Li Yizhi

On February 20, 1882, Li Yizhi, a pioneer of modern water conservancy construction in our country, was born.

character brief introduction

Li Yizhi (1882-1938), a famous association with the word Yizhi, was a native of Pucheng, Shaanxi Province. He was a famous water conservancy scientist in our country in modern times. In 1904, he entered the German preparatory class of the Beijing University College, and after graduating, he went to the German Royal University of Engineering to study civil engineering. After the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution, he resolutely returned to China. In 1913, he returned to Europe and inspected European water conservancy. After that, he applied to be transferred to Danze University in Berlin, specializing in water conservancy science and technology. After graduating and returning to China, he taught at the Nanjing Hehai Engineering College. After that, he served as director of the Shaanxi Provincial Government Water Conservancy Bureau, engineer of the Weibei Water Conservancy Engineering General Administration, director of the Shaanxi Provincial Education Department, chairperson and chief engineer of the Yellow River Water Conservancy Committee, member and chief engineer of the Huai Guidance Committee, president of Northwest University, He presided over the construction of Jinghui Canal, Luohui Canal, Weihui Canal and other projects, and advocated the water conservancy road engineering school and water conservancy laboratory. During his lifetime, he left a total of 188 monographs, papers, plans, proposals, reports, etc., which are still of practical significance.

mainly experienced

Li Yizhi was born into a progressive family: his father, Li Tongxuan, was a member of the Tongmeng Association. After the 1911 Revolution, he served as the deputy director of the Shaanxi Provincial Consultation Bureau, the general editor of the Provincial History Bureau, the first president of Xi'an Easy Book Club, and a playwright; his uncle, Li Zhongte, a mathematician, served as a Sichuan-Han railway engineer and the president of the Shaanxi branch of the Tongmeng Association.

In Li Yizhi's youth, the Qing government was fatuous and decadent, the imperialist powers invaded, the China people suffered from hardships, and the bourgeois democratic revolution surged. Influenced by his father's democratic revolutionary thoughts, he studied diligently and asked questions since he was a child, and his heart burned with the enthusiasm of worrying about the country and the people and saving the country scientifically.

At the age of 8, Li Yizhi started studying under his uncle's tutelage. At the age of 14, he came into contact with Western science and technology books such as "Nine Numbers General Examination" and "Western Learning Dacheng", and often read until late at night. At the age of 17, he was the first scholar in the same state capital, leaving behind the reputation of "young and knowledgeable, elegant". The following year, he was recommended to study at Chongshi Academy in Jingyang, Shaanxi Province, to study "Evolution" and other works, and wrote anti-feudal works such as "The Theory of Power" and "The Establishment of Shinto". In 1900, he entered the Sanyuan Hongdao School to study and became an alumnus with Yu Youren. In 1904, it was an extraordinary year in his life. In this year, Li Yizhi and his brother Li Yuechitong were recommended to enter the Capital University. Before leaving, his father Li Tongxuan wrote a poem, "Who has not died in life since ancient times, and it is most shameful to stay in a fool and weak, a finch and a mouse can return to their teeth when they are about to, and a man with a strange air", sending a message that he would devote himself to learning, temper himself, and serve the motherland after learning.

At that time, the Beijing-Han railway had not been completed, so the brothers had to hire a carriage to travel on the road. They traveled for half a month until Shandong Province. After the exam, he was admitted to the preparatory German class with all honors. He immersed himself in his studies, and every time he was assessed in the class, he was at the top. He wrote in a letter to his father: "My son's ambition is to become famous for philosophy for life, and to study engineering for his daily livelihood." In the Beijing University, he studied indignantly and covered a wide range of fields. For five whole summers and winters, he did not return home once. In 1906, the brothers joined the Tongmeng Association together. Since their father and uncle were members of the Tongmeng Association and made contributions to the 1911 Revolution, they were praised as "a family of four, two revolutionaries" at that time.

In 1909, Li Yizhi graduated from Capital University and was awarded the title. In July of the same year, dispatched by the Xitong Railway Preparatory Office, Li Yizhi cut off her hair and went to the Civil Engineering Department of Berlin Technical University in Germany to study hard railway and water conservancy. After some time, the professor of the Department of Civil Engineering had to look at him with new eyes, because this young man from the East, who was simply dressed, always ranked first and second in all subjects.

During his study abroad in Germany, Li Yizhi invited his classmates to visit the Giant Mountain Hydropower Station near Berlin during his vacation. They hiked 60 or 70 miles of mountain roads every day, walking all over the reservoir area, and inspected the architectural characteristics of the reservoir and the various facilities of the hydropower station in detail. Looking at this modern water conservancy project, he felt the heavy responsibility on his shoulders when he remembered the dry wells in his hometown and the sad faces of his parents and villagers who prayed for rain. We also have the Yangtze River and the Yellow River in China, and the Weihe River and the Luohe River in our hometown. Why can't we use these rich water resources to benefit the people? He studied without sleep or food, and determined to make China's "railways extend in all directions and water conservancy projects spread all over the country" in the future.

On October 10, 1911, the Wuchang Uprising broke out. He "not only thought about the danger of the motherland, but also thought about the difficulties of his family", so he resolutely left Germany and returned to China to participate in the revolution.

In 1913, after studying water conservancy in Europe, he entered the Denze University of Engineering in Germany to study water conservancy. The sense of urgency in his hometown to treat drought and change the backward situation of water conservancy made him study harder. For the next two years, he did not take vacations or travel. After class, he plunged into the laboratory or library to look up water conservancy-related materials.

He went to Germany to study twice, and his academic performance was among the best and he had no problem getting a degree. But in order to save money for the country, he did not get his degree twice. He said, I came all the way to Germany to study, seeking knowledge, not a degree. The degree is of no use to me. Moreover, I am a public-funded student, and the money we use is given by the people. If we can save a penny, we can't waste it. Hard study laid a solid foundation for him to use the knowledge he had learned to save the country and the people in the future.

In 1915, after he returned from Germany, the political situation in Shaanxi was unstable and the financial difficulties were difficult, so it was impossible to build water conservancy. It happened that Zhang Jian, the champion of the late Qing Dynasty, an industrialist, and the president of the National Water Conservancy Bureau, decided to establish a special school for river and sea engineering in Nanjing. After hearing the news, Li Yizhi greatly appreciated Zhang Jian's foresight in running the school. He believes: "China is so big and has abundant water resources, but due to the corruption and incompetence of the government, the abundant water resources are not well used. On the contrary, disasters have occurred year after year. Floods are frequent in some places, and droughts occur in some places." In this regard, Li Yizhi said: "To manage rivers and build a great cause of water conservancy, we must first cultivate specialized talents." On March 2, Li Yizhi was appointed as the provost of Nanjing Hehai Engineering College, the first higher water conservancy institution in our country. Since then, he has taught in Hehai for 7 years and trained more than 200 backbone scientific and technological experts in our country's modern water conservancy industry, including Song Xishang, Sha Yuqing, Wang Huzhen, etc., and has done a lot of pioneering work for modern water conservancy education.

To set up education, teacher textbooks are the key. Li Yizhi hired Mao Yisheng as a professor and Zhu Kezhen to give lectures. He personally taught many courses and was often busy late into the night preparing lessons. At that time, very few books on water conservancy were published in China, and most of the textbooks used in universities were original versions of Europe and America. Not only were some content incompatible with national conditions, but it was also inconvenient for students to learn. In order to solve the problem of lack of textbooks, Li Yizhi wrote textbooks such as "Hydraulic Engineering","Hydraulics","Hydraulic Experiment", and "Theory of Tides" by himself.

Under the advocacy and example of Li Yizhi, Hehai has written some teaching materials one after another, which not only meet the needs of teaching, but also spread widely in the society. At present, many proper terms in water conservancy science were pioneered by Li Yizhi during this time. When he taught water conservancy knowledge, he not only paid attention to introducing foreign advanced science and technology, but also attached importance to summarizing the rich water control experience of the ancient working people in our country and teaching it to students. He believes that the remarks of famous river administrators in the past dynasties are quite reasonable, and there are many advantages. If the experience of the ancients can be refined, and then combined with the newly learned water conservancy science knowledge, we can grasp the specific water conservancy practice in our country macroscopically. In the early days of running a school, he also made models of water conservancy projects in various places for intuitive teaching. In order to make up for the lack of a laboratory, he led the students to Nanjing Railway Station, entered the factory, and taught on the spot, so that the students could see at a glance.

In 1913, Li Yizhi initiated the establishment of my country's first non-governmental academic group-China Hydraulic Engineering Society. This was the predecessor of China Hydraulic Engineering Society. As everyone expected, Li Yizhi was elected president of all previous societies until his death. During his tenure as president of China Hydraulic Engineering Society, Li Yizhi presided over the establishment of the journal "Journal of Water Conservancy" to widely disseminate water conservancy science and technology. In addition, he also serves as the host or main contributor of "Water Conservancy Magazine","Hehai Monthly","Yellow River Water Conservancy Monthly","Huaihe Steering Committee Monthly","Shaanxi Water Conservancy Monthly" and other publications.

In 1917, severe floods occurred in North China, and river systems such as the Yongding River, the North Canal, the Ji Canal, the Zuma River, and the Hutuo River flooded one after another. Outside the flood, hardly a single intact building survived. The entire disaster area was a vast ocean, with countless casualties. After the water receded, plagues broke out everywhere. The situation was very tragic and Mr. Li Yizhi was very sad. Regardless of the epidemic, he personally led his students to Hebei to investigate the work situation and disaster situation. It took half a year to survey the five major rivers and Haihe River that were affected by the disaster, and obtained many precious first-hand information. Li Yizhi attaches great importance to cultivating students 'patriotic thoughts and moral conduct in running schools. During teaching in Hehai, he often told students stories about ancient China water conservancy experts to inspire their patriotism. He said that in ancient times, there were many engineers who governed the country. King Dayu was a water conservancy engineer. He saved China from the water. Li Yizhi educates students to "do big things, not to be high officials, be practical in everything, and not to strive for false fame.""Young people studying engineering should have a willingness to benefit the people and develop what they have learned day by day when they are in school. Always think of how to make the general people benefit from me."

In a speech to students, he said, "The water conservancy industry is deeply related to the national economy and people's livelihood..." Then he added, "May you all work hard, embrace others and indulge yourself in your arms. If you have any doubts, you must ask questions. Don't be shy!" Mr. Li Yizhi's words deeply touched the hearts of the students. Many of these students later dedicated themselves to water conservancy and became pillars of China's water conservancy history.

In 1932, in order to meet the needs of water conservancy construction in Guanzhong, he founded the Shaanxi Water Conservancy Specialized Class, taught in person, hired famous scholars, and formulated a strict teaching plan.

In 1933, the earliest modern water conservancy research institution "China's First Hydraulic Laboratory" (now the China Academy of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Sciences) and the first water conservancy academic society - the China Society of Hydraulic Engineers were established in Tianjin. During his tenure as chairperson of the Water Conservancy Committee of the Basin, Li Yizhi presided over the formulation of the Haihe, Yellow, Huaihe and Yangtze River root treatment plans; the construction plan of the Oriental Port in Bohai Bay, and the reconstruction plan of the Zhejiang Seapond.

In 1935, with the support of Yu Youren, Shao Lizi, and Xin Shuzhi, the water conservancy class moved to Wugong and changed to the water conservancy group of the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry College. He often traveled between Wugong in Xi'an and personally gave lectures on the stage. Soon, the water conservancy group developed into the water conservancy department. Over the past 70 years, the Northwest Agricultural College has developed into Northwest A & F University, cultivating a large number of water conservancy talents for our country.

In 1937, he served as a member of the Senate of the National Academia Sinica, a director of the Sino-American Engineers Association, and an honorary professor of Tsinghua University.

On March 8, 1938, he died in Xi'an and was buried beside the Zhengguo Canal in Jingyang County, Shaanxi Province.

Main achievements

¡ñ Founder of modern water conservancy in Shaanxi

In 1922, Li Yizhi left Nanjing and returned to Shaanxi to serve as director of the Provincial Water Conservancy Bureau and chief engineer of the Weibei Water Conservancy Bureau. On the difficult and tortuous road, he really began his career in building water conservancy. After returning to Shaanxi, he actively recruited talents, obtained the support of the Shaanxi Army Survey Bureau, organized the survey and design of the Yanjing Irrigation Project, and completed two design plans by 1924. However, due to the obstruction of Governor Qi Zhenhua, funds were not available, and construction could not be started until 1927.

There was a severe drought in Guanzhong in 1929, and the calls for water conservancy construction became louder and louder. In 1930, Yang Hucheng was governor of Shaanxi and served as provincial chairman. Li Yizhi was recalled as a member of the provincial government and director of the Construction Department. Only then did his Jingjing diversion plan be implemented. All parties raised funds and started construction in 1930. By June 1932, the first phase of the project was completed and provided water, which could irrigate 500,000 acres of land. In 1935, the second phase of the project was completed and irrigation was expanded to 650,000 acres.

The completion of the Jinghui Canal benefited, becoming a model of modern water conservancy projects in China at that time, writing a glorious page in the history of water conservancy in our country. After the completion of the Jinghui Canal, Li Yizhi resigned as the director of the Construction Department and served as the director of the Provincial Water Conservancy Bureau to concentrate on the implementation of his grand plan to build "Guanzhong Bahui".

In 1933, Li Yizhi ordered people to survey Weihui Canal, and completed the design in 1934. He decided to dam and divert water from Weijiabao, Meixian County, and irrigate 600,000 mu of farmland in Wugong, Xingping, Xianyang and other counties. Construction started in the spring of 1935, and the canal became water in December 1936, and the first irrigation was 300,000 mu. In 1936, Meihui Canal in Meixian County started construction, and it was completed in June 1938. 300,000 mu of irrigation. In 1937, the rice fat Zhinu Canal in northern Shaanxi also started construction one after another. In addition, Li Yizhi also went to southern Shaanxi and northern Shaanxi to investigate and planned the Han Huiqu, Baohui Canal and the Ding (Wuding River) Huiqu in southern Shaanxi. By the death of Li in 1938, Jingwei Luomei Four Canals had begun to take shape, with 1.80 million mu of irrigation land, and initially realized the "Zheng Bai Wish".

Pioneer of modern scientific management of the Yellow River

In 1933, Li Yizhi was ordered to establish the Yellow River Water Conservancy Commission and became the first chairman. In August, the Yellow River burst and flooded. The National Government established the Yellow River Flood Relief Association in Nanjing. Li actively organized flood control and rescue operations to relieve victims. In 1934, he made a long journey to inspect the upper reaches of the Yellow River. In the same year, the Yellow River burst its mouth in Guantai, and he organized emergency rescue operations. In 1935, the Yellow River burst its mouth again in Dongzhuang, Zhen County, Shandong Province, and he was ordered to build an additional golden embankment. In the past two years, he has also inspected the Yellow River, Qinhe River, Bulao River, Weishan Lake, and canals, studied and accepted the project of crossing and blocking the bridge, supervised the construction of golden embankments, and returned to Shaanxi to inspect and guide water conservancy projects. He was exhausted. During his work in the Yellow River Commission, Kong Xiangrong, a member of Kong Xiangxi's family, served as vice chairman. He presided over the blockages and took the opportunity to plunder people's wealth. All major decisions were based on divination and believed in the "Four Kings of Golden Dragons." Li said angrily: "Use holes to manage money and use holes to control water. Water and wealth must flow out of that hole." Therefore, he resigned and returned to Shaanxi.

Li Yizhi was born on the Loess Plateau and traveled up and down the Yellow River. He conducted in-depth investigation and research on the experience and lessons of the Yellow River management in my country in past dynasties, proposed a scientific river management strategy, and wrote more than 40 articles. As Comrade Qian Zhengying, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former Minister of the Ministry of Water and Electricity, said: "Li Yizhi has taken a big step forward in my country's theory and strategy for controlling the Yellow River, which is still of practical significance to this day."

¡ñ Pioneering in modern soil and water conservation

Although Li Yizhi does not use the terms soil erosion and soil conservation in his works, he uses "soil erosion","soil goes with water", and "preventing erosion and smoothing runoff" to communicate the meaning. Taking the radical cure of sediment as the basis for controlling the Yellow River, incisive views, measures and methods on soil and water conservation are put forward. There are four main points: First, he understood the three main methods of soil erosion, namely wind, water, gravity erosion, and fortification due to hazards; second, from the perspective of land use, he proposed to control sloping farmland, cultivate forests, widely plant alfalfa, and improve saline-alkali waste ditches and beaches; third, in terms of management methods, fortification is carried out layer by layer, and management is carried out layer by layer from slopes, ditches, rivers and beaches; fourth, in terms of sediment utilization, he proposed protection (on-site water storage and soil conservation), blocking (dam and reservoir blocking silting), drainage (flood drainage and sand), and silting (diversion of flood and silting). It laid the theoretical foundation for soil and water conservation in my country and became a pioneer in soil and water conservation work in modern China.

Tomb of Li Yizhi

Li Yizhi's tomb is located in the village behind the temple in Wangqiao Township, Jingyang County, 30 kilometers north of Xianyang City. It covers an area of about 1.3 hectares and is listed as a key cultural relics protection unit in Shaanxi Province. The tomb sits north and faces south, with a bottom circumference of 36 meters and a height of 2 meters. After his death in 1938, as many as 10,000 people attended the memorial service in Xi'an. When the coffin was transported to the Jingyang cemetery, 5,000 local people were buried in tears. The Nationalist government issued a special order to praise him, saying that he was "deeply pure in moral tools, exquisite in water conservancy, and initiated the establishment of a river-sea engineering school at an early age, which was very successful. Recently, the construction of the canal, the Junhe River, and the guide transportation, etc., has been particularly hard-working and has achieved great results." Ta Kung Pao published a short comment, saying: "Mr. Li is not only a water conservancy expert, but also a model scholar with a noble personality. He has been diligent in studying and governing all his life, burning with the enthusiasm of patriotism and loving the people. Some are public and selfless, and some are selfless." In 1982 and 1993, on the 100th and 110th anniversaries of Mr. Li Yizhi's birth, commemorative activities were held in Beijing and Shaanxi respectively. During the 29th International Hydraulics Congress in September 2001, he was regarded as the first pioneer of modern water conservancy science and technology in Asia, and was highly praised by Chinese and foreign scholars.

Yu Youren wrote an elegiac couplet for Li Yizhi in handwriting: "Special merits entered the river canal early, and the house is still a water bamboo residence", inscribed on both sides of the gate of the cemetery. The whole cemetery is lush and cypress, solemn and quiet. On the occasion of the 110th anniversary of Li Yizhi's birth in 1992, the Li Yizhi statue built by various units and people such as the China Water Conservancy Society stood in the middle of the cemetery. The Li Yizhi Memorial Hall was completed and opened in 2012. It is a water conservancy professional memorial hall built to commemorate Mr. Li Yizhi, the pioneer of modern water conservancy in our country, and to promote the long-standing water conservancy culture. It is also the only water conservancy professional memorial hall in Shaanxi Province and the first water conservancy professional museum.

Many years have passed, but the people in Guanzhong have not forgotten this master of water conservancy who worked hard and made selfless contributions to the people. Every Qingming Festival and Li Yizhi's birthday, a large number of people will spontaneously come to pay homage. During an interview here, the reporter met a farmer and his friend in Jingyang County. The farmer introduced Li Yizhi's deeds to his friend. He said emotionally: "Agriculture in Guanzhong can be so developed and the lives of farmers in Guanzhong can be so rich. It is all thanks to Mr. Li Yizhi's credit. The people in Guanzhong will never forget him.¡»

Guanzhong Bahui Canal

Li Yizhi has personally designed or directed the construction of Luohui Canal, Weihui Canal, Heihui Canal, Fenghui Canal, Qihui Canal, Ba Hui Canal, etc. These channels are combined with Jinghui Canal and are called "Guanzhong Ba Hui Canal".

Shaanxi's "Bahui" is the collective name of eight irrigation projects that divert rivers such as Jingshui, Weishui and Luoshui. All funding for the project of "Bahui" in Shaanxi comes from donations from overseas Chinese and is built on a work-in-relief basis. The largest of the "Bahui" projects is the Jinghui Canal. The head of the canal is at the upstream of the Zhengguo Canal where the Zhangjiashan Jingshui flows out of the canyon. The main hub projects include the barrage and the left bank intake gate. The dam type is a gravity dam with a length of 68 meters and a height of 9.2 meters, with overflow at the top of the dam. The inlet section of the main canal is a non-pressure diversion tunnel, which is connected to an open channel. The first phase of the project was completed in 1932, irrigating a total of 40,000 hectares of farmland in Jingyang, Sanyuan, Gaoling, Lintong, and Liquan counties. Jinghui Canal is the first irrigation project built in China using modern water conservancy engineering technology and the largest irrigation project in the first half of the 20th century.

Following the Jinghui Canal, the construction of the Luohui Canal began in 1934. The water diversion port of Luohui Canal is about the area of Longshou Canal in the Western Han Dynasty. The type of hub project is similar to that of Jinghui Canal, but the scale of the barrage is larger: the dam is 150 meters long and 16.2 meters high. Among the buildings in the Luohui Canal system, there are many tunnels and aqueducts. Among them, the No. 5 Tunnel passing through Tielianshan Mountain is 3027 meters long.

In 1935, the Weihui Canal, which led to Weishui, began to be built, with a barrage of 450 meters long and 3.2 meters high. Among the canal structures in Weihui Canal, the aqueduct across the Qishui River is the largest, with a length of 72 meters. The canal was completed in 1937, with an irrigation area of more than 10,000 hectares. After the completion of the three canals of Jing, Luo and Wei, the benefits were significant. Since then, the irrigation areas of the tributaries south of the Weihe River have successively built Meihui Canal, Heihui Canal, Waterlogged Canal, Fenghui Canal and Shihui Canal, which together with the first three canals are called "Guanzhong Bahui".