- Sunshu Ao
Sunshu Ao (孫叔敖) was an ancient Chinese court minister serving the administration of
Duke Zhuang of Chu during the reign ofKing Ding of Zhou (606 BC -586 BC ), during theEastern Zhou Dynasty . During his governmental career, Sunshu Ao was given notice by Duke Zhuang, who had him promoted to the rank ofPrime Minister in the State of Chu. Sunshu Ao was entrusted with many endeavors of the state, and because of a largedam ,reservoir , andirrigation project he had established, he is also credited as the first knownhydraulic engineer of China.Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 271.]Dams, reservoirs, and irrigation
Both the ancient historian
Sima Qian (in his "Shiji ") and the author of the "Huai Nan Zi" wrote of Sunshu Ao and his works. Their records state that Duke Zhuang had given Sunshu Ao the responsibility and oversight of the construction of a large river dam that would create an enormous planned reservoir for means ofagricultural irrigation. The erection of this dam flooded a flat valley in modern-day northernAnhui province (south ofShouxian City), the reservoir created spanning a circumference of 62 miles. Since Sunshu's time, this ancient reservoir accumulated tons of north-flowing water that came from the mountains north of theYangtze River, and supplied an irrigated area of some six million acres (24000 km²). In ancient times, the Chinese had called this reservoir the "Si-Si Bei", as well as the "Shao Bei" (Peony Dam ). Today, the large reservoir created thousands of years ago by Sunshu Ao still exists, known in modern times as theAnfeng Tang (Anfeng Reservoir).Subsequent Chinese authorities following the Zhou Dynasty repaired and maintained the dam that flooded the reservoir created by Sunshu Ao, such as the Chinese states of the
Han Dynasty (202 BC -220 AD ) era and theTang Dynasty (618 -960 AD) era.ee also
*
List of Chinese people
*Ximen Bao
*Canal
*Dyke
*Ab Anbar Notes
References
*Needham, Joseph (1986). "Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 3". Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
External links
* [http://www.icold-cigb.org.cn/icold2000/largedam.html Large Dams in China - with a description of Sunshu's dam]
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