Dajiu Longkou

Dajiu Longkou

Dajiu Longkou

Tubote is only mentioned in scattered records within Qing dynasty historical archives, but among the people, he is regarded as the figure who had the greatest impact on the survival and development of the Xibe people after their westward migration. During the Guangxu era, to commemorate Tubote’s achievements, the Xibe people built... respectively at the head of the canal at Longkou and his hometown, Nadachi Nongli.

The great canal dug by Tubote, Dajiu Longkou, is located over 40 kilometers southeast of Qapqal County at a mountain pass. It is an un-dammed canal head, from which the main canal diverts water from the Ili River. In October of the lunar calendar in 1802 (the 7th year of the Jiaqing reign), 37 years after the Xibe people’s westward migration to Ili, under the leadership of Tuhetu, the commander of the Xibe Regiment, the construction of the Qapqal Grand Canal officially began. Finally, in 1808 (the 13th year of the Jiaqing reign), after six years of work, a grand canal stretching approximately 100 kilometers from east to west was successfully excavated, with a depth of one zhang, a bottom width of one zhang and two chi, and a surface width of three zhang. Like a giant dragon across the Qapqal Plain, it irrigates the arid and rain-scarce lands on both banks. At that time, it was called “Qapqal Buha.” “Qapqal” means “granary” in the Xibe language, and “Buha” means “grand canal.” As the name suggests, this title not only indicates the benefits the canal would bring but also reflects the Xibe ancestors’ beautiful aspiration for abundant grain, prosperity, and peace.

The completion of the canal expanded the Xibe people’s arable land from just over 10,000 mu to more than 80,000 mu. Several Nongli settlements along the southern bank of the Ili River successively relocated to both sides of the canal, and the eight Nongli were distributed along the Qapqal Grand Canal, where they built fortresses and settled down. It was precisely the completion of the Qapqal Grand Canal that transformed the ancient wilderness into a granary, giving rise to a landscape dotted with villages and crisscrossed by fields. Historians and social scholars share a common view: it was the completion of this canal that ultimately changed the fate of the Xibe people who migrated westward.

When the Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County was established on March 17, 1954, the name of the canal was adopted as the county name. To this day, the Qapqal Grand Canal still plays an important role in local agricultural and animal husbandry production. In the second year after the canal’s completion, in 1809 (the 14th year of the Jiaqing reign), 54-year-old Tubote, in recognition of his exceptional contributions to digging the canal, was summoned to Beijing and commended by Emperor Jiaqing. He also became the first Xibe person to be permitted to return to his ancestral home in the northeast for a family visit, 45 years after the westward migration. In the Xibe epic “Song of the Westward Migration,” people have immortalized their praise for Tubote in song, passing it down through generations.