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China
has a long history of digging wells to develop and exploite the
underground water. Long as 5-6,000 years ago, our ancestors had mastered
bright skills of well digging, using Zhuangmou and Yuanmu to construct
complexed wooden wells. Two wells with a depth of 7 meters and a diameter
of 2 located between two clay kilns and villages for the purpose of
production and living were found in the cultural relics of Hebei Province
with a history over 4000 years. Two other wells with wooden plates at
their bottoms and a history of 3000 years were dug out in the relics of
the Shang Dynasty in the same province. The finding of clay pots and
wooden pails for holding water in these wells proved that the well digging
skills were developed. The discoveries of well relics were numerous in
Zhou Dynasty such as the 8 wells in the relics of Western Zhou Dynasty,
the 26 wells in the relics of the Warring States. All this wells were
densely distributed and no relics of residence was found nearby. So we
could estimate that they were used for irrigation.
For the types of wells, they are developed from simple
clay, wooden ones to stone-mounted and tile-piped ones. In the early
relics, the wall of the wells were found inlaid with stones from bottom to
the top. All the stones were selected and processed so that they looked of
the same size and tidy.
In well digging skills, a combination of vertical
shaft, inclined shaft, slant lane and level lane in different segments as
then used effectively. The deepest vertical shaft was of 50 meters and the
lanes got supports. Winch was used as lifting instrument. All this were
the most important technique measures in well and canal construction.
The system of Qing Dynasty was inherited by Han
Dynasty, and the irritation projects had got many innovations. As it is
reported in the Book/Annal of History, with the digging of Dragon Head
Canal in 109 BC, the skill of digging had reached a new level. Shi Maqian
said clearly: "the origin of wells and canals starts here." From
the rules of the Dragon Head Canal project, we can see that it is a
combination of rather high digging skill. It could never be completed
without comprehensive design, perfect digging measures, the facilities and
experiences of lifting dregs, the assistance of measuring levels and
deciding positions. The construction of such large-scale project reflected
that the digging skill had long passed the beginning stage.
It is worth mention that this happened before Zhang
Qian went to the Western Regions. Besides, we found many relics of ancient
wells and canals in the exploration of some areas, which also proved that
the techniques of well and canal were used for drinking purpose. Take the
Xiazhi Canal of the Ming Dynasty, for example, it
is over 40 meters
and had two vertical shafts and a tunnel, the diameter of the opening of
the well was 1 meter. Another typical example was a group of vertical
shafts and canals on the left bank of the river with 7 shafts in a line.
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