A Brief History of the Development of Agricultural Science and Technology in China (234)
I start the new year's study in the spring rain, and I hope that in the year of the dragon, I can have further learning and understanding of China's 10,000-year agricultural history.
I continued to study Mr. Guo Wentao's introduction to the development of Sanyi's farming thought in the book "A Brief History of the Development of China's Agricultural Science and Technology" in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
In terms of cultivating according to the land, the "Agricultural Theory" put forward the principle that "the original should be deep and the enlightenment should be shallow"; because "there are many soil bones under the plain," it is necessary to cultivate "deep to catch its vitality," and "there is a lot of mud under the earth," so it is necessary to cultivate "shallow to meet its heavenly sun." The "Outline of Zhiben" adds, "The soil of the mountains is dry and the shade is scarce, the plough is heavier to connect the yin of the earth, the water is abundant and the yang is lost, and the light hoe is used to make the sky yang." The deep fields with high dryness can be connected to the bottom moisture, and the shallow fields with low temperatures can be exposed to the sun and increase the temperature. This is due to the depth of the terrain. Yuan Huang's "Baodi Persuasion of Agriculture" believes that all kinds of soil "must be cultivated according to their suitability", and if "it is not suitable, it will be in vain and lose its benefits". For example, "tight soil (clay) should be deeply cultivated and raked, and the soil should be loosened if there is a lot of soil, and slow soil (sandy soil) should be dragged and rolled heavily". This is a method of tillage depending on the quality of the soil. "Ma Shou Nongyan" also said that "Yamada" should pay attention to "autumn should be pressed, spring should be grinded", because "Yamada is dry and afraid that the ripe soil will be blown away by the wind." The crops will not grow in the coming year, so they will be pressed and milled, and as for the "flat field", it is "autumn plow" and "spring should be raked". The reason is that autumn ploughing can store more rainwater, and spring harrow is conducive to moisture preservation, which is again due to the terrain and tillage method.
In terms of time-dependent farming, the Ming Dynasty's "Map for the Convenience of the People", "Agricultural Theory" and the Qing Dynasty's "Outline of Zhiben" all emphasized that "autumn plowing should be early" and "spring plowing should be late". It is advisable to be early and easy to understand, and it is advisable to be late is "the spring frost gradually dissolves, and the earth begins to pass" or "after the spring equinox". The purpose of the early and late is to preserve the "yang" (i.e., heat) in the soil and not let the "yin" (i.e. water) escape from the soil. It makes sense to regard "yin qi" and "yang qi" as cultivated land, which should be carried out at a certain temperature and humidity, and will meet the requirements of good quality land preparation. "Ma Shou Nongyan" also put forward the requirements of "autumn plough edge squeezing, one step seven edges", "spring plough edge width one step six edges", which is based on the different depth of spring ploughing and autumn ploughing and soil moisture different contingency measures. This kind of "school", that is, the soil mound, is used to measure the degree of fine cultivation is scientific.
In terms of cultivation due to things, "Tiangong Kaiwu" pointed out that "deep cultivation is not a hidden category that cannot be given", and it is believed that planting beans should not be cultivated too deeply, otherwise because "the soil clods are crushed, the people who will not live will be half-baked". As for cotton, "Qunfang Spectrum" and "Agricultural Administration Encyclopedia" all advocate "deep cultivation". The "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration" also pointed out that after deep ploughing, cotton "can be easily and deeply rooted, and it can rain for a long time, drought for a long time, and strong winds". With deep roots, it can certainly tolerate drought and wind. "Ma Shou Nongyan" also proposed that "the wheat plough is deep, and a clump of roots is together", and "the plough of small beans is shallow, so it is better not to order". "Ploughing adzuki beans should be deeper than black beans", and winter wheat should be "slightly deeper" than spring wheat, all of which indicate that the depth of cultivated land should be determined according to material conditions. In short, this period in the understanding of the three suitable farming is a step further, as the Ming Dynasty "Agricultural Theory" said, agricultural cultivation should be able to achieve "the right time, the earth's veins, and the physical properties of the appropriate, and nothing is lost", in order to "do twice the result with half the effort". #中国农业史#
