Lake Hongze
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Hongze Lake, previously known as Lake Hungtze or Hung-tse, is the fifth-largest freshwater lake in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Although it is known to have existed from antiquity, it drastically increased in size during the
Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
when the
Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...
then still flowing south of
Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
merged with the Huai. The increased sediment and flow combined to greatly expand the lake, swallowing the previous regional center of Sizhou and the Ming Zuling tombs. During the imperial and republican periods, the lake formed part of the border between
Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...
and
Anhui Anhui is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...
provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...
but since 1955 the previous borders have been shifted to place it entirely under Jiangsu's administration. It is now encompassed by the
counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of Sihong and Siyang in Suqian Prefecture and Xuyi and Hongze in Huai'an Prefecture. Since the establishment of the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, the lake has generally decreased in size as more of its inflow has been diverted for
irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...
.


Geography

Hongze Lake reaches an area of about 3 million mu when its depth reaches , Huai'an (5 Feb. 2018). making it the second-largest freshwater lake in Jiangsu and the fourth- SHLWSA (3 Sept. 2020). or fifth-largest in the country, behind lakes Poyang, Dongting, Tai, and Hulun. Hongze Lake's meandering shoreline usually runs around .


History

The area that now forms Hongze Lake was an inlet of the
East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...
about 2 million year ago before being closed in by sediment from the Huai and other nearby rivers. In Chinese antiquity, the area formed a number of shallow lakes collectively known as Fuling. Other nearby lakes at the time that later merged into Hongze were Nidun and Wanjia. The
hegemon Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states, either regional or global. In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' ...
Fuchai of Wu constructed the Han or Hangou Canal ''Hángōu''), connecting the lake system with
Yangzhou Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...
and the
Yangtze Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD), once known as the Shanghai Economic Zone, is a megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese, Wu-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, southern Anhui. The area lie ...
in 486 to improve the supply lines of his army in conflicts with Qi. Under the Han, Fuling was renamed Pofu Pond. Acting as part of
Lü Bu Lü Bu (; died 7 February 199), courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betrayed a ...
's faction, the Guangling administrator Chen Deng completed the first part of the Gaojia Weir ''Gāojiāyàn'') around the year Jian'an 5 (around 200), a massive 30- li embankment intended to protect nearby farmland and the Hangou Canal and nearby settlements and farmland from floods of the Huai. Huai'an (30 Jan. 2018). SHLWSA (7 Sept. 2020). Under the Sui, the Hangou Canal and lake were connected to other waterways north and south to create the Grand Canal. During an inspection tour in 616, Emperor Yang renamed Pofu Hongze in his delight at the rain that greeted his arrival there, the rest of the countryside having suffered a drought. When it further expanded under the Tang, it became known as Hongze Lake. A massive flood of the
Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...
redirected it south of
Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
in 1128 or 1194, following the course of the Si to join the Huai below Huaiyin. The silt from the Yellow River began to obstruct the flow of the Huai and started to expand Hongze still farther, ultimately quadrupling its original size. During this period, it became an important fishery and center of irrigated cropland. It still forms the origin point of the North Jiangsu Main Irrigation Canal. Under the Yuan, the course of the Grand Canal in the area was straightened to circumvent the lake. Under the
Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, founding emperor of the Ming dyna ...
, the first
emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
of the Ming
dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...
, the Ming Zuling garment tomb was built near the regional center Sizhou to honor his ancestors, whom he posthumously elevated to imperial status. Under his son the
Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Chengzu of Ming, personal name Zhu Di, was the third List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 142 ...
, the Gaojia Weir was further expanded, in part to protect the site. In Wanli 7 (c.1579), Pan Jixun enlarged and reinforced the weir with stone along its then of length. His mismanagement of the area's difficult hydrology allowed Sizhou to flood and threatened the tombs, leading to his demotion and dismissal. By the
Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
, the Yellow River had built up enough silt that it changed course again to merge with earlier tributaries of the Huai. In Kangxi 16 (), the viceroy of rivers Jin Fu ''Jìn Fǔ'', 16331692) extended the embankments from Zhouqiao to Jiangba ''Jiǎngbà''). A few years later in 1680, the increased silting produced enlarged Hongze Lake so much that it entirely consumed Sizhou and the Ming Zuling. The Kangxi and
Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...
s continued the expansion and reinforcement of the Gaojia Weir, reaching and completing the modern Hongze Lake Embankment. Altogether, from Wanli 3 () to Xianfeng 5 (), the Gaojia Weir and Hongze Embankment burst 140 times, involving breaches in 300 different sections. During the worst breaches, the lake level fell as much as . On one occasion in the 19th century, the Daoguang Emperor held the
Jiangnan Jiangnan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu ...
river supervisor Zhang Wenhao ''Zhāng Wénhào'', d.1836) in chains at the repair site for a month during repairs necessitated by his mismanagement of when the dams need to be closed and opened; he was then dismissed to serve in the
Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
border guards. For their part, local people made prayers and offerings to nine
dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...
''jiǔ lóng'') near Zhouqiao for protection; the
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
was lost in a flood. In the early 1850s, the massive floods of the Yellow River that occasioned the
Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...
restored the Yellow River entirely to its northern course, finally removing its inflow and siltation from the lake. Under the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, counties in Anhui that bordered the lake were ceded to Jiangsu in 1955 to allow unified administration of the lake. By the early 1960s, its water level had dropped enough that the stone statues of the Ming Zuling's sacred way were again visible along the shoreline. After the end of the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
, the provincial and national cultural preservation authorities excavated and restored the tombs, ultimately erecting a new embankment to protect it from any further flooding. In 1966, 1976, and 1985, the Hongze Embankment itself was reinforced and improved with more modern engineering and materials, particularly with additional barriers to break up the force of the rivers' and lake's waves against the levees.


References


Citations


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External links


Lake Hongze English guide
(Jiangsu.net) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hongze Lakes of Jiangsu Huai'an