The Grand Canal:Reflecting the Times

On June 22， 2014， China’s Grand Canal was added to the World Heritage List by UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee when it convened its 38th annual session in Doha， Qatar， becoming China’s 46th World Heritage site. The 1，794-kilometer canal （also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal）， the longest artificial waterway in the world， starts in Beijing， passes through Tianjin Municipality and Hebei， Shandong， Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces before ending in the city of Hangzhou. Although the oldest stretches of the canal date back to the Spring and Autumn Period （770-476 B.C.）， it took nearly 2，000 years for the majority of the canal to be finished and various sections were finally connected during the Yuan Dynasty （1271-1368）. Today， the time-honored canal remains in use.

The north-south Grand Canal is a miracle of both Chinese history and human development. The artificial waterway was an attempt by ancient Chinese people to converse with nature. Its construction and lengthy usage allowed for the expansion and development of Chinese civilization from ancient times to the present.

Throughout history， the Grand Canal connected several cultural centers of the country， including Hangzhou， Nanjing and Beijing， and mixed northern and southern Chinese people in many ways， including their folk cultures， cuisines， costumes， and religious beliefs. People living along the canal remain an indispensable piece of it. They live with the water and remain close to it； they see the water as gold and themselves the roots of the economic prosperity and cultural development along its banks. It is easy to understand why residents along the canal seem to be so open-minded and inclusive.

In this issue， we present readers a series of Grand Canal images by photographer Tang Desheng. Born in a small town along the canal in Jiangsu Province in 1947， Tang began to systematically photograph the Grand Canal in the 1960s， and his efforts continue to this day. Almost all his work was captured on film and crosses several decades. Through Tang’s work， viewers can easily trace the symbiosis between the canal and people living along its banks， as well as the perpetually-changing landscapes and life across the passage of time.

In Tang’s work， life is lived against the background of the water. People shipped goods through the water and caught fish and shrimp in the river. Children played on the bows of boats and women washed clothes in the water. Even during the highly politicized era， people along the canal strove to continue their daily lives normally. Tang’s images link many periods of contemporary Chinese history， showcasing the changes of the Grand Canal and the lifestyles of its people. However， of all these changes， one factor is even more evident： Tang focuses on relationships between people， and between people and society.

Alain Sayag， Honorary Curator of the National Museum of Modern Art， Centre Pompidou in Paris， spoke highly of Tang’s work. “Years later， this journey is much easier to see，” he remarked. “The faces of the people are as individual as their lives， and a new world has been born. That Tang Desheng’s images allow us to gauge the progress is truly great and revolutionary.”Indeed， as a testament to eternal humanity， Tang’s work related to the Grand Canal affords people the chance to trace China’s progress more easily.