Abstract:

In the mid-Qing Dynasty, the flood level of the Jingjiang River (a section of the Yangtze River) began to rise and was repeatedly recorded in the Sanxun Anlan Zouben of the Qing Palace Memorials and Archives of the Grand Council. During the Xianfeng and Tongzhi reigns, after the Ouchi and Songzi dikes collapsed and the main flow diverged to the Dongting Lake, the flood level eased temporarily and rose again rapidly in the Guangxu’s reign. The rising flood level affected the courses, and water environment of the rivers flowing southward into the Yangtze River. In the Juzhang River Basin, this involves the expansion, separation, and approaching northward of the Bailizhou Island in the Yangtze River, shifts of the estuary of the Juzhang River, the shift of the main Yangtze River course, the extension of the lower reaches of the Juzhang River caused by the adjoining of Lower Bailizhou with the east bank, as well as the silt caused by the counter-balanced effect of the river flow and mountain torrents. In the Ma’nao River Basin, the backwater effect of the rising flood level at the estuary turned the area into a swamp.

Key words: Jingjiang River, Juzhang River, Manao River, flood history, water environment, historical documentation