Drawing Wisdom From Traditional Agriculture Irrigation Culture

Irrigation engineering heritage is a model of the sustainable utilization of ancient water conservancy projects. It carries the development history of irrigation technology and shows the wisdom of water control of different agricultural civilizations. It is a precious and unique cultural heritage. The protection, inheritance and utilization of irrigation engineering heritage around the world has important historical and cultural value and practical significance.

The World Irrigation Engineering Heritage List was established in 2014 to sort out the evolution of human irrigation history, excavate, collect and record the basic information of traditional irrigation engineering around the world, understand its main achievements and key characteristics, and summarize the history of sustainable irrigation. Experience and wisdom, protect, inherit and make good use of the heritage of irrigation projects. The list selects and publishes a batch of lists every year, which are divided into two categories: heritages that are still functioning as irrigation and heritages that can no longer function but still have "archive" value.

As of 2021, 8 batches of 121 irrigation engineering projects have been included in the World Irrigation Engineering Heritage List, distributed in 18 countries and regions including Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and Oceania. Water irrigation, groundwater irrigation, regional irrigation and drainage systems, traditional mechanical water-lifting well irrigation, and special field-type irrigation such as polders, terraced fields, and paddy fields (floating fields) have initially acquired a broad representation of traditional irrigation engineering technologies. For example, among the irrigation projects that have been successfully applied for, the Juju well irrigation project in Zhuji, Zhejiang, China, and the waterwheel irrigation facility in Iraq are the “living fossils” of water-lifting irrigation that are still in use today; the floating field irrigation project in Mexico is artificial An example of facility erection and irrigation and drainage to ensure agricultural production; the Ziquejie terraced fields in Xinhua, Hunan and the Kangban stone field irrigation system in Cheongsan Island, South Korea are the representatives of mountain agricultural irrigation; the karez in Iran and Morocco are examples of groundwater drainage in extremely arid regions. Typical of irrigation...

As a major irrigation country and an ancient agricultural country, China currently has 26 world irrigation engineering heritage sites, covering almost all types of irrigation engineering. The water control concept of Dujiangyan in Sichuan to adapt to local conditions and take advantage of the situation, and the experience of Zhengguo Canal in Shaanxi in diverting water, silt-irrigation improvement and remediation of saline-alkali land on sandy rivers, etc., have left a clear Chinese imprint in the history of the development of irrigation projects in the world.

In the protection, inheritance and utilization of irrigation engineering heritage, attention should be paid to the maintenance and repair work, so as to better continue its irrigation function and water conservancy life. For example, Dujiangyan retains the tradition of annual repair every year, which plays an important role for the entire water conservancy engineering system to give full play to its functional benefits in the next irrigation cycle. Irrigation engineering heritage protection should allow for necessary repairs and construction, but it is necessary to use traditional materials and techniques as much as possible to preserve historical information to the greatest extent possible.

Irrigation engineering heritage has unique historical, technological and cultural value. It is necessary to attach importance to the development of its social and cultural service functions such as science popularization, exhibition and education, and the concept of promoting sustainable development is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. For example, Dongfeng Weir in Jiajiang County, Sichuan Province, combined with the concept of irrigation canal protection, has been built into a World Irrigation Engineering Heritage Park. While providing people with a good place for leisure and tourism, it has also become an important platform for systematically popularizing the heritage value of irrigation engineering and local water culture.

It is also necessary to establish a protection system for the heritage of irrigation projects at the institutional level. For example, Ningxia Yinhuang Ancient Irrigation District, Zhejiang Huzhou Taihu Lugang, etc., on the basis of formulating and implementing heritage protection plans, also strengthened protection through special legislation of local people's congresses.

Irrigation culture is an important part of traditional Chinese agricultural culture. Protecting, inheriting and utilizing the heritage of irrigation projects, and drawing development wisdom from traditional irrigation agricultural culture, still has valuable value in contemporary times.