Chen Xing (; July 1921 – 15 May 2009) was a Chinese

hydrologist Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

who was involved in the design of the

Banqiao Dam The Banqiao Reservoir Dam () is a dam on the River Ru (), a tributary of the Hong River in Zhumadian City, Henan province, China. The Banqiao dam and Shimantan Reservoir Dam () are among 62 dams in Zhumadian that failed catastrophically in 1975 du ...

. Chen was born in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

and was a vocal critic of the government

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

building policy, which involved many dams in the basin. He had recommended 12

sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

gates for the Banqiao Dam, but this was scaled back to 5 and Chen Xing was criticized as being too conservative. Other dams in the project, including the

Shimantan Dam The Banqiao Reservoir Dam () is a dam on the River Ru (), a tributary of the Hong River in Zhumadian City, Henan province, China. The Banqiao dam and Shimantan Reservoir Dam () are among 62 dams in Zhumadian that failed catastrophically in 1975 du ...

, had similar reductions of safety features and Chen was removed from the project. In 1961, after problems with the water system surfaced, he was brought back to help. Chen continued to be an outspoken critic of the system and was again removed from the project. In August 1975, both

and

failed when deluged by Super Typhoon Nina, as Chen had warned. Their failure destroyed 60 more dams downstream. In the 1980s, Chen participated in the Agri-Energy Roundtable (AER), attending and speaking at several conferences on the world stage and becoming the first Chinese to join AER's board. In 1984 Chen worked with his provincial governor, He Zhukang, to invite an international investment mission- later organized by AER - which proved successful in attracting world attention to the resources and opportunities in central China. He died in May 2009 at the age of 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Xing 1921 births 2009 deaths Chinese hydrologists Scientists from Nanjing

See also

References