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876 book X lifting them, along with a small cart called yuhyŏngsogŏ for their transportation .” Since the detailed discussion is included in Strategies for Constructing Fortresses [Sŏnghwajuryak], let me stop here. CHAPTER : CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF ROADS It Is Also an Outstanding Work of the Magistrate to Prepare Roads Well and Make Travelers Want to Take Them for Their Trips. The Ministry of Justice in Rites of Zhou stated: “Yelu Shi in his inspection tour arrived in the royal domain, making sure that the people repaired state roads in their districts so that the roads might not be severed. When the roads or waterways were narrow, he had the boats and vehicles pass in order. When there was an important affair of state, he had the people prepare the roads by assigning them to various tasks.” The Ministry of Military Affairs stated: “Hefang Shi was charged with ensuring free and easy passage across all the roads under Heaven.” In my observation, the “Ministry of Public Works” (“Kaogongji”) in Rites of Zhou stated: “When engineers construct the roads, the width of straight roads [jingtu] is 9 gui; that of curved roads [hauntu] 7 gui; and country roads 5 gui. The straight roads in the marquisate are made 7 gui, and those in smaller cities 5 gui.” Since 1 gui (which is the length of the space between the two wheels of a vehicle) is 8 ch’ŏk [approximately 8 feet] according to Zheng Xuan’s commentary, 7 gui is 7 ren, and 5 gui 5 ren. The roads of local districts should be made comparatively much smaller. To speak of the roads in our country, for example, the main roads in the walled town should be made 3 ren wide (The roads of towns like Kongju and Chŏnju where the provincial office is located should be made just as those of small cities in the marquisate); the roads leading to large districts 2 ren wide; and small roads running through farmlands 1 ren. When the width of roads is found to be less than 1 ren, the magistrate should strictly admonish the people to expand them up to 1 ren; unless he strictly prevents them from encroaching into the roads, there will be serious inconvenience for everyone in using them. 101. Also called yuhyŏnggŏ, it is a type of cart or vehicle designed to carry heavy materials such as stones or timber for the construction of fortresses and buildings. Invented by Chŏng Yagyong, it was employed for the first time in building the Hwasŏng (Suwŏn) Fortress, along with the pulleys called kijungsogŏ or kijunggŏ. 102. A section in the book titled Hwasŏng sŏngyŏk ŭigwe, the detailed history of the construction of Hwasŏng Fortress (modern Suwŏn) during the reign of Chŏngjo. 103. A chapter in Rites of Zhou. Its original title is “Winter Ministry with the Overseer of Public Works” (“Dongguan kaogongji”). 104. Gui ㌮ is a measure of length that originally referred to the space between two wheels of a vehicle ; 1 gui is approximately 8 ch’ŏk or feet; it is equivalent to a ren ௠, another measurement of length. Public Works Administration 877 Liu Zihou in “Record of Travels through Xingzhou” [“Xingzhou jiangyun ji”] stated: “The cliffs and valleys west of Xingzhou were so rugged and narrow that the road in a section 10 li long curved as many as a hundred times. Those who climbed the road carrying heavy baggage felt like they were walking on the sharp blade of a knife; they kept falling down or being trampled, so that their blood soaked a hanging bridge. The road like that stretched as far as 300 li. Upon taking office, Inspector Yan removed huge rocks and large trees from the road. Then he burned trees and poured vinegar on them. When he finally finished the road, it appeared that it had existed that way from the beginning. The people in the west region, in their gratitude to the inspector, raised a stone monument in which they recorded his achievements of cutting mountains and diverting the river and honored him by offering sacrifices to him.” When Gui Rong became prefect of Liangzhou, he constructed a new post road. Liu Yuxi composed a chronicle on Gui Rong’s achievement: “The road that post-station horses traveled through was steep and narrow. At that time there was a good harvest, and because there were no accidents in the district, the...

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