Sugagawa was dug in 506 BC. During the Spring and Autumn Period, He Lv, King of Wu, ordered Wu Zixu to dig a canal to connect Taihu Lake in the east with the Yangtze River in the west, and Sugagawa was dug out in this way. The opening of the canal not only facilitated shipping, but also brought floods to the downstream areas.
Wu Zixu was in charge of opening the canal, which was for the purpose of cutting Chu, and it was entirely for the sake of war. However, it later played a great role in agricultural irrigation, water transportation and flood discharge. Later generations named this artificial river Xu He in memory of Wu Zixu.
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The political significance of the canal
Historically, the Grand Canal, which runs through the north and south, played an important role in the political structure of feudal dynasties.
Because the canal area has always been in the central position of the national politics, military affairs, economy and culture, it has become the most important area controlled by the feudal dynasty. Every generation of emperors and rulers should also take advantage of the ideal geographical location, superior economic conditions and humanistic environment to take the overall situation and control the country.
Therefore, the Grand Canal became a political link to maintain centralization and China's reunification, which made the dynasties whose political centers gradually moved northward after Sui and Tang Dynasties present a strong unified color. Especially after the Yuan Dynasty achieved national reunification, there was no great division in China until the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which laid a solid foundation for the reunification of the motherland.
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