The Development of Ancient Agriculture in China

China has a long history of agriculture. Agriculture originated in ancient times without written records, and occurred in the matrix of primitive gathering and hunting economy. There is a so-called "Shennong" in the ancient legend of China. It is said that before Shennong, people ate reptiles, animals, fruits and vegetables, snails and mussels. Later, the population gradually increased, food was insufficient, and it was urgent to open up new food sources. Shennong tasted all kinds of herbs, made painstaking preparations, was poisoned many times, found a way to detoxify, and finally chose grains for human consumption. Then he observed the right time and place, created an axe and taught people to grow grain. So agriculture appeared, and medicine also appeared; At the same time, people have mastered pottery and textile technology. This legend is a historical shadow left by the era when agriculture occurred and was established. Modern archaeology provides us with rich new materials to understand the origin of agriculture and the situation of primitive agriculture in China. At present, thousands of Neolithic primitive agricultural sites have been discovered, covering the vast land from Lingnan to Mobei, from the coast of the East China Sea to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, especially in the Yellow River basin and the Yangtze River basin. There are famous agricultural settlements such as Peiligang, Xinzheng, Henan Province, Cishan, Wu 'an, Hebei Province, Hemudu, Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, which mainly grows millet, and later Banpo Site, Xi 'an, Shaanxi Province. In recent years, the remains of cultivated rice dating back tens of thousands of years have been found in Pengtoushan, Lixian County, Hunan Province, Yuchanyan, Daoxian County, Wannian Xianren Cave and Diaotongyan, Jiangxi Province. It can be seen that the origin of agriculture in China can be traced back to 10,000 years ago, and primitive agriculture was quite developed by 7,000 to 8,000 years ago.

Globally, there are three main centers of agricultural origin: West Asia, Central and South America and East Asia. The origin center of East Asia is mainly China. The characteristics of primitive agriculture in China are obvious. In planting, the pattern of millet in the north and rice in the south has long been formed, which is different from wheat and barley in West Asia and potatoes, pumpkins and corn in Central and South America. China's primitive farm tools, such as hand-foot plows for digging and stone knives for cutting ears and harvesting, also show different characteristics from other regions. In terms of animal husbandry, the earliest livestock raised in China were dogs, pigs, chickens and buffaloes, and later it was increased to the so-called "six livestock" (horses, cows, sheep, pigs, dogs and chickens), which is different from West Asia, which has been mainly raising sheep and goats for a long time, and more different from Central and South America, which only raises alpacas. China is one of the largest origins of crops and livestock and poultry in the world. Primitive agriculture in most areas of our country occurred directly from the economy of gathering, fishing and hunting, with planting as the core and animal husbandry as the sideline, and developed with the development of planting, while gathering and hunting were the supplementary sources of living materials, forming a structure of coexistence of agriculture, animal husbandry and hunting. This structure leads to a relatively stable settled life and is suitable for settled agriculture. Pigs have always been the main livestock, and the combination of captivity and grazing appeared earlier. Nomadic tribes formed late. At the same time, China is the first country in the world to raise silkworms for reeling. In a word, China's agricultural origin is independent and self-contained. Chinese civilization is based on its own agricultural development, and the so-called "Chinese civilization comes from the West" that once circulated is not in line with historical reality.

From the perspective of China itself, agriculture does not spread from a central producing area to surrounding areas, but is formed by the confluence of several sources. The origin of millet cultivation in the Yellow River basin is different from that of rice cultivation in the Yangtze River basin. Agriculture in southern China may have started with tuber crops such as potatoes and taro. Even agriculture in the same crop area may have different sources. On the basis of polycentric origin, based on the differences of natural conditions and social traditions in different places, China agriculture has gradually formed different agricultural types through differentiation and reorganization in the development process. These different types of agricultural cultures have become the basis for the formation of different ethnic groups. The ancient agriculture in China was formed by the integration of these different regions, different nationalities and different types of agriculture, and developed through mutual exchanges and collisions. This phenomenon can be called "intersection".

The development of ancient agriculture in China can be divided into six stages:

(A) the embryonic period of agricultural technology

In the Neolithic Age (about 10000-4000 years ago), agriculture in China originated about 1 10,000 years ago. It is gradually developed in the economy of gathering, fishing and hunting. The emergence of agriculture has laid a solid foundation for the progress of human civilization.

(B) the initial formation period of agricultural technology

In Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties (about 2 100 BC-77 1 year BC), China invented metal smelting technology, and bronze farm tools began to be used in agricultural production. Water conservancy projects began to be built. Preliminary progress has been made in agricultural technology.

(3) the occurrence period of intensive cultivation

The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (770 BC-22 AD1year) was a period of great social change and great development of science, technology and culture in China. The invention of ironmaking technology indicates that new productive forces have stepped onto the historical stage, and the utilization of iron farm tools and animal power has promoted the great development of agricultural production.

(D) The formation period of intensive cultivation techniques in northern dry land

From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Southern and Northern Dynasties (2265438 BC+0-589 AD), this is the maturity of dryland agricultural technology in northern China. Formed the matching technology of ploughing, harrowing and retting. Various large and complicated farm tools have been invented and used one after another. Jia Sixie, a famous agronomist, wrote a large-scale agricultural encyclopedia "Qi Yao Min Shu".

(5) The formation period of rice intensive cultivation in southern China.

During the Sui, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties (581-kloc-0/368), the economic center of gravity shifted from north to south. Formation of technical support technology for paddy fields in southern China. Invention and popularization of special farm tools for paddy fields. Cotton is becoming more and more popular in China. There are many agricultural books. Land use patterns have increased. Agriculture in the north and the south has achieved great development at the same time.

(VI) Intensive cultivation and intensive development period

During the period from the Ming Dynasty to the early and middle period of the Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1368- A.D. 1840), the contradiction between man and land was widespread in China, and agricultural production developed to further intensive cultivation. Many crops from the American New World were introduced into China, which had a great influence on the crop structure in China. Diversification and multiple cropping have become the main modes of agricultural production.

After the founding of New China, China agriculture has made more brilliant achievements on the basis of high-tech application. China feeds one fifth of the world's population with 7% land. In agricultural science and technology, the gap between China and developed countries has become smaller and smaller. The contribution rate of science and technology to agricultural development increased from 20% in 1949 to 42%.