among the stones decreased the pace of the river. The linkages and
accumulation of bamboo stone barrels made the dike a solid and intact
construction of civil engineering for more than 2000 years. Since the Tang
Dynasty (AD 618–907), villagers in the Dujiangyan region maintained the
system.
Scholars argue that the success of Dujiangyan reflected traditional wisdom
of ‘learning from nature’. Li Bing, the major architect of Dujiangyan, lacked
knowledge of modern civil engineering. What inspired him was the Taoist
principle of coexistence between human beings and the environment. The
ultimate goal of dike construction was to preserve natural resources, instead of
destroying the environment for the purpose of human survival. The system’s
particular function of flow regulation has realized the goal of ‘management of
drought and flood’ (Shuihan congren) in the Minjiang.^20 It also has enhanced
biodiversity in the region.^21
For more than 2000 years, the Dujiangyan irrigation system has brought
large benefits to agricultural production and people’s lives in the Sichuan
plain. The irrigated area has expanded gradually from 126000 hectares to
nearly 660000 hectares of land, covering 36 counties. Dujiangyan was listed
as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) World Cultural Heritage site in 2000.
The natural environment in late imperial China worsened due to the growth
of population and decrease of arable land. Toward the end of the Sung dynasty
(AD 979–1279), filling lakes to create agricultural land became commonplace
in the Yangtze River delta area. The outcome was an increase of agriculture
production, but frequent flooding was a serous side-effect. The Sung elite
began to acknowledge that the destruction of ecological balance in the lake
shore areas eventually would cause long-term damage to human populations.
Rapid deforestation also became an ecological problem. In the Sung dynasty,
deforestation in the Zhejiang Province caused serious problems of erosion,
mudslides, and floods.^22 In the Ming (AD 1368–1662) and Qing (AD
1662–1908) dynasties, population pressure forced peasants to cultivate hill
sides and cut more trees. Loss of green cover and a decreased capacity to
retain water led to the erosion of the soil and the destruction of irrigation
systems. In Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian provinces, for example, over-
cultivation caused salinization of the soil, erosion, and eventual degradation of
whole ecosystems.^23
THE REPUBLICAN YEARS
Republican China (1911–49) was an era of political instability, accelerated
economic pressures and rampant wars. In the warlord period from the death of
24 Governance of biodiversity conservation in China and Taiwan