Chapter II: Democratic Canal Irrigation Areas
In 1990, the irrigation area of the canal accounted for more than one-third of the total effective irrigation area in the county, of which high-yield and stable-yield fields accounted for nearly half of the high-yield and stable-yield fields in the county.
Section 1 Democracy Canal
1. The establishment and abandonment of people's livelihood canals
From the 17th to the 18th year of the Republic of China (1928-1929 AD), the director of the county public funds bureau (Xiucai at the end of the Qing Dynasty) Lü Zhuang rich household Lü Guoen organized the construction of the Minsheng Canal, Lü Guoen served as the chairman of the engineering committee, Weizhuang Guo Xiangshan, Chen Zhuang Wu Xian, Xiaotun Zhou Yunsheng, and Qin Peidao of the original temple were members, Lihetun Li Wanjun, Ma Ganglong Wang Mingxin, Xiaohuazhuang Yao Jingzhou were the engineering team leaders, and Xia Cao Ji East Lou, Liangxiang Xiaodongzhuang Dongzhuang Dong Sancai were surveyors. The project began in the spring of the 17th year of the Republic of China (1928 AD), and the head of the canal was built in the northwest of Hejia Village, and turned southeast along the foot of the mountain to Lüzhuang, Huazhuang, Xiaotun, Hanlou and Side areas. In the process of repairing the canal, the then county magistrate Sang Dangui personally went to the construction site to solve the problem. Dong Hengqu, manager of Xinhua Mill in Jixian County, cooperated with Lu Guoen to go to the Shanghai "Jisheng Society" to borrow 300 yuan in cash (silver yuan), with the participation of Liu Xunsi, a wealthy household in Hanlou, Yan Yisan from Gaocun, and Wang Xiangquan, a rich household in Side, after a year of hard work, the upper section of the channel was dug through, and then continued to excavate, occupying more than 200 mu of civilian land, the total length of the excavated canal was 37.8 li, the bridge and culvert built along the canal totaled more than 1,500 meters, and the stone cave was 600 meters long. Completed in the spring of the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929 AD), it was called "Minsheng Canal". The total irrigation area was more than 30,000 mu, and then due to the Japanese invasion, flash floods silted up, and it was abolished in the 27th year of the Republic of China (1938 AD).
2. Reconstruction of democratic canals
In 1948, the Qi County turned peasants to actively develop production, and in the same year, the Chunqi County People's Government allocated more than 900,000 jin of millet to organize migrant workers to repair the abandoned people's livelihood canals, and more than 8,000 people from various villages in Northwest Township participated in the restoration, and after one year, dug the entire canal, renovated culverts, bridges, and built new gates, etc., and renamed it "democracy canal". In 1958, the democratic canal was extended to the area of Zaosheng Village, thus developing into the largest irrigation area in Qi County, called the "Democratic Canal Irrigation Area".
Section II Irrigation District Status
First, the location and scale of irrigation areas
Formed in 1958, the Democratic Canal Irrigation Area is located in the transition zone from hills to plains in the middle of the county border, with a narrow north-south shape, north to the Qi River, south to Zaosheng, west near Xishan and Daofeng and Hongwei irrigation areas as neighbors, and the northern section to the east across the Beijing-Guangzhou railway to develop in the area of Side and the ancient city. The whole irrigation area includes 4 townships of Gaocun, Miaokou, Qiaomeng and Beiyang, 54 administrative villages, 108 natural villages, and 7 agricultural and forestry farms (institutes).
2. Irrigation and yield of farmland
The irrigation area is designed to irrigate 125,000 mu of land, and over the years 85,000 mu have actually been irrigated, including 77,000 mu of artesian irrigation, 08,000 mu of mechanical and electrical irrigation, of which 56,500 mu are irrigated by the north trunk canal and 28,500 mu are irrigated by the south main canal. The grain output per mu in the irrigated area reached more than 1,000 catties, which was eight times higher than that of more than 100 catties per mu without water irrigation before the founding of New China. Since the 80s, due to drought, the canal has not had enough water.
Section 3: Management Bodies and Management Measures
1. Irrigation District Representative Council and Management Committee
Since 1979, the Democratic Canal Irrigation District has implemented the system of village representative meetings and irrigation district management committees. Each administrative village elects one representative, a total of 54 people, and holds regular meetings to study and decide on major matters in the irrigation area. The management committee is composed of a deputy township chief from each township, the person in charge of democratic canal management, and personnel sent by the county water conservancy bureau to master and supervise the democratic canal management work.
2. The Office of Democratic Canals
Established in 1949, it is a water conservancy administrative institution, located in the west of Gaocunqiao Railway Station, and built a house in Hejia Village as the head office of the canal, the two places cover a total area of 10 acres, there are 65 houses, in addition to managing irrigation, and raising fish, cultivating mushrooms, vegetables, etc.
3. Irrigation management
Channel irrigation was originally the responsibility of the Democratic Canals Management Office and the directors of the branch canals. The director of the branch canal has one person per branch channel, who is partially part-time, and the monthly salary of the management office is about 25 yuan. In 1984, the reform was implemented, the director of the branch canal was abolished, and the management was contracted by 13 employees of the management office.
4. Irrigation water fees
During the Republican period, the "people's livelihood canal" collected water fees, which were many and uneven, also known as "water donations". After the founding of New China, the democratic canal implemented "basic water charges for acres of land plus water consumption". In 1970, water fees were paid at RMB 0.8 per mu. In 1979, it was changed to a full charge based on water consumption, paying 2.5% per cubic meter of water used, and in 1983 it was changed to 5% per square meter of water, and the water fee collected by the Democratic Central Management Office was used for channel repair and irrigation area construction.
Attached: Excerpt from the "Henan Political Inspection Diary"
In the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935), the "Henan Political Inspection Diary" said: "This canal was founded in the eighteenth year of the Republic of China (1929), initiated by Lu Guoen and others from Yiren, and led Qi water from the northwest to the southeast, and built it as a trunk canal. In the middle, there is an earthen cave, more than three miles long, all made of brick and stone to form a circle door, and there is a stone cave, one mile long. It occupies a total of more than 290 mu of civilian land, which can be irrigated for 300 to 400 acres."
《New Chinese Foreign Gazetteer Dictionary》Abstract
Minsheng (canal name), in Qi County, Henan Province, is formed by guiding the water of the Qi River, which is more than 40 li long and can irrigate 90,000 mu.
According to the "90,000 mu", more than 30,000 mu were mistakenly irrigated.
Attached: Minsheng Canal Inscription (Remnant)
......。 The main road of this canal starts from Qingyan and ends at the end of the Side River... Yu Hua Rui. Zhongjing 39 village, divided into three sections of excavated canal body, area and outsourcing of earthwork totaling 58,962 square meters, there are large stone weir two, water dam weir, water release weir, all made of large stone and foreign ash. The iron column is exceptionally strong. Open the gate seven, the gate three, use water to open the gate into the channel, if you do not use water, close the gate and return to the river, the two seem to be opposite, but in fact they need each other. The large hole is made of explosives, and the sun-curved earth cave is built on the masonry ash festival, known as a double-mouth culvert. The Guo Wan South River crosses the canal from west to east, the canal surface is more than five feet high, and the landscape is the easiest to break out, so a pair of culverts are built at the bottom of the river to make the canal water pass under the river and cross from north to south. ...... However, the project is also extremely dangerous, known as Zhu Xiaohe Cave, the soil is hard, and it is not built of brick and stone. There are 36 bridges, including water bridges, road bridges, and railway bridges. The stone trench in the north of Lihetun, more than 100 zhang long, more than 1 zhang wide, and more than 2 zhang deep, was bombarded with explosives, and it lasted for nine months and was successful. The eighth bridge has five holes, which are built in a new style, with a solid polar shape, and a large cross gate two, which passes through the bottom of the canal. The bottom of the river is flat, so it is set as a cross gate, open on all sides, and close the gates on both sides to make the canal flow to facilitate irrigation. In the event of a flash flood, it is opened at the gates on both sides of the bank so that the flow of river water does not damage the channel, and the work of building bridges is completed. As for the detailed engineering, it is not as good as having a book. The canal began construction in the autumn of the eighteenth year (1929) and was completed in the autumn of the nineteenth year (1930), about 1,000 acres of irrigated fields, and the fields have been irrigated several times. Wuqi is known as the area in the north, once it is a land of ointment, not only has the production increased several times, but the title of people's livelihood can be called worthy of the name.
Written by Yang Lichun, a graduate of Shaanxi official class of law and politics
Henan Excellent Normal Graduate, Wu Dequan Seal Shudan, 22nd year of the Republic of China, 4th auspicious day
Annex: Rebuilding the Monument of the Democratic Canal (Remnant)
Chawei County from the end of Qingyan to the end of the Side River, together with the old water canal, was founded in the nineteenth year of the Republic of China. At that time, the feudal landlord class and the old government presided over the management, exploiting the peasants, so that the people's resentment boiled over and the masses opposed, so that the canal, which was more than 30 miles long, was washed away and fell into disrepair after only four years. Since the liberation of this county, under the leadership of the Communist Party and the people's government, in order to develop production, increase wealth, improve the livelihood of the masses and support the front line, tens of millions of our people have resolutely risen up and rebuilt the canal, so under the principle of civilian office assistance, construction began in the spring of the 37th year (1948), and after winter and the spring of the following year, in successive September, more than 100,000 woodwork was used, and the government lent more than 910,000 jin of grain without profit, and all the engineering labor, so that the length of the main canal was completely unblocked. Its largest engineer is known as the Great Weir, which is 28 feet long and 1 foot 6 feet high. The excavated stone ditch is 37 feet long. The gate is composed of large streams of sand and gravel, which are extremely strong and 70 feet long. There are two gates, Guowan double culvert, bridge, Songzhuang inlet and outlet and Songzhuang front and back, etc., the stone circle is more than 60 zhang, the above are new-style buildings, ten li long, and branch canals are built along the canal, the large one is ten lanes, about 20 li long. As for the Jingju project, after the completion of the democratic canal, a water canal management committee was elected and organized, specializing in protecting irrigation and other matters, and since then, 45 villages and more than 50,000 acres of dry land have been turned into fertile fields.......