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The Red Flag Canal has always been used as an example of the people, guided by Mao Zedong Thought, harnessing Nature. Together with Dazhai and Daqing, it has been held up for study and emulation as an illustration of the validity of the story of "The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains", one of the Three Constantly Read Articles.
The canal is located in Linxian County, Henan Province, an area bordering Shanxi and Hebei Provinces historically known for little arable land, erosion and a lack of water. After 1949, the first steps were taken to create a guaranteed water supply. During the Great Leap Forward, however, major mass mobilization enabled the completion of the first linking of the area with nearby rivers. The Hero Canal, completed in 1958, did not alleviate the drought that hit Linxian --and many other regions-- in 1959. A year later, is was decided to start an even more ambitious project, the Red Flag Canal. In the words of Lin Min, "The entire network consists of a trunk canal, three branch canals and numerous channels and ditches -- altogether 1,500 kilometres of waterways. [...] The [...] builders blasted or cut" through "1,250 hills, excavated 134 tunnels totalling 24 kilometres, and built aqueducts with a total length of 6.5 kilometres. They handled 16,400,000 cubic metres of stone and earth [...]. The Canal links up with existing smaller canals and waterways into a still larger network that can irrigate 600,000 mu (1 mu is .0667 hectares) of farmland, two-thirds of the arable land of Linxian". The work was finished in 1969.  Although the construction of the canal was influenced by the events of the Cultural Revolution --the pernicious influence of Liu Shaoqi and "his clique" are mentioned time and again-- there are no indications that Mao ever visited the project, as the poster above suggests. It is unclear whether this Canal of Happiness is the same as the Red Flag Canal.  The imagery of opening canals, bringing water where drought existed, has inspired many artists. http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/rfc.html Sources:
长春李, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, paid a visit to the display of the "red flag canal spirit" in BeijingThursday afternoon. The red flag canal is a large irrigation project constructed inthe 1960s by the people of Linzhou, central China's Henan Province,after ten years' efforts. Measuring 1,500 kilometers along the steeps of the Taihang Mountains, it is considered a miracle in China's architectural history. The display of the "red flag canal spirit" reproduces the courage and toughness of the builders through a number of picturesand objects. Accompanied by Liu Yunshan, head of the Publicity Department ofthe CPC Central Committee, Li carefully watched the exhibits and listened to the commentary. Li said the "red flag canal spirit" featuring self-reliance, hard work, solidarity and cooperation, and unselfish devotion, is the vivid incarnation of Chinese characters and is the precious spiritual treasure of the country. The spirit is still of great importance today when China's is building a well-off society in an all-round way, said the official. China is now at the primary stage of socialism, and the socialist modernization will only be achieved after arduous efforts of many generations. Li said the "red flag canal spirit" should be closely combined with today's situation, so that it will become a strong spiritual power to encourage cadres and the public in the socialist construction. Li said the display was very meaningful, adding that it is an effective way to educate the people, especially the youth. More high school and college students should be organized to visit the display so as to remember and pass on the precious spirit, said Li. Source: Xinhua 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 红旗渠位于河南省林州市（原林县），林州市处于河南、山西、河北三省交界处，历史上严重干旱缺水。 为了改变因缺水造成的穷困，林县人民从1960年2月开始修建红旗渠（原称“引漳入林”工程），竣工于1969年7月。 林县十万人靠双手用十年的时间，开凿出一条全长1500公里的大渠。1500公里，相当于北京到武汉的距离。1974年4月，邓小平副总理带了《红旗渠》等十部电影纪录片到联合国宣传新中国建设成就，第一部放映的就是《红旗渠》。日本《朝日新闻》称“红旗渠是世界第八大奇迹”。然而在红旗渠修成之前的千百年里，林县人民却生活在极度缺水的困境之中，在这其中发生的许多真实故事，让林县人民下定决心修建红旗渠。但是，在规划建设红旗渠的时刻，却发现了许多难以想象的困难。 |
