earthen dams along the bank to keep the towing path open. The emperor ordered that the work be managed properly.

四十二年，山西巡撫覺羅巴延三言：「太原西有風峪口，旁俱大山，大雨後山水下注縣城，猝難捍禦。請自峪口起，開河溝一，直達汾水，所佔民田止四十餘畝，而太原一城可期永無水患。」四十三年，疏濬湖州漊港七十二。修昌邑海堤，居民認墾堤內鹼廢地千二百餘頃。濬鎮洋劉河，自西陳門涇上頭起，至王家港止。四十四年，改建宣化城外柳川河石壩，並添築石坦坡。漳河下游沙庄壩漫口，淹及成安、廣平，水無歸宿。於成安柏寺營至杜木營，繞築土埝千一百餘丈。

In Qianlong 42, Shanxi Governor Jueluo Bayan reported: "West of Taiyuan lies Fengyukou, bounded by high mountains; after heavy rains, mountain runoff pours onto the county seat and is hard to hold back. He asked that a channel be cut from the pass straight to the Fen River. It would take only a little more than forty mu of farmland, yet Taiyuan could then expect lasting relief from flood damage. In Qianlong 43, seventy-two Lougang channels in Huzhou were dredged. The Changyi sea dike was repaired, and residents reclaimed more than 1,200 qing of saline wasteland inside it. The Zhenyang Liu River was dredged from Xichenmen Jingshangtou to Wangjiagang. In Qianlong 44, the stone dam on the Liuchuan River outside Xuanhua was rebuilt and stone apron slopes were added. A breach at the Shazhuang dam on the lower Zhang River flooded Cheng'an and Guangping, leaving the water with nowhere to go. From Bosiying to Dumuying in Cheng'an, more than 1,100 zhang of earthen embankments were built around the flooded area.

四十七年，雲南巡撫劉秉恬言：「鄧川之瀰苴河，上通浪穹，下注洱海，中分東西兩湖。東湖由河入海，河高湖低，每遇夏秋漲發，迴流入湖，淹沒附近糧田。紳民倡捐，將湖尾入海處堵塞，另開子河，引東湖水直趨洱海，又自青石澗至天洞山，築長堤、建石閘，使河歸堤內，水由閘出，歷年所淹田萬一千二百餘畝，全行涸出。」得旨嘉獎。又言：「楚雄龍川江自鎮南發源，入金沙江。近年河溜逼城，請於相近鎮水塔挑濬深通，導引河溜復舊。又澂江之撫仙湖下游，有清水、渾水河各一，渾水之牛舌石壩被沖，匯流入清，以致為害。請於牛舌壩東另開子河，以泄渾水，並將河身改直，使清水暢達。」上獎勉之。

In Qianlong 47, Yunnan Governor Liu Bingtian reported: "Dengchuan's Miju River links upstream to Langqiong, flows down into Erhai, and divides the eastern and western lakes in the middle. East Lake drains to the sea by river, but the riverbed stands higher than the lake; in summer and autumn floods, water backs into the lake and drowns nearby grain fields. Local gentry and residents raised funds, blocked the lake's outlet to the sea, and opened a branch channel to send East Lake water straight toward Erhai. From Qingshijian to Tiandongshan they built a long dike and a stone sluice so the river would run inside the dike and discharge through the gate; more than 11,200 mu of fields flooded for years were fully reclaimed. The emperor commended the proposal. He also reported: "Chuxiong's Longchuan River rises at Zhennan and flows into the Jinsha. In recent years the current has pressed on the city, and he asked that deep dredging near Zhenshui Tower restore the river to its old course. At Chengjiang's Fuxian Lake, downstream channels include a Clear Water River and a Murky Water River; when the Niushi stone dam on the Murky Water was washed out, muddy flow merged with the clear channel and caused damage. He asked that a branch channel be opened east of Niushi dam to carry off the murky water and that the riverbed be straightened so the clear channel could run freely. The emperor praised and encouraged him.

五十年，河南巡撫何裕城言：「衛河歷汲、淇、滑、濬四縣，濱河田畝，農民築堤以防淹浸，不能導河灌田。輝縣百泉地勢卑下，而獲嘉等縣較高，難以紆迴導引。其餘汲縣、新鄉並無泉源，祗有鑿井一法，既可灌田，亦藉以通地氣，已派員試開。」濬賈魯、惠濟兩河。修寧夏漢延、唐來、大清、惠農四渠。五十一年，山東商人捐資挑濬鹽河，並於東阿、長清、齊河、歷城建閘八。

In Qianlong 50, Henan Governor He Yucheng reported: "The Wei River runs through Ji, Qi, Hua, and Jun. Farmers along its banks build dikes against flooding and cannot divert the river to irrigate their fields. Baiquan in Huixian lies low, while Huojia and neighboring counties stand higher, so winding diversion is impractical. Ji County and Xinxiang have no springs; well digging is the only option. It can irrigate fields and also help draw up groundwater, and officers have already been sent to test the method. The Jia Lu and Huiji rivers were dredged. Ningxia's four canals—the Hanyan, Tanglai, Daqing, and Huinong—were repaired. In Qianlong 51, Shandong merchants funded dredging of the salt river, and eight sluices were built in Dong'e, Changqing, Qihe, and Lijin.

五十三年，荊州萬城堤潰，水從西北兩門入，命大學士阿桂往勘。尋疏言：「此次被水較重，土人多以下游之窖金洲沙漲逼溜所致，恐開挑引河，江水平漾無勢，仍至淤閉。請於對岸楊林洲靠堤先築土壩，再接築雞嘴石壩，逐步前進，激溜向南，俟洲坳刷成兜灣，再趁勢酌挑引河，較為得力。」報聞。五十四年，濬通惠河、朝陽門外護城河及溫榆河。五十五年，培修千里長堤，瀦龍河、大清河、盧僧河等堤，鳳河東堤，及西沽、南倉、海河等疊道，改建豐城東西隄石工。築潛江仙人舊堤千二百八十餘丈。挑濬永城洪河。

In Qianlong 53, Jingzhou's Wancheng dike breached and water poured in through the northwest and north gates; Grand Secretary Agui was sent to inspect the damage. He soon memorialized: "The flooding was unusually severe. Locals mostly blamed sand buildup at downstream Jiaojinzhou for forcing the current. They feared that opening a diversion channel would leave the Yangtze spread flat and weak, only to silt shut again. He proposed building an earthen dam first on the opposite bank at Yanglinzhou, then extending a chicken-beak stone dam step by step to drive the current south. Once the bar's hollow scoured into a pocket bay, a diversion channel could be dredged at the right moment—a more effective approach. The memorial was noted. In Qianlong 54, the Tonghui River, the moat outside Chaoyang Gate, and the Wenyu River were dredged. In Qianlong 55, the Thousand-Li Long Dike was strengthened; dikes on the Zhulong, Daqing, Luseng, and other rivers were repaired; the Feng River's east dike and causeways at Xigu, Nancang, and the Hai River were restored; and stone works on Fengcheng's east and west dikes were rebuilt. More than 1,280 zhang of Qianjiang's old Xianren dike were built. Yongcheng's Hong River was dredged.

五十七年，兩江總督書麟等言：「瓜洲均系柴壩，江流溜急，接築石磯，不能鞏固。請於回瀾舊壩外，拋砌碎石，護住埽根，自裹頭坍卸舊城處所靠岸，亦用碎石拋砌，上面鑲埽。嗣後每年挑溜，可期溜勢漸遠。」得旨允行。又言：「無為州河形兜灣，應將永成圩壩加築寬厚。擬於馬頭埂開挖河口三十丈，曾家腦至東圩壩舊河亦展寬三十丈，俾河流順暢。」上韙之。改蕭山荷花池堤為石工，堵河內民堰漫口五十餘丈，修復豐城江岸石堤。五十九年，荊州沙市大壩，因江流激射，勢露頂沖，添建草壩。

In Qianlong 57, Liangjiang Governor-General Shulin and others reported: "Guazhou relies entirely on fascine dams. The current runs fast, and linked stone jetties will not hold. They proposed casting rubble outside the old Huilan dam to protect the revetment roots, and doing the same where the old city wall collapsed at guaitou, laying fascine revetments on top of the stone. With annual current deflection thereafter, the main force of the current should gradually shift farther away. The emperor approved the plan. They also reported: "In Wuwei prefecture the river forms a pocket bend; the Yongcheng polder dam should be widened and thickened. They planned to cut the river mouth thirty zhang wide at Matou'geng and widen the old channel from Zengjianao to the east polder dam by thirty zhang so the river could run freely. The emperor endorsed their reasoning. Xiaoshan's Lotus Pond dike was rebuilt in stone; a more-than-fifty-zhang breach in a civilian dam inside the river was closed; and Fengcheng's stone riverbank dike was restored. In Qianlong 59, at Jingzhou's Shashi great dam, where the current struck hard and exposed the crest to direct scour, a straw dam was added.

嘉慶五年，挑濬檿牛河、黃家河，及新安、安、雄、任丘、霸、高陽、正定、新樂八州縣河道。六年，京師連日大雨，撥內帑挑濬紫禁城內外大城以內各河道，及圓明園一帶引河。文安被水，命直督陳大文詳議。疏言：「文地極窪，受水淺，地與河平，自建治以來，別無疏濬章程。惟查大城河之廣安橫堤，為文邑保障，迤南有河間千里長堤，可資外衛。兩堤之中，有新建閘座，以泄河間漫水。再於地勢稍下之龍潭灣，開溝疏濬，或不致久淹。」從之。

In Jiaqing 5, the Yan'niu and Huangjia rivers were dredged, along with channels in eight prefectures and counties: Xin'an, An, Xiong, Renqiu, Ba, Gaoyang, Zhengding, and Xingle. In Jiaqing 6, after days of heavy rain in the capital, inner-treasury funds were allocated to dredge every channel inside and outside the Forbidden City within the city walls, and the diversion rivers around Yuanmingyuan. When Wen'an flooded, Zhili Governor Chen Dawen was ordered to study the problem in detail. He memorialized: "Wen'an is extremely low and shallow, with land level to the river. Since the prefecture was established, no dredging plan has ever been set. Only the Guang'an transverse dike on the Dacheng River protects Wen'an itself, while farther south the Hejian Thousand-Li Long Dike offers outer defense. Between the two dikes a new sluice was built to release Hejian's flood overflow. Channels could also be opened and dredged at the slightly lower ground of Longtan Bay so the water might not stand for long. The proposal was approved.

八年，伊犁將軍松筠言：「伊犁土田肥潤，可耕之地甚多，向因乏水，今擬設法疏渠引泉，以資汲灌。應請廣益耕屯，以裕滿兵生計，並借官款備辦耕種器物。」如所請行。十一年，疏築直隸千里長堤，及新舊格淀堤。十二年，湖廣總督汪志伊言：「堤垸保衛田廬，關係緊要。漢陽等州縣均有未涸田畝，未築堤塍。應亟籌勘辦，以興水利而衛民田。」從之。十六年，以畿輔災歉，命修築任丘等州縣長堤，並雄縣疊道，以工代賑。十七年，濬武進孟瀆河。挑阜寧救生河，太倉劉河。修天津、靜海兩縣河道。濬東平小清河，及安流、龍拱二河，民便河。十八年。江南河道總督初彭齡疏陳江省下河水利，宜加修理。得旨允行。十九年，大名、清豐、南樂三縣七十餘庄地畝，久為衛水淹沒，村民自原出夫挑挖，請官為彈壓。御史王嘉棟疏言：「杭、嘉、湖被旱歉收，請開濬西湖，以工代賑。」皆允之。二十一年，疏濬吳淞江。二十二年，章丘民言，長白、東嶺二山之水，向歸小清河入海。自灰壩被沖，水歸引河，章丘等縣屢被水災。命禮部侍郎李鴻賓往勘。次年，巡撫陳預疏言：「小清河以章丘、鄒平、長山、新城為上游，高苑、博興、樂安為下游，正河及支派溝多有淤墊。請先疏濬上游，並將滸山等二泊一湖挑挖寬深，則水勢不至建瓴直注，下游亦不驟虞漫溢。」得旨允行。建沔陽石閘，挑引渠，以時啟閉。

In Jiaqing 8, Ili General Songyun reported: "Ili's soil is rich and there is much land fit for cultivation, but water has always been scarce. He now proposed dredging channels and tapping springs for irrigation. He asked to expand military farming colonies to support Manchu soldiers' livelihoods and to borrow official funds for farming tools and seed. His request was approved and carried out. In Jiaqing 11, Zhili's Thousand-Li Long Dike and the old and new Gedian dikes were dredged and repaired. In Jiaqing 12, Huguang Governor-General Wang Zhiyi reported: "Dikes and polders protect fields and homes; the issue is urgent. In Hanyang and other districts there is still undrained farmland with no protective dikes. Survey and construction should be arranged at once to improve water control and protect farmland. The proposal was approved. In Jiaqing 16, after disaster and crop failure in the capital region, long dikes in Renqiu and other districts and Xiong county's causeway were ordered repaired as work-for-relief projects. In Jiaqing 17, Wujin's Mengdu River was dredged. Funing's lifesaving river and Taicang's Liu River were dredged. River channels in Tianjin and Jinghai counties were repaired. Dongping's Xiaoqing River, the Anliu and Longgong rivers, and the Minbian River were dredged. Jiaqing 18. Jiangnan River Director Chu Pengling memorialized that lower-river waterworks in Jiangsu needed repair. The emperor approved the plan. In Jiaqing 19, fields in more than seventy villages in Daming, Qingfeng, and Nanle had long stood under Wei River water. Villagers were digging on their own labor and asked officials to supervise and keep order. Censor Wang Jiadong memorialized: "Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou had drought and poor harvests; he asked that West Lake be dredged as work-for-relief. Both proposals were approved. In Jiaqing 21, the Wusong River was dredged. In Jiaqing 22, Zhangqiu residents reported that runoff from Changbai and Dongling mountains once reached the sea through the Xiaoqing River. Since the Huiba dam was washed out, the water has been forced into the diversion channel, and Zhangqiu and neighboring counties have flooded repeatedly. Vice Minister of Rites Li Hongbin was sent to inspect the site. The next year, Governor Chen Yu memorialized that the Xiaoqing River's upper reaches lay in Zhangqiu, Zouping, Changshan, and Xincheng, and its lower reaches in Gaoyuan, Boxing, and Le'an, and that the main channel and tributary ditches had silted up throughout. He asked that the upper course be dredged first and that two marshes and one lake near Hushan be widened and deepened, so the water would not rush down in a torrent and the lower course would not flood suddenly. The emperor approved the plan. A stone sluice was built at Mianyang, diversion channels were cut, and both were operated on schedule.

二十五年，修都江堰。御史陳鴻條陳興修水利營田事宜，命直隸、山東、山西、河南各督撫一體籌畫興舉。修襄陽老龍石堤。庫車辦事大臣嵩安疏報別什托固喇克等處挑渠引水，墾田五萬三千餘畝。有詔褒勉。

In Jiaqing 25, the Dujiangyan irrigation system was repaired. Censor Chen Hong submitted a detailed plan for waterworks and frontier farming; the governors-general and governors of Zhili, Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan were ordered to plan and launch projects together. The Laolong stone embankment at Xiangyang was repaired. Grand Minister Resident Song'an at Kucha reported that canals dug at Bieshetuogulake and elsewhere had brought water to more than fifty-three thousand mu of newly opened fields. The emperor issued an edict of commendation.

道光元年，修湖州黑窯廠江堤，濬涇陽龍洞渠、鳳陽新橋河。二年，加築襄陽老龍石堤。濬正定柏棠、護城、泄水、東大道等河，並修斜角、回水等堤。興修杭州北新關外官河纖道。直隸總督顏檢請築滄州捷地減河閘壩，濬青縣、興濟兩減河，修通州果渠村壩埝。皆如議行。疏濬銅山荊山橋河道，及南鄉奎河。挑江都三汊河子、鹽河五閘淤淺，及沙漫州江口沙埂。修豐城及新建惠民橋堤。三年，修汾河堤堰，並移築李綽堰，改挖河身。修天門、京山、鍾祥堤垸，及監利櫻桃堰、荊門沙洋堤。挑挖熱河旱河，並添修荊條單壩。堵文安崔家窯、崔家房漫口。修河東鹽池馬道護堤，並濬姚暹渠、李綽堰、涑水河。刑部尚書蔣攸銛言：「上年漳河漫水下流，由大名、元城直達紅花堤，潰決堤埝，由館陶入衛，應亟籌議。」命大學士戴均元馳勘。尋奏言：「元城引河穿堤入衛，河身窄狹，應挑直展寬，以暢其流。紅花堤以下新刷水溝五百餘丈，應挑成河道，以期分泄。」又：「漳自南徙合洹以來，衛水為其頂阻，每遇異漲，民埝不能捍禦，以致安陽、內黃頻年衝決。今漳北趨，業已分殺水勢。擬於樊馬坊、陳家村河干北岸築壩堵截，使分流歸併一處。自柴村橋起，接連洹河北岸，建築土壩，樊馬坊以下王家口添築土格土壩，以免串流南趨，使漳、洹不致再合。」詔皆從之。

In Daoguang 1, Huzhou's Heiyaochang river dike was repaired, and the Longdong Canal at Jingyang and the Xinqiao River at Fengyang were dredged. In Daoguang 2, the Laolong stone embankment at Xiangyang was strengthened and extended. The Botang, city moat, flood-discharge, and East Great Road rivers at Zhengding were dredged, and the Xiejiao and Huishui embankments were repaired. The towpath along the official canal outside Hangzhou's Beixin Pass was constructed. Zhili Governor-General Yan Jian proposed sluice works on Cangzhou's Jiedi relief channel, dredging relief channels at Qingxian and Xingji, and repairing the dam and levee at Guoqu Village in Tongzhou. All were approved and implemented. The channel at Jingshan Bridge in Tongshan and the Kui River in Nanxiang were dredged. Silt was cleared from the Sanhezi branch at Jiangdu, five shallow gates on the Salt River, and the sand bar at Shamanzhou estuary. The Huimin Bridge embankments at Fengcheng and Xinjian were repaired. In Daoguang 3, Fen River levees and weirs were repaired, Li Chuo Weir was moved and rebuilt, and the riverbed was reworked. Embankments at Tianmen, Jingshan, and Zhongxiang were repaired, along with Jianli's Yingtao Weir and Jingmen's Shayang dike. Rehe's dry-season channel was dug out, and the Jingtiao solitary dam was repaired and extended. Breaches at Cuijiayao and Cuijiafang in Wen'an were sealed. Protective dikes along the Hedong salt-pond cart path were repaired, and the Yao Xian Canal, Li Chuo Weir, and Sushui River were dredged. Minister of Justice Jiang Youtie reported that last year Zhang River floodwater had run from Daming and Yuancheng straight to Honghua Dike, broken through levees, and entered the Wei via Guantao, and that the matter needed urgent planning. Grand Secretary Dai Junyuan was sent to inspect on expedited orders. He soon reported that the Yuancheng diversion channel, which cut through the dike into the Wei, was too narrow and should be straightened and widened to let the water through. More than five hundred zhang of fresh runoff gullies below Honghua Dike should be cut into proper channels to split the flood. He also noted that since the Zhang had shifted south to join the Huan, the Wei had blocked its upper course; when flood crests came, local levees could not hold, and Anyang and Neihuang had broken out repeatedly. By then the Zhang was flowing north, which had already eased the flood pressure. He proposed building blocking dams on the north bank at Fanmafang and Chenjiacun to force the divided flows back together. From Chaicun Bridge along the Huan's north bank he would build earthen dams, and below Fanmafang add check dams at Wangjiakou to stop water from slipping south and letting the Zhang and Huan merge again. The emperor approved every recommendation.

四年，築德化、建昌、南昌、新建四縣圩堤。修培荊州萬城大堤橫塘以下各工，及監利任家口、吳謝垸漫決堤塍。給事中硃為弼請疏浚劉河、吳淞，及附近太湖各河。御史郎葆辰請修太湖七十二漊港，引苕、霅諸水入湖以達于海。御史程邦憲請擇太湖泄水最要處所，如吳江堤之垂虹橋、遺愛亭、龐山湖，疏剔沙淤，剷除盪田，令東注之水源流無滯。先後疏入，命兩江總督孫玉庭、江蘇巡撫韓文綺、浙江巡撫帥承瀛會勘。玉庭等言：「江南之蘇、松、常、太，浙江之杭、嘉、湖等屬，河道淤墊，遇漲輒溢。現勘水道形勢，疆域雖分兩省，源委實共一流。請專任大員統治全局。」命江蘇按察使林則徐綜辦江、浙水利。

In Daoguang 4, polder levees were built in Dehua, Jianchang, Nanchang, and Xinjian. Sections below Hengtang on Jingzhou's Wancheng Great Dike were repaired and strengthened, and breached levees at Jianli's Renjiakou and Wuxie polder were restored. Supervising Secretary Zhu Weibi asked that the Liu River, the Wusong, and nearby Tai Lake tributaries be dredged. Censor Lang Baochen proposed restoring Tai Lake's seventy-two outlet harbors so waters from the Tiao, Zha, and other streams could enter the lake and reach the sea. Censor Cheng Bangxian asked that key Tai Lake outlets—Chuihong Bridge, Yiai Pavilion, and Pangshan Lake on the Wujiang dike—be cleared of sand and illegal polder fields so eastward drainage would run freely. After these memorials arrived in turn, Two Jiangs Governor-General Sun Yuting, Jiangsu Governor Han Wenqi, and Zhejiang Governor Shuai Chengying were ordered to inspect jointly. Sun Yuting and his colleagues reported that in Jiangsu's Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, and Taicang circuits and Zhejiang's Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou circuits, channels had silted up and floods spilled whenever waters rose. On inspection, although the area fell under two provinces, the waterways shared a single system from source to sea. They asked that a senior official be put in charge of the entire basin. Lin Zexu, Jiangsu surveillance commissioner, was appointed to oversee waterworks across Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

御史陳澐疏陳畿輔水利，請分別緩急修理。給事中張元模請於趙北口連橋以南開橋一座，以古趙河為引河，並挑北盧僧河，以分減白溝之獨流。帝命江西巡撫程含章署工部侍郎，辦理直隸水利，會同蔣攸銛履勘。含章請先理大綱，興辦大工九。如疏天津海口，濬東西淀、大清河，及相度永定河下口，疏子牙河積水，復南運河舊制，估修北運河，培築千里長堤，先行擇辦。此外如三支、黑龍港、宣惠、滹沱各舊河，沙、洋、洺、滋、洨、唐、龍鳳、龍泉、瀦龍、檿牛等河，及文安、大城、安州、新安等堤工，分年次第辦理。又言勘定應濬各河道，塌河淀承六減河，下達七里海，應挑寬罾口河以泄北運、大清、永定、子牙四河之水入淀。再挑西堤引河，添建草壩，泄淀水入七里海，挑邢家坨，泄七里海水入薊運河，達北塘入海。至東淀、西淀為全省瀦水要區，十二連橋為南北通途，亦應擇要修治。均如所請行。濬虞城惠民溝，夏邑巴清河、永城減水溝。玉庭言：「三江水利，如青浦、婁縣、吳江、震澤、華亭承太湖水，下注黃浦，各支河淺滯淤阻，亟應修砌。吳淞江為太湖下注幹河，由上海出閘，與黃浦合流入海。因去路阻塞，流行不暢，應於受淤最厚處大加挑浚。」得旨允行。

Censor Chen Yun laid out a plan for Metropolitan Provinces waterworks and asked that repairs be ranked by urgency. Supervising Secretary Zhang Yuanmo proposed a new bridge south of Lianqiao at Zhaobeikou, using the old Zhao River as a diversion and cutting the North Luseng River to split Baigou's single stream. The emperor appointed Jiangxi Governor Cheng Hanzhang acting vice minister of works to manage Zhili waterworks, and sent him with Jiang Youtie to inspect the sites. Cheng Hanzhang urged tackling the main priorities first—nine major works. These included opening Tianjin's estuary, dredging the East and West Marshes and the Daqing River, surveying the Yongding's lower outlet, draining Ziya River backlog, restoring the South Canal to its old regime, estimating North Canal repairs, and strengthening the Thousand-Li Long Dike—all to be started first. Old channels such as Sanzhi, Heilonggang, Xuanhui, and Hutuo, rivers including Sha, Yang, Ming, Zhi, Xiao, Tang, Longfeng, Longquan, Zhulong, and Shenniu, and levees at Wen'an, Dacheng, Anzhou, and Xin'an would follow in later years. He also mapped out dredging priorities: from Tahe Marsh, which received six relief channels down to Qili Sea, widen Zengkou River so the North Canal, Daqing, Yongding, and Ziya could spill into the marsh. He would cut a diversion on the west dike, add grass dams to send marsh water to Qili Sea, dig Xingjiatuo to link Qili Sea to the Jiyun Canal, and finally reach the sea at Beitang. East and West Marshes, the province's main flood basins, and Twelve Linked Bridges, the great north-south crossing, also needed selective repair. All were approved as proposed. Yucheng's Huimin Ditch, Xiayi's Baqing River, and Yongcheng's flood-relief channel were dredged. Sun Yuting reported that in the Three Rivers system—Qingpu, Louxian, Wujiang, Zhenze, and Huating, which take Tai Lake water into the Huangpu—branch channels had silted shallow and needed urgent repair. The Wusong was Tai Lake's main outlet: it left Shanghai through a gate, met the Huangpu, and reached the sea. Because the downstream path was choked, the worst silt beds should be heavily dredged. The emperor approved the plan.

五年，陝西巡撫盧坤疏報咸寧之龍首渠，長安之蒼龍河，涇陽之清、冶二河，盩厔之澇、峪等河，郿縣之井田等渠，岐山之石頭河，寶雞之利民等渠，華州之方山等河，榆林之榆溪河、芹河，均挑濬工竣，開復水田百餘頃至數百頃不等。修監利江堤，襄陽老龍石堤。已革御史蔣時進畿輔水利志百卷。直隸總督蔣攸銛疏陳防守千里長堤善後事宜，報聞。安陽、湯陰廣潤陂，屢因漳河決口淤墊，命巡撫程祖洛委員確勘挑渠，將積水引入衛河，使及早涸復。築荊州得勝台民堤。

In Daoguang 5, Shaanxi Governor Lu Kun reported that dredging was finished on channels from Xianning's Longshou Canal to Yulin's Yuxi and Qin rivers, reopening from just over one hundred to several hundred qing of irrigated fields. Jianli's river dike and Xiangyang's Laolong stone embankment were repaired. Former censor Jiang Shijin presented a hundred-volume gazetteer of Metropolitan Provinces waterworks. Zhili Governor-General Jiang Youtie reported on follow-up work for the Thousand-Li Long Dike. Anyang and Tangyin's Guangrun Marsh, repeatedly silted by Zhang River breaks, was assigned to Governor Cheng Zuluo's staff for survey and canal work to drain standing water into the Wei and restore the land. A civilian levee was built at Jingzhou's Desheng Terrace.

七年，閩浙總督孫爾准言：「莆田木蘭陂上受諸渠之水，下截海潮，灌溉南北洋平田二十餘萬畝。近因屢經暴漲，泥沙淤積，陡門石堤損壞，以致頻歲歉收。現經率同士民捐資修培南北兩岸石工告竣。」得旨嘉獎。濬漢川草橋口、消渦湖口水道。御史程德潤言荊山王家營屢決，下游各州縣連年被災。請飭相度修築。命湖廣總督嵩孚籌議，因請仿黃河工程切灘法，平其直射之溜勢，再將下游沙洲開挑引河，破其環抱，以順正流。帝恐與水爭地，虛糜無益，命刑部尚書陳若霖等往勘。覆言：「京山決口三百二十餘丈，鍾祥潰口百七十餘丈，正河經行二百餘年，不應舍此別尋故道。惟有挑除胡李灣沙塊，先暢下游去路，將京山口門挽築月堤，展寬水道，鍾祥口門於堵閉後，添築石壩二，護堤攻沙。」帝韙之，命嵩孚駐工督辦。

In Daoguang 7, Fujian-Zhejiang Governor-General Sun Erzhun reported that Putian's Mulan Weir collected canal water above, held back the tide below, and irrigated more than two hundred thousand mu on the northern and southern plains. Recent flash floods had filled it with silt and ruined the sluice's stone dike, and harvests had failed several years running. He had now led local gentry and residents in funding repairs, and stone work on both banks was finished. The emperor issued a commendation. Channels at Hanchuan's Caobridge Mouth and Xiaowo Lake outlet were dredged. Censor Cheng Derun reported that Wangjiaying on Jingshan had breached repeatedly and downstream counties had flooded year after year. He asked that repairs be surveyed and built. Huguang Governor-General Song Fu was told to plan the work and proposed Yellow River-style beach-cutting to flatten the direct rush, then cutting diversion channels through downstream sandbars to break their coils and restore the main course. The emperor feared fighting the river for land would waste money and sent Minister of Justice Chen Ruolin and others to inspect. On review they said the Jingshan break measured more than 320 zhang and Zhongxiang's more than 170; the main channel had carried the river for two centuries, and there was no reason to hunt for an old bed elsewhere. Instead they should clear sand at Huliwan to open the downstream path, rebuild a crescent dike at Jingshan and widen the channel, and after sealing Zhongxiang add two stone dams to shield the levee and scour sand. The emperor agreed and ordered Song Fu to stay on site and supervise.

八年，河南巡撫楊國楨言：「湯河、伏道河並廣潤陂上游之羑河、新惠等河，向皆朝宗於衛，因故道久湮，頻年漫溢。現為一勞永逸之計，因勢利導，悉令暢流。又南陽白河、淅川、丹江水勢浩瀚，俱切近城根，亟應築碎石、磨盤等壩二十餘道，分別挑溜抵禦。」均如所請行。挑濬冀州東海子淤塞溝身，以工代賑。

In Daoguang 8, Henan Governor Yang Guozhen reported that the Tang and Fudao rivers and the Yi, Xinhui, and other streams above Guangrun Marsh once all fed the Wei, but with old channels buried they had flooded repeatedly. He now proposed a lasting fix: guiding each stream according to terrain so all could run freely. He also noted that the Bai River at Nanyang and the Xichuan and Danjiang streams ran heavy and close to city walls; more than twenty stone and millstone groins were urgently needed to split and turn the current. All were approved as proposed. Silt was cleared from Jizhou's East Lake channel as work-for-relief.

九年，修宿遷各河堤岸，丹陽下練湖閘壩。濬宿州奎河。築喀什噶爾新城沿河堤岸。兩江總督蔣攸銛言：「徐州河道，如蕭縣龍山河，邳州睢寧界之白塘河，邳州舊城民便河，碭山利民、永定二河，又沛縣堤工，邳州沂河民埝，豐縣太行堤，皆最要之工，請次第估辦興挑。」從之。十年，修湖北省會江岸，並添建石壩。挑濬漳河故道。修保定南關外河道，及徐河石橋、河間陳家門堤。濬東平小清河，及安流、龍拱二河。修公安、監利堤。

In Daoguang 9, river levees at Suqian and the Lower Lian Lake sluices at Danyang were repaired. Suzhou's Kui River was dredged. River embankments along Kashgar's new city were built. Two Jiangs Governor-General Jiang Youtie listed Xuzhou's most critical channels—from Xiaoxian's Longshan River to Fengxian's Taihang dike—and asked that they be surveyed and dug in order. The emperor agreed. In Daoguang 10, Wuhan's riverfront was repaired and new stone dams were added. The Zhang River's old course was dredged. The channel outside Baoding's south gate, the Xuhe stone bridge, and Hejian's Chenjiamen levee were repaired. Dongping's Xiaoqing River and the Anliu and Longgong rivers were dredged. Levees at Gong'an and Jianli were repaired.

十一年，修南昌、新建、進賢圩堤，及河間、獻縣河堤，天門漢水南岸堤工。桐梓被水，開濬戴家溝河道。命工部尚書硃士彥察勘江南水患，疏請修築無為及銅陵江壩。給事中邵正笏言江湖漲灘占墾日甚，諭兩江總督陶澍、湖廣總督盧坤等飭屬詳勘，其沙洲地畝無礙水道者，聽民認墾，否則設法嚴禁。十二年，挑除星子蓼花池淤沙，疏通溝道，並築避沙塹壩。修築南昌、新建圩堤，又改豐城土堤為石。

In Daoguang 11, polder levees in Nanchang, Xinjian, and Jinxian, river levees at Hejian and Xian County, and Han River south-bank works at Tianmen were repaired. After Tongzi flooded, the Daijia Ditch channel was opened and dredged. Minister of Works Zhu Shiyan was sent to inspect Jiangnan flooding and proposed repairing river dams at Wuwei and Tongling. Supervising Secretary Shao Zhenghu warned that river-beach reclamation was spreading; Tao Shu, Lu Kun, and others were told to inspect locally and allow farming where sandbars did not block channels, but forbid it elsewhere. In Daoguang 12, silt was cleared from Xingzi's Liaohua Pool, channels were opened, and a sand-deflecting trench dam was built. Polder levees in Nanchang and Xinjian were rebuilt, and Fengcheng's earth levees were rebuilt in stone.

十三年，湖廣總督訥爾經額請修襄陽老龍及漢陽護城石堤，武昌、荊州沿江堤岸。兩江總督陶澍請修六合雙城、果盒二圩堤埂，濬孟瀆、得勝、灣港三河，並建閘座。均如議行。戶部請興修直隸水利城工，命總督琦善確察附近民田之溝渠陂塘，擇要興修，以工代賑。御史硃逵吉言，湖北連年被水，請疏江水支河，使南匯洞庭湖，疏漢水支河，使北匯三台等湖，並疏江、漢支河，使分匯雲夢，七澤間堤防可固，水患可息。御史陳誼言，安陸濱江堤塍衝決為害，請建五閘壩，挑濬河道，以泄水勢。疏入，先後命訥爾經額、尹濟源、吳榮光等遴員詳勘。

In Daoguang 13, Huguang Governor-General Ne'er Jing'e proposed repairing Xiangyang's Laolong and Hanyang's city-wall stone embankments and the riverfront at Wuchang and Jingzhou. Two Jiangs Governor-General Tao Shu asked to repair Liuhe's Shuangcheng and Guohe polder banks, dredge the Mengdu, Desheng, and Wangang rivers, and build sluice works. All were approved as proposed. The Board of Revenue proposed Zhili waterworks and city projects; Governor Qishan was told to survey nearby farm ditches and ponds, start the most needed work, and use labor for relief. Censor Zhu Dakui reported that Hubei had flooded repeatedly. He proposed dredging Yangtze branches to send water south into Dongting Lake, Han branches to send it north into Santai and neighboring lakes, and both river systems to spread the flow across the Yunmeng marshes—thereby strengthening levees among the Seven Marshes and easing the flood crisis. Censor Chen Yi reported that Anlu's riverfront levees had breached with disastrous effect. He asked for five sluice dams, dredged channels, and works to bleed off the flood. After the memorials were received, Ne'er Jing'e, Yin Jiyuan, Wu Rongguang, and others were successively ordered to appoint officers for a thorough inspection.

十四年，修良鄉河道橋座。濬沔陽天門、牛氾支河，漢陽通順支河，並修築濱臨江、漢各堤。濬石首、潛江、漢川支河，修荊州萬城大堤，華容等縣水沖官民各垸。濬碭山利民、永定二河。築南昌、新建、進賢、建昌、鄱陽、德安、星子、德化八縣水淹圩堤。修潛江、鍾祥、京山、天門、沔陽、漢陽六州縣臨江潰堤，以工代賑。修邳、宿二州縣沂河堤埝、及王翻湖等工。濬太倉、七浦及太湖以下泖淀，並修元和南塘寶帶橋。

In Daoguang 14, Liangxiang's river channels and bridges were repaired. Workers dredged Mianyang's Tianmen and Niufan branches and Hanyang's Tongshun branch, and rebuilt levees along the Yangtze and Han. Shishou, Qianjiang, and Hanchuan branches were dredged; Jingzhou's Wancheng levee was rebuilt; and flood-damaged official and private polders in Huarong and neighboring counties were restored. Dangshan's Limin and Yongding rivers were dredged. Flood-damaged polder levees were rebuilt in Nanchang, Xinjian, Jinxian, Jianchang, Poyang, De'an, Xingzi, and Dehua. Breached riverfront levees at Qianjiang, Zhongxiang, Jingshan, Tianmen, Mianyang, and Hanyang were repaired under a work-for-relief program. Yi River levees in Pi and Su were rebuilt, along with works at Wangfan Lake and other sites. Taicang, Qipu, and the lowlands below Lake Tai were dredged, and Yuanhe's Nantang Baodai Bridge was repaired.

十六年，濬河東姚暹渠。修庫車沿河堤壩。濬海鹽河道。又貸江蘇司庫銀濬鹽城皮大河、豐縣順堤河，並修築堤工，從兩江總督林則徐等請也。命大學士穆彰阿、步軍統領耆英、工部尚書載銓，勘估京城內外應修河道溝渠。十七年，修武昌沿江石岸，鍾祥劉公菴、何家潭老堤，潛江城外土堤，及豐城土石堤工，並建小港口石閘石埽。十八年，修黃梅堤。濬豐潤、玉田黑龍河。

In Daoguang 16, the Yaoxian Canal in Hedong was dredged. Riverside dikes and dams at Kuqa were repaired. Salt-route channels in the Hai region were dredged. At the request of Two Jiangs Governor-General Lin Zexu and others, Jiangsu treasury funds were also lent to dredge Yancheng's Pi Da River and Fengxian's Shundi River and to rebuild the levees. Grand Secretary Mu Zhang'a, Step Army Commander Qi Ying, and Minister of Works Zai Quan were sent to inspect and estimate repairs to canals and drains within and beyond the capital. In Daoguang 17, Wuchang's stone riverfront, Zhongxiang's Liugong'an and Hejiatan levees, Qianjiang's outer earth embankment, and Fengcheng's earth-and-stone works were rebuilt; a stone sluice and revetments were also erected at Xiaogangkou. In Daoguang 18, Huangmei's levee was repaired. The Heilong River at Fengrun and Yutian was dredged.

十九年，修武昌保安門外江堤，蘄州衛軍堤，漢陽臨江石堤。葉爾羌參贊大臣恩特亨額覆陳巴爾楚克開墾屯田情形。先是，帝允伊犁將軍特依順保之請，命於巴爾楚克開墾屯田。嗣署參贊大臣金和疏陳不便，覆命恩特亨額詳籌。至是，疏言：「該處渠身僅三百二十八里有奇，沿堤兩岸培修，水勢甚旺，足資灌溉。並派屯丁分段看守，遇水漲時，有渠旁草湖可泄，不致淹漫要路。」諭：「照舊妥辦，務於屯務邊防實有裨益。」伊犁將軍關福疏報，額魯特愛曼所屬界內塔什畢圖，開正渠二萬五千七百餘丈，計百四十餘里，得地十六萬四千餘畝，實屬肥腴，引水足資灌溉。詔褒勉之。

In Daoguang 19, Wuchang's Bao'an Gate river levee, Qizhouwei's garrison embankment, and Hanyang's stone riverfront were repaired. En Teheng'e, the Yarkand assistant resident, reported back on reclamation at Balchuk. Earlier the emperor had approved Yili General Te Yishunbao's proposal and ordered colonization at Balchuk. The acting assistant resident Jin He then argued that the plan was unworkable, and En Teheng'e was ordered to reconsider it thoroughly. He now reported: 'The canal there runs just over 328 li. With both banks raised along its length, the current is strong enough for irrigation. Colonist soldiers were posted in sections to watch it; when floods came, grassy lakes beside the canal could take the overflow and keep the main routes dry.' The court replied: 'Carry on as planned, provided it truly strengthens colonization and the frontier.' Yili General Guan Fu reported that within Olot Aiman territory at Tashibitu a main canal of over 25,700 zhang—some 140 li—had been cut, reclaiming more than 164,000 mu of rich land with ample water for irrigation. The emperor commended the achievement.

是歲漢水盛漲，漢川、沔陽、天門、京山堤垸潰決。二十年，總督周天爵疏報江、漢情形，擬疏堵章程六：一，沙灘上游作一引壩，攔入湖口，再作沙隄障其外面，以堵旁泄；一，江之南岸改虎渡口東支堤為西堤，別添新東堤，留寬水路四里餘，下達黃金口，歸於洞庭，再於石首調弦口留三四十里沮洳之地，瀉入洞庭；一，江之北岸舊有閘門，應改為滾壩，冬啟夏閉；一，襄陽上游多作挑壩，撐水外出，再於險要處所，加築護堤護灘；一，襄陽河四面堤畔，應用磚石多砌陡門，夏令相機啟閉；一，襄河水勢浩大，應添造滾壩，冬啟夏閉，於兩岸低洼處所，引渠納水。下所司議行。是年修華容、武陵、龍陽、沅江四縣官民堤垸，又修荊州大堤，及公安、監利、江陵、潛江四縣堤工。

That year the Han surged to flood stage, breaching levees and polders at Hanchuan, Mianyang, Tianmen, and Jingshan. In Daoguang 20, Governor-General Zhou Tianjue reported on the Yangtze and Han and proposed six dredging-and-blocking measures: first, upstream on the sand flats erect a diversion dam to steer water into the lake mouth, then an outer sand dike to stop side spill; second, on the south bank turn Hudu Ferry's east-branch levee into a west levee, build a new east levee, leave a channel more than four li wide down to Huangjinkou and into Dongting, and at Shishou's Tiaoxian Kou set aside thirty to forty li of marsh to drain into Dongting; third, on the north bank convert existing sluice gates into rolling dams, opened in winter and shut in summer; fourth, upstream at Xiangyang build diversion dams to force water outward, and at critical points add protective levees and beach works; fifth, along Xiangyang River's four banks build brick-and-stone steep gates to be opened and closed as needed in summer; sixth, because the Xiang runs with great force, add rolling dams—open in winter, closed in summer—and cut intake canals at low points on both banks. The proposal was sent to the relevant offices for review and execution. That year levees and polders in Huarong, Wuling, Longyang, and Yuanjiang were rebuilt, along with Jingzhou's main embankment and works in Gong'an, Jianli, Jiangling, and Qianjiang.

二十二年，堵鹿邑渦河決口。先是，黃水決口，大溜直趨渦河，將南岸觀武集、鄭橋、劉窪庄、古家橋及淮寧之閻家口、吳家橋、徐家灘、婁家林、季家樓堤頂漫塌，太和民田悉成巨浸，阜陽以次州縣亦被漫淹。至是，安徽巡撫程楙采言：「豫工將次合龍，渦河決口若不及時興修，下游受害益深。請敕河南撫臣迅籌堵築。」從之。湖廣總督裕泰等疏報江水盛漲，衝陷萬城堤以上之吳家橋水閘，並決下游上漁埠頭大堤，直灌荊州郡城，倉庫監獄均被淹漫。水消退後，而埠頭漫口較寬，勢難對口接築。擬修挽月堤一，並先於上下游各築橫堤一。如所請行。修築庫倫堤壩，及鄒縣橫河口、李家河口民堰。

In Daoguang 22, the Guo River breach at Luyi was closed. Earlier a Yellow River break had sent the main current straight into the Guo. South-bank levee crests at Guanwuji, Zhengqiao, Liuwazhuang, Gujiaqiao, and at Huaining's Yanjiakou, Wujiaqiao, Xujiatang, Loujialin, and Jijialou had overtopped and failed. Taihe's farmland vanished under a great inland sea, and Fuyang and counties downstream were flooded as well. Anhui Governor Cheng Maocai now warned: 'Henan's project is nearing closure. If the Guo River breach is not repaired promptly, the damage downstream will only deepen. He asked that the Henan governor be ordered to block and rebuild without delay.' The court agreed. Huguang Governor-General Yu Tai reported that a Yangtze flood had destroyed the Wujiaqiao sluice above Wancheng levee and burst the great embankment at downstream Shangyubutou, flooding Jingzhou city itself—granaries and prisons included. When the water fell, the Butou gap proved too wide for a straightforward head-on closure. They proposed a crescent levee and, first, a transverse dam upstream and another downstream. The plan was approved. Dikes and dams at Kulun were rebuilt, along with civilian weirs at Zou County's Henghekou and Lijiahekou.

二十三年，直隸總督訥爾經額疏陳直隸難以興舉屯政水利，略云：「天津至山海關，戶口殷繁，地無遺利。其無人開墾之處，乃沿海鹼灘，潮水咸濇，不足以資灌溉。至全省水利，歷經試墾水田，屢興屢廢，總由南北水土異宜，民多未便。而開源、疏泊、建閘、修塘，皆需重帑，未敢輕議試行。但宜於各境溝洫及時疏通，以期旱澇有備，或開鑿井泉，以車戽水，亦足裨益田功。」如所議行。修海陽寮哥宮、涸溪、竹崎頭堤工。

In Daoguang 23, Zhili Governor-General Ne'er Jing'e argued that colonization waterworks were impracticable in Zhili, writing in part: 'From Tianjin to Shanhaiguan the population is dense and every scrap of land is already in use. What remains unreclaimed is coastal saline flatland—tide water there is brackish and useless for irrigation. Province-wide, repeated attempts at paddy reclamation have come and gone, chiefly because northern soil and water differ from the south and farmers find the change burdensome. Opening new sources, dredging lakes, building sluices, and repairing ponds would demand large outlays, and he hesitated to propose them lightly. Still, local ditches and canals should be cleared promptly to guard against drought and flood; digging wells and lifting water by wheel would also help the fields.' The court adopted his recommendations. Levees at Haiyang's Liaogegong, Huxi, and Zhuqitou were repaired.

二十四年，修江夏江堤。濬海州沭河。七月，荊州江勢汎漲，李家埠內隄決口，水灌城內。江陵虎渡口汛江支各堤亦多漫溢。諭總督裕泰籌款修築。九月，萬城大堤合龍。伊犁將軍布彥泰等言：「惠遠城東阿齊烏蘇廢地可墾復良田十餘萬畝，擬引哈什河水以資灌注，將塔什鄂斯坦田莊舊有渠道展寬，接開新渠，引入阿齊烏蘇東界，並間段酌挑支河。」又言：「伊拉里克地畝與喀喇沙爾屬蒙古游牧地以山為界，該處河水一道，由山之東面流出，距游牧地尚隔一山，於蒙古生計無礙，堪以開墾。請濬大渠支渠並泄水渠，引用伊拉里克河水。」又言：「奎屯地方寬廣，有河一道，系由庫爾喀喇烏蘇南山積雪融化匯流成河，近水地畝早有營屯戶民承種。又蘇沁荒地有萬餘畝，土脈肥潤，祗須挑渠引水，可以俱成沃壤。」均如所請行。

In Daoguang 24, Jiangxia's river levee was repaired. Haizhou's Shu River was dredged. In the seventh month Jingzhou's river flooded; Lijiabu's inner levee gave way and water rushed into the city. Branch-channel levees at Jiangling's Hudu Ferry flood station also overtopped in many places. Governor-General Yu Tai was ordered to secure funds and rebuild. In the ninth month Wancheng's great levee was closed. Yili General Buyantai reported: 'East of Huiyuan at Aqiwusu, abandoned land could yield more than 100,000 mu of good fields. He proposed bringing in the Hashi River, widening the old Tashe'ositan channels, cutting a new main canal to Aqiwusu's eastern boundary, and opening branch ditches in sections.' They added: 'Yilirik lies across a mountain from Karashar's Mongol pastures. A river runs from the eastern slope but is still one ridge away from grazing land, so reclamation would not harm the Mongols. They asked to dredge main, branch, and drainage canals and draw on the Yilirik River.' They further noted: 'Kuitun is a wide district where snowmelt from Korla Wusu's southern peaks gathers into a river; garrison colonists and local farmers have long tilled the nearby land. Suxin also has more than 10,000 mu of idle land with rich, moist soil—canals would turn it all into fertile fields.' All were approved.

二十五年，濬賈魯河，修汶上馬踏湖民堰。命喀喇沙爾辦事大臣全慶查勘和爾罕水利，疏言：「和爾罕地本膏腴，宜將西北哈拉木扎什水渠並東南和色熱瓦特大渠接引，可資耕種。中隔大小沙梁，業已挑通，宜於衝要處砌石釘椿，使沙土不致坍卸，渠道日深，足以灌溉良田。」又言：「伊拉里克地居吐魯番所轄托克遜軍台之西，土脈腴潤，謂之板土戈壁，其西為沙石戈壁。二百餘里，至山口出泉處，有大阿拉渾、小阿拉渾兩水，匯成一河。從前渠道未開，水無收束，一至沙石戈壁，散漫沙中，而板土戈壁水流不到，轉成荒灘。今將極西之水導引而東，在沙石戈壁鑿成大渠三段，復於板土戈壁多開支渠，即遇大汛，水有所歸。又吐魯番地畝多系掘井取泉，名曰卡井，連環導引，其利甚溥。惟高埠難引水逆流而上，應聽戶民自行挖井，冬春水微時，可補不足。」下廷臣議行。

In Daoguang 25, the Jia Lu River was dredged and Wenshang's Matahu civilian weir was repaired. Karashar Commissioner Quan Qing was sent to survey He'erhan's waterworks and reported: 'He'erhan soil is naturally rich. The northwest Halamuzhashi canal and southeast Hesherewate main canal should be linked to support farming. Sand ridges large and small already divide them but have been cut through. Stone-and-pile revetments at key points would keep the banks from collapsing; as the channel deepens, it will irrigate good farmland.' He also described Yilirik, west of Turfan's Toksun station: its soil is rich flat-soil gobi, beyond which lies sand-and-gravel desert. Some 200 li on, at the pass where springs emerge, the Da and Xiao Alahun streams merge into one river. Before channels were cut the water ran unchecked; on the gravel desert it sank into the sand, while the fertile flatland went dry and turned to waste. Now the western water is to be steered east: three main sections through the gravel desert and many branches across the flat-soil gobi, giving even great floods a path. Most Turfan fields draw on chained ka wells—linked wells that tap groundwater—a method of wide benefit. High ground cannot easily be irrigated against the slope; farmers should be free to dig their own wells to supplement the supply when winter and spring flows run low.' The report was sent to the ministries for review and execution.

二十六年，烏魯木齊都統惟勤請修理喀喇沙爾渠道壩堤，並陳章程四，命伊犁將軍薩迎阿覆覈，尚無流弊，詔如所請行。六塘河堤沖潰，各州縣連年被水，命兩江總督璧昌等覈辦。覆言，海州境內六塘河及薔薇河淤墊衝決，田廬受淹，於運道宣防，大有關係，應從速借款挑築，允之。修溫榆河果渠村壩埽。二十七年，扎薩克郡王伯錫爾呈獻私墾地畝，內有生地四千八百三十餘畝，接濬新渠二，添開支渠二，以資分灌。

In Daoguang 26, Urumqi Commander Wei Qin proposed repairing Karashar's canal dams and dikes under four regulations. Yili General Sa Ying'a reviewed them, found no abuses, and the court approved. After the Liutang River levee failed and counties flooded year after year, Two Jiangs Governor Bi Chang and others were ordered to investigate. They replied that in Haizhou the Liutang and Qiangwei rivers had silted and broken, flooding farms and homes with serious implications for the transport corridor; emergency loans should fund rapid dredging and rebuilding. The court agreed. Revetment dams at Wenyu River's Guoqu Village were repaired. In Daoguang 27, Jasak Prince Boshier offered privately reclaimed land—more than 4,830 mu still virgin—along with two newly dredged main canals and two branch canals for split irrigation.

二十八年，兩江總督李星沅請修沛縣民埝埽壩，裕泰請修江夏堤工、鍾祥廖家店外灘岸，直隸總督訥爾經額請修築萬全護城石壩，均如所請。御史楊彤如劾河南撫臣三次挑挖賈魯河決口，費幾百萬，迄無成功，請敕查辦。詔褫鄂順安以下職。新任巡撫潘鐸疏言：「賈魯河工程應以復硃仙鎮為修河關鍵。惟硃仙鎮內及街南北河道淤墊最甚，今議添辦柴稭埽工，以防兩岸淤沙。其淤沙最深處，挑濬較難，另擇乾土十數里，改道以通舊河，責成各員賠修，限四十五日工竣。」從之。

In Daoguang 28, Li Xingyuan sought repairs to Peixian's civilian revetments, Yu Tai to Jiangxia levees and Zhongxiang's Liaojiadian outer bank, and Ne'er Jing'e to Wannquan's stone city wall—all were granted. Censor Yang Tongru accused the Henan governor of three failed attempts to close the Jia Lu breach at a cost of millions, and asked the throne to investigate. The emperor dismissed Esen'an and his subordinates from office. The new governor, Pan Duo, argued that restoring Zhuxian Town was the crux of the Jia Lu project. Inside Zhuxian and along the north-south streets the channel was worst silted; he proposed straw revetments to hold back bank sediment. Where silt ran deepest and dredging was impracticable, he would cut a new channel ten-odd li through dry ground back to the old river, with officials held liable and a forty-five-day deadline.' The plan was approved.

二十九年，江蘇巡撫傅繩勛言：「陰雨連綿，積水無從宣洩，以致江、淮、揚等屬堤圩多被衝破。請仿農政全書櫃田之法，以土護田，堅築高峻，內水易於車涸，勸民舉行，以工代賑，並查勘海口，開挖閘洞泄水。」帝嘉勉之。三十年，修襄陽老龍石堤，及漢陽堤壩，武昌沿江石岸，潛江土堤、鍾祥高家堤。御史汪元方以浙江水災，多由棚民開山，水道淤阻所致，疏請禁止。諭巡撫吳文鎔嚴查，並命江蘇、安徽、江西、湖廣各督撫一體稽查妥辦。

In Daoguang 29, Jiangsu Governor Fu Shengxun reported that unending rain had left water with nowhere to go, breaching levees and polders across the Jiang, Huai, and Yang regions. He proposed the raised-field method from the Complete Book of Agriculture—ringing fields with high, firm earthworks so inner pools could be drained by wheel—promoted through work-for-relief, together with surveys of the estuary and new sluice openings to discharge the flood.' The emperor commended the proposal. In Daoguang 30, Xiangyang's Laolong stone levee was rebuilt, together with Hanyang's dams, Wuchang's stone riverfront, Qianjiang's earth embankment, and Zhongxiang's Gaojia levee. Censor Wang Yuanfang blamed Zhejiang's floods largely on mountain-clearing by shed-dwellers that choked the waterways, and asked that the practice be banned. Governor Wu Wenrong was told to crack down, and Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, and Huguang were ordered to conduct joint inspections.

咸豐元年，浙江巡撫常大淳疏陳清理種山棚民情形，略言：「浙西水利，餘杭、南湖驟難濬復，應先開支河、修石閘，以資蓄泄。上游治而下游之患亦可稍平。浙東則紹興之三閘口外，鄞縣、象山等河溪，現經籌挑。」報聞。三年，太常卿唐鑒進畿輔水利備覽，命給直隸總督桂良閱看，並著于軍務告竣時，酌度情形妥辦。

In Xianfeng 1, Zhejiang Governor Chang Dachun reported on clearing illegal mountain reclamation by shed-dwellers, noting that Yuhang and Nanhu in western Zhejiang could not quickly be fully restored; branch channels and stone sluices should come first to regulate storage and discharge. Repair upstream, he argued, and downstream flooding would ease. In eastern Zhejiang, dredging was already planned for rivers and creeks beyond Shaoxing's three sluice mouths, including Yin and Xiangshan.' The court took note. In Xianfeng 3, Taichang Si Tang Jian submitted a handbook on metropolitan waterworks. Zhili Governor Gui Liang was given a copy and told to act once military affairs allowed.

同治元年，御史硃潮請開畿輔水利，並以田地之治否，定府縣考績之殿最。命直隸總督文煜等將所轄境內山泉河梁淀湖及可開渠引水地方詳查，並妥議章程。尋覆疏言：「有可舉行之處，或礙於地界，或限於力量，或當掘井制車，或須抽溝築圩，均設法催勸，推行盡利。」三年，江蘇士民殷自芳等以「山陽、鹽城境內市河、十字河、小市河蜿蜒百里，東注馬家盪，沿河民田數千頃，旱則資其灌溉，潦則資其宣洩。自乾隆六年大挑以後，迄今百餘年，河淤田廢，水旱均易成災。墾請挑濬築墟，引運河水入市河，以蘇民困」。命兩江總督、江蘇巡撫覈辦。

In Tongzhi 1, Censor Zhu Chao proposed reviving metropolitan waterworks and tying officials' performance reviews to how well their districts kept fields in order. The court ordered Zhili Governor-General Wen Yu and his colleagues to survey every spring, river, bridge, marsh, and lake in their province, identify sites where canals could be dug to draw water, and draft suitable regulations. In a follow-up memorial they reported: wherever work could proceed—whether blocked by boundary disputes, constrained by resources, needing wells and water wheels, or requiring ditches dredged and levees built—they had found ways to urge local effort forward and maximize the benefit. In Xianfeng 3, Jiangsu gentry and commoners led by Yin Zifang petitioned: in Shanyang and Yancheng the Shih, Shizi, and Xiaoshi Rivers wind nearly a hundred li eastward into Majiadang; thousands of qing of riparian farmland depend on them for irrigation in dry seasons and drainage when waters rise. Since the major dredging of Qianlong 6, more than a century had passed—the rivers had silted up, the fields were ruined, and both drought and flood easily brought disaster. They urged dredging and levee work to bring Grand Canal water into the Shih River and ease the people's distress." The court directed the Liangjiang governor-general and Jiangsu governor to investigate and act.

五年，御史王書瑞言，浙江水利，海塘而外，又有漊港。烏程有三十九漊，長興有三十四漊。自逆匪竄擾後，泥沙堆積，漊口淤阻，請設法開濬。又言蘇、松諸郡與杭、嘉、湖異派同歸，湖州處上游之最要，蘇、松等郡處下游之最要。上游阻塞，則害在湖州，下游阻塞，則害在蘇、松，並害及杭、嘉、湖。請飭江蘇一併勘治。從之。六年，濬清河張福口引河。八年，安徽巡撫吳坤修言，永城與宿州接壤之南股河，久經淤塞，下接靈壁，低洼如釜，早成巨浸，水無出路，擬查勘籌辦。從之。

In Xianfeng 5, Censor Wang Shutui reported that beyond Zhejiang's seawalls, its liu-channel network also required attention. Wucheng had thirty-nine such channels, Changxing thirty-four. Since rebel incursions, silt had choked the channel mouths, and he asked that dredging be organized to clear them. He also noted that though Suzhou-Songjiang and Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Hu belong to different watersheds, their waters converge—Huzhou sits at the vital upstream node, Suzhou-Songjiang at the vital downstream one. Blockage upstream harmed Huzhou first; blockage downstream harmed Suzhou-Songjiang and spread to Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Hu as well. He asked that Jiangsu be instructed to survey and treat the problem jointly. The court agreed. In Xianfeng 6, Qinghe's Zhangfukou diversion canal was dredged. In Xianfeng 8, Anhui Governor Wu Kunxiu reported that the Nangu River on the Yongcheng–Suzhou border had silted shut, draining toward low-lying Lingbi until the basin had become a permanent flood with nowhere for the water to go; he proposed a survey and plan. The court agreed.

九年，濬白茆河道，改建近海石閘。江蘇紳民請濬復淮水故道，命兩江總督、江蘇巡撫、漕運總督會籌。覆疏言：「挽淮歸故，必先大濬淤黃河，以暢其入海之路，繼開清口，以導其入黃，繼堵成子河、張福口、高良澗三河，以杜旁泄。應分別緩急興工，期以數年有效。」下部議，從之。是年內閣侍讀學士鍾佩賢亦以疏濬海港為請。於是浙撫楊昌濬言：「漊港年久淤塞，查明最要次要各工，分別估修，擬趁冬隙時，先將寺橋等九港及諸、沈二漊趕辦，其餘各工及碧浪湖工程，次第籌畫，應與吳江長橋及太湖出水各口同時修濬。」得旨允行。

In Xianfeng 9, the Baimao River was dredged and its coastal stone sluice rebuilt. When Jiangsu elites petitioned to reopen the Huai's former course, the court told the Liangjiang governor-general, Jiangsu governor, and grain-transport commissioner to consult and plan together. Their reply memorial argued: to return the Huai to its old channel, the silt-choked Yellow River must first be dredged deeply so it can reach the sea; then Qingkou must be opened to guide the Huai into the Yellow; then the Chengzi, Zhangfukou, and Gaoliangjian outlets must be sealed to stop diversion. Projects should be prioritized and phased, with real effect expected within a few years. The ministries reviewed the plan and approved it. That same year Academician Reader Zhong Peixian likewise memorialized for harbor dredging. Zhejiang Governor Yang Changjun then reported: long-silted liu channels had been ranked by priority and costed; during the winter lull he would rush work on the nine ports including Siqiao and the Zhu and Shen channels, while Bilang Lake, Wujiang's Chang Bridge, and Tai Lake's outfalls would be scheduled and dredged in parallel. The throne approved.

十年，修龍洞舊渠，並開新渠以引涇水。江蘇巡撫張之萬請設水利局，興修三吳水利。於是重修元和、吳縣、吳江、震澤橋竇各工。最大者為吳淞江下游至新閘百四十丈，別以機器船疏之。凡太倉七浦河，昭文徐六涇河，常熟福山港河、常州河，武進孟瀆、超瓢港，江陰黃田港、河道塘閘、徒陽河、丹徒口支河，丹陽小城河，鎮江京口河，均以次分年疏導，幾及十年，始克竣事。先是侯家林決口，河督喬松年以為時較晚，請來年冬舉辦。至是，巡撫丁寶楨言，此處決口不堵，必致浸淹曹、兗、濟十餘州縣，若再向東南奔注，則清津、里下河一帶更形吃重，請親往督工堵築。詔獎勉之。

In Xianfeng 10, the old Longdong canal was repaired and a new canal dug to draw off the Jing River. Jiangsu Governor Zhang Zhiwan proposed a water conservancy bureau to revive Three Wu irrigation. Bridge sluices at Yuanhe, Wuxian, Wujiang, and Zhenze were then rebuilt. The largest job was 140 zhang of the Wusong from downstream to Xinzha, cleared with steam dredgers. Taicang's Qipu, Zhaowen's Xuliu Channel, Changshu's Fushangang and Changzhou rivers, Wujin's Mengdu and Chaopiao ports, Jiangyin's Huangtian Harbor, canal sluices, Tuyang River, Dantu branch, Danyang's Xiaocheng River, and Zhenjiang's Jingkou River were all cleared in turn—a program that took nearly ten years to finish. Earlier, when the Houjialin breach opened, Yellow River Director Qiao Songnian had judged the season too late and asked to defer the closure until the next winter. Now Governor Ding Baozhen warned that unless the breach was sealed, more than ten counties in Cao, Yan, and Ji would flood—and if the current swung southeast, Qingjin and the Lixiahe lowlands would come under even greater strain; he asked to supervise the closure himself. The throne praised and encouraged him.

十二年，以直隸河患頻仍，命總督李鴻章仿雍正間成法，籌修畿輔水利。旋議定直隸諸河，皆以淀池為宣蓄。西淀數百里河道，為民生一大關鍵，先堵趙村決口，築磁河、瀦龍河南堤，以御外水，挑濬盧僧、中亭兩河，分減大清河水勢，以免倒灌。並疏通趙王河道，將苟各庄以上巨堤及下口鷹嘴壩各建閘座。是年秋，直隸運河堤決，內閣學士宋晉請擇修各河渠，以工代賑，從之。十三年，挑濬天津陳家溝至塌河淀邊減河三千七百餘丈，又自塌河淀循金鐘河故道斜趨入薊運河，開新河萬四千一百餘丈，俾通省河流分溜由北塘歸海。石莊戶決口，奪溜南趨，命寶楨速籌堵築。旋以決口驟難施工，請在迤下之賈庄建壩堵合，即於南北岸普築長堤。而北岸濮州之上游為開州，並飭直督合力籌辦。

In Tongzhi 12, with Zhili's rivers in repeated crisis, Governor Li Hongzhang was ordered to revive Yongzheng-era methods and rebuild metropolitan waterworks. Soon the plan settled on using marshes and storage ponds to regulate Zhili's rivers. West Marsh's hundreds of li of waterways were vital to local livelihoods—the Zhaocun breach would be sealed first; south dikes would go up on the Ci and Zhulong rivers to hold off external floods; the Luseng and Zhongting channels would be dredged to split the Daqing River's force and prevent backflow. The Zhaowang River was cleared as well, with sluice gates built on the main dike above Gougezhuang and at the Yingzui outlet dam. That autumn the Zhili canal dike broke; Grand Secretary Song Jin proposed canal repairs as famine-relief work, and the court agreed. In Tongzhi 13, 3,700-odd zhang were dredged from Tianjin's Chenjiagou to Tahe Marsh's relief canal; a new 10,400-odd-zhang channel was cut from Tahe Marsh along the old Jizhong River course into the Ji Canal so provincial waters could split and reach the sea at Beitang. At Shizhuanghu the current broke southward; Ding Baozhen was ordered to plan an urgent closure. Finding the breach itself hard to work, he proposed sealing it downstream at Jiachuang with a dam and building long dikes on both banks. Upstream on the north bank, Kaizhou lay above Puzhou, and the Zhili governor was told to coordinate with him.

光緒元年，濬文安勝芳河，修菏澤賈庄南岸長堤及北岸金堤。二年，濬張家橋新舊泗河。三年，濬濟寧夏鎮迤南十字河。給事中夏獻馨請修水利以裕民食，諭各督撫酌奪情形，悉心區畫。四年，修補濱江黃柏山至樊口四十里老堤，並於樊口內建石閘。五年，修都江堰堤，灌縣、溫江、崇慶舊淹田地涸復八萬二千餘畝。

In Guangxu 1, Wen'an's Shengfang River was dredged and Heze's Jiachuang south-bank levee and north-bank Jin dike were repaired. In Guangxu 2, the new and old Si channels at Zhangjiaqiao were dredged. In Guangxu 3, the Shizi River south of Jining's Xia Town was dredged. Supervising Secretary Xia Xianxin urged waterworks to secure the people's livelihood; every governor-general and governor was told to weigh local conditions and plan accordingly. In Guangxu 4, forty li of levee from Huangbo Mountain to Fankou on the Yangzi was patched, and a stone sluice was built at Fankou. In Guangxu 5, Dujiangyan's dikes were repaired and 82,000-odd mu of flooded land in Guan, Wenjiang, and Chongqing counties were reclaimed.

七年，挑濬大清河下游，使水暢入東淀，並於獻縣硃家口古羊河東岸另闢滹沱減河，使水歸子牙河故道，達津入海。濬寶坻、武清境內北運減河。大學士左宗棠請興辦順直水利，以陝甘應餉之軍助直隸治河之役。總督李鴻章言：「近畿水利，受病過深，凡永定、大清、滹沱、北運、南運五大河，及附麗之六十餘支河，原有閘壩堤埝，無一不壞，減河引河，無一不塞，而節宣諸水之南泊、北泊、東淀、西淀，早被濁流填淤，僅恃天津三岔口一線海河，迤邐出口。平時既不能暢消，秋冬海潮頂托倒灌，節節皆病。修治之法，須先從此入手。五大河中，以永定之害為最深。其大清、北運、南運，須分別挑濬築堤，修復減河。滹沱趨向無定，自來未設堤防。同治七年，由藁城北徙，以文安大窪為壑，其故道之難復，上游之難分，下游之難泄，曾國籓與臣詳陳有案。東西淀寬廣數百里，淤泥厚積，人力難施。頻年以來，修復永定河金門閘壩，裁灣切灘，加築隄段。大清河則於新、雄境內開盧僧減河，霸州、文安境內接開中亭、勝芳等河，分泄上游盛漲；於任丘開趙王減河，分泄西淀盛漲；又於文安左各庄至台頭挑河身二十餘里，以暢下游去路。滹沱河則於河間及文安挖開引河二，又於獻縣硃家口另闢減河三十餘里，均歸子牙河達津。北運河則於通州築壩，挽潮白河歸槽，於香河王家務、武清筐兒港修復石壩，以泄漲水，於天津霍家嘴疏濬引河，以通下口。又於武清、寶坻挑挖王家務、筐兒港兩減河，以資暢泄。南運河則於青、滄、靜海修堤二百餘里，於靜海新官屯另闢減河六十餘里，使別途出海。又於天津城東永定、大清、滹沱、北運交會之陳家灣，開河百餘里，分泄四大河之水，逕達北塘入海。其無極、蠡、博、高陽一帶，則堅築珠龍河隄，以防滹沱北越。任丘至天津一帶，則加築千里堤、格淀堤，使河自河而淀自淀。又於廣平開洺河，順德挑澧河，趙州濬、槐、午諸河。此外河道受害較深者，均酌量疏築。今宗棠請以隨帶各營移治上游，正可輔直隸之不逮。此後應修何處，當隨時會商，實力襄助。」疏入，命恭親王奕訢、醇親王奕枻會同辦理。是年加修子牙河堤萬七千四百餘丈，文安西堤二千九百餘丈，展寬靜海東堤二千四百餘丈。

In Guangxu 7, the lower Daqing River was cleared into East Marsh, and at Zhujiakou in Xian County a new Hutuo relief canal was cut east of the old Yang River to send water back through the Ziya's former channel to Tianjin and the sea. Relief canals of the North Canal in Baodi and Wuqing were dredged. Grand Secretary Zuo Zongtang proposed Shuntai-Zhili waterworks, offering troops from Shaanxi-Gansu—still on the army payroll—to help Zhili's river labor. Governor Li Hongzhang wrote: metropolitan waterworks were in deep distress. The Yongding, Daqing, Hutuo, North Canal, and South Canal—and sixty-odd tributaries—had sluices, dams, and dikes shattered and every relief channel choked; the regulating marshes of south, north, east, and west were silted solid, leaving only the Hai River's narrow run at Tianjin's Sanchakou to carry everything seaward. In ordinary seasons water could not drain freely; each autumn and winter tide pushed back inland—every reach of the system was failing. Remedy had to start there. Of the five great rivers, the Yongding did the worst damage. The Daqing, North Canal, and South Canal each needed dredging, levee repair, and restored relief channels. The Hutuo shifted course at will and had never been diked. In Tongzhi 7 it had swung north from Gaocheng into Wensheng's great basin; the impossibility of restoring its old bed, splitting the upper reach, or freeing the lower—Zeng Guofan and I had already laid out on record. East and West Marsh sprawled hundreds of li with silt piled deep—beyond what manual labor alone could move. In recent years the Yongding's Jinmen sluice had been rebuilt, bends cut, shoals trimmed, and dike sections raised. On the Daqing, a Luseng relief channel was opened in Xin and Xiong; Zhongting, Shengfang, and related rivers were cut through Bazhou and Wen'an to bleed off upstream floods; at Renqiu the Zhaowang relief channel drained West Marsh surges; and twenty-odd li of channel from Zuogezhuang to Taitou in Wen'an was dredged to open the lower reach. On the Hutuo, two intake canals were dug in Hejian and Wen'an, and a thirty-odd-li relief channel at Zhujiakou in Xian County sent water back through the Ziya to Tianjin. On the North Canal, a dam at Tongzhou returned the Chaobai to its bed; stone dams at Wangjiawu in Xianghe and Kuang'ergang in Wuqing were rebuilt to spill floodwater; and the intake at Huojiazui in Tianjin was cleared to open the lower outlet. Wangjiawu and Kuang'ergang relief channels in Wuqing and Baodi were also dredged to improve drainage. On the South Canal, 200-odd li of levees were rebuilt in Qing, Cang, and Jinghai, and a 60-odd-li relief channel at Xingguantun in Jinghai gave floodwater a separate path to the sea. At Chenjiawan east of Tianjin—where the Yongding, Daqing, Hutuo, and North Canal meet—a hundred-odd-li canal was cut to split the four rivers and send them straight to Beitang and the sea. Around Wuji, Li, Bo, and Gaoyang, the Zhulong River dike was strengthened to keep the Hutuo from breaking north. From Renqiu to Tianjin, the Qianli and Gedian dikes were raised so rivers kept to rivers and marshes to marshes. The Ming River was opened at Guangping, the Li dredged at Shunde, and the Ji, Huai, and Wu channels cleared in Zhaozhou. Other badly damaged reaches were dredged or built up as circumstances allowed. Zuo's offer to shift his battalions to the upper reaches could exactly fill what Zhili could not manage alone. Henceforth they would consult on each project and lend real support. When the memorial arrived, Princes Gong (Yixin) and Chun (Yixuan) were ordered to oversee the work jointly. That year 17,400-odd zhang were added to the Ziya levee, 2,900-odd to Wen'an's west bank, and 2,400-odd to widen Jinghai's east bank.

九年，安徽學政徐郙言：「江、皖兩省水患頻仍，亟須挑泗、沂為導淮先路，仿抽溝法，循序疏治，由大通口引河入海，泄水較易。」命宗棠、昌濬會商籌辦。尋疏覆言：「天下無有利無害之水，疏舊黃河，分減泗、沂，近年已著成效，自當加挑寬深，兼疏大通口以暢出海之途，設復淮局於清江，派員提調。估計分年分段興辦，去其太甚之害，留其本然之利。江北於皖省為下游，下游利，上游自無不利矣。」報聞。

In Guangxu 9, Anhui Education Intendant Xu Yu wrote: floods plagued Jiangsu and Anhui; dredging the Si and Yi as the first step in guiding the Huai—using sequential ditch dredging and sending water seaward via the Datongkou intake—would make drainage far easier. Zuo Zongtang and Yang Changjun were ordered to consult and plan. Their reply held that no water is purely boon or bane; clearing the old Yellow River bed to split the Si and Yi had already helped, and should be deepened while Datongkou was opened for a free outlet to sea—a Huai Restoration Bureau at Qingjiang would direct the work. Work would proceed in phased sections—cutting the worst damage while keeping the river's natural benefits. North of the river lies downstream of Anhui—when lower reaches gain, upper reaches cannot lose. The court took note.

十年，河南巡撫鹿傳霖言：「豫省地勢平衍，衛、淇、沁、潭襟帶西北，淮、汝、渦、潁交匯東南，如果一律疏通，加以溝渠引灌，農田大可受益。今河道半皆壅滯，溝渠亦多荒廢，擬借人力以補天災，派員分赴各州縣履勘籌畫，或疏或濬，志在必成，使民間曉然於有利農田，自能踴躍用命。」詔如所請行。宗棠言：「興修江南水利各工，最大者為硃家山、赤山湖。硃家山自浦口至張家堡，接通滁河，綿亙百二十餘里。赤山湖自道士壩、蟹子壩至三汊河下游，亦綿亙百二十里。兩年工竣，不惟沿江圩田均受其利，而糧艘貨船亦可由內河行，尤屬農商兩便。」下部知之。十一年七月，以張曜所部十營、馮南斌二營、蔣東才四營，濬京師內外護城河，十一月竣工。十三年，河決鄭州，全溜注淮，因濬張福口引河，及興化之大周閘河、丁溪場之古河口、小海三河，俾由新陽、射陽等河入海。十四年，鑿廣西江面險灘，由蒼梧迄陽朔七百餘里，共開險灘三十五。

In Guangxu 10, Henan Governor Lu Chuanlin reported: Henan's plain terrain is bound on the northwest by the Wei, Qi, Qin, and Tan and on the southeast by the Huai, Ru, Guo, and Ying—uniform dredging plus irrigation canals would greatly benefit the fields. With half the rivers choked and ditches abandoned, he proposed using labor to offset disaster—officers sent to every county to survey and plan, dredging wherever needed until the people saw clear gain for their fields and rallied to the work. The throne ordered it done as requested. Zuo Zongtang reported that among Jiangnan water projects, Zhujiashan and Chishan Lake were the largest. Zhujiashan runs 120-odd li from Pukou to Zhangjiabao, tying into the Chu River. Chishan Lake stretches 120 li from Daoshi and Xiezi dams down to the Sanhe River. Finished in two years, it benefited riparian polders and let grain and cargo vessels use the inland routes—a boon to farmers and merchants alike. The ministries were informed. In Guangxu 11, seventh month, sixteen battalions under Zhang Yao, Feng Nanbin, and Jiang Dongcai dredged the capital moat inside and out; the job was done by November. In Guangxu 13, a breach at Zhengzhou sent the whole Yellow River into the Huai; Zhangfukou intake was dredged, and in Xinghua the Dazhou Sluice channel, the old mouth at Dingxichang, and the Xiaohai channels were cleared so water could reach the sea through Xinyang and Sheyang. In Guangxu 14, thirty-five hazardous shoals over 700 li of the Guangxi river from Cangwu to Yangshuo were blasted clear.

十六年，江蘇巡撫剛毅以寶山蘊藻河道失修，迤西大壩壅遏水脈，請興工挑築。給事中金壽松言利少害多，命總督曾國荃妥籌。覆疏言，擬拆去同治間所築土壩，以通嘉定、寶山之水道，仍規復咸豐間所建舊閘，以還嘉定之水利。另開引河以通河流，俾得隨時宣洩。下部知之。挑濬餘杭南湖，並疏濬苕溪。華州羅紋河下游各村連年遭水，沿河數百頃良田盡成澤國。巡撫鹿傳霖請由吳家橋北大荔之胡村，開渠引水注渭，則其流舒暢，被淹民田，即可涸復耕作，從之。

In Guangxu 16, Jiangsu Governor Gangyi reported that Baoshan's Yunzao channel had fallen into neglect and a westward dam was choking its flow; he asked for dredging and levee work. Supervising Secretary Jin Shousong argued the plan did more harm than good; Governor-General Zeng Guoquan was told to reconsider. Their reply proposed removing the Tongzhi-era earthen dam to reopen the Jiading–Baoshan waterway and restoring the Xianfeng-era sluice to give Jiading its water back. A new intake canal would let the river drain freely as needed. The ministries were informed. Yuhang's South Lake and the Tiao River were dredged. Villages below Huazhou's Luowen River had flooded year after year until hundreds of qing of fertile shoreland lay underwater. Governor Lu Chuanlin asked to cut a canal from Hucun north of Wujiaqiao in Dali to feed the Wei so the stream would run freely and flooded fields could be drained and farmed again; the court agreed.

給事中洪良品以直隸頻年水災，請籌疏濬以興水利。事下總督籌議。鴻章言：「原奏大致以開溝渠、營稻田為急，大都沿襲舊聞，信為確論，而於古今地勢之異致，南北天時之異宜，尚未深考。夫以太行左轉，西北萬峰矗天，伏秋大雨，口外數千里千溪萬派之水，奔騰而下，畿南一帶地平土疏，頃刻輒漲數尺或一二丈，沖盪泛溢，勢所必然。聖祖慮清濁河流之不可制也，乃築千里堤、格淀隄，使淀與子牙河各行一路。世宗慮永定河南行之淤淀也，令引渾河別由一道，改移下口。其餘官堤民堤，今昔增築，綜計不下三四千里，沙土雜半，險工林立，每當伏秋盛漲，兵民日夜防守，甚於防寇，豈有放水灌入平地之理？今若語沿河居民開渠引水，鮮不錯愕駭怪者。且水田之利，不獨地勢難行，即天時亦南北迥異。春夏之交，布秧宜雨，而直隸彼時則苦雨少泉涸。今釜陽各河出山處，土人頗知鑿渠藝稻。節屆芒種，上游水入渠，則下游舟行苦淺，屢起訟端。東西淀左近窪地，鄉民亦散布稻種，私冀旱年一穫，每當伏秋漲發，輒遭漂沒。此實限於天時，斷非人力所能補救者也。以近代事考之，明徐貞明僅營田三百九十餘頃，汪應蛟僅營田五十頃，董應舉營田最多，亦僅千八百餘頃，然皆黍粟兼收，非皆水稻。且其志在墾荒殖穀，並非藉減水患。今訪其遺迹，所營之田，非導山泉，即傍海潮，絕不引大河無節制之水以資灌溉，安能藉減河水之患，又安能廣營多穫以抵恃大之入？雍正間，怡賢親王等興修直隸水利，四年之間，營治稻田六千餘頃，然不旋踵而其利頓減。九年，大學士硃軾、河道總督劉於義，即將距水較遠、地勢稍高之田，聽民隨便種植。可見直隸水田之不能盡營，而踵行擴充之不易也。恭讀乾隆二十七年上諭『物土宜者，南北燥濕，不能不從其性。儻將窪地盡改作秧田，雨水多時，自可藉以儲用，雨澤一歉，又將何以救旱？從前近京議修水利營田，始終未收實濟，可見地利不能強同』。謨訓昭垂，永宜遵守。即如天津地方，康熙間總兵藍理在城南墾水田二百餘頃，未久淤廢。咸豐九年，親王僧格林沁督師海口，墾水田四十餘頃，嗣以旱潦不時，迄未能一律種稻，而所費已屬不貲。光緒初，臣以海防緊要，不可不講求屯政，曾飭提督周盛傳在天津東南開挖引河，墾水田千三百餘頃，用淮勇民夫數萬人，經營六七年之久，始獲成熟。此在潮汐可恃之地，役南方習農之人，尚且勞費若此。若於五大河經流多分支派，穿穴堤防濬溝，遂於平原易黍粟以秔稻，水不應時，土非澤埴，竊恐欲富民而適以擾民，欲減水患而適以增水患也。」

Supervising Secretary Hong Liangpin, citing Zhili's floods year after year, asked that dredging be planned to revive waterworks. The memorial was sent to the governor-general for review. Hongzhang replied: "The original proposal rightly treats opening canals and planting rice as urgent, and much of it repeats settled opinion—but no one has really weighed how terrain differs from age to age, or how what suits the south may not suit the north. When the Taihang range swings eastward, peaks in the northwest stand sky-high. In the summer-autumn rains, thousands of streams from beyond the passes pour down for thousands of li. South of the capital the land is flat and the soil loose; within moments the water can rise several feet or even a dozen or more, tearing across the plain—such overflow is inevitable. The Kangxi Emperor, seeing that clear and muddy currents could not be held together, built the Thousand-Li Dike and the Gedian embankment so the marshes and the Ziya River ran on separate paths. The Yongzheng Emperor, fearing the Yongding's southward flow would choke the marshes with silt, had the Hun River sent off on another course and its mouth moved downstream. Official and private dikes, added to over the years, stretch three or four thousand li in all—half sand, half earth, with critical points everywhere. At every summer-autumn flood peak, soldiers and civilians defend them day and night, harder than fighting bandits. Who would think of letting that water loose onto flat farmland? Tell riverside people today to cut channels and draw river water, and almost none would not stare in disbelief. And the gains from paddy are not only blocked by terrain—the seasons themselves differ sharply between north and south. At the turn of spring and summer, rice seedlings need rain—yet in Zhili that is precisely when rain is scarce and springs run dry. Even now, where the Fuyang rivers leave the hills, locals do know how to cut channels and grow rice. When Grain in Ear arrives and upstream water is drawn into the channels, boats downstream run aground and lawsuits follow again and again. In low ground near the Eastern and Western Marshes, villagers also sow rice, hoping for a single harvest in a dry year—yet every summer-autumn flood washes the crop away. This is a limit set by the seasons, not something labor can fix. Recent history shows the point: in the Ming, Xu Zhenming reclaimed barely 390-odd qing; Wang Yingjiao, only 50; Dong Yingju, the most ambitious, still only about 1,800—and even they grew millet and grain as well as rice, not paddy alone. Their aim was to open wasteland and raise grain—not to ease floods. Looking at what remains, their fields drew on mountain springs or tidal water—never the unchecked flood of great rivers. How would that lessen river disasters? How would wide planting and big harvests replace grain shipped in from distant provinces? Under Yongzheng, Prince Yixian and others pushed Zhili waterworks; in four years they put more than 6,000 qing into rice—yet the gains faded almost at once. In the ninth year, Grand Secretary Zhu Shi and River Commissioner Liu Yuyi let people plant higher, more distant fields as they chose. So Zhili paddy cannot be fully developed, and expansion is harder still. I respectfully recall the Qianlong 27 instruction: 'What suits the soil must follow its nature—north and south, dry and wet, cannot be forced alike. Turn every low plot into seedling beds and you may store water in wet years—but when the rains fail, what will relieve drought? Past schemes to open waterworks and paddy near the capital never paid off—regional advantage cannot be hammered into sameness.' That teaching stands clear and should be obeyed forever. Take Tianjin: under Kangxi, Garrison Commander Lan Li opened over 200 qing of paddy south of the city—it silted up and was abandoned within a short time. In Xianfeng 9, Prince Sengge Rinchen, commanding at the estuary, reclaimed over 40 qing of paddy—but drought and flood came at random, rice never took uniformly, and the cost was already enormous. Early in Guangxu, seeing coastal defense as urgent and garrison farming as indispensable, I ordered Regional Commander Zhou Shengchuan to cut an intake river southeast of Tianjin and reclaim over 1,300 qing of paddy. Tens of thousands of Huai troops and laborers worked six or seven years before the fields finally matured. That was in ground where tides could be trusted, with southern farmers doing the work—and still the labor and cost were so heavy. Pierce the dikes among the branches of the five great rivers, dredge channels, and swap millet for rice on the plain—where water does not come on time and the soil is not marsh clay—and I fear the aim to enrich the people will only harass them, and the aim to ease floods will only worsen them."

十七年，剛毅言：「吳淞江為農田水利所資，自道光六年浚治後，又經六十餘年，淤墊日甚。前年秋雨連旬，河湖汎濫，積澇竟無消路。去年十月，派員開辦，並調營勇協同民夫，分段合作，約三月內可告竣。」報聞。鴻章又言：「寶坻青龍灣減河，自香河之王家務經寶坻至寧河入海。去歲霪雨兼旬，河流狂漲，橫堤決岸，寶坻受害獨深。廣安橋以下，河身淺窄，大寶莊以上，並無河槽，應與昔年所開之普濟河、黃庄新河一律挑深，添建石閘。」沈秉成、松椿言：「淮南堰圩廳所管之洪澤湖，關係水道利病鹽漕諸務。今全湖之水下趨，毫無節制。現勘得應行先辦之工，曰修復三壩，曰修整束水堤，曰展挑三福口，計三項工程，不過數萬兩可以集事。或有議於禮河迤西蔡家莊建滾水石壩，使水可蓄泄，較有把握。惟巨款難籌，應暫緩辦。」均詔如所請。堵築吳橋宣惠河缺口二。河陝汝道鐵珊，以閿鄉北濱黃河，城垣屢被沖坍，因於城外築大石壩，挑溜護城。

In Guangxu 17, Gangyi reported: "The Wusong River is essential to farm irrigation. Since it was dredged in Daoguang 6, more than sixty years have passed and silting grows worse by the day. Two years ago autumn rain lasted ten days straight; rivers and lakes spilled over and standing floodwater had nowhere to go. Last October crews were sent out, with garrison troops and laborers working by section; the work was expected to finish in about three months." The memorial was noted. Hongzhang added: "Baodi's Qinglong Bay flood-relief channel runs from Wangjiawu in Xianghe through Baodi to the sea at Ninghe. Last year ten days of steady rain sent the rivers surging; dikes broke along the banks and Baodi suffered worst of all. Below Guang'an Bridge the channel is shallow and narrow; above Dabaozhuang there is scarcely a bed. Like the Puji River and Huangzhuang New River opened in earlier years, these reaches should be deepened and stone sluices added." Shen Bingcheng and Song Chun wrote: "Hongze Lake, managed by the Huainan Embankment Office, governs waterways, salt and grain transport, and much else besides. Today the whole lake drains downward with no restraint at all. Survey shows three urgent jobs: restore the Three Dams, repair the confining dikes, and widen dredging at the Three Fuku outlets—all three together for no more than a few tens of thousands of taels. Some propose a spillway stone dam at Caijiazhuang west of the Li River so water could be held and released—a surer measure. But the cost is too large to raise at once and should wait." All were approved as requested. Two breaches in Wuqiao's Xuanhui River were closed and rebuilt. Hedong-Shaanxi-Ru Circuit Intendant Tie Shan, finding Wenxiang's walls north of the Yellow River repeatedly undercut, built a great stone dam outside the city and turned the current to shield the walls.

十八年，疏鑿福山港、徐六涇二河，及高浦、耿涇、海洋塘、西洋港四河。山東巡撫福潤言：「小清河為民田水利所關，年久淤塞。前撫臣張曜籌議疏通，因工漲款絀，僅修下游博興之金家橋至壽光海道，長百餘里。其上游工程，應接續興挑，庶使歷城等縣所受各水，悉可入海。今擬規復小清河正軌，而不拘牽故道，由金家橋而西取直，擇窪區接開正河，歷博興、高苑、新城、長山、鄒平至齊東曹家坡，長九十七里，又於金家橋迤下開支河二十四里，至柳橋，以承濟麻大湖上游各河之水，引入新河，計長四千二百餘丈。」詔從之。

In Guangxu 18, Fushan Harbor and the Xu and Liu Jing rivers were dredged, along with Gaopu, Geng Jing, Haiyang Pond, and Xiyang Harbor. Shandong Governor Fu Run reported: "The Xiaoqing River is vital to private farmland, but years of neglect have choked it with silt. Former Governor Zhang Yao planned to clear it, but costs outran funds; only the lower reach from Jinjia Bridge in Boxing to the Shouguang sea route was repaired—over 100 li. Upstream work should continue so waters collected by Licheng and neighboring counties can all reach the sea. The plan is to restore the Xiaoqing's main line without clinging to the old bed: from Jinjia Bridge west in a straight cut through low ground, through Boxing, Gaoyuan, Xincheng, Changshan, and Zouping to Caojiapo in Qidong—97 li—plus a 24-li branch below Jinjia Bridge to Liu Bridge to take waters from Magda Lake and other upstream rivers into the new channel, over 4,200 zhang in all." The court agreed.

二十年，崇明海岸被潮沖齧，逼近城牆。於青龍港東西兩面設立敵水壩四，加建木橋，疊砌石塊，以御風潮。二十一年，署兩江總督張之洞言：「黃河支流之減水河洪河，自虞城、夏邑、永城經碭山、蕭縣，達宿州、靈壁、泗州之睢河，而注於洪湖。其間湖港紛歧，皆下注睢河。乾隆年間，以睢河不能容，導水為三，曰北股、中股、南股。中股為睢河正流。咸豐初，黃河日益淤墊，漸及改徙，豫、江、皖各河亦逐段淤阻，水潦泛溢為害，尤以永、蕭、碭為甚。同治間建議疏河，恆以工程過大，屢議屢輟。今擬改道辦法，導北股河之水以達靈壁岳河，導中股、南股河之水合流入宿州運糧溝，以達澮河，而運糧一溝恐不能容納，應治沱河梁溝以復其舊，使各河之水皆順軌下注洪湖，不致橫溢，則各屬水患永息矣。」詔如所請行。

In Guangxu 20, Chongming's shore was eaten back by the tide until it nearly reached the city wall. Four tide-defying dams were built east and west of Qinglong Harbor, with wooden bridges and stacked stone to hold off wind and tide. In Guangxu 21, Acting Governor-General Zhang Zhidong wrote: "The Hong River, a Yellow River flood-relief channel, runs from Yucheng, Xiayi, and Yongcheng through Dangshan and Xiao County to the Sui River in Suizhou, Lingbi, and Sizhou, and into Hong Lake. Lake channels branch in every direction, all feeding the Sui River. Under Qianlong, when the Sui could no longer hold the flow, the water was split three ways: North Branch, Middle Branch, and South Branch. The Middle Branch was the Sui's main stream. Early in Xianfeng the Yellow River silted and shifted; rivers in Henan, Jiangsu, and Anhui clogged section by section; floods spread harm—worst in Yongcheng, Xiao County, and Dangshan. Under Tongzhi dredging was proposed again and again, but the work was always too vast and plans were dropped. The new plan is to send North Branch water to Lingbi's Yue River; Middle and South Branch water together into Suzhou's Grain Transport Ditch to the Hui River. The Grain Transport Ditch alone may not suffice, so the Tuo River and Liang Ditch should be restored so every stream runs in course to Hong Lake without spilling sideways—then each district's flood trouble would end for good." The throne ordered it done as requested.

二十二年，御史華煇疏陳興修水利八事：曰引泉，曰築塘，曰開渠，曰通湖，曰開井，曰蓄水，曰用車，曰填石。下所司議。二十四年，濬太倉劉河，自殷港門至浦家港口四千一百餘丈。二十八年，江西巡撫李興銳言：「近年水患頻仍，皆由鄱陽湖日見淤淺，而長江昔寬今狹，驟遭大雨，疏泄不及，遂至四溢為災。請於冬晴水淺時，購制挖泥機器輪船數艘，將全湖分別挑挖。其上遊河道亦一律擇要疏治。既為防水患起見，亦為興商務張本。」從之。修湖北省城北路堤紅關至春山八段，南路堤白沙洲至金口十段，以御外江之汎漲。建石閘數座，以備內湖之宣洩。又於附郭沿江十餘里，一律增修石剝岸。濬小清河，開徒陽河百二十餘里。

In Guangxu 22, Censor Hua Hui proposed eight waterworks measures: tapping springs, building ponds, opening canals, linking lakes, digging wells, storing water, using water wheels, and packing with stone. The memorial was sent to the relevant offices for review. In Guangxu 24, Taicang's Liu River was dredged from Yinggang Gate to Pujia Harbor—over 4,100 zhang. In Guangxu 28, Jiangxi Governor Li Xingrui wrote: "Floods have come again and again because Poyang Lake silts shallower while the Yangtze, once broad, has narrowed— sudden heavy rain cannot drain in time and spills into disaster. He asked to buy several steam dredgers and, in winter when skies are clear and water low, dredge the lake section by section. Key upstream channels should be cleared as well. The aim is flood control, but also a foundation for trade." The court agreed. Eight sections of the north embankment outside Hubei's capital from Hongguan to Chunshan and ten sections of the south embankment from Baishazhou to Jinkou were repaired to hold back the outer river at flood stage. Several stone sluices were built to drain the inner lakes. Along more than ten li of riverside near the city, stone revetments were raised and rebuilt throughout. The Xiaoqing River was dredged and the Tuyang River opened for over 120 li.

宣統元年，署直隸總督那桐言：「通州鯰魚溝堤岸，自光緒九年決口，流入港溝而歸鳳河。嗣後屢堵屢潰。至二十四年大汛復決，迄今未能堵閉，以致武清百數十村頻年潰沒。今擬於鯰魚溝暫建滾水壩，俾全溜不致旁趨。倘遇盛漲，即將土埝挑除，俾資分泄。一面將上游堤壩挑補整齊，疏濬青龍灣等處引河，以減盛漲，築攔水埝以御渾流，修估龍鳳河以疏積潦。滾水壩工程應即興辦。其修堤及疏引河，應於本年秋後部署，來年二月興工。攔水埝及龍鳳河，應於來年秋後部署，次年二月興工。均限伏汛前報竣。」下部議行。湖廣總督陳夔龍請修復江、襄潰口，略謂：「江、襄各堤，以潛江之袁家月堤為最要。此次潰口，堤身沖刷，頓落四百餘丈，迴流湍急，附近悉成澤國，應及時築合。此外郭家嘴、禹王廟潰堤，及天門黑牛渡、沔陽呂蒙營、公安高李公、松滋楊家腦、監利河龍廟各堤工，均擬派員督辦籌修，以期鞏固。」從之。

In Xuantong 1, Acting Zhili Governor-General Na Tong reported: "The dikes of Nianyu Ditch in Tongzhou breached in Guangxu 9; water ran into harbor channels and back into Feng River. Since then it has been closed and broken again and again. In Guangxu 24 a major flood broke it open again; it remains unclosed, and more than a hundred villages in Wuqing have flooded year after year. The plan is a temporary spillway dam at Nianyu Ditch so the full current does not run off sideways. At peak flood the earthen barrier would be cut away to let water spill off. At the same time upstream dikes would be patched, intake rivers such as Qinglong Bay cleared to ease peak flow, blocking embankments built against muddy currents, and Longfeng River surveyed and repaired to drain standing floodwater. The spillway dam should be started at once. Dike repair and intake dredging should be planned after this autumn and begin in the second month of next year. Blocking embankments and Longfeng River should be planned after next autumn and begin the following second month. All were to be finished before the summer flood season." The memorial went to the ministry for review and action. Huguang Governor-General Chen Kuilong asked to repair breaches on the Jiang and Xiang dikes, writing in brief: "Of the Jiang and Xiang embankments, Qianjiang's Yuanjiayue dike matters most. This breach scoured away more than 400 zhang of dike; backflow ran fast and nearby land turned to marsh—it should be closed without delay. Breaches at Guojiazui and Yuwang Temple, and works at Tianmen's Heiniu Ford, Mianyang's Lümeng Camp, Gong'an's Gaoligong, Songzi's Yangjianao, and Jianli's Helong Temple are all slated for supervised repair and funding to make them secure." The court agreed.

寧夏滿營開墾馬廠荒地，先治唐渠，以裕瀦停之地。挑濬百二十餘里，曰正渠；自靖益堡開支口，引水西北行四十餘里而入之溝，曰新渠；沿渠列小口四十，挾水以歸諸田，曰支渠。唐渠以西，淪為澤國，非溝以宣之不為功。自杏子湖起，穿溝二百八十餘里，建大小石閘、木閘四十二，石橋、木橋三十三，經始上年九月，至本年八月告成，名曰湛恩渠，約成腴田二十萬畝。是年，東三省總督、奉天巡撫合詞請修遼河，先從雙檯子河堤入手，次年續修鴨島、冷家口工程，並挑挖海口攔江沙，與遼河工程同時舉辦。下部知之。

The Ningxia Manchu garrison opened horse-pasture wasteland, first repairing Tang Canal to free land held by standing water. Over 120 li were dredged—the Main Canal; from a branch at Jingyi Fort water ran northwest over 40 li into a ditch—the New Canal; forty small openings along the canal carried water to the fields—Branch Canals. West of Tang Canal the land had turned to marsh; without drainage ditches the project could not succeed. From Xingzi Lake a ditch was cut for over 280 li, with forty-two stone and wooden sluices and thirty-three bridges. Work began last ninth month and finished this eighth month. Named the Zhan'en Canal, it opened about 200,000 mu of rich farmland. That year the Three Eastern Provinces governor-general and Fengtian governor jointly asked to repair the Liao River, starting with the Shuangtaizi embankment; the next year Yadao and Lengjiakou would follow, with estuary dredging to trap river sand carried out alongside the Liao works. The ministry took note.

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