Dragon Boats on Grand Canal: The Rule of Water

“The same water either supports or overturns boats on it,” Li Shimin, the second emperor of the Tang in the 7th century, often cited these Confucius’ remarks which compared water to the people and boats to sovereigns. He did this to repeatedly remind himself of the lessons he learned from the fall of the Sui. He founded a golden age in China's history. The Grand Canal witnessed and even underwrote the rise and fall of power and wealth of dynasties, cities and peo...