The Song Dynasty is often described by some of us as a "weak Song", but in fact, the Song Dynasty cannot be said to be very weak. You know, the Song Dynasty was the first country in the history of the world with a population of more than 100 million, and in ancient times the population was a very important resource, which was one of the important criteria for an "empire". From this point of view, it is not very fair to say that the Song Dynasty was a "weak Song".
According to historical data, during the song huizong period, the number of households in the Song Dynasty reached more than 20.88 million, and the total population was about 120 million! At that time, the world's population was just over 400 million. The song dynasty's share of the world's population was even higher than that of China today.
The territory of the Song Dynasty is the smallest of the Chinese dynasties, and if the Northern Song Dynasty is included in the current Chinese territory, it can only be regarded as a dynasty in a remote corner. So, on what basis could the Song Dynasty feed 100 million people?
This is entirely due to rice, but an imported rice, Champa rice, imported from Champa in Vietnam.
According to the "History of Song", during the Song Zhenzong period, as long as there was a drought in Jiangsu, Huaihuai, and Zhejiang, the whole country was in a hurry to rice. In order to get out of this predicament, Song Zhenzong ordered the search for a rice seed that was less dependent on paddy fields. Later, it was found, and Fujian officials found a high-yielding, early-maturing, drought-tolerant rice seed in Champa in Champa, Vietnam.
How cattle is this Champa rice, according to the "Lingwai Dai Answer. The lazy peasant records: "Drought does not seek water, waterlogging does not neglect, neither dung soil nor squandering, one day in the sky." "Champa rice is not afraid of drought and flood, does not need how to fertilize or how to go to Dali, in short, it is very easy to feed, which can reduce the risk of relying on the sky to eat."
But in fact, Champa rice was not introduced to China during the Song Zhenzong period, as early as the five dynasties of the late Tang Dynasty, Champa rice has been planted in Fujian and other places through non-governmental channels, but because there is no official promotion, it has not been noticed by people.
Since the introduction of Champa rice, it can be planted not only in Jiangsu, Huaihuai and Zhejiang, but also in the hilly areas of the south and the drylands of the north, which has greatly improved the land utilization rate, increased the national grain production, and solved the problem of eating.
When the problem of eating was solved, the natural population increased, and it was not surprising that the population exceeded 100 million by the time of Emperor Huizong of Song. Later, the Territory of the Southern Song Dynasty was smaller, but it could still feed such a large population and fight against the northern ethnic groups for a long time, it can be said that Champa Rice is indispensable!
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