2 Flowing through time

Flowing through time

Esteemed 11th-century writer and poet Qin Guan described a serene night in his poem, Han Gou: " Frost brings a chill to Han Gou, and the water looks quite clear; on such a freezing night, a myriad stars light up boats. Deep from the dense water plants come, surprisingly, the sounds of words and the laughter of people. "

Han Gou, a canal in today's Jiangsu province, ran across Qin's native city of Gaoyou. It was dredged in the late fifth century BC in the state of Wu during the tumultuous Spring and Autumn Period(770-476 BC).

Fuchai, who was then the king of Wu, ordered the construction of Han Gou to connect the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers to facilitate the transportation of soldiers and military supplies.

The weight of history Qin felt that night at Han Gou continues to touch people today. They appreciate his poem, which is printed on a wall at the National Museum of China in Beijing, which also displays a bronze sword believed to have been used by Fuchai that was unearthed in Anhui province in 1976.

These are being shown at the exhibition, Paddling for A Thousand Miles, until March 1, to hail the storied history of the 3, 200-kilometer-long Grand Canal.