The Grand Canal connected which rivers to support grain transport and taxation?

• A. Yangtze and Yellow rivers
• B. Yangtze and Pearl rivers
• C. Yellow River and Mekong
• D. Pearl River and Ganges

Answer: (A)

The Grand Canal was built to shuttle grain from the agricultural south to the northern heartland, creating a north–south artery that tied together two major river basins. It connected the Yangtze River basin in the south with the Yellow River basin in the north, enabling large-scale transport of rice and other grains to the capital and northern provinces for taxation and provisioning. The route extended from southern hubs to the northern capital, making it possible to move vast quantities of grain efficiently to support the state and its taxation system. The other river pairs don’t reflect the canal’s actual route or purpose—Mekong and Ganges are outside China’s system, and the Pearl River region isn’t the primary northern-southern connection that the canal established.