The Principle of Automatic Control in Ancient Hydraulic Engineering Works: A Comparative Study of the Dutch Beemster Polder and China's Dujiangyan Irrigation System

From the perspective of control theory, this paper conducts a comparative study on the automatic control principles and philosophical wisdom of two ancient water conservancy projects: Dujiangyan Irrigation System in China (256 BC) and the Beemster Polder in the Netherlands (17th century). The study finds that Dujiangyan has constructed a natural feedback system of “Guide the situation to one's advantage”through the feedforward control of the Yuzui Levee and the closed-loop regulation of the Feisha Weir and Bottle-Neck Channel. Its design follows the Oriental philosophy of “making utensils by imitating phenomena” in Tiangong Kaiwu (The Exploitation of the Works of Nature), realizing the self-sustaining balance of water and sediment distribution. The Beemster Polder, on the other hand, forms a mechanically driven dynamic response system relying on a three-level canal integration network and the centrifugal speed regulation mechanism of windmills, embodying Heraclitus' Western control thought of “everything flows (All is flux.) (<tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\pi$</tex> ó <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$v \tau \alpha[\dot{\rho} \varepsilon \tilde{\imath}$</tex> Heraclitus)”. It copes with hydrological fluctuations through hierarchical drainage and float valve hysteresis control. The two represent the “natural guidance type” and “mechanical intervention type” control paradigms respectively - the former realizes self-regulation by reshaping terrain to activate natural forces, while the latter achieves artificial dynamic balance with precision machinery. Together, they reveal the universal control logic of ancient water conservancy projects, providing cross-civilizational wisdom for modern ecological engineering.