Where is the birthplace of pepper and when was it introduced to China?

Pepper (scientific name: Capsicum annuum) is also known as long pepper, pepper, pepper, Qin pepper and lantern pepper. It is a capsicum plant of Solanaceae. Pepper is pungent and hot, which can warm the middle warmer, strengthen the stomach, dispel cold, dry dampness and sweat, and is rich in minerals such as vitamin B, carotene, calcium and iron. It has become an indispensable vegetable and condiment on the table of China people today. However, pepper was not native to China, but was introduced to China through the European continent in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. Today, we will discuss how pepper was introduced into China from both international and domestic perspectives.

1. Origin of international factor (1): According to the comprehensive judgment of genetic testing, site archaeology and aboriginal linguistics research, the artificial breeding age of pepper originated in Central and South America will not be later than 6000-600 1 year ago, and even the artificially planted pepper has been found in caves in Peru, Mexico, Bolivia and northern Brazil for 7000-9000 years. Among them, Guitaro Cave in Peru and Okamo Cave in Tamaulipas, Mexico have found the earliest artificially planted pepper seeds so far.

There is an early South American indigenous site in Huaca Prieta, Chikma Valley, Peru, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Archaeological findings show that the local indigenous people have planted peppers artificially before 2000 AD at the latest. Today's archaeological discovery in Chiapa decorzo in southern Mexico shows that 1600 years ago, indigenous people used a small amount of pepper in their diet-pepper residues were found in the pottery used at that time! Traces of pepper cultivation were also found in the Mayan civilization site in El Salvador 1400 years ago. Traces of pepper planted artificially 1000 years ago were found in Venezuela, South America.

The earliest archaeological discovery of artificially cultivated pepper in northwest Mexico (southwestern United States) was from the middle of12nd century to the end of13rd century. The carbon 14 of pepper seeds showed that it was about 760 years ago (plus or minus 55 years). On the surface, Native Americans brought peppers to the North American continent centuries before Columbus arrived in June, instead of being introduced to the United States by European immigrants in the late19th century, as scientists generally believe!

(2) Communication: Columbus originally expected to reach India and Indonesia in the east by sea, but in mid-June of 1492, he arrived in the Caribbean Sea and its coastal areas (Bahamas, Cuba and several surrounding islands). After discovering pepper in the Caribbean, Columbus and his crew brought it back to Europe and spread it to other places. This spice began to become famous all over the world.

Because Columbus and others thought pepper was a kind of pepper at first, so red pepper got its name. But in fact, pepper and pepper have nothing to do at the species level. According to records, Shankar, a ship doctor who participated in Columbus' second expedition in 1493, was the first person to bring peppers back to Spain from the West Indies. As early as 1494, he gave a detailed account of the medicinal efficacy of pepper.

For more than 300 years after Columbus brought peppers back to Europe, Europeans believed that peppers were produced in India, because Columbus really thought he had arrived in India. At that time, Changka first arrived in Lisbon, the westernmost port city on the European continent, and then spread peppers around the world from here. It is speculated that at the end of15th century, the Portuguese brought peppers to the Indian subcontinent by sea.

152 1 year, Magellan led a Spanish expedition to discover this place in the first voyage around the world of geographical discovery, where Magellan was hacked to death by local aborigines. 1542, the Spanish named the island "Las Filipinas" after Prince Philip, which became the origin of the name of the Philippines. Spanish colonists also introduced pepper to the Philippines. According to historical records, pepper was introduced into China by Portuguese or Spanish ships from Peru and Mexico in America by sea in the late Ming Dynasty, that is, in the 6th century.

Second, domestic factors (1) Natural factors: Although pepper was introduced to China in the late Ming Dynasty, it can still be planted in the vast land of China today, which is undoubtedly inseparable from our domestic natural factors. The suitable planting temperature of pepper is about 15-34 degrees. The suitable temperature for seed germination is 25-30℃, and the time required for germination is 5-7 days. When the temperature is lower than 15℃ or higher than 35℃, the seeds will not germinate.

Zanthoxylum bungeanum is also very strict with water conditions. Neither drought nor waterlogging tolerance, like dry air conditions. Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Henan (Xichuan County), Jize County of Hebei Province and Tuoketuo County of Inner Mongolia all provided good natural conditions for the growth of pepper, which laid a good natural foundation for the pepper history of more than 400 years in China.

(2) Human factors: The spread of pepper in China also benefited from the social background in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. At that time, China's closed-door policy was not popular, and the concept of the state in the imperial court was not extremely rigid. The tributary trade between China and foreign countries was prosperous, and hundred schools of thought emerged, forming a prosperous situation. The rulers treat Bora products equally, and the land of China is very inclusive, which gives pepper favorable conditions to survive in Chinese mainland.

The word pepper first appeared in Yao Kecheng's Edible Materia Medica at the end of Ming Dynasty, and it was mainly used as medicine for internal use to dispel cold and warm spleen and stomach or external application to prevent freezing. In the ancient books of the Ming Dynasty, The Complete Book of Agricultural Administration and Tongya, it is also called pepper, which means foreign things. The earliest record of calling it pepper can be found in the Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzu in Ming Dynasty, and in the Flower Mirror by Chen Haozi in Qing Dynasty, it is recorded that "pepper is full of white flowers, and the fruit is bald and spicy."

In the field of local chronicles, a kind of pepper was first seen in Liuzhou Fuzhi in 1764. It was also used as an ornamental plant in the early stage and was only used in the later stage. According to historical records, Hunan, Guizhou and Sichuan began to eat peppers as early as the Qing Dynasty.

In the early Qing dynasty, Guizhou and its neighboring areas first ate Chili. In Guizhou, where salt is extremely scarce, pepper, as a condiment, plays an important role in replacing salt, which shows its close relationship with people's lives. From the Qianlong period, people in Guizhou began to eat a lot of peppers. In other areas, peppers are generally accepted and eaten after Daoguang.

Conclusion: It is precisely because the West discovered pepper from America and brought it back to the European continent under the background of scientific and technological development that objectively laid the groundwork for the emergence of pepper in China. At the same time, China's economy and culture have contained the Chinese nation for thousands of years. The ingenious collision and perfect combination of these two factors have enabled peppers to play their role and efficacy to the maximum extent in China, and have survived and developed to this day.