16TuoshanyanIrrigationSystemBuiltbyWangYuanwei

1、Tuoshanyan Irrigation System Built by Wang YuanweiIn 833, the port of Mingzhou was quite a scene of hustle and bustle.Some were carrying goods from the ships, some were calling to sell fish, some were begging, some were fixing shoes, all raising a hue and cry.Moreover, some foreigners in exotic cost

2、umes were disembarking from the ships, chatting and laughing as if no one were nearby.An attendant-looking man was walking anxiously, avoiding the pedestrians as if looking for someone in a hurry.Suddenly, he saw the one he was looking for, his eyes lit up. A man called Wang Yuanwei was holding his

3、breath and concentrating on something.attendan”t wathlkeedYourExcellency, I ve beelnooking for you for quite a while andfinally found you here. What are you doing here?over and asked curiously.Wang Yuanwei seemingly didn htear him and kept observing something. The attendant steppedcloser and found h

4、im looking up and down at a piece of stone.The attendant didnt want to disturb him, thus stoodetblyy. qAuftier a while, he couldn het lp asking, “ YourExcellency, is there anythingIt s nothing more than anspecial about this stone?Wang Yuanwei smiled slightly and said, ordinary stone building up the

5、port, nothing special.It puzzled the attendant, and he was even more curious. “YourExcellency, such stones can be seen everywhere in the port. Why do you devote such a passion to it? Look at the port, what a place of prosperity!But you show no interest in it apart from this stone. I mso confused. ”s

6、aid the attendant.Though it s notshpinegcial, it functions marvelously. sa”id WangYuanwei.The attendant stuttered,Oh. this. Its too difficult to understSee? Wasn t it these stones that built up the prosperous port?Wang Yuanwei.The attendant suddenly comprehended. His simple words actually were a con

7、notation of the philosophy of life.The attendant looked at Wang Yuanwei with admiration. He was about to say something while Wang Yuanwei said, “Let s go and set out for Mingzhoufu City. ”Up the carriage they went. The carriage slowly ran to MingzhoufuCity. Wang Yuanwei lifted the curtain from time

8、to time to overlook thefields.Suddenly he exclaimed,Stop! ”The carriage stopped and Wang Yuanwei got off, walking to thefootpath of the fields. All he saw were the weeds running riot in theendless fields with a sorry sight everywhere.Wang Yuanwei asked with a puzzled expression on his face,Baras the

9、se farms are, they can be cultivated. Why are they just left unusedand idle? ”The attendant was born here. He explained zealously at once,Excellency may not know. These farms used to be fertile, but they arenear Yinjiang River and flooded every day, only to be sunk in the water.Thus, they became inf

10、ertile.Wang Yuanwei felt great pity, frowning. He said with a long sigh,What a pity. ”The carriage kept running, sighs given out by Wang Yuanwei nowand then.Outside the Mingzhoufu department awaited Wang Yuanwei and theattendant.leHncisyEisxcoeclcupied withA subordinate came out and said,his officia

11、l business and cant leave to meet you. He asked me to tell youthat Mingzhoufu City has just suffered a rainstorm. It caused great damage to a large amount of irrigation ditches. Please go ahead andOrders accepted. ”examine them. ”Wang Yuanwei bent and said politely,The subordinate left. The attendan

12、t said angrily, “ Your Excellency,he was bullying us! We came all the way enduring the hardship of such along journey, whereas they didnt show a little concern. Why?Wang Yuanwei smiled indifferently,Don t fuss. We came here to do10s go and take a look.something good for the civilians. Trifles like b

13、eing neglected individually are not worthy of mentioning. LetWang Yuanwei led the attendant to inspect around. They sometimes ran fast in the carriage, sometimes taking a slow walk, sometimes looking down to explore river ways, sometimes looking at the topography of the distant hillsides.Wang Yuanwe

14、i observed the Tuoshan Mountain. He discovered it was an ideal place to build an irrigation system. The attendant kept a watchful eye on Wang Yuanwei. Seeing him take on a smile on his face,he then said in a low voice,Your Excellency, you look confident. Youmust have found a solution.Clever you, ” s

15、aid Wang Yuanwei, we o“nlyYheasv, e to build anirrigation system here for good. It functions by holding back salt water,storing up fresh water as well as water diversion.The attendant was puzzled,That must cost a lot. Can t we simpconstruct a diversion canal?Wang Yuanwei said patiently,Repairing the

16、 diversion canal is not along-term policy. If a dam is built here, 70% of the water would flow into the river and 30% would flow into the sea during the drought while in the flood season 70% into the sea and 30% into the river. Thus, we could build it for good.However, the attendant worried, “ YourE

17、xcellency, this project is quite huge. Will the Mingzhou department approve? They drather notmeet us. ”Wang Yuanwei smiled and said,Dont worry. Ive got an idea.Inside the Mingzhoufu department, the prefect hosted a reception in honor of Wang Yuanwei. The prefect was drunk, breathing out the strong s

18、mell of wine. He glanced at Wang Yuanwei, observing him stealthilywhile speaking with a lisp,You endured tshoefhaalrodnsghijpourneyhere, whereas I was busy with official business, not receiving you at once.Would you blame me for that?Wang Yuanwei said sincerely, “ YourExcellency is quite occupiedwit

19、h work for the civilians day and night. I cant !aOdmn ire you morethe contrary, it msy first time here. I min need of Your Excellency sattention. ”The prefect smiled through half- closed eyes, “The pleasure is mine.As people s servant, its my duty to do so. You can count on me.The attendant stood by

20、 and helpedrefill the prefects cup from timeto time.Wang Yuanwei said, “ YourExcellency, close scrutiny has beencarried out after I received your order and Ive found a solution. It coube for good as long as we build an irrigation system on the TuoshanMountain. ”The prefect said, “ Verywell, very wel

21、l. It osver to you. ”fallingasleep onto the table and snoring loudly.The next day, the prefect had hardly woken when he received thereport from his subordinate,Wang Yuanwei had put uapmaansostice toworkers to build an irrigation system on Tuoshan Mountain.The prefect blew up,How dare he? Who gave hi

22、m such power?Your Excellency, Wang Yuanwei said he was given this power byyou last night,” said the subordinate.The prefect knew his own weakness was an addiction to alcohol. So he could only look on and sulk. Right after the subordinate left, he smashed the cup from his hand into pieces.The next da

23、y, the subordinate came to report that Wang Yuanwei led workers to set wooden geesedown on the Yinjiang River. The prefectYou didn t struggle to buildcommanded to summon Wang Yuanwei immediately with a grave smile.The prefect scolded at Wang Yuanwei, the irrigation system but led workers to set wood

24、en geese. What intention? ”Your Exclelency, we set wooden geese down on the Yinjiang Rivermainly to detect the trend of the water, s”aid Wang Yuanwei. Then he introduced the functions of wooden geese in detail.The prefect said exasperatedly,“ Idon ct are which way you use them. If you ca nt start an

25、d complete the construction on schedule, you are the one to blame.Laughing up his sleeve while displaying full courtesy, WangYuanwei said,Yes, Sir. Please be reassured.At Damei Mountain, Wang Yuanwei felt rather distressed and anxious because he had gotten lost. However, unexpectedly, he found amonk

26、 knocking a wooden fish alongside the pathway.The monk was Master Wu Chang.Benefactor, you just follow theflow and can surely get what you want,” said the Master.Wang Yuanwei hastenedot kneel down and said,Thanks for givingme the direction, Master!” as he had found a river down the cliff not faraway

27、 behind the Master Wu Chang. Families were based along theriverside.Wang Yuanwei came downstream to the families and ran into tenbrothers building a wooden bridge. They were highly skilled with cleardivision of labor.Wang Yuanwei said to them,Masters, I have one thing to ask. Webuild the irrigation system in Tuoshan Mountain but