雙語科技百科(地理) 第25期 靈渠
Ling Qu
Ling Qu(Ling Canal)，also called Dou River or Xing’an Canal，was an ancient canal that connected the Yangtze River system and Pearl River system. ling Qu，located in the current Xing’an County in Southwest China’s Guan-gxi Zhuang AutonoMous Region，was the earliest canal with sluice gate in the world.
靈渠是中國溝通長江水系和珠江水系的古運河。又名陡河、興安運河，在今廣西壯族自治區興安縣境內。靈渠是世界最早的有閘運河。The canal was dug in 219BC at the order of Din Shihuang(the First Emperor of China)，to facilitate the transportation of grain for the military after he sent his troops south to conquer the territory south of the Meiling Mountain. It connected the Xiangjiang River and the Lijiang r, every dynasty revamped the canal，making it the major water course that linked the Lingnan Region(current Guang-dong Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region)and the central partof China.
秦國統一六國後，向嶺南用兵，秦始皇二十八年(前219年)，派監郡御史祿開鑿靈渠運糧，溝通了湘江和灕江。由於歷代不斷增修改進，靈渠成爲聯接來嶺南(今中國南部廣東廣西)與中原地區的主要交通線路。
After the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949，the canal undertook extensive repairs, turning into an important water resource for irrigation，drinking and industrial production，as well as a scenic spot. Currently，it is an important cultural relic of the country.
中華人民共和國成立後，國家對靈渠全面整修，基本保留了傳統工程面貌，使其成爲灌溉、城市供水和風景遊覽綜合利用的水利工程，是全國重點保護文物。
