An Experiment on Releasing Water from Water Tanks by Xu Youzhen during the Ming Dynasty

摘要

In 1453,Xu Youzhen,a scholar-bureaucrat and hydrologist in Ming China,was dispatched to Shandong to find a way to harness the Yellow River.He proposed the opening up of multiple channels to diverge the flood waters.An experiment was conducted to compare the efficiency of releasing water using one large opening with the use of a number of small openings.This experiment proved that opening up multiple channels outperformed the construction of only one,thereby convincing the emperor and officials of the efficacy of this method.Xu’s method for water control proved to be successful in averting a flood that occurred in 1456.