ABSTRACT
The irrigation of rice has a long and continuous history in Asia. Many highly sophisticated water control schemes developed independently in the pre-Christian era. Thousands of years ago the rice area in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, a cradle of Chinese civilization, began to spread, partly as a result of significant improvements in flood control. The beginnings of the institution of large cooperative water projects, a hallmark of Chinese agriculture on the Yellow River flood plains, is frequently attributed to Yu, founder of the first Chinese dynasty (Xia). 1 Centralized irrigation in Henan Province and in the Central Yangtze Valley began as early as 563 b.c. and 548 b.c., respectively. 2
