Yebi (Xibi) Site

Yebi (Xibi) Site

The Yebi (Xibi) Site is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Henan Province.

The Yebi (originally called "Xibi") Site is located 200 meters southwest of Zhaidi Village, Longquan Township, Ye County, Pingdingshan City. The site is roughly L-shaped, with a dam base about 9 meters wide, reaching a maximum height of approximately 5 meters and a minimum height of around 2.4 meters. The site is relatively well-preserved. Dongbi is situated about 3.5 kilometers northeast of Jiuxian in Jiuxian Township, where its general outline can still be seen. During his governance of Ye, Lord Ye promoted water conservancy and agricultural development, leading the people to construct a large-scale hydraulic project — the Eastern and Western Yebi Reservoirs. According to the Tongzhi-era (1862–1874) Ye County Annals: “The Eastern and Western Yebi Reservoirs were formed by spring water from Fangcheng Mountain flowing eastward, which was then stored to create the reservoirs, covering an area of two square li — this is the Western Yebi. The water from the Western Yebi spreads out, flows southeast past Ye County, and then turns north into the Li River; the Li River then flows east into the Yebi Reservoir, which is the Eastern Yebi. The Eastern Yebi is the largest, stretching ten li from east to west and seven li from north to south, channeling water to irrigate farmland. Both reservoirs were constructed by Lord Ye and his clan, and their ruins still exist, known as Shuicheng.” The Eastern and Western Yebi built by Lord Ye served the purposes of water storage and flood control, as well as water diversion for irrigation. These projects, adapted to the local terrain, stand as another example of ancient Chinese laboring people conquering nature. They represent some of China’s earlier hydraulic engineering works — predating the twelve weirs of the Zhang River built by Ximen Bao of the Wei State during his governance of Ye by five or six decades, and more than two hundred years earlier than the Dujiangyan Irrigation System constructed by Li Bing, the governor of Shu. They hold significant historical and scientific value for the study of ancient Chinese water conservancy projects and their development. In 2016, they were designated as part of the seventh batch of provincial-level cultural heritage protection units by the provincial government.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Protection Units in Henan Province