The Grand Canal:Imperial China's Main Military Artery
Logistics has always been one of the key factors affecting the outcome of wars,among which food supply is of particular importance.During the Spring and Autumn Imperial Wars,China's earliest canals came into being,whose main purpose was to facilitate the transfer of grain and other logistic supplies.During the Qin and Han Dynasties,Lingqu Canal was built for the conquest of Nanyue in the South,and Cao and Wei excavated a series of canals in order to pacify the northern ar-ea.After the Sui and Tang Dynasties,the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal not only served as an important military logistics supply line,but was also related to the nation's political,economic and other aspects.It became the main artery that kept the empire going.Land transportation traditionally relied mainly on human and animal power,resulting in low efficiency of long-distance grain transportation.The advantages of water transportation was obvious;therefore,Chinese military strategists in dif-ferent dynasties attached importance to excavating canals,connecting natural rivers and constructing fast logistic supply lines,enabling Imperial China to engage in large-scale wars.
the Grand CanalImperial Chinamain military arterytransportation efficiencylogistic supplyarmy pro-visionsShen Kuo
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