Welcome back to in depth with academia. I’m Richard price, the founder and CEO of academia edu and I’m really glad you’ve tuned in today. We’re diving into something a little muddy, a little grassy, and honestly pretty surprising.
欢迎回到《深度学术》节目。我是理查德·普莱斯，学术教育平台的创始人兼首席执行官，非常高兴您今天能收看我们的节目。今天我们探讨的内容有点模糊、有点杂乱，但说实话，结果却出乎意料。
It’s an archaeological look at reinforced soil use in ancient Chinese hydraulic engineering. We’ be drawing on a fascinating paper authored by Yan-feng Zhuang, Guangxin Li and Herbert Klapperich. So as always, I’m staying neutral here, I’m not endorsing any argument or finding.
本文从考古学视角探讨古代中国水利工程中加固土的应用。我们将参考庄艳峰、李广信和赫伯特·克拉帕利希合著的精彩论文。照例，我在此保持中立，不对任何观点或结论表示支持。
I’m just laying out what the authors say so you can think for yourself.Okay, so. Let’s set the scene. Ancient China rivers floods a pretty precarious environment. People needed to figure out how to survive and thrive next to these unpredictable waters.
我在这里只是陈述作者的观点，好让你们自己思考。好的，那么。让我们设定场景。古代中国的河流泛滥，环境相当危险。人们需要想出如何在这些不可预测的水域中生存并繁荣。
The question this paper grapples with is how did ancient Chinese societies actually control floods and build water infrastructure way before the age of modern technology? And why, um, does this matter for us living in our concrete jungles today?
这篇论文要解决的问题是，在现代技术出现之前，古代中国社会是如何控制洪水和建造水利基础设施的？为什么，嗯，这对我们今天生活在混凝土丛林中的人们很重要？
It matters because a lot of us assume complex engineering is new, but it turns out people were inventing reinforce soil techniques thousands of years ago, long before synthetic geoteiles existed or construction crews had dump trucks.
这很重要，因为我们很多人认为复杂的工程是新的，但事实证明，早在合成地砖出现或施工队拥有自卸卡车之前，人们就在发明加固土壤的技术了。
Understanding how this was accomplished gives us fresh perspectives on sustainability, inventiveness and honestly, humility. I mean, they were doing things 5000 years ago that still inspire engineers today.
理解这一成就的实现方式，让我们对可持续性、创造力以及谦逊有了全新的认识。我的意思是，他们在5000年前做的事情，至今仍激励着工程师们。
Let’s dig, okay? No pun intended into the findings, so. Zhuang, Li and Klapperich traced the history of ancient reinforced soil used in hydraulic projects. Their main case study comes from a jaw dropping archaeological discovery.
咱们开始吧，注意没搞错，这里说的可不是双关语哦。庄、李和克拉帕利希三位学者追溯了古代水利工程中使用加固土的历史。他们的主要研究案例源自一个令人瞠目结舌的考古发现。
Outside the ancient city of laangzu, dating back about 5000 years, they found enormous dams constructed with a pretty inventive method called grass wrapped sludge. Sounds a bit odd. Honestly, it’s genius.
在有大约5000年历史的古城良渚城外，他们发现了用一种相当有创意的方法建造的巨大水坝，这种方法叫做草裹淤泥。听起来有点奇怪。老实说，这是天才。
Imagine soft, sticky mud packed up in rolls of grass, then stacked together like bricks and reinforced with bamboo or wood sheets. The result? Dams that could withstand major floods and last for centuries.
想象一下，柔软、粘稠的泥土被草卷起来，然后像砖块一样堆叠在一起，并用竹子或木板加固。结果呢？大坝可以抵御严重的洪水，并持续几个世纪。
And they even found some of these grass wrapped sludge bits still intact.The authors lay out the key benefits wrapping mud with grass increases strength, resists erosion, improves drainage and allows for steeper, stronger dam walls.
他们甚至发现其中一些用草包裹的淤泥碎片仍然完好无损。作者列出了用草包裹泥土的主要好处，增加了强度，抵抗侵蚀，改善了排水，并允许更陡峭、更强壮的大坝墙。
Simply put, these early builders created what’s essentially an eco friendly composite building material using just what they had local sludge, grass, bamboo, and a lot of manual labor.They highlight carbon 14 dating from excavated grass and bamboo finds.
简而言之，这些早期的建造者利用当地淤泥、草料和竹材，通过大量手工劳作，创造了一种本质上环保的复合建筑材料。他们还强调了从出土的草料和竹材中进行碳14测年的方法。
These put the construction right in that ancient Liangzhu time period, confirming this wasn’t just legend, but concrete. Again, with the puns archeological fact. But the paper doesn’t stop at Liangzhu. Oh no, it moves to stories from later periods like emperor Yu’s legendary flood control project about 4100 years ago.
这些发现将建筑年代直接推到了古代良渚时期，证实这并非传说而是确凿事实。文中再次运用双关语揭示考古真相。但论文并未止步于良渚时期，而是延伸至更晚近的年代——比如约4100年前左右，禹帝治水工程的传奇故事。
Ancient texts talk about a magical, self growing soil called Xirang, supposedly stolen from the gods. The paper’s authors speculate with some fun analogy to beavers that Xirang was actually a kind of reinforced soil or composite material, kind of like modern geoynthetics.
古代文献中记载着一种名为息壤的神奇自生长土壤，据说是从神灵那里偷来的。论文作者用一个有趣的类比推测，息壤实际上是一种加固土壤或复合材料，有点像现代的土工合成材料。
The idea is that as the river deposited sediment onto these reinforced banks, the structure almost seemed to grow and renew itself. Fascinating, right? There are plenty more examples, like the Dahan canal in the Han dynasty using willow branches and mud layers for revetments, or song dynasty innovations stacking vaccines, piles and rock, so just layers upon layers of historical engineering cleverness.
这个观点认为，当河流将沉积物冲刷到加固的河岸上时，整个结构仿佛在自我生长和更新。听起来很神奇吧？类似案例比比皆是：汉代大汉漕渠用柳枝和泥层筑堤，宋代更是创新性地采用垫料、石块层层堆叠，这些历史工程智慧层层叠加，堪称人类智慧的活化石。
You start to realize that these techniques, while they were born out of necessity, are part of a kind of long evolution of knowledge. One, we’re frankly still part of today. The paper even draws a line to modern geoynthetic fabrics highlighting that today’s solutions, though high Tech, are inspired by the same need to strengthen and stabilize earth reliably.
你逐渐意识到，这些技术虽然诞生于现实需求，实则是知识长河中绵延不绝的进化篇章。首先，我们至今仍在延续这一传统。论文特别指出现代地质合成材料时强调：尽管当今解决方案采用高科技手段，但其核心仍源于人类对可靠加固和稳定地球的永恒追求。
I think, um, this is where I can’t help but kind of marvel, you know, there’s this myth that progress is always linear and that something old is automatically inferior. But when you see structures that lasted thousands of years, built with mud and grass. It makes me wonder if sometimes we should look backward to move forward. Maybe there’s a podcast in that? Should we just build everything from grass again? Ah, maybe not. Anyway, for you as a listener, why does any of this really matter?
我想，嗯，这让我忍不住感到惊叹，你知道，有一种神话认为进步总是线性的，旧的东西自动就低人一等。但当你看到那些用泥土和草建造、持续了数千年的结构时，这让我思考：有时候我们是否应该通过回顾过去来推动前进？或许其中蕴含着某种启示？难道我们要从头再来，重新构建一切吗？啊，也许并非如此。无论如何，对于各位听众来说，这些思考究竟有何意义呢？
Well, it’s a reminder that innovation isn’t just about shiny you Tech. Sometimes the best ideas are right under our feet, literally. And whether you’re an engineer, a history buff, or someone who just likes a good story about human ingenuity, examining ancient solutions can Spark creativity and resourcefulness in your own problem solving.
这提醒我们，创新可不只是炫酷的科技玩意儿。有时候最棒的创意其实就在我们脚下——说白了就是脚下的砖瓦。无论你是工程师、历史迷，还是单纯喜欢听人类智慧故事的人，研究古代解决方案都能激发你的创造力和解决问题的巧思。
So to wrap up, remember, academic research doesn’t deliver the final word. It offers perspectives, clues, and insights that all of us can explore. Question and build upon. Thanks so much for joining me on this lively journey through ancient reinforced soil.
Stay curious, stay skeptical, and I’ll catch you next time on in depth with academia.
最后想说，学术研究并非终极答案。它提供的是可供我们探索的视角、线索和洞见——大家可以提出疑问并在此基础上继续深入。感谢大家参与这场穿越古代加固土壤的生动探索之旅！
保持好奇心，保持怀疑，下次我会在学术上找到你。
The meeting explored the use of reinforced soil in ancient Chinese hydraulic engineering, highlighting its significance for modern sustainability and innovation. The discussion centered on a paper by Yan-feng Zhuang, GuangXin Li, and Herbert Klapperich, which examined ancient flood control techniques. A key case study was the discovery of 5000-year-old dams near the ancient city of Liangzhu, constructed using grass-wrapped sludge, a method that enhanced strength, erosion resistance, and drainage. The paper also referenced Emperor Yu’s flood control project and the Dujiangyan Canal, illustrating the evolution of reinforced soil techniques. These ancient methods, though low-tech, inspired modern geosynthetic solutions, challenging the notion that progress is linear. The session emphasized the value of historical ingenuity in sparking contemporary creativity and resourcefulness.