The Great Wall and the canal have been hailed as a symbol of the Gemini constellation of Chinese civilization. Since the canal was given UNESCO World Heritage Site status, the implied value of the times has been rediscovered and excavated. From December 4thto 7th, the reporter of Yangtze Evening along with the interview group of the large theme “New era new atmosphere new action ” of the protection and cultural heritage of the Grand Canal in Jiangsu which organized by Propaganda Department and the Provincial Propaganda Department , visited Huaian, Yangzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, the four cities that Grand Canal flows through, feeling the beauty of the canal in Jiangsu, the beauty of nature,the beauty ofhumanistic .
On December 7th, the Yangtze Evening reporter interviewed Canal Culture Research Expert Xie Guangqian who is also the deputy editor ofJournal of Jiangnan University (Humanities and Social Science Edition). Editor Xie talked about the Grand Canal culture in three aspects that the dredging of the canal is a national strategy from all previous generations, the Grand Canal brings changes in the growth center of gravity, and the Grand Canal is a river of culture.
Xie Guangqian believes that the dredging of the canal in different key periods are based on the national strategy. King Fuchai of Wu dredged Hangou Canal for troop and food movements to supply North to attack Qi and dominate the princes. Emperor Yang of Sui digged tongji canal and yongji canal to ship food from Jianghuai to the capital continuously, but also to prepare to conquer Korea, rather than for the purpose of luxury. Kublai in the Yuan Dynasty asked Guo Shoujing to straight through the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to make Jiangnan abundant property more easily transported to Dadu. Xie Guangqian pointed out that as the canal moved the trend, the center of political, economic and cultural of China also changed. Before the emperor Yang of Sui dredged the Grand Canal, the center of political and economic of China basically followed the course of the Yellow River, emperor Yang of Sui digged tongji canal to connect Jiangnan Canal, then from Sui and Tang even to the Song Dynasty, the center of China's economy and politics gradually shifted from northwest to southeast. And by the Yuan Dynasty, with Guo Shoujing taking a straight cut on the Grand Canal, China's strategic axis was completely converted from east-west to north-south …the Grand Canal is the lifeline of the north nourished by the southern resource. Xie Guangqian also said that the Grand Canal is a river of culture. Three of the four classic literature in ancient china are related to the canal. Wu Chengen, the author ofthe journey to the west, is the Huaian man in the canal city.The Water Marginis written about Liangshan heroes, the story unfolds in the canal.A dream of Red Mansionsstart from the the Changmen of Suzhou which is a rich and romantic place , and end at Pilingyi of Changzhou which is a rich land in Jiangnan. It may be said that a river shows the beauty of humanity.
It is reported that the cultural heritage of the Jiangsu section of the Grand Canal is the most abundant in the provinces and cities along the canal: The focus area of the world heritage list is about 1/2 of the country, the length of the Heritage River accounts for about 1/3 of the country, The number of heritage points accounts for about 40% of the country. At present, all parts of Jiangsu are taking action. They are determined to build the Grand Canal Jiangsu section into a high value ecological corridor, a high taste cultural corridor and a high effective economic corridor, and build a sample area and demonstration section of the Grand Canal culture belt.
