THE CHENGTU PLAIN 105 



raw atmosphere, and the overcast skies so characteristic of 

 Chengtu Fu. 



The plain owes its abundant fertihty to a complete and 

 marvellous system of irrigation, inaugurated some 2100 years 

 ago by a Chinese official named Li-ping and his son. The 

 headquarters of this irrigation system is Kuan Hsien, a city 

 situated on the extreme western edge of the plain, where the 

 Min River debouches from the mountains. The principle on 

 which the system is based is simple in conception, but very 

 intricate in detail. An obstructing hill called Li-tiu shan 

 was first cut through for the purpose of leading the waters 

 through and distributing them over the plain. The passage 

 having been excavated, the waters of the Min River were 

 divided, by means of an inverted V-shaped dyke, a little dis- 

 tance above the canal into two main streams, the " South " 

 and " North " Rivers, as they are called. The waters of the 

 " North " stream are carried through the Li-tiu shan cut, and 

 after passing through the city of Kuan Hsien are divided into 

 three principal streams. The most southerly of the three, 

 called " The Walking Horse," flows directly east, and irrigates 

 the districts of Pi Hsien and Chengtu. The central stream, 

 called the " Cedar Stem River," flows north-east, and is 

 utilized to irrigate the western and northern parts of the 

 above-named districts. Branches of these two streams flow 

 past the south and north walls of Chengtu, uniting near the 

 east gate of the city. The third, or northern branch, known 

 as the " South Rush River," flows north towards the city of 

 Peng Hsien, and then south-eastwards past Han Chou. All 

 the subdivisions of this branch and its anastomosing canals 

 and ditches unite near Chao-chia-tu to form the head-waters of 

 the To River, which flows due south past the famous salt- 

 wells of Tzu-liu-ching, and finally enters the Yangtsze at 

 Lu Chou. This " South Rush River " is fed by numerous 

 torrents which descend from the ranges bounding the north- 

 west edge of the plain. These streams — broad, stony, irre- 

 sponsible things with no defined banks — exist only during 

 rains or the melting of the snow in spring. In crossing the 

 northern parts of the plain the traveller can form some estimate 

 of what the whole was like before the irrigation canals were 



