Chapter 21

_PUBLIC WORKS_

Engineering works of old Emperors--Marvellous chiselled gorge above Tch'ang--Pa and Shuh kingdoms (= Sz Ch'wan)--The engineer Li Ping in Sz Ch'wan: his sluices still in working order after 2200 years of use--Chinese ideas about the sources of the Yang-tsz--The Lolo country and its independence--The Yellow River and its vagaries--Substitution of the Chou dynasty for the Shang dynasty-- First rulers of Wu make a canal--Origin of the Grand Canal-- Explanation of the old riverine system of Shan Tung--Extension of the Canal by the First August Emperor--Kublai Khan's share in it-- The old Wu capital--Soochow and its ancient arsenals--No bridges in old clays: fords used--Instances--Limited navigability of northern rivers--Various Great Walls--Enormous waste of human life--New Ts'in metropolis--Forced labour and eunuchs.