Grand Canal (China)

longest canal or artificial river in the world located in China

18 dated entries naming Grand Canal (China), drawn from 18 separate years between 486 BCE and 1641 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as Grand Canal of China in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

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5th century BC

486 BCEThe first part of the Grand Canal of China is built during the reign of King Fuchai of Wu. It links the Yangtze River with the Huai River, and is a measure to ship ample amount of supplies north for intended wars with the northern states of Song and Lu.source

6th century

584Emperor Wéndi of the Sui dynasty organises the Grand Canal. He builds ships for transportation and grain stores are located at strategic points.source
600Yangdi, a Sui emperor, extends the Grand Canal. He reportedly assumes power by poisoning his father. Ma Shu-mou, aka Mahu, was one of the canal overseers and was said to have eaten a steamed 2-year-old child each day he worked on the canal. On completion the canal extended for 1,100 miles. 5.5 million people were pressed into service to complete the 1,550 mile canal.source

7th century

605Emperor Yángdi orders the capital to be transferred from Chang'an to Luoyang. He begins the construction of the Grand Canal, that will link existing waterways to the new Chinese capital; it will be built by a million laborers.source
609Emperor Yángdi completes the Grand Canal; it provides an unbroken inland ship transport between the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. The canal network is 1,776 km (1,400 miles) long—linking five river systems—and extends from Beijing to the city of Hangzhou.source

8th century

721Rains and heavy storms around the southern seaport of Yangzhou destroy over 1,000 ships and boats in the Grand Canal, during the Tang dynasty (approximate date).source
735During the Tang dynasty in China, by this year there is 149,685,400 kg (165,000 short tons) of grain shipped annually along the Grand Canal.source
750In China during the Tang Dynasty, a barge load of tea (a medicinal herb) comes up the Grand Canal to Luoyang, from Zhejiang (approximate date).source
755December 16 – General An Lushan begins the Anshi Rebellion against Emperor Xuan Zong of the Tang Dynasty (China). His army surges down from Fanyang (near modern Beijing), and moves rapidly along the Grand Canal. Meanwhile, Xuan Zong sends Feng Changqing, governor of Fanyang, to build up defenses at the eastern capital of Luoyang.source

9th century

858An enormous flood along the Grand Canal inundates thousands of acres of farmland and kills tens of thousands of people in the North China Plain.source

10th century

984Qiao Weiyue, a Chinese engineer, innovates the first known use of the double-gated canal pound lock during the Song dynasty, for adjusting different water levels in segments of the Grand Canal in China.source

11th century

1072Fall – Shen Kuo is sent to supervise Wang Anshi's program of surveying the buildup of silt deposits in the Grand Canal, outside the capital city of Kaifeng. Using an original technique, Shen successfully dredges the canal and demonstrates the formidable value of the silt gathered as a fertilizer.source

13th century

1280Construction on the northern section of the Grand Canal of China has begun.source

14th century

1327In China, the Grand Canal, which runs from Beijing to Hangzhou over a distance of 1,800 km, is completed.source

15th century

1411Under the reign of Emperor Cheng Zu of Ming China, work begins to reinstate the ancient Grand Canal of China, which fell into disuse and dilapidation during the previous Yuan dynasty. Between 1411 and 1415, a total of 165,000 laborers dredge the canal bed in Shandong, build new channels, embankments, and canal locks. Four large reservoirs in Shandong are also dug, in order to regulate water levels, instead of resorting to pumping water from local tables. A large dam is also constructed, to divert water from the Wen River southwest into the Grand Canal.source
1415The Grand Canal of China is reinstated by this year after it had fallen out of use; restoration began in 1411, and was a response by the Emperor Cheng Zu of the Ming Dynasty to improve the grain shipment system of tribute traveling from south to north, towards his new capital at Beijing. With this action, the food supply crisis is solved by the end of the year.source
1429A series of seven customs offices and barriers are installed along the Grand Canal of China, during the reign of the Ming Dynasty's Yongle Emperor.source

17th century

1641A massive epidemic breaks out in northern and central China, just three years before the fall of the Ming dynasty. It races south down along the Grand Canal of China and the densely populated settlements there, from the northern terminus at Beijing, to the fertile Jiangnan region. In some local areas and towns it wipes out 90% of the local populace.source