What contributions did Shennong make to food culture?

In order to solve the problem of people's hunger, Shennong traveled all over China and tasted all kinds of herbs, identifying the five grains and herbs. He also invented farming tools and taught people to plant according to the time and place, so that the five grains became people's main food, and from then on, crops with relatively stable harvests secured people's livelihood.

At that time, in the vast arid areas of the Yellow River Basin, especially in the Loess Plateau area, the climate was dry and suitable for dry farming, and the food crop that took the forefront was millet, commonly known as millet. Millet in the Neolithic era has been people's food, in the slightly later Yangshao culture, the Da Wenkou culture and the Longshan culture sites are also found in the grain seeds.

In South China, rice was a crop grown on a large scale due to the warm and humid climate, abundant rainfall and dense rivers and lakes.

The pattern of corn-based dryland agriculture in North China and rice-based paddy field agriculture in South China has influenced the formation of China's northern and southern food traditions ever since. The differences in staple foods have not only brought about cultural differences, but have even had a profound impact on the physical development of people.