Li Bing

Li Bing served as Prefect of Shu Commandery during the reign of King Zhaoxiang of Qin in the Warring States period. He directed the construction of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System—excavating Mount Lidui and diverting the Min River—transforming the Chengdu Plain into a 'land of abundance where droughts and floods obey human will'. Grateful Sichuanese erected shrines in his honour and revered him as 'Chuanzhu' (Lord of Sichuan). Legends recounting his son Li Erlang assisting him to subdue a river-dragon and control flooding became widely popular; father and son are jointly enshrined at the Erwang Temple beside Dujiangyan and have received successive imperial titles conferring royal rank across dynasties. Note: The folk cult of the 'Erlang Shen' (God Erlang) is separately documented; its deity incorporates syncretic elements drawn from Li Bing’s second son, the Tang-dynasty official Zhao Yu, and other figures. This entry concerns Li Bing himself—the foundational deity and original source of the Chuanzhu cult. Locals pray to him during droughts or floods, and he remains central to the annual Water-Release Ceremony marking the traditional spring maintenance of the Dujiangyan system.