Volume 94 Treatises 47: Rivers and Canals 4

汴河下洛河蔡河廣濟河金水河白溝河京畿溝渠白河三白渠鄧許諸渠附

The Bian River; the Xialuo River; the Cai River; the Guangji River; the Jinshui River; the Baigou River; canals and ditches of the capital region; the Bai River; the Sanbai Canal; and the canals of Deng and Xu, appended

元豐元年五月，西頭供奉官張從惠復言：「汴口歲開閉，修堤防，通漕才二百餘日。往時數有建議引洛水入汴，患黃河齧廣武山，須鑿山嶺十數丈，以通汴渠，功大不可為。去年七月，黃河暴漲，水落而稍北，距廣武山麓七里，退灘高闊，可鑿為渠，引洛入汴。」范子淵知都水監丞，畫十利以獻。又言：「汜水出玉仙山，索水出嵩渚山，合洛水，積其廣深，得二千一百三十六尺，視今汴流尚贏九百七十四尺。以河、洛湍緩不同，得其贏餘，可以相補。猶慮不足，則旁堤為塘，滲取河水，每百里置木閘一，以限水勢。兩旁溝、湖、陂、濼，皆可引以為助，禁伊、洛上源私引水者。大約汴舟重載，入水不過四尺，今深五尺，可濟漕運。起鞏縣神尾山，至土家堤，築大堤四十七里，以捍大河。起沙谷至河陰縣十里店，穿渠五十二里，引洛水屬於汴渠。」疏奏，上重其事，遣使行視。

In the fifth month of the first year of Yuanfeng, Zhang Conghui, an attendant of the Western Palace, again submitted a memorial: "Each year the Bian mouth is opened and closed, dikes are maintained, and the grain transport channel is navigable for only a little more than two hundred days. In the past there had been repeated proposals to divert the Luo River into the Bian, but the fear was that the Yellow River would gnaw at Guangwu Mountain and that connecting the Bian canal would require cutting through ridges by several dozen zhang — a project too vast to undertake. Last July the Yellow River surged; when the flood subsided the channel shifted slightly northward, standing seven li from the foot of Guangwu Mountain, where a broad, elevated stretch of exposed bank offered ground on which a canal could be cut to bring the Luo into the Bian." Fan Ziyuan, acting director of the Directorate of Waterways, drafted a plan setting forth ten benefits and submitted it. He also stated: "The Si River issues from Yuxian Mountain and the Suo River from Songzhu Mountain; combined with the Luo, their aggregate width and depth amount to 2,136 chi — still 974 chi more than the present volume of the Bian channel. Because the Yellow River and the Luo differ in the speed of their currents, the surplus from one can offset the shortfall of the other. If there were still concern of insufficient flow, ponds could be formed along the dikes to draw off river water by seepage, and a wooden sluice gate could be installed every hundred li to regulate the force of the current. Ditches, lakes, embankment ponds, and marshlands on either side could all be tapped as supplementary sources, while private diversion of water from the upper reaches of the Yi and Luo would be prohibited. As a rule, heavily laden Bian boats draw no more than four chi of water; at a depth of five chi, the grain transport could be sustained. From Shenwei Mountain in Gong County to the Tujia Embankment, a great dike forty-seven li in length would be constructed to hold back the main river. From Shagu to Shilidian in Heyin County, a canal fifty-two li long would be excavated to connect the Luo River to the Bian canal." After the memorial was submitted, the emperor treated the proposal as a matter of great importance and sent envoys to conduct an on-site inspection.

二年正月，使還，以為工費浩大，不可為。上復遣入內供奉宋用臣，還奏可為，請「自任村沙穀口至汴口開河五十里，引伊、洛水入汴河，每二十里置束水一，以芻楗為之，以節湍急之勢，取水深一丈，以通漕運。引古索河為源，注房家、黃家、孟家三陂及三十六陂，高仰處瀦水為塘，以備洛水不足，則決以入河。又自汜水關北開河五百五十步，屬於黃河，上下置閘啟閉，以通黃、汴二河船筏。即洛河舊口置水笧，通黃河，以泄伊、洛暴漲。古索河等暴漲，即以魏樓、滎澤、孔固三斗門泄之。計工九十萬七千有餘。仍乞修護黃河南堤埽，以防侵奪新河」。從之。

In the first month of the second year the envoys returned and reported that the labor costs would be prohibitive and that the project could not be undertaken. The emperor again dispatched Song Yongchen, an attendant of the Inner Palace, who on his return reported that the work was feasible and requested: "From the mouth at Rencun Shagu to the Bian mouth, excavate a channel fifty li long to bring the waters of the Yi and Luo into the Bian River; every twenty li install a water restraint built of straw fascines to temper the force of the rapids; maintain a depth of one zhang to sustain the grain transport. The ancient Suo River would serve as the source, feeding the Fang, Huang, and Meng family reservoirs and thirty-six other ponds; on higher ground water would be impounded in ponds as a reserve — when the Luo proved insufficient, these would be breached to release water into the channel. North of Sishui Pass a channel five hundred fifty paces long would also be opened to connect with the Yellow River, with sluice gates installed upstream and downstream that could be opened and closed to allow vessels and rafts to pass between the Yellow and Bian rivers. At the old mouth of the Luo River a water sluice would be installed to connect with the Yellow River, providing an outlet for sudden floods on the Yi and Luo. When the ancient Suo River and related streams surged, the flood would be discharged through the three sluice gates at Weilou, Xingze, and Konggu. The labor requirement was estimated at more than 907,000 work units. He further requested that the revetments on the south bank of the Yellow River be repaired and maintained to prevent the new channel from being overrun." The court approved the proposal.

三月庚寅，以用臣都大提舉導洛通汴。四月甲子興工，遣禮官祭告。河道侵民塚墓，給錢徙之，無主者，官為瘞藏。六月戊申，清汴成，凡用工四十五日。自任村沙口至河陰縣瓦亭子；并汜水關北通黃河：接運河，長五十一里。兩岸為堤，總長一百三里，引洛水入汴。七月甲子，閉汴口，徙官吏、河清卒於新洛口。戊辰，遣禮官致祭。十一月辛未，詔差七千人，赴汴口開修河道。

On the gengyin day of the third month, Song Yongchen was appointed chief commissioner for the project to guide the Luo River into the Bian. On the jiazi day of the fourth month construction began, and officials of the Ministry of Rites were dispatched to perform sacrificial rites and announce the undertaking. Where the channel route encroached on private graves, compensation was paid for relocation; where there was no claimant, the authorities undertook proper burial. On the wushen day of the sixth month the Clear Bian project was completed, having required forty-five days of labor in all. From the mouth at Rencun Shagou to Watingzi in Heyin County; together with the connection north of Sishui Pass to the Yellow River: linking the transport canal for a total length of fifty-one li. Dikes were constructed on both banks for a combined length of one hundred three li, bringing the waters of the Luo into the Bian. On the jiazi day of the seventh month the old Bian mouth was closed, and officials together with the River-Clearing corvée troops were reassigned to the new Luo mouth. On the wuchen day, officials of the Ministry of Rites were dispatched to offer sacrifices. On the xinwei day of the eleventh month an edict assigned seven thousand laborers to the Bian mouth to open and repair the channel.

三年二月，宋用臣言：「洛水入汴至淮，河道漫闊，多淺澀，乞狹河六十里，為二十一萬六千步。」以四月興役。五月癸亥，罷草屯浮堰。五年三月，宋用臣言：「金水河透水槽阻礙上下汴舟，宜廢撤。」從之。十月，狹河畢工。

In the second month of the third year Song Yongchen reported: "From the point where the Luo joins the Bian to the Huai, the channel is excessively wide and shallow in many stretches; I request that the river be narrowed over sixty li, a distance of 216,000 paces." Work was initiated in the fourth month. On the guihai day of the fifth month the floating weir at Caotun was dismantled. In the third month of the fifth year Song Yongchen reported: "The overflow trough on the Jinshui River obstructs vessels traveling up and down the Bian; it should be dismantled." The court approved the proposal. In the tenth month the river-narrowing project was completed.

六年八月，范子淵又請「于武濟山麓至河岸並嫩灘上修堤及壓埽堤，又新河南岸築新堤，計役兵六千人，二百日成。開展直河，長六十三里，廣一百尺，深一丈，役兵四萬七千有奇，一月成。」從之。十月，都提舉司言：「汴水增漲，京西四斗門不能分減，致開決堤岸。今近京惟孔固斗門可以泄水下入黃河。若孫賈斗門雖可泄入廣濟，然下尾窄狹，不能盡吞。宜於萬勝鎮舊減水河、汴河北岸修立斗門，開淘舊河，創開生河一道，下合入刁馬河，役夫一萬三千六百四十三人，一月畢工。」詔從其請，仍作二年開修。七年四月，武濟河潰。八月，詔罷營閉，縱其分流，止護廣武三埽。

In the eighth month of the sixth year Fan Ziyuan again petitioned: "From the foot of Wuji Mountain to the riverbank and across the tender shoals, repair the dikes and pressing-revetment works; on the south bank of the new channel construct a new dike as well — requiring an estimated six thousand corvée troops and two hundred days to complete. Excavate and straighten the channel for a length of sixty-three li, a width of one hundred chi, and a depth of one zhang — requiring somewhat more than forty-seven thousand corvée troops and one month to finish." The court approved the proposal. In the tenth month the chief directorate reported: "The Bian has risen sharply; the four sluice gates west of the capital cannot divert enough water, with the result that the dikes have been breached. At present, of the gates near the capital only the Konggu sluice can release water downstream into the Yellow River. Although the Sunjia sluice can divert water into the Guangji River, the lower reach is too narrow to absorb the full volume. Sluice gates should be built at the old flood-reduction channel at Wansheng Town and on the north bank of the Bian; the old river should be dredged and a new channel excavated to discharge into the Diaoma River below — requiring 13,643 laborers and one month to complete." An edict approved the request and scheduled the opening and repair work for the second year. In the fourth month of the seventh year the Wuji River broke through its banks. In the eighth month an edict halted efforts to dam and close the breach, allowing the river to divide and flow freely while directing protection only to the three Guangwu revetments.

哲宗元祐元年閏二月辛亥，右司諫蘇轍言：「近歲京城外創置水磨，因此汴水淺澀，阻隔官私舟船。其東門外水磨，下流汗漫無歸，浸損民田一二百里，幾敗漢高祖墳。賴陛下仁聖惻怛，親發德音，令執政共議營救。尋詔畿縣于黃河春夫外，更調夫四萬，開自盟河，以疏泄水患，計一月畢工。然以水磨供給京城內外食茶等，其水止得五日閉斷，以此工役重大，民間每夫日顧二百錢，一月之費，計二百四十萬貫。而汴水渾濁，易至填淤，明年又須開淘，民間歲歲不免此費。聞水磨歲入不過四十萬貫，前戶部侍郎李定以此課利，惑誤朝聽，依舊存留。且水磨興置未久，自前未有此錢，國計何闕？而小人淺陋，妄有靳惜，傷民辱國，不以為愧。況今水患近在國門，而恬不為怪，甚非陛下勤恤民物之意。而又減耗汴水，行船不便。乞廢罷官磨，任民磨茶。」

On the xinhai day of the intercalary second month of the first year of Yuanyou under Emperor Zhezong, Su Zhe, Right Remonstrator of the Secretariat, submitted a memorial: "In recent years water-powered mills have been established outside the capital; as a result the Bian has grown shallow and sluggish, obstructing both official and private vessels. The mills outside the east gate discharge water that spreads without channel or outlet, flooding and ruining private fields across one or two hundred li and nearly undermining the tomb of Emperor Gaozu of Han. Thanks to Your Majesty's benevolence and compassion, you personally issued an edict of grace directing the chief ministers to deliberate jointly on measures of relief. Shortly thereafter an edict directed the capital districts, in addition to the spring corvée for the Yellow River, to levy a further forty thousand laborers to open a channel from the Meng River to drain off the floodwaters — estimated to require one month. Yet because the mills supply grain and tea to the capital and its suburbs, the water could be cut off for only five days; the project was therefore enormous in scale — each laborer received two hundred cash per day from private funds, and the cost for one month came to 2.4 million strings of cash. Moreover the Bian is turbid and silts up easily; dredging must be undertaken again the following year — year after year the populace cannot escape this burden. I understand that the mills yield no more than 400,000 strings annually; the former Vice Minister of Revenue Li Ding, citing this revenue, misled the court and secured their retention. Moreover the mills were established only recently; before their creation this revenue did not exist — what gap would their abolition leave in the state budget? Yet petty officials, shallow and narrow-minded, cling to this revenue without scruple, harming the people and shaming the state yet feeling no shame. Moreover the flood now threatens the very gates of the capital, yet they treat it as unremarkable — a response utterly at odds with Your Majesty's diligent concern for the people's welfare. They further deplete the waters of the Bian, impeding navigation. I beg that the official mills be abolished and that the people be permitted to grind their own tea."

三月，轍又乞「令汴口以東州縣，各具水匱所占頃畝，每歲有無除放二稅，仍具水匱可與不可廢罷，如決不可廢，當如何給還民田，以免怨望。」八月辛亥，轍又言：「昨朝旨令都水監差官，具括中牟、管城等縣水匱，元浸壓者幾何，見今積水所占幾何，退出頃畝幾何。凡退出之地，皆還本主。水占者，以官地還之；無田可還，即給元直。聖恩深厚，棄利與民，所存甚遠。然臣聞水所占地，至今無可對還，而退出之田，亦以迫近水匱，為雨水浸淫，未得耕鑿。知鄭州岑象求近奏稱：'自宋用臣興置水匱以來，元未曾取以灌注，清汴水流自足，不廢漕運。 '乞盡廢水匱，以便失業之民。」十月，遂罷水匱。

In the third month Su Zhe again petitioned: "Let each prefecture and county east of the Bian mouth report the acreage occupied by water-storage ponds, whether the land tax has been remitted each year, and whether the ponds can be abolished; if abolition is impossible, let them specify how private fields are to be compensated so as to forestall popular resentment." On the xinhai day of the eighth month Su Zhe again reported: "By yesterday's court order the Directorate of Waterways was to dispatch officials to survey the water-storage ponds of Zhongmou, Guancheng, and other counties — how much land was originally submerged, how much standing water now occupies, and how many mu are to be restored. All restored land is to be returned to its original owners. Where land remains under water, compensate with government land; where no land is available, pay the original purchase price. Your sage grace is profound in abandoning revenue for the people's sake — a policy whose benefits will endure. Yet I am told that the submerged land still cannot be matched with equivalent compensation, and that the fields nominally restored remain adjacent to the ponds, soaked by rain, and still uncultivated. Cen Xiangqiu, prefect of Zhengzhou, recently memorialized: 'Since Song Yongchen established the water-storage ponds, they have never in fact been tapped for irrigation; the Clear Bian flow is ample on its own and grain transport has not suffered." I beg that the ponds be abolished entirely so that those who have lost their livelihood may be relieved." In the tenth month the water-storage ponds were accordingly abolished.

四年冬，御史中丞梁燾言：

In the winter of the fourth year, Liang Tao, Censor-in-Chief, submitted a memorial:

嘗求世務之急，得導洛通汴之實，始聞其說則可喜，及考其事則可懼。竊以廣武山之北，即大河故道，河常往來其間，夏秋漲溢，每抵山下。舊來洛水至此，流入於河。後欲導以趨汴渠，乃乘河未漲，就嫩灘之上，峻起東西堤，辟大河於堤北，攘其地以引洛水，中間缺為斗門，名通舟楫，其實盜河以助洛之淺涸也。洛水本清，而今汴常黃流，是洛不足以行汴，而所以能行者，附大河之餘波也。增廣武三埽之備，竭京西所有，不足以為支費，其失無慮數百萬計。從來上下習為欺罔，朝廷惑于安流之說，稅屋之利，恬不為慮。而不知新沙疏弱，力不能制悍河，水勢一薄，則爛熳潰散，將使怒流循洛而下，直冒京師。是甘以數百萬日增之費，養異時萬一之患，亦已誤矣。夫歲傾重費以坐待其患，何若折其奔沖，以終除其害哉。

I once sought out the most pressing affairs of state and came to understand the reality of the project to guide the Luo into the Bian — at first hearing the proposal it seemed promising, but on examining the facts it proves alarming. North of Guangwu Mountain lies the old course of the great river; the Yellow River has always shifted back and forth across this ground, and in summer and autumn its floods regularly reach the foot of the mountain. Formerly, when the Luo reached this point, it discharged into the Yellow River. Later, wishing to divert the Luo toward the Bian canal, they waited until the Yellow River had not yet risen, then on the tender shoals erected steep dikes east and west, forced the main river north of the dikes, and seized its channel to draw off the Luo — leaving a gap in the middle fitted with a sluice gate said to allow vessels to pass, but in truth appropriating the Yellow River's flow to supplement the shallow, failing Luo. The Luo is naturally clear, yet the Bian now runs perpetually yellow — proof that the Luo alone cannot sustain the Bian; what keeps the channel navigable is the borrowed surplus of the Yellow River's flow. Reinforcing the three Guangwu revetments and exhausting every resource west of the capital still cannot cover the maintenance costs; the losses must run to several million. For years officials at every level have grown accustomed to deception; the court was misled by assurances of a stable current and by the revenue from taxing riverside dwellings, and gave the danger no thought. They failed to see that the new sandbanks are loose and weak, incapable of restraining the fierce river — once the current slackens, the works will crumble and burst, and the raging flood will course down the Luo straight upon the capital. To spend millions that grow daily in order to nurture a catastrophe that may strike at any moment is already a grave error. What is gained by pouring out heavy sums year after year only to sit and await disaster, when one could break the river's rushing charge and eliminate the threat once and for all?

為今之計，宜復為汴口，仍引大河一支，啟閉以時，還祖宗百年以來潤國養民之賜，誠為得策。汴口復成：則免廣武傾注，以長為京師之安；省數百萬之費，以紓京西生靈之困；牽大河水勢，以解河北決溢之災；便東南漕運，以蠲重載留滯之弊；時節啟閉，以除蹙淩打淩之苦；通江、淮八路商賈大船，以供京師之饒。為甚大之利者六，此不可忽也。惟拆去兩岸舍屋，盡廢僦錢，為害者一而甚小，所謂損小費以成大利也。臣之所言，特其大略爾。至於考究本末，措置纖悉，在朝廷擇通習之臣付之，無牽浮議，責其成功。又言：

The proper course today is to restore the Bian mouth, draw off one branch of the great river, and open and close it according to season — thereby recovering the century-old policy by which our ancestors enriched the state and sustained the people. This is truly the sound strategy. If the Bian mouth is restored, the inundation threatening Guangwu is averted and the capital secured for the long term; millions in expenditure are saved and the suffering of the populace west of the capital relieved; the force of the great river is drawn off, easing the breaches and floods of Hebei; southeastern grain transport is facilitated, ending the delays that plague heavily laden vessels; seasonal opening and closing removes the crowding and collision that torment boatmen; great merchant vessels from the eight routes of the Yangzi and Huai are admitted, supplying the capital's abundance. These six are benefits of the greatest magnitude and must not be neglected. The sole drawback is the demolition of riverside dwellings and the loss of rental revenue — a single harm, and a minor one; this is precisely the principle of sacrificing a small cost to secure a great benefit. What your subject has set forth is only the broad outline. As for investigating causes and effects and arranging every detail, let the court select a minister thoroughly versed in these matters, entrust the work to him without yielding to shallow opinion, and hold him accountable for success. He further stated:

臣聞開汴之時，大河曠歲不決，蓋汴口析其三分之水，河流常行七分也。自導洛而後，頻年屢決，雖洛口竊取其水，率不過一分上下，是河流常九分也。猶幸流勢臥北，故潰溢北出。自去歲以來，稍稍臥南，此其可憂，而洛口之作，理須早計。竊以開洛之役，其功甚小，不比大河之上，但辟百餘步，即可以通水三分，即永為京師之福，又減河北屢決之害；兼水勢既已牽動，在於回河尤為順便，非獨孫村之功可成，澶州故道，亦有自然可復之理。望出臣前章，面詔大臣與本監及知水事者，按地形水勢，具圖以聞。

I have heard that when the Bian mouth was first opened, the great river went years without breaching, for the Bian diverted three-tenths of its flow while seven-tenths continued down the main channel. Since the Luo was guided in, the river has breached repeatedly year after year; though the Luo mouth diverts some of its water, the amount rarely exceeds one-tenth — leaving nine-tenths on the main course. Fortunately the current still trends northward, so breaches and floods have discharged to the north. Since last year it has gradually shifted southward — a cause for alarm — and the Luo mouth project must be reconsidered without delay. I submit that reopening the Bian mouth would require very little labor — unlike works on the great river, a channel of little more than a hundred paces would divert three-tenths of the flow, securing the capital's welfare permanently while easing the repeated breaches in Hebei; and once the current is drawn off, diverting the river becomes especially feasible — not only would the Sun Village project succeed, but the old course at Dazhou also has a natural tendency toward restoration. I beg that Your Majesty circulate my earlier memorial, instruct the chief ministers, this directorate, and those versed in hydraulic affairs to survey the terrain and water conditions, and submit detailed maps for the court's consideration.

不報。至五年十月癸巳，乃詔導河水入汴。

The court took no action. In the tenth month, on the guisi day of the fifth year, the court ordered the Yellow River diverted into the Bian Canal.

十一月，李偉言：「清汴導溫洛貫京都，下通淮、泗，為萬世利。自元祐以來屢危急，而今歲特甚。臣相視武濟山以下二十里名神尾山，乃廣武埽首所起，約置刺堰三里餘，就武濟河下尾廢堤、枯河基址增修疏導，回截河勢東北行，留舊埽作遙堤，可以紓清汴下注京城之患。」詔宋用臣、陳祐甫覆按以聞。

In the eleventh month, Li Wei submitted a memorial: "The Clear Bian draws the Luo through the capital and connects downstream to the Huai and Si rivers — a benefit for generations to come. Since the Yuanyou era it has repeatedly been in crisis, and this year the danger is especially acute. After surveying the twenty li below Wuji Mountain at a place called Shenwei Mountain, where the Guangwu sáo embankment begins, your subject proposes building a spur dike roughly three li long, dredging and reinforcing along the abandoned dikes and dry riverbed at the lower reach of the Wuji River, cutting the current so it runs northeast, and leaving the old sáo as a distant embankment — measures that would ease the danger of the Clear Bian pouring floodwater onto the capital. The court ordered Song Yongchen and Chen Youfu to reinvestigate the proposal and report back.

十二月甲午，戶部尚書蔡京言：「本部歲計，皆藉東南漕運。今年上供物，至者十無二三，而汴口已閉。臣責問提舉汴河堤岸司楊琰，乃稱自元豐二年至元祐初，八年之間，未嘗塞也。」詔依元豐條例。明年正月庚戌，用臣亦言：「元豐間，四月導洛通汴，六月放水，四時行流不絕。遇冬有凍，即督沿河官吏，伐冰通流。自元祐二年，冬深輒閉塞，致河流涸竭，殊失開導清汴本意。今欲卜日伐冰，放水歸河，永不閉塞。及凍解，止將京西五斗門減放，以節水勢，如惠民河行流，自無壅遏之患。」從之。

On the jiawu day of the twelfth month, Cai Jing, Minister of Revenue, memorialized: "This ministry's annual budget depends entirely on grain transport from the southeast. This year barely two or three tenths of the tribute goods due have arrived, yet the Bian mouth has already been closed. When questioned, Yang Yan, commissioner of the Bian River Dike and Bank Office, replied that from the second year of Yuanfeng through the early Yuanyou era — eight years in all — the channel had never been closed. The court ordered that Yuanfeng-era procedures be followed. On the gengxu day of the first month of the following year, Song Yongchen also memorialized: "During the Yuanfeng era, the Luo was diverted into the Bian in the fourth month and water was released in the sixth; the channel flowed without interruption throughout the year. Whenever ice formed in winter, officials along the river were ordered to break the ice and keep the water moving. Since the second year of Yuanyou, the channel has been closed each deep winter, drying up the river and defeating the original purpose of the Clear Bian project. We propose to choose a day to break the ice, release water into the river, and never close the channel again. When the ice thaws, release would be reduced only through the five sluice gates in western Jing, moderating the flow as on the Huimin River, so there would be no risk of blockage. The proposal was approved.

三年正月戊申，詔提舉河北西路常平李仲罷歸吏部。仲在元祐中提舉汜水輦運，建言：「西京、鞏縣、河陽、汜水、河陰縣界，乃沿黃河地分，北有太行、南有廣武二山，自古河流兩山之間，乃緣禹跡。昨自宋用臣創置導洛清汴，于黃河沙灘上，節次創置廣、雄武等堤埽，到今十餘年間，屢經危急。況諸埽在京城之上，若不別為之計，患起不測，思之寒心。今如棄去諸埽，開展河道，講究興復元豐二年以前防河事，不惟省歲費、寬民力，河流且無壅遏決溢之患。望遣諳河事官相視施行。」又乞復置汴口，依舊以黃河水為節約之限，罷去清汴閘口。

On the wushen day of the first month of the third year, Li Zhong, commissioner of the Ever-Normal Granaries for Hebei West Circuit, was dismissed and returned to the Ministry of Personnel. While serving as commissioner of Sishui transport during Yuanyou, Li Zhong proposed: "The territory along the Yellow River between Xijing, Gong County, Heyang, Sishui, and Heyin lies between the Taihang Range to the north and Guangwu Mountain to the south; since antiquity the river has followed this course between the two ranges, along the path traced by Yu the Great. Since Song Yongchen established the guide-Luo Clear-Bian system on the Yellow River's sandy flats and successively built the Guang, Xiongwu, and other dikes and sáo embankments, the project has repeatedly faced crisis over the past dozen years. Moreover, since these sáo embankments stand upstream of the capital, failure to devise another plan could bring disaster without warning — a prospect that chills the heart. If the sáo embankments were abandoned, the channel widened, and river-control measures from before the second year of Yuanfeng restored, annual costs would be saved, the people's burden eased, and the river would be free of blockage, breach, and overflow. I ask that officials experienced in river management be dispatched to survey the site and carry out the plan. He also requested restoration of the Bian mouth, with Yellow River water again serving as the regulatory limit, and abolition of the Clear Bian sluice.

四年閏二月，楊琰乞依元豐例，減放洛水入京西界大白龍坑及三十六陂，充水匱以助汴河行運。詔賈種民同琰相度合占頃畝，及所用功力以聞。五月乙亥，都提舉汴河堤岸賈種民言：「元豐改汴口為洛口，名汴河為清汴者，凡以取水於洛也。復匱清水，以備淺澀而助行流。元祐間，卻于黃河撥口，分引渾水，令自笧上流入洛口，比之清洛，難以調節。乞依元豐已修狹河身丈尺深淺，檢計物力，以復清汴，立限修浚，通放洛水。及依舊置洛斗門，通放西河官私舟船。」從之。帝嘗謂知樞密院事曾布曰：「先帝作清汴，又為天源河，蓋有深意。元祐中，幾廢。近賈種民奏：'若盡復清汴，不用濁流，乃當世靈長之慶。」布對曰：「先帝以天源河為國姓福地，此眾人所知，何可廢也。」十二月，詔：「京城內汴河兩岸，各留堤面丈有五尺，禁公私侵牟。」

In the intercalary second month of the fourth year, Yang Yan requested that Luo water be released, following Yuanfeng precedent, into the Great White Dragon Pit and the Thirty-Six Ponds in western Jing, filling storage basins to support transport on the Bian. The court ordered Jia Zhongmin and Yang Yan to survey the land involved and the labor required, and report back. On the yihai day of the fifth month, Jia Zhongmin, chief commissioner of the Bian River Dike and Bank Office, memorialized: "In Yuanfeng the Bian mouth was converted to the Luo mouth and the canal renamed the Clear Bian — entirely so that water could be drawn from the Luo. Clear-water reservoirs were also maintained to guard against shallow stretches and sustain the current. During Yuanyou, however, a breach was opened in the Yellow River to divert muddy water through bamboo sluices into the Luo mouth — far harder to regulate than the clear Luo. I request that the channel be restored to the width and depth repaired under Yuanfeng, that resources be calculated, dredging completed on a fixed schedule, and Luo water released through the Clear Bian once more. The Luo sluice gates should also be restored as before to allow official and private vessels on the western river to pass. The proposal was approved. The emperor once said to Zeng Bu, Director of the Bureau of Military Affairs: "The late emperor created the Clear Bian and the Tianyuan River for deep and deliberate reasons. During Yuanyou the projects nearly came to an end. Recently Jia Zhongmin memorialized: "If the Clear Bian is fully restored and muddy water abandoned, it will be a blessing of enduring fortune for our age. Zeng Bu replied: "The late emperor regarded the Tianyuan River as felicitous ground for the imperial surname — this is widely known. How could it be abandoned? In the twelfth month an edict declared: "On both banks of the Bian within the capital, a dike surface of one zhang and five chi shall be reserved on each side; public and private encroachment is forbidden."

元符三年，徽宗即位，無大改作，汴渠稍湮則浚之。大觀中，言者論：「胡師文昨為發運使，創開泗州直河，及築簽堤阻遏汴水，尋復淤澱，遂行廢拆。然後並役數郡兵夫，其間疾苦竄歿，無慮數千，費錢谷累百萬計。狂妄生事，誣奏罔功，官員冒賞至四十五人。」師文由是自知州降充宮觀。

In the third year of Yuanfu, when Huizong ascended the throne, no major changes were made; when the Bian canal silted up, it was simply dredged. During the Daguan era, critics charged: "When Hu Shiwen served as transport commissioner, he opened a straight channel at Sizhou and built spur dikes that blocked the Bian; the channel soon silted up again and the works were dismantled. Yet laborers were conscripted from several prefectures; thousands suffered, fled, or died in the process, and costs in money and grain ran to well over a million. Recklessly initiating the project, falsely reporting success, officials fraudulently rewarded numbered as many as forty-five. Hu Shiwen was demoted from prefect to a nominal palace-attendant post.

宣和元年五月，都城無故大水，浸城外官寺、民居，遂破汴堤，汴渠將溢，諸門皆城守。起居郎李綱奏：「國家都汴，百有六十餘載，未嘗少有變故。今事起倉猝，遐邇驚駭，誠大異也。臣嘗躬詣郊外，竊見積水之來，自都城以西，漫為巨浸。東拒汴堤，停蓄深廣，湍悍浚激，東南而流，其勢未艾。然或淹浸旬時，因以風雨，不可不慮。夫變不虛發，必有感召之因。願詔廷臣各具所見，擇其可采者施行之。」詔：「都城外積水，緣有司失職，堤防不修，非災異也。」罷綱送吏部，而募人決水下流，由城北注五丈河，下通梁山濼，乃已。

In the fifth month of the first year of Xuanhe, the capital was inundated without apparent cause, flooding official temples and private dwellings outside the walls; the Bian dike broke, the canal nearly overflowed, and every gate was manned in defense. Li Gang, Attendant of the Left, memorialized: "The dynasty has held its capital at Bian for more than one hundred and sixty years without ever suffering a disaster of this kind. That this should arise so suddenly, alarming the realm near and far, is truly extraordinary. Your subject went in person to the suburbs and saw the floodwaters spreading from west of the capital into a vast inundation. Blocked to the east by the Bian dike, the water pooled deep and wide, then surged turbulently southeastward with undiminished force. If the inundation lasts ten days or more, especially with wind and rain, the danger cannot be ignored. Extraordinary events do not occur without cause; there must be provoking factors behind them. I beg that the court summon ministers to submit their views and implement whatever proves useful. The court replied: "The flood outside the capital stems from official neglect and unmaintained dikes — not from a heavenly portent. Responsible officials were dismissed and referred to the Ministry of Personnel; hired laborers were set to cut a channel downstream, directing water from north of the city into the Wuzhang River and thence to Liangshan Marsh, after which the flood subsided.

七月壬子，都提舉司言：「近因野水沖蕩沿汴堤岸，及河道淤淺，若止役河清，功力不勝，望俟農隙顧夫開修。」從之。五年十二月庚寅，詔：「沿汴州縣創添欄河鎖柵歲額，公私不以為便，其遵元豐舊制。」

On the renzi day of the seventh month, the chief intendant's office reported: "Recent floodwaters have scoured dikes and banks along the Bian, and the channel has silted up; labor from Heqing alone would not suffice. We ask to wait until the farming slack season to mobilize workers for dredging and repair. The request was approved. On the gengyin day of the twelfth month of the fifth year, an edict declared: "New annual quotas for river-bar locks and fences imposed on prefectures and counties along the Bian have proved burdensome; the Yuanfeng regulations shall be restored."

靖康而後，汴河上流為盜所決者數處，決口有至百步者，塞久不合，乾涸月餘，綱運不通，南京及京師皆乏糧。責都水使者措置，凡二十餘日而水復舊，綱運遝來，兩京糧始足。又擇使臣八員為沿汴巡檢，每兩員各將兵五百人，自洛口至西水門，分地防察決溢雲。

After the Jingkang disaster, bandits breached the upper Bian in several places; some breaks reached a hundred paces wide. The breaches remained open for so long that the canal dried up for more than a month, transport ceased, and both Nanjing and the capital faced grain shortages. The Director of Water Affairs was ordered to remedy the situation; within twenty-odd days the water returned to normal, transport convoys arrived in succession, and grain supplies in both capitals were restored. Eight envoy-officials were also appointed as inspectors along the Bian; every pair, each commanding five hundred soldiers from the Luo mouth to the Xishui Gate, patrolled assigned sections to guard against breaches and overflows.

洛水貫西京，多暴漲，漂壞橋樑。建隆二年，留守向拱重修天津橋成。甃巨石為腳，高數丈，銳其前以疏水勢，石縱縫以鐵鼓絡之，其制甚固。四月，具圖來上，降詔褒美。開寶九年，郊祀西京，詔發卒五千，自洛城菜市橋鑿渠抵漕口三十五里，饋運便之。其後導以通汴。

The Luo River runs through Xijing and often floods violently, destroying bridges. In the second year of Jianlong, Xiang Gong, military commissioner of the western capital, completed reconstruction of the Tianjin Bridge. Massive stones were laid as footings several zhang high, their upstream faces angled to break the current; vertical joints were bound with iron hoops — a structure of great solidity. In the fourth month he submitted detailed plans and received an imperial commendation. In the ninth year of Kaibao, when performing the suburban sacrifice at the western capital, five thousand soldiers were mobilized to cut a canal thirty-five li from the Caishi Bridge in Luocheng to the transport mouth, easing supply transport. It was later connected to the Bian Canal.

蔡河貫京師，為都人所仰，兼閔水、洧水、潩水以通舟。閔水自尉氏歷祥符、開封合于蔡，是為惠民河。洧水自許田注鄢陵東南，曆扶溝合于蔡。潩水出鄭之大隗山，注臨潁，曆鄢陵、扶溝合于蔡。凡許、鄭諸水合堅白雁、丈八溝，京、索合西河、褚河、湖河、雙河、欒霸河皆會焉。猶以其淺涸，故植木橫棧；棧為水之節，啟閉以時。

The Cai River runs through the capital and supplies the city's needs, drawing together the Min, Wei, and Yi rivers for navigation. The Min River flows from Weishi through Xiangfu and Kaifeng to join the Cai — the Huimin River. The Wei River rises at Xutian, flows into southeastern Yanling, passes through Fugou, and joins the Cai. The Yi River rises on Da Wei Mountain in Zheng, flows to Linying, passes through Yanling and Fugou, and joins the Cai. The rivers of Xu and Zheng, together with the Jianbaiyan and Zhangba Ditches, and the Jing and Suo rivers with the Xi, Chu, Hu, Shuang, and Luanba rivers, all converge there. Because the channel was often shallow, wooden cross-bars were installed; these bars regulated the flow, opened and closed according to season.

太宗淳化二年，以潩水泛溢，浸許州民田，詔自長葛縣開小河，導潩水，分流二十里，合于惠民河。

In the second year of Chunhua, because the Yi River overflowed and flooded farmland in Xuzhou, the court ordered a small canal cut from Changge County to divert the Yi twenty li into the Huimin River.

仁宗天聖二年二月，崇儀副使、巡護惠民河田承說獻議：重修許州合流鎮大流堰斗門，創開減水河通漕，省迂路五百里。詔遣使按視以聞。五年八月，都大巡護惠民河王克基言：「先准宣惠民、京、索河水淺小，緣出源西京、鄭、許州界，惠民河下合橫溝、白雁溝、京、索河下合西河、湖河、雙河、欒霸河、丈八溝，各為民間裁水蒔稻灌園，宜令州縣巡察。」七年，王克基言：「按舊制，蔡河斗門棧板須依時啟閉，調停水勢。」嘉祐三年正月，開京城西葛家岡新河，以有司言：「至和中，大水入京城，請自祥符縣界葛家岡開生河，直城南好草陂，北入惠民河，分注魯溝，以紓京城之患。」

In the second month of the second year of Tiansheng, Tian Chengshuo, Vice Commissioner of Honored Ceremonies and patrol officer of the Huimin River, proposed rebuilding the Great Flow Weir sluice at Heliu Town in Xuzhou, opening a flood-reduction channel for transport that would shorten the route by five hundred li. The court ordered an inspection and report. In the eighth month of the fifth year, Wang Keji, chief patrol officer of the Huimin River, reported: "Because the Huimin, Jing, and Suo rivers run low — their sources lying in Xijing and the Zheng and Xu prefectures — local farmers divert water from the Henggou, Jianbaiyan Ditch, and from the Xi, Hu, Shuang, Luanba, and Zhangba rivers below the Jing and Suo for rice and irrigation. Prefectures and counties should be ordered to patrol and enforce the regulations. In the seventh year Wang Keji reported: "Under longstanding regulations, the plank gates on the Cai River sluices must be opened and closed seasonally to balance the flow. In the first month of the third year of Jiayou, the new Gejiagang Canal west of the capital was opened on officials' recommendation: "During the Zhihe era, floodwaters entered the capital; they proposed opening a channel from Gejiagang on the Xiangfu County border, running straight to Haocao Pond south of the city, then north into the Huimin River and branching into the Lugou — to ease flooding in the capital."

神宗熙寧四年七月，程昉請開宋家等堤，畎水以助漕運。八月，三班借職楊琰請增置上下壩閘，蓄水備淺涸。詔琰掌其事。六年九月戊辰，將作監尚宗儒言：「議者請置蔡河木岸，計功頗大。」詔修固土岸。八年，詔京西運米于河北，於是侯叔獻請因丁字河故道鑿堤置閘，引汴水入于蔡，以通舟運。河成，舟不可行，尋廢。十月，詔都水監展惠民河，欲便修城也。九年七月，提轄修京城所請引霧澤陂水至咸豐門，合京、索河，由京、索簽入副堤河，下合惠民。都水監謂：「不若於順天門外簽直河身，及於染院後簽入護龍河，至咸豐門南復入京、索河，實為長利。」從之。

In the seventh month of the fourth year of Xining, Cheng Fang requested opening dikes at Songjia and elsewhere to channel water and support grain transport. In the eighth month, Yang Yan, a provisional clerk of the Third Rank, requested additional upper and lower dam sluices to store water against shallow stretches and drought. Yang Yan was put in charge of the project. On the wuchen day of the ninth month of the sixth year, Shang Zongru of the Directorate of Palace Construction reported: "Some have proposed timber revetments along the Cai River, but the labor required would be considerable. The court ordered solid earthen banks built instead. In the eighth year the court ordered grain transported from Jingxi to Hebei; Hou Shuxian then proposed cutting sluices along the old T-shaped channel to draw Bian water into the Cai for shipping. The canal was completed, but boats could not use it, and the project was soon abandoned. In the tenth month the Directorate of Waterworks was ordered to widen the Huimin River to facilitate wall repairs. In the seventh month of the ninth year, the Capital Repair Office proposed diverting water from Wuzepo Pool to Xianfeng Gate, joining the Jing and Suo rivers and entering the secondary dike channel by a spur from the Jing and Suo, thence to the Huimin. The Directorate of Waterworks countered: "It would be better to cut a spur from the main channel outside Shuntian Gate and another behind the Dye Works into the Protect-the-Dragon River, rejoining the Jing and Suo south of Xianfeng Gate — a plan of lasting benefit. This proposal was approved.

廣濟河導菏水，自開封曆陳留、曹、濟、鄆，其廣五丈，歲漕上供米六十二萬石。

The Guangji River draws He River water from Kaifeng through Chenliu, Cao, Ji, and Yun; five zhang wide, it transported six hundred and twenty thousand shi of tribute grain each year.

太祖建隆二年正月，遣使往定陶規度，發曹、單丁夫數萬浚之。三月，幸新水門觀放水入河。先是，五丈河泥淤，不利行舟。遂詔左監門衛將軍陳承昭於京城之西，夾汴水造斗門，引京、索、蔡河水通城濠入斗門，俾架流汴水之上，東進於五丈河，以便東北漕運。公私鹹利。三年正月，遣右龍武統軍陳承昭護修五丈河役，車駕臨視，賜承昭錢二十萬。乾德三年，京師引五丈河造西水磑。

In the first month of the second year of Jianlong, envoys were sent to Dingtao to survey the route, and tens of thousands of laborers from Cao and Shan were mobilized to dredge the canal. In the third month the emperor visited the New Water Gate to watch water released into the canal. Previously the Wuzhang River had silted up with mud, impeding navigation. The court ordered Chen Chengzhao, general of the Left Gate Guard, to build sluice gates west of the capital flanking the Bian, drawing water from the Jing, Suo, and Cai rivers through the moat into the gates and lifting it above the Bian to flow east into the Wuzhang River, easing northeast grain transport. Both the government and private parties profited. In the first month of the third year, Chen Chengzhao, commanding general of the Right Dragon Martial Guard, was sent to supervise repairs on the Wuzhang River; the emperor visited in person and granted him two hundred thousand cash. In the third year of Qiande, the capital tapped the Wuzhang River to power the Xishui mill.

太宗太平興國三年正月，命發近縣丁夫浚廣濟河。

In the first month of the third year of Taiping Xingguo, laborers from nearby counties were mobilized to dredge the Guangji River.

真宗景德二年六月，開封府言：「京西沿汴萬勝鎮，先置斗門，以減河水，今汴河分注濁水入廣濟河，堙塞不利。」帝曰：「此斗門本李繼源所造，屢詢利害，以為始因京、索河遇雨即泛流入汴，遂置斗門，以便通泄。若遽壅塞，復慮決溢。」因令多用巨石，高置斗門，水雖甚大，而餘波亦可減去。三年，內侍趙守倫建議：自京東分廣濟河由定陶至徐州入清河，以達江、湖漕路。役既成，遣使覆視，繪圖來上。帝以地有隆阜，而水勢極淺，雖置堰埭，又曆呂梁灘磧之險，非可漕運，罷之。

In the sixth month of the second year of Jingde, Kaifeng Prefecture reported: "At Wansheng Town on the Bian in western Jing, sluice gates were installed to reduce the river flow; now the Bian pours muddy water into the Guangji River, and blocking the gates would impede drainage. The emperor replied: "These sluice gates were built by Li Jiyuan. I have repeatedly asked about their merits and drawbacks. They were originally installed because rain on the Jing and Suo rivers caused floodwater to pour into the Bian; the gates were meant to ease that discharge. To block them abruptly would risk fresh breaches and overflows. He therefore ordered larger stones used and the sluice gates set higher, so that even in heavy flood the surplus water could still be drawn off. In the third year, Palace Attendant Zhao Shoulun proposed branching the Guangji River from Jingdong through Dingtao to Xuzhou and into the Qing River, thereby reaching the grain routes of the Yangzi region and the lakes. When the work was finished, the court sent envoys to reinspect the project and submit maps. The emperor judged that the ground rose in mounds and the water was far too shallow; even with weirs and dams, the route would still have to pass the treacherous shoals at Lüliang and could not serve grain transport, so the project was abandoned.

仁宗天聖六年七月，尚書駕部員外郎閻貽慶言：「五丈河下接濟州之合蔡鎮，通利梁山濼。近者天河決蕩，溺民田，壞道路，合蔡而下，漫散不通舟，請治五丈河入夾黃河。」因詔貽慶與水官李守忠規度，計功料以聞。

In the seventh month of the sixth year of Tiansheng, Yan Yiqing, assistant director in the Ministry of Imperial Chariots, reported: "The Wuzhang River below joins Hechai Town in Jizhou and eases access to Liangshan Marsh. Recently the Tian River broke its banks, flooded farmland, and destroyed roads; below Hechai the waters spread so widely that boats could no longer pass. I ask that the Wuzhang River be dredged to join the Yellow River channel." The court then ordered Yan Yiqing and the waterworks official Li Shouzhong to survey the site, estimate labor and materials, and report back.

神宗熙寧七年，趙濟言：「河淺廢運，自此物賤傷農，宜議興復，以便公私。」詔張士澄、楊琰修治。八月，都提舉汴河堤岸司言：「欲於通津門汴河岸東城裏三十步內開河，下通廣濟，以便行運。」從之。八年，又遣琰同陳祐甫因汴河置滲水塘，又自孫賈斗門置虛堤八，滲水入西賈陂，由減水河注霧澤陂，皆為河之上源。九年，詔依元額漕粟京東，仍修壩閘，為啟閉之節。九年三月，詔遣官修廣濟河壩閘。元豐五年三月癸亥，罷廣濟輦運司，移上供物自淮陽軍界入汴，以清河輦運司為名，命張士澄都大提舉。七月，御史王植言：「廣濟安流而上，與清河溯流入汴，遠近險易較然，廢之非是。」詔監司詳議。七年八月，都大提舉汴河堤岸司言：「京東地富，穀粟可漕，獨患河澀。若因修京城，令役兵近汴穴土，使之成渠，就引河水注之廣濟，則漕舟可通，是一舉而兩利也。」從之。

In the seventh year of Xining, Zhao Ji argued: "The river has grown too shallow for transport to continue; goods are cheap and farmers suffer as a result. We should discuss restoring the route for the benefit of both the state and private trade." The court ordered Zhang Shicheng and Yang Yan to carry out repairs. In the eighth month, the directorate general for Bian River embankments proposed: "We wish to cut a canal within thirty paces inside the eastern city wall at Tongjin Gate on the Bian, linking it down to the Guangji to ease transport." The proposal was approved. In the eighth year, Yang Yan was again sent with Chen Youfu to build seepage ponds along the Bian. Eight hollow dikes were also placed at the Sunjia sluice gate so that seepage would enter Xijia Reservoir and, through the flood-reduction canal, feed Wuzhe Reservoir — all serving as upper sources for the canal. In the ninth year, an edict ordered grain shipments from Jingdong to resume at the original quota and directed that dams and sluice gates be repaired to regulate opening and closing. In the third month of the ninth year, the court dispatched officials to repair the dams and sluice gates on the Guangji River. On the guihai day of the third month in the fifth year of Yuanfeng, the Guangji Transport Directorate was abolished. Tribute goods were rerouted from the Huaiyang Army boundary into the Bian, and the office was renamed the Qinghe Transport Directorate, with Zhang Shicheng appointed as its director general. In the seventh month, Censor Wang Zhi argued: "The Guangji carries boats smoothly upstream, whereas the Qing route requires laborious upstream entry into the Bian. The difference in distance and difficulty is obvious, and abolishing the Guangji was a mistake." The court ordered supervisory officials to examine the matter in detail. In the eighth month of the seventh year, the directorate general for Bian River embankments reported: "Jingdong is fertile and its grain can be shipped by water; the only problem is that the river runs sluggishly. If, while the capital is being repaired, corvée troops near the Bian were made to dig out earth and form a channel, and Bian water were then led into the Guangji, transport boats could pass — a single project with a double benefit." The proposal was approved.

哲宗元祐元年，詔斥祥符霧澤陂募民承佃，增置水匱。又即宣澤門外仍舊引京、索源河，置槽架水，流入咸豐門。皆以為廣濟淺澀之備。三月，三省言：「廣濟河輦運，近因言者廢罷，改置清河輦運，迂遠不便。」詔知棣州王諤措置興復。都水監亦言：「廣濟河以京、索河為源，轉漕京東歲計。今欲依舊，即令于宣澤門外置槽架水，流入咸豐門裏，由舊河道復廣濟河源，以通漕運。」從之。

In the first year of Yuanyou, an edict ordered the Xiangfu Wuzhe Reservoir drained, leased out to civilians for cultivation, and supplemented with additional water storage. Outside Xuanye Gate, the Jing and Suo source rivers were again tapped as before, water was raised by trough frames, and the flow was directed into Xianfeng Gate. All of this was intended as a reserve against the Guangji's shallowness and sluggish flow. In the third month, the Three Departments reported: "Guangji River transport was recently abolished after critics spoke out and was replaced by Qinghe transport, which is roundabout and inconvenient." The court ordered Wang E, prefect of Dizhou, to arrange its restoration. The Directorate of Waterworks also reported: "The Guangji River draws its water from the Jing and Suo rivers and carries Jingdong's annual grain quota. To restore the old arrangement, trough frames should again be placed outside Xuanye Gate to raise water and send it inside Xianfeng Gate, and the Guangji's headwaters should be reopened along the former channel so that transport can resume." The proposal was approved.

金水河一名天源，本京水，導自滎陽黃堆山，其源曰祝龍泉。

The Jinshui River, also known as Tianyuan, was originally the Jing River. It was diverted from Huangdui Mountain in Xingyang, and its source is called Zhulong Spring.

太祖建隆二年春，命左領軍衛上將軍陳承昭率水工鑿渠，引水過中牟，名曰金水河，凡百餘里，抵都城西，架其水橫絕於汴，設斗門，入浚溝，通城濠，東匯於五丈河。公私利焉。乾德三年，又引貫皇城，曆後苑，內庭池沼，水皆至焉。開寶九年，帝步自左掖，按地勢，命水工引金水由承天門鑿渠，為大輪激之，南注晉王第。真宗大中祥符二年九月，詔供備庫使謝德權決金水，自天波門並皇城至乾元門，曆天街東轉，繚太廟入後廟，皆甃以礲甓，植以芳木，車馬所經，又累石為間梁。作方井，官寺、民舍皆得汲用。復引東，由城下水竇入於濠。京師便之。

In the spring of the second year of Jianlong, Taizu ordered Chen Chengzhao, senior general of the Left Army Guard, to lead waterworkers in cutting a canal. Water was brought past Zhongmou in a channel more than a hundred li long called the Jinshui River. Reaching the west of the capital, the flow was raised across the Bian by sluice gates, sent into the Jun ditch and the city moat, and finally joined the Wuzhang River to the east. Both the government and private parties benefited from it. In the third year of Qiande, the canal was extended through the Imperial City, passing the rear gardens and the ponds of the inner court until water reached them all. In the ninth year of Kaibao, the emperor walked out from the Left Flank Gate, surveyed the terrain, and ordered waterworkers to cut a canal from Chengtian Gate and lead the Jinshui through it. A great wheel was used to lift the water and send it south into the mansion of the Prince of Jin. In the ninth month of the second year of Dazhong Xiangfu, an edict ordered Xie Dequan, commissioner of the Provision Treasury, to open the Jinshui. From Tianbo Gate it ran along the Imperial City to Qianyuan Gate, turned east along Heavenly Street, and circled the Grand Ancestral Temple into the Rear Temple. The channel was paved with dressed brick and lined with fragrant trees, and where carts and horses crossed, stone piers were built to carry span bridges. Square wells were built so that government offices, temples, and private houses alike could draw water. The canal was then carried east again and, through culverts beneath the city wall, discharged into the moat. The capital greatly benefited from the arrangement.

白溝無山源，每歲水潦甚則通流，才勝百斛船，逾月不雨即竭。

Baigou had no mountain headwater. In years of heavy flood it could flow, but only enough to carry boats of a hundred hu; if more than a month passed without rain, it dried up.

至道二年三月，內殿崇班閻光澤、國子博士邢用之上言：「請開白溝，自京師抵彭城呂梁口，凡六百里，以通長淮之漕。」詔發諸州丁夫數萬治之，以光澤護其役。議者非之。會宋州通判王矩上表，極陳其不可，且言：「用之田園在襄邑，歲苦水潦，私幸渠成。」遂罷其役。咸平六年，用之為度支員外郎，又令自襄邑下流治白溝河，導京師積水，而民田無害。

In the third month of the second year of Zhidao, Yan Guangze, honored companion of the Inner Hall, and Xing Yong, doctor of the National University, submitted a memorial: "We ask that Baigou be opened from the capital to Lüliang mouth at Pengcheng, six hundred li in all, to connect transport to the lower Huai." The court mobilized tens of thousands of corvée laborers from the prefectures to carry out the work and put Yan Guangze in charge of the project. Critics at court opposed the plan. Then Wang Ju, vice-prefect of Song Prefecture, submitted a memorial strongly arguing that the project was impossible and adding: "Yong's fields and gardens lie in Xiangyi, where he suffers flooding every year; he privately hopes the canal will be completed for his own benefit." The project was thereupon abandoned. In the sixth year of Xianping, after Yong became assistant director of revenue, he was again ordered to dredge the Baigou River below Xiangyi to drain accumulated water from the capital without damaging farmland.

神宗熙寧六年，都水監丞侯叔獻請儲三十六陂及京、索二水為源，仿真、楚州開平河置閘，則四時可行舟，因廢汴渠。帝曰：「白溝功料易耳，第汴渠歲運甚廣，河北、陝西資焉。又京畿公私所用良材，皆自汴口而至，何可遽廢？」王安石曰：「此役苟成，亦無窮之利也。當別為漕河，引黃河一支，乃為經久。」馮京曰：「若白溝成，與汴、蔡皆通漕，為利誠大，恐汴終不可廢。」帝然之，詔劉璯同叔獻覆視。八月，都水監言：「白溝自濉河至於淮八百里，乞分三年興修。其廢汴河，俟白溝畢功，別相視。仍請發谷熟淤田司並京東汴河所隸河清兵赴役。」從之。七年正月，都水監言：「自盟河畎導汴南諸水，近者失於疏浚，為害甚大。」於是輟夫修治，而白溝之役廢。

In the sixth year of Xining, Hou Shuxian, vice-director of the Directorate of Waterworks, proposed storing water in thirty-six reservoirs and using the Jing and Suo rivers as sources. If sluice gates were built after the model of the Kaiping River in Zhen and Chuzhou, boats could travel year-round and the Bian canal could be abandoned. The emperor said: "The labor and materials for Baigou are easy enough, but the Bian canal moves a vast annual transport on which Hebei and Shaanxi depend. Moreover, the fine timber used by both public offices and private households in the capital region all comes through the Bian mouth. How can we abandon it so hastily?" Wang Anshi replied: "If this project succeeds, the benefit will be limitless. We should build a separate transport canal and draw off one branch of the Yellow River; only then will the arrangement be durable." Feng Jing said: "If Baigou is completed and transport is opened on the Bian and Cai as well, the gain would indeed be great, but I fear the Bian can never truly be abandoned." The emperor agreed and ordered Liu Yan to reinspect the project together with Hou Shuxian. In the eighth month, the Directorate of Waterworks reported: "Baigou runs eight hundred li from the Sui River to the Huai. We ask that the work be divided over three years. As for abandoning the Bian canal, that should wait until Baigou is finished and be reconsidered separately. They also asked that labor be supplied from the Gushu Silt-Farmland Office and from the river-clearing troops attached to the Jingdong Bian River office." The request was approved. In the first month of the seventh year, the Directorate of Waterworks reported: "The channels that guide the waters south of the Bian from the Meng River have recently gone without dredging, causing great damage." Labor was then halted, and the Baigou River project was abandoned.

初，王安石欲罷白溝、修汴南水利，帝曰：「人多以白溝不可為，而卿獨見可為？」安石曰：「果不可為，罷之誠宜；若可為，即俟時為之，何必計校人言也。」

Earlier, when Wang Anshi wanted to abandon Baigou and repair the waterworks south of the Bian, the emperor asked: "Most people say Baigou cannot be built, yet you alone think it can?" Anshi replied: "If it truly cannot be done, abandoning it would indeed be right; but if it can be done, we need only wait for the right moment to act. Why weigh every word of public opinion?"

徽宗政和二年十月，都水監丞孟昌齡言開浚含暉門外白溝河，開堰放水，仍舊通流。

In the tenth month of the second year of Zhenghe, Meng Changling, vice-director of the Directorate of Waterworks, reported that the Baigou River outside Hanhui Gate had been opened and dredged, its weirs opened to release water, and its former flow restored.

京畿溝洫：汴都地廣平，賴溝渠以行水潦。真宗景德二年五月，詔開京城濠以通舟楫，毀官水磑三所。三年，分遣入內內侍八人，督京城內外坊裏開浚溝渠。先是，京都每歲春浚溝讀，而勢家豪族，有不即施工者。帝聞之，遣使分視，自是不復有稽遲者，以至雨潦暴集，無所雍遏，都人賴之。大中祥符三年，遣供備庫使謝德權治溝洫，導太一宮積水抵陳留界，入亳州渦河。五年三月，帝宣示宰臣曰：「京師所開溝渠，雖屢鈐轄，仍令內侍分察吏擾。」

Canals and ditches of the capital region: The land around the Bian capital is broad and flat, and depends on canals and ditches to carry off floodwater. In the fifth month of the second year of Jingde, an edict ordered the capital moat opened for navigation and three official water mills demolished. In the third year, eight Inner Palace attendants were dispatched separately to supervise the dredging of canals inside and outside the capital's wards. Previously the capital dredged its canals every spring, but powerful families and great clans sometimes failed to carry out the work promptly. When the emperor learned of this, he sent envoys to inspect the work in separate districts. After that there were no further delays, and when sudden rains flooded the city the waters were no longer blocked; the people of the capital benefited greatly. In the third year of Dazhong Xiangfu, Xie Dequan, commissioner of the Provision Treasury, was sent to manage the canals, diverting accumulated water from Taiyi Palace to the border of Chenliu and into the Guo River in Bozhou. In the third month of the fifth year, the emperor told his chief ministers: "Although the canals opened in the capital have been repeatedly supervised, Inner Attendants should still be sent separately to watch for official harassment."

仁宗天聖元年八月，東西八作司與內殿承制、閣門祗候劉永崇等言：「內外八廂創置八字水口，通流兩水入渠甚利，慮所置處豪富及勢要阻抑，乞下令巡察。」從之。二年七月，內殿崇班、閣門祗候張君平等言：「准敕按視開封府界至南京、宿、亳諸州溝河形勢，疏決利害凡八事：一、商度地形，高下連屬，開治水勢，依尋古溝洫浚之，州縣計力役均定，置籍以主之。二、施工開治後，按視不如元計狀及水壅不行、有害民田者，按官吏之罪，令償其費。三、約束官吏，毋斂取夫眾財貨入己。四、縣令佐、州守倅，有能勸課部民自用工開治不致水害者，敘為勞績，替日與家便官；功績尤多，別議旌賞。五、民或于古河渠中修築堰堨，截水取魚，漸至澱淤，水潦暴集，河流不通，則致深害，乞嚴禁之。六、開治工畢，按行新舊廣深丈尺，以校工力。以所出土，於溝河岸一步外築為堤埒。七、凡溝洫上廣一丈，則底廣八尺，其深四尺，地形高處或至五六尺，以此為率。有廣狹不等處，折計之，則畢工之日，易於覆視。八、古溝洫在民田中，久已淤平，今為賦籍而須開治者，據所占地步，為除其賦。」詔令頒行。

In the eighth month of the first year of Tiansheng, the East and West Eight Works Offices, together with Inner Hall commissioner and gate attendant Liu Yongchong and others, reported: "Figure-eight water inlets have newly been installed in eight wards inside and outside the city, and joining the two streams into the canals has proved very beneficial. We fear obstruction by the wealthy and powerful at the sites chosen and ask that patrols be ordered." The request was approved. In the seventh month of the second year, Zhang Junping, honored companion of the Inner Hall and gate attendant, and others reported: "By imperial order we inspected the canals from the Kaifeng circuit boundary to Nanjing and the prefectures of Su and Bo and set out eight points on dredging, benefit, and harm. First: assess the terrain and its connected rises and falls, manage the water's force, and dredge along the ancient canal lines; prefectures and counties should calculate corvée evenly and keep registers to oversee the work. Second: after dredging is completed, if inspection shows that the work falls short of the original plan, or that water is blocked and farmland is harmed, the responsible officials shall be prosecuted and made to repay the cost. Third: officials must be restrained from collecting corvée laborers' goods and money for themselves. Fourth: county magistrates and assistants and prefectural prefects and vice-prefects who can urge their people to dredge with their own labor without causing flood damage shall have their service recorded as merit and, upon leaving office, be granted a convenient post near their home; those with especially great achievement shall receive separate commendation and reward. Fifth: when civilians build weirs and dikes in ancient river channels to trap water and catch fish, silt gradually accumulates; when sudden floods arrive the river cannot flow and great harm follows. We ask that this be strictly forbidden. Sixth: when dredging is finished, inspect the new and old width and depth in chi to verify the labor performed. The excavated earth should be piled one pace outside the canal banks to form dikes. Seventh: wherever a canal is one zhang wide at the top, its bottom should be eight chi wide and its depth four chi; on higher ground the depth may reach five or six chi. This should be the standard. Where widths vary unevenly, they should be calculated proportionally so that reinspection will be easier on the day the work is completed. Eighth: ancient canals lying in farmland that have long silted level and are now on the tax rolls but must be reopened should have their tax remitted according to the land occupied." An edict ordered these regulations promulgated.

神宗熙甯元年三月，都水監言：「畿內溝河至多，而諸縣各役人夫開淘，十才二三，須二三年方可畢工。請令府界提點司選官，與縣官同定緊慢功料，據合差夫數，以五分夫，役十分工，依年分開淘，提點司通行點校。」從之。二年閏十一月，詔以府界道路積水，妨民輸納，命都水監差官溝畎。元豐五年，詔開在京城濠，闊五十步，深一丈五尺，地脈不及者，至泉止。

In the third month of the first year of Xining, the Directorate of Waterworks reported: "Canals within the capital region are extremely numerous, yet each county mobilizes labor separately for dredging, completing only two or three tenths of the work and needing two or three years to finish. We ask that the Circuit Intendant Office select officials to work with county officials in setting urgent and routine labor estimates, assign corvée according to the required numbers, use five parts corvée for ten parts work, dredge by annual allotment, and have the Intendant Office inspect the whole effort." The proposal was approved. In the intercalary eleventh month of the second year, an edict noted that accumulated water on circuit roads was impeding tax delivery and ordered the Directorate of Waterworks to dispatch officials to open drainage channels. In the fifth year of Yuanfeng, an edict ordered the capital moat opened and dredged to a width of fifty paces and a depth of one zhang and five chi, stopping at spring water where the ground did not reach that depth.

徽宗大觀元年七月，以京城霖雨，水浸居民，道路不通，遣官分督疏導。是月又詔：「自京至八角鎮，積水妨行旅。轉運司選官疏導，修治橋樑，毋使病涉。」

In the seventh month of the first year of Daguan, prolonged rain in the capital flooded residences and blocked the roads, and officials were dispatched to supervise dredging in separate districts. That same month another edict stated: "From the capital to Bajiao Town, standing water impedes travelers. The transport commissioner should select officials to dredge the water and repair the bridges so that travelers are not put to hardship."

白河在唐州，南流入漢。太平興國三年正月，西京轉運使程能獻議，請自南陽下向口置堰，回水入石塘、沙河，合蔡河達于京師，以通湘潭之漕。詔發唐、鄧、汝、潁、許、蔡、陳、鄭丁夫及諸州兵，凡數萬人，以弓箭庫使王文寶、六宅使李繼隆、內作坊副使李神祐、劉承珪等護其役。塹山陻穀，曆博望、羅渠、少柘山，凡百餘里，月餘，抵方城，地勢高，水不能至。能獻復多役人以致水，然不可通漕運。會山水暴漲，石堰壞，河不克就，卒堙廢焉。

The Bai River lies in Tang Prefecture and flows south into the Han. In the first month of the third year of Taiping Xingguo, Cheng Neng, transport commissioner of the Western Capital, submitted a proposal to build a weir below Xiankou at Nanyang, turn the water into the Shitang and Shahe, join the Cai River, and reach the capital, thereby opening transport from Xiangtan. An edict mobilized corvée laborers from Tang, Deng, Ru, Ying, Xu, Cai, Chen, and Zheng and troops from various prefectures, tens of thousands in all, and put Wang Wenbao, commissioner of the Bow and Arrow Treasury, Li Jilong, commissioner of the Six Residences, Li Shenyou, deputy commissioner of the Inner Workshops, Liu Chenggui, and others in charge of the work. They cut through mountains and filled valleys, passing Bowang, Luoditch, and Shaotuo Mountain for more than a hundred li. After more than a month they reached Fangcheng, but the ground there was high and water could not be brought up to it. Cheng Neng again employed many laborers to raise the water, but transport still could not be opened. Then mountain floods suddenly rose, the stone weir was destroyed, the canal could not be completed, and the project was finally filled in and abandoned.

端拱元年，供奉官閣門祗候閻文遜、苗忠俱上言：「開荊南城東漕河，至師子口入漢江，可通荊、峽漕路至襄州；又開古白河，可通襄、漢漕路至京。」詔八作使石全振往視之，遂發丁夫治荊南漕河至漢江，可勝二百斛重載，行旅者頗便，而古白河終不可開。

In the first year of Duangong, Yan Wensun, presentation officer and gate attendant, and Miao Zhong both submitted memorials: "Open the eastern transport canal south of Jing, leading to Shizi mouth and into the Han River, and the grain route from Jing and the gorges to Xiang Prefecture can be connected; if the ancient Bai River is also opened, the grain route from Xiang and the Han to the capital can be connected as well." The court ordered Shi Quanzhen, commissioner of the Eight Works, to go inspect the site. Corvée laborers were then mobilized to dredge the Jingnan transport canal to the Han River. It could carry heavily laden boats of two hundred hu, and travelers found it quite convenient, but the ancient Bai River ultimately could not be opened.

三白渠在京兆涇陽縣。淳化二年秋，縣民杜思淵上書言：「涇河內舊有石翣以堰水入白渠，溉雍、耀田，歲收三萬斛。其後多歷年所，石翣壞，三白渠水少，溉田不足，民頗艱食。乾德中，節度判官施繼業率民用梢穰、笆籬、棧木，截河為堰，壅水入渠。緣渠之民，頗獲其利。然凡遇暑雨，山水暴至，則堰輒壞。至秋治堰，所用復取於民，民煩數役，終不能固。乞依古制，調丁夫修疊石翣，可得數十年不撓。所謂暫勞永逸矣。」詔從之，遣將作監丞周約己等董其役，以用功尤大，不能就而止。

The Sanbai Canal is located in Jingyang County in Jingzhao. In the autumn of the second year of Chunhua, Du Siyuan, a resident of the county, submitted a memorial stating: "Within the Jing River there was once a stone barrage that dammed water into the Bai Canal and irrigated the fields of Yong and Yao, yielding thirty thousand hu each year. Many years later the stone barrage failed, the Sanbai Canal carried too little water to irrigate the fields adequately, and the people faced real hardship in securing food. During the Qiande era, military adjutant Shi Jiye mobilized the people to build a weir across the river from fascines, wicker fencing, and pile timber, forcing water into the canal. The people living along the canal benefited considerably. Yet whenever summer rains brought sudden mountain floods, the weir was destroyed almost at once. Each autumn the weir had to be repaired with materials once again levied from the people. Wearied by repeated corvée, they could never make the structure hold. I ask that, following the ancient practice, corvée laborers be mobilized to build a layered stone barrage that could stand firm for decades. This is what people mean by a brief effort that brings lasting benefit." The court approved the proposal and dispatched Zhou Yueji, assistant director of the Directorate of Imperial Manufactories, and others to oversee the work, but the labor required proved too vast and the project was abandoned before completion.

選等使還，言：

When Xuan and his colleagues returned from their inspection tour, they reported:

周覽鄭渠之制，用功最大。並仲山而東，鑿斷岡阜，首尾三百餘里，連亙山足，岸壁頹壞，堙廢已久。度其制置之始，涇河平淺，直入渠口。暨年代浸遠，涇河陡深，水勢漸下，與渠口相懸，水不能至。峻崖之處，渠岸摧毀，荒廢歲久，實難致力。其三白渠溉涇陽、櫟陽、高陵、雲陽、三原、富平六縣田三千八百五十餘頃，此渠衣食之源也，望令增築堤堰，以固護之。舊設節水斗門一百七十有六，皆壞，請悉繕完。渠口舊有六石門，謂之「洪門」，今亦隤圮，若復議興置，則其功甚大，且欲就近度其岸勢，別開渠口，以通水道。歲令渠官行視，岸之缺薄，水之淤填，即時浚治。嚴豪民盜水之禁。

Having surveyed the Zheng Canal system in full, we find that restoring it would demand the greatest labor of all. It runs east from Zhong Mountain, cutting through ridges and hillocks for more than three hundred li along the mountain's base. Its banks have long since collapsed, and the canal has been filled in and abandoned for many years. When the canal was first built, the Jing River was level and shallow and flowed directly into the canal mouth. As the years passed, the Jing River cut deeper and deeper, its current falling lower and lower until it stood far above the canal mouth and water could no longer be brought in. Where the cliffs are steep the banks have been destroyed, and after so many years of neglect it would truly be hard to restore the work. The Sanbai Canal irrigates more than 3,850 qing of land in six counties — Jingyang, Liyang, Gaoling, Yunyang, Sanyuan, and Fuping. It is the source of their food and clothing. We ask that dikes and weirs be raised to strengthen and protect it. Of the 176 water-conserving sluice gates once installed, not one remains intact. We ask that all of them be fully repaired. At the canal mouth there were once six stone gates known as the Hong Gate, but they too have collapsed. Rebuilding them would require enormous labor. We would rather survey the nearby banks and open a new canal mouth to restore the watercourse. Canal officials should inspect the works each year and dredge or repair at once wherever banks are weak or channels silted up. The prohibition against powerful families stealing water should be strictly enforced.

涇河中舊有石堰，修廣皆百步，捍水雄壯，謂之「將軍翣」，廢壞已久。杜思淵嘗請興修，而功不克就。其後止造木堰，凡用梢樁萬一千三百餘數，歲出於緣渠之民。涉夏水潦，木堰遽壞，漂流散失，至秋，復率民以葺之，數斂重困，無有止息。欲令自今溉田既畢，命水工拆堰木置於岸側，可充二三歲修堰之用。所役緣渠之民，計田出丁，凡調萬三千人。疏渠造堰，各獲其利，固不憚其勞也。選能吏司其事，置暑于涇陽縣側，以時行視，往復甚便。

Within the Jing River there was once a stone weir a hundred bu long and a hundred bu wide, a mighty structure that held back the water and was called the General Barrage. It has long lain in ruins. Du Siyuan once petitioned for its restoration, but the work could not be brought to completion. After that only wooden weirs were built, requiring more than eleven thousand three hundred pile stakes each year, all supplied by the people living along the canal. Summer floods destroyed the wooden weirs almost at once, scattering the timbers downstream. Each autumn the people were mobilized to rebuild them, taxed again and again until the burden became unbearable and never ended. From now on, once irrigation is finished, water workers should dismantle the weir timber and store it on the bank, enough to supply two or three years of repairs. The people along the canal who perform corvée, assessed by field and household, number thirteen thousand men in all. Because dredging the canal and building the weir benefits everyone, they will not begrudge the labor. Capable officials should be chosen to manage the work, with an office established beside Jingyang County so that inspections can be made regularly and travel back and forth kept convenient.

又言：

They also reported:

鄧、許、陳、潁、蔡、宿、亳七州之地，有公私閒田凡三百五十一處，合二十二萬餘頃，民力不能盡耕。皆漢、魏以來，召信臣、杜詩、杜預、任峻、司馬宣王、鄧艾等立制墾辟之地。內南陽界鑿山開道，疏通河水，散入唐、鄧、襄三州以溉田。又諸處陂塘防埭，大者長三十里至五十里，闊五丈至八丈，高一丈五尺至二丈。其溝渠，大者長五十里至百里，闊三丈至五丈，深一丈至一丈五尺，可行小舟。臣等周行歷覽，若皆增築陂堰，勞費頗甚，欲堤防未壞可興水利者，先耕二萬餘頃，他處漸圖建置。

In the seven prefectures of Deng, Xu, Chen, Ying, Cai, Su, and Bo there are 351 tracts of public and private idle land totaling more than 220,000 qing — more than the people can fully cultivate. All were lands opened under systems established since Han and Wei times by Zhao Xinxin, Du Shi, Du Yu, Ren Jun, Sima the Lord of Xuan, Deng Ai, and others. Within the Nanyang region, mountains were cut through and channels opened to dredge river water and distribute it into Tang, Deng, and Xiang prefectures for irrigation. At various sites there are reservoir ponds and protective dikes; the largest run thirty to fifty li long, five to eight zhang wide, and one and a half to two zhang high. Their ditches and canals, the largest of them fifty to one hundred li long, three to five zhang wide, and one to one and a half zhang deep, can carry small boats. We traveled throughout and inspected the region on foot. Rebuilding every reservoir and dike would require enormous labor and expense. Where the dikes are still intact and waterworks can be restored, we propose first to put more than 20,000 qing under cultivation and gradually develop the rest.

時著作佐郎孫冕總監三白渠，詔冕依選等奏行之。後自仲山之南，移治涇陽縣。其七州之田，令選于鄧州募民耕墾，皆免賦入。復令選等舉一人，與鄧州通判同掌其事。選與亮分路按察，未幾而罷。

At that time Assistant Editorial Director Sun Mian was put in overall charge of the Sanbai Canal, and the court ordered him to carry out the recommendations submitted by Xuan and his colleagues. Later the administrative seat was moved from south of Zhong Mountain to Jingyang County. For the fields in those seven prefectures, Xuan was ordered to go to Deng Prefecture to recruit settlers to farm and reclaim the land, with all tax levies waived. Xuan and his colleagues were also ordered to recommend one person to manage the project together with the vice prefect of Deng Prefecture. Xuan and Liang conducted inspections by separate routes, but before long the arrangement was discontinued.

景德三年，鹽鐵副使林特、度支副使馬景盛陳關中河渠之利，請遣官行鄭、白渠，興修古制。乃詔太常博士尚賓乘傳經度，率丁夫治之。賓言：「鄭渠久廢不可復，今自介公廟回白渠洪口直東南，合舊渠以畎涇河，灌富平、櫟陽、高陵等縣，經久可以不竭。」工既畢而水利饒足，民獲數倍。

In the third year of Jingde, Lin Te, vice commissioner of salt and iron, and Ma Jingsheng, vice commissioner of revenue, described the benefits of the rivers and canals of Guanzhong and asked that officials be sent to survey the Zheng and Bai canals and restore the ancient system. The court then ordered Shang Bin, a doctor of the Chamberlain for Ceremonials, to travel on imperial commission to survey the works and lead corvée laborers in repairing them. Shang reported: "The Zheng Canal has long been abandoned and cannot be restored. From Jie Gong Temple we can return to the Hong mouth of the Bai Canal and run due southeast, joining the old canal to draw off the Jing River and irrigate Fuping, Liyang, Gaoling, and other counties. Over time the supply should not fail." When the work was finished the water supply was abundant, and the people reaped several times their former harvest.

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