A Study On The Forestry And Related Issues Of Northern Dynasties

Since ancient times, as an important economic sector, forestry has a great significance forhuman survival and development. During Northern Dynasties, forest was widely distributed,forest production technologies had been improved significantly, the systems of forestry officialsand policies had been gradually completed, landscape construction had a rapid development,contacts between forest and all aspects of social life increasingly close. All of these have had aprofound influence on later generations. So it can be said that Northern Dynasty is an importantstage of China’s forestry development.This paper is the study of the forestry in Northern Dynasties, including the distribution ofthe forest, forest production technologies,forest transportation and sale, forestry officials andpolicies, the situation of landscape trees,and the contacts between forest and all aspects of sociallife. This research related to the history of technology, system, landscape and social life, and thispaper is divided into five parts.The first chapter studied the distribution of forest in Northern Dynasties. During this period,Trees were mainly distributed in forest areas, farming areas, residential areas and landscapes.Firstly, the forest is the most concentrated area of trees, and forest resources is the basis for thedevelopment of forestry, so the basic situation of the forest is the most important issue that needsto be resolved when researching the forestry. At the beginning, we should define the forestdiscussed in the paper. There are three basic principles in the definition of forest, includingarbors as the main part, up to a certain size and density, covering a variety of biological andgenerate interaction between the environment and trees. Then, analysis of the distribution of theforest in Northern Dynasties. This period, forest in plains had been destroyed, large areas offorest were mainly distributed in Taihang Mountains Area, Luliang Mountains area, LongMountains Area, Yin Mountains Area and Qinling Mountains area. Secondly, a large number oftrees were also distributed in the farming areas. Among them,Sangtian area planted mulberry,jujube, elm and other economic trees that Juntian law stipulated. In addition, mountains, valleysand inferior fields where not suitable for the cultivation of grains, where a variety of treescentralized or decentralized planted. Thirdly, people also planted trees which were planted insideand outside the courtyard as well as on both sides of the road, Besides, royal landscapes, private landscapes and temple landscapes also planted a certain number of trees, the trees in landscapeswere an important part of the forest in Northern Dynasties.The second chapter studied the production and the merchandise of trees in NorthernDynasties. During this period, trees production technology was developing rapidly, it had a verysignificant performance in the agronomy works which named Qi Min Yao Shu in the same period.Base on this book, the paper investigated the trees production technology in the period, whichcovered the technology of trees harvesting, transportation and cultivation. Technologies of treesharvesting had been improved in Northern Dynasties, mainly in the logging tools, harvestingopportunities, methods and pest control measures. Trees transportation was mainly by water orby land and the combination of water and land transportation occupied the absolute proportion.Trees cultivation techniques was developing rapidly，the cultivation technologies of trees andfruit trees which include reproduction, transplantation and management that they had similaritiesand differences. At the same time, the technologies of fruits harvest, storage and processing hadmade a great progress. According to the characteristics of different fruits, people can determinethe time and method of fruits harvesting, using the way of sun-dried, air-dried and soak to storefruit, and fruit processing methods were also varied. During this period, fruits were made intofruit powder, preserved fruits, fruit oil, pickled fruit and smoked fruit. The sale of trees werewidespread, including transactions between government and private as well as transaction amongprivates, the government take a series of measures to manage the transaction of trees.The third chapter studied the forest management in Northern Dynasties. The paperdiscussed the forest management from the aspects of forestry officials and policies at this time.During this period, although the regime replaced frequently, central and local government stillhad forestry officials. The organization of center government, not only had specialized forestofficials, but also had part-time forest officials. In556AD,the emperor Gong carried outbureaucracy reform, since then the management of forestry officials divided into two systems,one was the Northern Wei and Northern Qi Dynasty, another was Western Wei and NorthernZhou Dynasty. The organization of local goverment didn’t have spcialized forest official, thepart-time forest officials were mainly state executive and city executive. Their specificresponsibilities were to supervise people planting mulberry trees and other trees. In addition, thecountry also enacted policies to manage forest, which mainly contained the relaxing control of exploiting mountains, protection of forests and afforestation.The fourth chapter studied landscapes in Northern Dynasties. The Northern Dynasty was animportant stage in the development of China’s classical landscape. During this period, royallandscapes, private landscapes and temple landscapes had different levels developed. Due to thecapital migration, the royal landscapes mainly in the cities of Pingcheng, Luoyang, Yecheng andChang’an. According to construction sited, private landscapes were divided into urbanlandscapes and suburban landscapes. Because buddhism prevailed, different social strata werekeen to build the temple landscapes, so the construction of temple landscapes appearedflourishing phenomenon. By studying the development of the landscapes in Northern Dynasties,we can find that trees became major sceneries in the landscapes, landscapes trees also is animportant part of trees in Northern Dynasties. During this period, landscape trees included timber,fruit trees and bamboos which have ornamental values and economic values. Governmentmanage the trees in royal landscape through forest officials and policies.The fifth chapter studied the relationship between the forest and the social life in NorthernDynasties. In terms of fuel, forest was a major source of fuelwood and charcoal. In terms ofclothing, trees were the basic raw material for production and staining of clothing. In terms ofdiet, forest products was an important food instead of cereals, at the same time, trees could beused to produced varieties of eating utensils, forest products also enriched people’s eating habits.In terms of residential, forest had become an important architectural and furniture timber, treesand hedges planted inside and outside of courtyard played a role in the residential landscaping.In terms of traveling, trees supplied timber to boats, carriage and bridges building, trees plantedon sides of the road also provides convenience for travelers. In terms of health care, certain kindsof the forest products can be made into drugs which has the effect of treatment of disease andcosmetology, so forest products were widely used in medical care. In terms of funeral activities,trees provided timbers for funeral, at the same time, planting trees in the cemetery was a verypopular trend. In terms of faith, the concept that trees have spirits was popular, some trees hadthe effect of indicates fortunes, good fortune and sustenance of the soul, which were embracedby the people at that time.