It is said that Qinhuai River was dug by Qin Shihuang in Nanjing to destroy the emperor's spirit. Is this really the case in history?

Summary: It is said that Qinhuai River was dug by Qin Shihuang to extinguish the emperor's anger in Nanjing.

This can't be proved now, it's just a legend. The origin of Jinling's name is also because Qin Shihuang discovered the kingly way in the south and buried gold to cover up the kingly way in Nanjing (this is what the King of Chu said, and I was wrong for the first time). Then open the Qinhuai River to vent the king's anger. Nanjing is the best geomantic city in China, but it is easy to attack and difficult to defend, with mountains, plains, hills, rivers and lakes.

In the 1970s, Nanjing man dug a wide branch line in the middle reaches of Qinhuai River, which went straight to the Yangtze River from east to west for drainage. It is said that the second branch line is being considered recently, which shows that even with the development of science and technology, the problems caused by the poor direction of rivers still seriously plague urban life.

So what is the direction of Qinhuai River? According to historical legends and previous studies, the Qinhuai River did not run north through the urban area before the Qin Dynasty, and it was called "Huaihe River" in the Han Dynasty, so it should be an east-west river as a whole. After the south line joins the east line, it flows into another tributary from east to north to Dongshan, then flows into the Yangtze River in the west, and enters the estuary in the long trunk line area around Qinhuai today (the Yangtze River at that time was close to the west wall). In recent years, porcelain from the Western Zhou Dynasty has been unearthed in the south bank of the Qinhuai River outside the Zhonghua Gate and south of Chang Gan Bridge.

Since the Song Dynasty, the multi-storey prosperous ruins are the important town and the location of "crossing the city" in the Spring and Autumn Period. The specific textual research is not only the place name, but also the satellite map. Although Qin Shihuang ordered the diversion, the natural waterways with a long history will not disappear easily. It can be seen that there are still many remaining broken rivers, semi-waterways and scattered large waters in Dongshan area. The original route should be to turn west at Dongshan, flow through Yuhua Taipei and then enter the river west.

The Yangtze River was originally a big bend in Nanjing. After the Qinhuai River was diverted, it did not enter the river outside the city, but crossed the Yangtze River in the lower reaches after passing through the urban area, and the water level would rise sharply, resulting in difficulties in urban drainage. It happens that the water system in the upper reaches of Qinhuai River is developed and huge, while the urban area of Nanjing is low-lying. After the "improvement" of past dynasties, the outer Qinhuai River almost passed, when the water level of Qinhuai River rose.

"Threatening" the sewage system of the whole city to flow backward or drain slowly, but it is strange to think about what happens during the flood season and the geomantic omen is not bad. Just like a family, how much trouble will it bring if the water pipe leaks and overflows for a few months every year? An emperor of past dynasties set a lot of things for future generations. According to the judgment of modern science, Feng Shui is invisible or intangible, or it can only be seen on the surface for thousands of years, and it has not been well solved so far. However, what scientific research can't do may be to change the overall historical layout.