A study on the Fachuan and Chafu dredging system of the Yongding River during the Qianlong period

ZHAO Weiping

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1008-018X.2025.05.008

Abstract：During the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty,Fachuan is the core tool of the dredging project of the downstream of the Yongding River.Their forms evolution and functional adaptation profoundly reflected the interactive tension between technical practice and institutional decision-making.Fachuan were initially designed as three types:the rowing boat,the earth trough boat,and the ox tongue boat.The three types of boats were gradually passed out due to their low dredging efficiency,which revealing the contradiction between design flaws and the characteristics of river and marsh sedimentation.The dredgers(Chafu)were mainly recruited from the villagers along the riverbank.They are responsible for scooping up the silt in the marsh.They worked on the boat for six months every year and received very low pay.To cope with the special hydrological environment of the Triangular Marsh of the Yongding River,which was"muddy and difficult to navigate",on the basis of inheriting the basic form of Fachuan,the new dredging boats improved the shape of the Fachuan by imitating the dredging boats of the Yellow River,widening the hull and increasing the mud-carrying capacity.However,the engineering cost simultaneously soared.The management system of the Fachuan and Chafu exhibited distinct characteristics of centralization:it was under the jurisdiction of the magistrate of the Triangular Marsh of the Yongding River,with flood control officials specializing in supervising the rations of Chafu and the dispatch of boats,which formed a dual management model of"bureaucracy-technology".Due to the constraints of technology,economy and ecological environment,the management system of the Fachuan and Chafu was permanently eliminated.The discontinuity of river management policies had resulted in negative effects on the livelihood of the people along the riverbank.