Meet the World Heritage | began with two food revolutions in Fuzhou

In the Preface to the Ancient House of Fuzhou, it is proposed that "the protection of ancient buildings is conducive to preserving the traditional style and personality of famous cities". As the host of the 44th World Heritage Conference, Fuzhou is based on the characteristics of the ancient home and takes the "World Heritage Conference" as an opportunity to closely combine the influence of the ancient house in Fuzhou with the opportunities of urban development. The ancient architecture of Mindu is the evidence of Fuzhou's history and culture, and the Propaganda Department of The Fuzhou Municipal Party Committee has specially launched a series of reports on "Welcoming the World Heritage Conference and Entering the Culture of Mindu", inviting local experts and scholars in Fuzhou to tell the story of Fuzhou and pass on the culture of Mindu. The fourth article is launched today, so stay tuned.

"Two Grain Revolutions That Began in Fuzhou"

Author: Zeng Xiaoxia

"Eight mountains, one water and one field", people describe the geographical environment of Fujian in this way, vivid and appropriate. In Fujian, which is surrounded by mountains and the sea, there is no shortage of blue seas and green mountains, and there is no shortage of mountains and treasures. However, food shortages caused by the scarcity of arable land have been a historical problem that has plagued the development of this region, which is favored by mountains and seas.

No one could have imagined that in this area where the problem of cultivated land in the country was most prominent, two grain revolutions in Chinese history had been detonated, and the flashpoint was in Fuzhou.

One

When history entered the Tang Dynasty, long-term political turmoil made it difficult for the northern arable land to feed a large number of people, and at that time, the north was mainly growing wheat, and the yield per unit area was also low. Although rice has been found in the Hemudu site more than 7,000 years ago, the native rice species have low yields, are drought-tolerant, have dry particles, and have a very small planting range. The land of China was trapped by grain production, and the development of civilization was constrained.

In order to escape the chaos of war, a large number of people poured into Fujian, and the contradiction between the large number of people and the small amount of land was further sharpened. The clever Min people have long known how to import grain from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and even overseas places through trade, relying on the advantages of overseas transportation and water and land convenience, to solve the urgent need.

However, food imports have always treated the symptoms rather than the root causes, especially in the case of widespread food shortages throughout the country, and the availability of food through trade is very limited, and it is impossible to ensure the sustainable and controllable supply of food necessary for people's livelihood.

Either develop as much arable land as possible, or increase yields on limited arable land. This is the fundamental channel for internally resolving Fujian's local grain problems. The former is limited by the objective geographical environment, and it is very difficult to achieve a fundamental breakthrough; on the contrary, the latter has become the goal of the Min people's breakthrough: in addition to introducing advanced labor production methods in the north, finding high-yield crop varieties has become an "additional mission" consciously and spontaneously by the Min people in the business travel of "boats traveling all over the world and goods throughout the world".

From the end of the Fifth Dynasty to the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, Fujian merchants discovered a fine rice seed in the place of "Champa City" (present-day Vietnam), "Champa Rice". They observed that in this rice-rich area, farmers cultivated extremely extensively, sowing seeds on the land at will and allowing them to grow naturally, without irrigation facilities or careful care, and rice yields were not only abundant, but also of fairly stable quality. Is it just because Vietnam's water and soil are good? Or is it the tenacious vitality of the rice seed itself? If this kind of rice is brought back to a hometown with many people and few lands, will it be able to feed the people in the hometown? So this fine rice came to Fuzhou along the Maritime Silk Road with the merchant's ship.

Since there is no clear record in the history books, no one knows who introduced Champa rice to Fujian at what exact time and in what way. We only know that Champa rice was only one of the most successful attempts of the countless overseas species introduced by the Min people at that time.

China's original rice seeds, from planting to maturity, it takes about 150 days, and the seedlings need 1 month in the seedbed. Because of its drought tolerance and early maturation, Champa rice can be harvested in only 100 days after transplanting from the seedbed to the rice field, and then after improvement, the maturity period is even shorter, and the fastest harvest can be obtained in 50 days. One year can be "two ripe", in some places even "three ripe", which greatly improves the yield per mu. More importantly, Champa rice is highly adaptable, "born without choosing the land", and is drought-tolerant and flood-tolerant, and its vitality is very tenacious.

Soon, Champa rice spread rapidly in Fujian, which effectively alleviated the problem of food shortage in Fujian. This rice seed attracted the attention of Song Zhenzong, the supreme ruler of the Song Dynasty, who first obtained 20 stones of rice seeds from the origin of Champa with rare goods, tried planting in the back garden of the imperial palace, and organized visits by the imperial family and officials. The Song Dynasty monk Wen Ying recorded this statement in the Xiangshan Yelu ( Xiangshan Yelu ) : " Emperor Zhenzong deeply remembered the harvest , heard that the rice in Champa was drought-tolerant , and the green beans in the western sky were numerous and large, and each envoy asked for its seeds with rare goods." The champa city was planted with twenty stones, which are still sown everywhere. "The Xiangshan Wild Record was written during the Xining period from 1068 to 1077 AD, not long after the introduction and promotion of Champa rice, only about 60 years, which has a certain credibility. Obviously, the results of the trial planting made Song Zhenzong very satisfied, and after the autumn harvest, he also specially invited the minister to taste the rice cooked by Champa Rice. The "Song Shi Zhenzong Benji" records: In september of the sixth year of the great Zhongxiang Fu (1013), Ding You, "out of the Jade Palace to plant Champa rice to show the hundred officials". In the second year of the Tianxi Dynasty (1018), in the winter of October Gengzi, "Imperial Jade Palace, summoning close ministers to cut the champa rice". In the winter of the fourth year of the Tianxi Dynasty (1020), he also "summoned the crown prince, the Song chamber, and the near-minister Yuchen To watch the rice and give a feast" to him. He also deliberately made a seven-word "Champa Rice Ode" to praise this kind of overseas good rice. Song Zhenzong's deeds show the importance he attaches to the introduction and promotion of Champa rice. Climatological studies have shown that there have been obvious changes in drought and flood in China's history, and the climate has rapidly changed from humid and flooded around 900 AD to drought and drought. In particular, the originally rich Jiangnan region is also facing the challenge of drought. Faced with the drought in the Jiangnan region, Emperor Gaozong of Song intended to use Champa rice as a favorable weapon to deal with natural disasters.

Although Champa rice is good, is it necessary to buy rice seeds from Champa at a high price? Can I take the nearest seed?

Fortunately, at this time, Champa rice had successfully taken root on the land of Fujian. The tenacious vitality of Champa rice, coupled with the intensive cultivation of the Min people, has enabled this foreign rice species to flourish. Fujian had laid the foundation for the promotion of Champa rice throughout the country, waiting only for a single order from the rulers.

Therefore, Song Zhenzong ordered the seeds to be taken from Fujian and spread to the drought-stricken Jiangsu, Huaihuai, and Zhejiang regions. The Chronicle of Food and Goods of song records: "Emperor Zhenzong of Song (Emperor Zhenzong of Song) sent envoys to Fujian to take 30,000 grains of rice from Champa City in Fujian, and distributed them to the three roads for planting, and chose the people's fields to look up to. The relevant statement in volume 23 of Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" also indicates this basic situation: "Indica resembles japonica and the grain is small, starting from the Min people to obtain seeds to occupy the city, and Song Zhenzong sent envoys to Fujian to take 30,000 hu and distribute them to the various paths as seeds, so they are everywhere today." ”

Champa rice was introduced to Fujian in the late Tang Dynasty and quickly spread in the Yangtze River Basin with the help of the spring breeze of government policies. Subsequently, under the leadership of the Song government, it spread northward, and its excellent qualities made it the dominant food crop in the Yangtze River Basin, and with different geographical environments, a large number of new varieties evolved successively. Therefore, Champa rice has a profound impact on the rice cultivation system in the Yangtze River Basin. "Northern wheat, southern rice" - the basic pattern of China's grain crops was formed since the Northern Song Dynasty promoted Champa rice from Fujian. It can be said that China's rice cultivation civilization has entered a new stage precisely from the introduction and promotion of Champa rice.

In addition to the Yangtze River Basin, Champa rice was also widely cultivated on a large area of arid and barren land from Shandong to Guangdong and Guangxi, bringing good news to the people in these areas, and once as an important grain category for local governments in ancient China to produce grain and tax revenue. During the Northern Song Dynasty, China's climate experienced an evolutionary process from flood to drought, and the introduction of Champa rice in the Song Dynasty can be seen as an effective response to the climate drought.

This agricultural innovation is of great significance and is recognized as the first food revolution in Chinese history. At the height of the Tang Dynasty, Chinese mouths were about 50 million. By the beginning of the 12th century, during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Chinese mouth exceeded 100 million. The increase in food and population, for the ancient agricultural countries, meant the enhancement of national strength and the prosperity of civilization. Another important significance is that the promotion of Champa rice has reversed the situation that since ancient times, the population in China has been more in the north and the south is smaller, and the country's economic focus has transitioned from the Yellow River Basin to the Yangtze River Basin.

There is a folk saying: in the first year of the Xianping Dynasty of the Northern Song Dynasty (998), the Song Dynasty sent emissaries to Vietnam, and the overseas Chinese in Fuzhou who lived in Vietnam presented 10 stones of champa rice seeds to the Song envoys, brought them back to Fuzhou for trial planting, and obtained high yields. This rice was known as "Huang Zhan" in the Song Dynasty, and Fuzhou in the Song Dynasty was the first city in China to grow Champa rice. This claim cannot be corroborated by historical sources, but at least reflects the important position of Fuzhou in the history of the spread of Champa rice.

As early as the Han Dynasty, Fuzhou Dongye Port was the core area of communication between China and the Indochina Peninsula (at that time, the seven counties of Jiaotong, including present-day Vietnam and Cambodia). The Book of the Later Han Dynasty records that in the eighth year of the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty (83), "the contributions of the seven counties of the old Jiaotong were all transferred from Dongye to the sea", indicating that the route contributed by the seven counties of Jiaotong to the Central Dynasty at that time was landed by sea at Dongye Port in Fuzhou, and then transferred by land to Luoyang, Kyoto.

Fuzhou Port is the core hub port for transportation between China and Vietnam, Cambodia and other places, and it is absolutely possible for Champa Rice to enter Bamin through Fuzhou Port. Written in 1182 AD, the "Chunxi Three Mountains Chronicle" is a masterpiece of local history handed down from the Southern Song Dynasty, which records the local conditions of Fuzhou in detail. The record of Champa rice in the Chunxi Sanshan Zhi is the most specific of all the history books of the same kind, and it clearly records that Champa rice is also divided into early and late rice, with six kinds of early rice and ten kinds of late rice. Different Champa rice has different flavors and is suitable for cultivation in different regions. It can be seen that at that time, Fuzhou people not only extensively planted Champa rice, but also diversified their varieties, and conducted very detailed observation and research on the taste, growth habits and planting requirements of different varieties of Champa rice in the process of practice. Therefore, it is certain that Fuzhou was one of the first areas where Champa rice entered China and was successfully cultivated.

Emperor Zhenzong of Song ordered the seeds to be taken from Fujian and then promoted in three ways to the Jiangsu, Huai, and Zhejiang regions. Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian at that time, was naturally the center for the execution of this directive. The promotion of overseas crops is not an easy task, and in the fifth year of Everbright Zhongxiangfu (1012), the government took 30,000 hu from Fujian at a time (Champa rice). In ancient times, "one hu" was equivalent to "one stone", 1 hu had 10 buckets, 1 bucket was equivalent to the current 2 liters, and 30,000 hu was equivalent to the current 600,000 liters. There is another algorithm, the Song Dynasty 1 stone is equivalent to 120 Song jin, about 76 kg in modern times, and 30,000 hu is equivalent to 2.28 million kg in modern times. Regardless of the algorithm, 30,000 hu is a very considerable amount. Such a huge number of rice seeds must be collected from all parts of Fujian, and then uniformly allocated, and these rice seeds collected from all parts of Fujian must be distributed and delivered to the relevant departments in Jianghuai and the two Zhejiang regions. In addition to collecting rice seeds, Fuzhou officials must also record in detail the growth habits and planting methods of Champa rice in order to facilitate the learning and dissemination of farmers in other regions. On this basis, the "Chunxi Sanshan Zhi", which has the most detailed record of Champa rice, appeared.

Rice seeds from all over Fujian are mixed here and then exported to jianghuai and zhejiang provinces; similarly, the experience of trial rice cultivation in Champa from all over Fujian is summarized and improved here, and after being sorted, it is transported to other parts of China. Fuzhou has played an irreplaceable pivotal role in the promotion of Champa rice. In this sense, Fuzhou was the starting area of China's first grain revolution.

The introduction of Champa rice has other important significance for the people of Fuzhou.

"With grain in hand, do not panic in your heart." The introduction and cultivation of Rice in Champa has expanded the area of rice cultivation, turned land that was not suitable for growing grain into arable land, and effectively alleviated the grain problem in a vast area of Fujian, including Fuzhou. The people of Fujian, especially the coastal people of Fuzhou, Putian, and southern Fujian, have one more choice than to risk death and go abroad. Agriculture has become one of the important economic sources for Fuzhou people. In the third year of the Northern Song Dynasty (1104), Fuzhou began to collect field taxes, which accounted for one-sixth of the total tax revenue of Fujian.

Two

The "present world well-being" brought about by Champa rice has only temporarily alleviated China's grain problem. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, as the population grew, the problem of lack of land and grain once again restricted the progress of Chinese history.

At this time, the dividends brought by Champa rice were basically consumed by the growing population. To feed a larger population, wheat and rice alone are no longer sufficient. At the juncture, the Min people once again stepped forward, and they continued to march to exotic places, doing business and trade while not giving up on finding new species that could bring light to the darkness of famine.

This time, at the cost of their lives and blood, they stole the "food of life" from the fierce Spanish colonists.

Chen Zhenlong, a Fuzhou maritime merchant who lived during the Ming Dynasty, like his ancestors, left his homeland and came to Luzon (now Manila, Philippines), which was under Spanish colonial rule at the time, to do business.

The Spaniards occupied Luzon, and they brought South American silver through the galleon trade across the Pacific. They used this silver from the South American people to trade with Chinese maritime merchants (mainly Fujian merchants) in exchange for Chinese silk, porcelain, lacquerware, etc.

The crop known as the "sweet potato" in Fujian was a by-product of the Spanish plundering of South American silver. They transport sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, etc., native to South America, to the Philippines as ballast. On the land of the Philippines, these South American crops thrive and become an important food for the locals.

The Fujian merchants who came here saw that sweet potatoes were easy to reproduce and produced large yields, and thought that the hometown people with fewer land and more people were often in the shadow of famine, if they could bring sweet potatoes back to their hometown, would they be able to solve the very urgent grain problems in their hometown?

At that time, the Spanish government did not allow the export of crops such as sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes, and violators were executed.

Before Chen Zhenlong, many Fujian businessmen risked their lives in the hope of smuggling out of Luzon these "food of life" that could alleviate the famine in their hometowns, but they could not be successfully realized.

After careful consideration, Chen Zhenlong twisted the potato vine into the water absorption rope, evaded the layers of searches by the Spanish colonists, crossed the sea from Zhangzhou Yuegang to return to China, and then brought back to Fuzhou for cultivation.

Sweet potato is a high-yield crop, potato blocks contain a lot of starch and a variety of vitamins, strong adaptability, drought resistance, alkali resistance, strong stress resistance, like warm, light and not frost resistant, is an easy to keep the harvest of crops, especially suitable for Fujian is not suitable for planting grains of red soil. Even in barren sandy areas where the sea is heavily salinized, sweet potatoes can stubbornly take root and produce rich and delicious rhizomes.

Sweet potatoes were successfully tried in Fuzhou, coinciding with the drought in central Fujian, and the harvest was short. Sweet potatoes with tenacious vitality from afar have filled the stomachs of many victims in this famine. Subsequently, Chen Zhenlong urged his son Chen Jinglun to write to Inspector Jin Xuezeng of Fujian to vigorously promote sweet potato cultivation in order to solve the problem of food shortage among the Fujian people. Jin Xue was once a bureaucrat with a brain. At first, he did not blindly believe in the magic of sweet potatoes, but was more worried about not living in Fujian. Now" is to find the ground to try planting. On the day of the harvest, the fruit will be effective", which is why it was decided to promote planting in the province. Jin Xue once wrote China's first potato monograph "Overseas New Biography" on the basis of Chen Jinglun's "Law of Seed Potato Transmission". The growth habits, transmission paths and planting requirements of sweet potatoes are recorded in detail, which is a high summary of the introduction process and planting experience of sweet potatoes.

The people of Fujian are grateful to Jin Xue for its vigorous promotion of this life-saving food, and renamed this food originally named "Zhu Potato" to "Golden Potato"; because it was imported from abroad, it was also called "sweet potato". During the Daoguang period (1821-1850), He Zexian and other gentry built the Xianshu Ancestral Hall in Wushi Mountain, Fuzhou, and inspected Jin Xuezeng, with the ancestors of Changle Chen Zhenlong and his descendants. Later, the "First Potato Temple" was abandoned. In 1957, the Fuzhou Municipal Government built a new "Xianshu Pavilion" next to the "Xianshu Ancestral Hall", which is still there today.

Fuzhou, as the first area to try to grow sweet potatoes, with Fuzhou as the center, sweet potato vines spread and stretched, covering the entire Fujian laterite belt. Literature of the times: "Planted everywhere, inexpensive, three meals as a meal, the small people rely on it." When Zheng Chenggong's fleet was trapped by the typhoon and ordered grain to be raised in Penghu, yang Ying, a grain officer, told him that "there are only sweet potatoes" in the local area.

Like Champa rice, sweet potatoes were first introduced in Fujian and then promoted nationwide. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, sweet potatoes were widely cultivated in South China and gradually spread to the north. However, due to the impact of the war in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the cultivation technology of sweet potato spread relatively slowly, and it was not until the Kangxi period that the sweet potato cultivation technology spread throughout the country. In June of the 50th year of Qianlong (1711), Gengyin issued an edict to the Minister of Military Aircraft, etc.: "There is a kind of sweet potato produced in the direction of Fujian Province, which can be replenished with grain, and there are many folk farmers." Because Siyu Province has been repeatedly droughtstruck in recent years... Sweet potatoes can be eaten and drought-tolerant, and if they are used to sow seeds in Yu Province and receive food from the people, it is also a method of preparing for famine... He wrote the edict to Jun Lehun, that is, to adopt many lines of sweet potato vine seeds, and enlightened how to plant and water the method, and quickly sent them to Bi Yuan by Yi, turning them over to the drought-stricken genera, and telling the people to plant them according to law. Like Champa rice, the promotion of sweet potatoes in China has also been strongly supported by the supreme ruler.

When purple-red sweet potato flowers bloom all over the land of China, the spark symbolizing China's second grain revolution is ignited everywhere.

The introduction of sweet potatoes improved the living conditions of people at that time and also changed the history of China. Sweet potatoes that are produced without land can be cultivated in the mountains where rice and wheat cannot be planted, and the cultivation of sweet potatoes in turn improves the soil, turning the originally barren land into arable land, and expanding the arable land area in China to a certain extent. The introduction of sweet potatoes can not only develop new arable land, but also mix and space plant with wheat, sorghum and other crops, enriching the content of China's farming system, improving land utilization rate, and increasing grain yield per mu. In less than a hundred years, sweet potatoes have become the main food in the southeast laterite belt that "people's livelihood depends on" and "drought and fierceness depend on".

Guo Moruo once praised Chen Zhenlong as "this merit deserves to be better than Shennong", which is not exaggerated. As early as the Qing Jiaqing period, the Taiwanese poet Huang Hua carp wrote a poem praising sweet potatoes: "Bear paw dragon hooves are famous, and evenly even Yudian seeds are just beginning to take shape." Since the overseas transmission of good plants, the function is now six grains of contention. The poet juxtaposed sweet potato with "bear's paw and dragon's hoof" and juxtaposed it with the agricultural "six grains", which shows that it is highly affirmed.

Crops introduced to China from South America at the same time as sweet potatoes also include potatoes, corn and so on. Overseas species with the word "fan" like "sweet potato" also include "guava", "tomato" (tomato), "tomato head" (onion), "papaya" (papaya), etc., which were often introduced to China through the Maritime Silk Road in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Species with the word "Hu" (carrots, walnuts, courgettes, etc.) were often introduced to China through the overland Silk Road during the Han and Tang dynasties. In Chinese culture, the naming of exotic species often hints at their transmission pathways.

These South American crops from the other side of the ocean took root and multiplied on the land of China, promoted the second grain revolution in The history of Chinese agriculture, solved the grain problem that restricted the development of Chinese, and made immortal contributions to the stability and prosperity of the Chinese Empire.

The introduction of new crops, the detonation of two ancient Chinese grain revolutions, the courage of the People of Fuzhou to dare to be the first in the world allowed themselves to gain a head start in the face of the challenge of survival.

Sweet potato and Champa rice are both crops that Fujian people have recruited from overseas to China, and it has naturally become a staple food on the table of Fuzhou people, and it nourishes not only the stomach of Fuzhou people, but also the spirit of Fuzhou people.

The introduction of Champa rice has not only brought the liberation of food and clothing to the people of Fuzhou, but more importantly, the development of agriculture has brought more alternative lifestyles for the people of Fuzhou. People can settle down and cultivate and read, and read in addition to farming. The explosive growth of the economy and culture of Fuzhou in the two Song Dynasties after five generations is also related to Champa rice to some extent. "Cangmiao is realistic and knows etiquette", haunted by the uncertain ocean, that strong sense of insecurity, by the Champa rice to promote the agricultural civilization of the down-to-earth neutralization, Fuzhou people's marine character is also integrated into more from the agricultural civilization of peace and harmony.

The introduction of sweet potatoes is a powerful self-help for the people of Fuzhou once again in the face of famine. What was stolen from the hands of the Spanish colonists who did not care about death was not only the species that saved the descendants of Yanhuang from water and fire, but also a spiritual inheritance that was not willing to compromise and was tenacious and enterprising. All Fujianese, including Fuzhou, have a soft spot for this humble crop that has been brought home from overseas: they talk about sweet potatoes (sweet potato aliases) and laugh at themselves with "sweet potato cavities." The tenacious vitality of sweet potatoes that is born of no choice is highly consistent with the spiritual temperament of Fujian people who love to fight and win. In countless difficulties, countless Fujian people nibbled on sweet potatoes while encouraging themselves, overcoming one difficulty after another and sailing to the next successful harbor.

Source: Fuzhou Daily