Li I-chih (c.1882-1938), the foremost advocate of water conservation in republican China. A German-trained hydraulic engineer, he planned and supervised the construction of eight irrigation systems in Shensi and directed conservation commissions for the Huai and Yellow rivers. He was president of the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society from 1931 to 1938. A native of P'uch'eng, Shensi, Li I-chih was the son of Li T'ung-hsien (1860-1932), a teacher who later became deputy chairman of the Shensi provincial government council. After passing the examinations for the sheng-yuan degree about 1899, the young Li, after submitting to an arranged marriage, went to Chingyang to study at the Ch'ung-shih Academy. In 1905 he received a provincial scholarship and enrolled at the Imperial University of Peking, where he majored in German, took science courses, and served as president of the senior class. After graduation in 1909, he received a scholarship from the Hsi-t'ung railway administration of Shensi for study in Germany. He cut off his queue, the traditional symbol of loyalty to the Manchus, before sailing. On arrival in Germany, Li enrolled at the engineering school of Berlin University, where he studied for two years before returning to China to participate in the republican revolution. He soon became convinced that he could serve his country best by becoming expert in hydraulic engineering and soil conservation. Accordingly, he returned to Germany in 1913 and studied under eminent conservationists at the Univ^ersity of Danzig for three years.

From 1916 to 1922 Li I-chih taught hydraulic engineering and related subjects at the Ho-hai kung-ch'eng hsueh-hsiao [college of conservation] in Nanking, which had been established in 1915 by the provinces of Hopei, Shantung, Kiangsu, and Chekiang to train personnel for conservation projects. From 1922 to 1927 he served as head of the Shensi provincial water conservation bureau. He began by making a thorough study of the incidences of natural calamities in Shensi from 1136 B.C. to 1912 A.D. and discovered that the province had suffered a severe drought every ten years. Accordingly, he devoted his energies to planning a modern irrigation system for the plains north of the Wei River, where much of the provinces cotton and wheat was grown. As provincial commissioner ofreconstruction ( 1 92832) and chief engineer of the VVei-pei conservation bureau (1934-37), Li built eight irrigation systems, the most important projects being the Ching-hui and Wei-hui canals along the Wei River and the Lo-hui canal along the Lo River. In 1935 he also began work on a tenyear conservation program designed to eliminate drought and famine in Shensi. During this period, Li I-chih held a number of water conservation posts outside of Shensi. He served as chairman of the north China conservation commission in 1927, chief engineer of the Huai River conservation commission in 1929, and chairman of the Yellow River conservation commission in 1932-35. When the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society was founded in 1931, Li was elected its first president, a post he retained until his death in the spring of 1938.

The writings of Li I-chih were collected and published in Taiwan by the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society in 1956 as Li I-chih ch'üanchi [collected works of Li I-chih]. His comprehensive approach to the problems of conservation is exemplified by his reports, included in the compendium, on the first and second phases of construction of the Ching River canal, "Shensi W^ei-pei shui-li kung-ch'eng chu ying Ching ti-i chi pao-kao-shu' and '"ti-erhch'i pao-kao-shu." These reports discuss the history and methods of conservation, preparations for work, survey organizations, topography, rainfall, water flow, and the volume of water to be made available by the irrigation system. Among the other valuable essays in this collection are those on the Yello%v and Yangtze rivers. Because Li I-chih's chief concern as a hydraulic engineer was the practical problem of soil improvement through the proper management of water supply, he came to view China as a nation of farmers which would achieve national salvation through agricultural, not political, improvement. He believed that water conservation was the key to agricultural progress. In Chung-nung chiu-kuo-ts'e [national salvation by emphasis on agriculture], he developed these ideas. According to Li, all of the great leaders of ancient China had been exceptionally competent farmers. Throughout the history of China, the nation had" enjoyed social order and prosperity whenever agriculture had been a primary concern and had fallen into chaos in periods when agricultural problems had been ignored. In setting forth his plan for national salvation, Li suggested emphasizing the importance of agriculture by calling the head of state "Nung-shou" [chief farmer] and changing the designation of provincial governor to "Shih-nung" [agricultural ministers]. He drafted a "Xung-hsien" [agricultural constitution] to provide a framework for the new agricultural state. All elections, educational activities, military affairs, and industrial developments would be based on and derived from agriculture, and all the people would be obligated to serve as either regular farmers [shang-nung] or occasional farmers [hsi-nung]. Existing armies would be replaced by a peasant army [nung-chün]. According to Li, programs of this nature would bring prosperity and strong social order to China.

Li I-chih's conservation work improved the lot of many Chinese farmers. When he was buried at Ching^-ang in the spring of 1938, more than 5,000 farmers came to pay their respects at his grave and the National Government issued a special mandate honoring Li on 28 March. His achievements were recognized and honored by Nationalists and Communists alike.