Zheng Guo (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

third century BCE) was a Chinese hydraulic engineer who lived towards the end of the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

. He is best known for designing the

Zhengguo Canal The Zhengguo Canal, Zhengguoqu or Chengkuo Canal (), named after its designer, Zheng Guo, is a large canal located in Shaanxi province, China. The canal irrigates the Guanzhong plain, north of Xi'an. Together with the Dujiangyan Irrigation Syst ...

, which was named after him.

Life

Zheng Guo was from the Han state. In the third century BCE, near the end of the

, the

Qin state Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted ex ...

in western China was making aggressive advances towards the other six major states in the east. The Han state, which shared borders with the Qin state, heard that the Qin state liked to carry out large-scale construction works and projects, so they sent Zheng Guo to persuade the Qin state to build a canal connecting the Jing and

Luo Luo may refer to: Luo peoples and languages *Luo peoples, an ethno-linguistic group of eastern and central Africa **Luo people of Kenya and Tanzania or Joluo, an ethnic group in western Kenya, eastern Uganda, and northern Tanzania. *** Luoland, th ...

rivers to irrigate the

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben basin within present-day ce ...

plain and boost agricultural productivity. The plan was actually meant to distract the Qin state and keep it busy, so as to prevent it from attacking the other states. During the construction phase, the Qin state discovered Zheng Guo's ulterior motive in asking them to build the canal, and wanted to execute him. However, Zheng Guo said, "I started as a spy working for the Han state, but once the canal is built, it is beneficial to the Qin state. Although I can prolong the Han state's existence by doing this, at the same time I am also helping the Qin state make a great achievement worthy of history." The Qin state agreed and ordered him to finish building the canal. Once completed, the canal and its irrigation works largely boosted agricultural productivity in the Qin state.Technological Change in Warring States China
/ref> In manga

Kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, he was referred as "The man who solved the Qin problem of flooding".

Life

References

Further reading