A Study On The Cultivation Technology Of Crop During 3—12 Centuries In Henan

The Henan is refers to now in Henan Province in administrative division,in the middle period,Henan province belong to different administrative units,but from west to East,the center of the state went into Henan gradually.In the totalitarian system,the center of state often has generous conditions than other local.Therefore,the cultivation technology of food crops and vegetables in Henan are in a rapid development stage,since the Northern Song Dynasty was inferior to the south.In the central area of traditional agricultural country,how to feed the growing population on the limited land is the most issue of concern,the key to solve the problem lies in the development of agricultural technology.Climate,soil,and water conservancy conditions is the natural base for the development of crop planting technology.Climate change will influence on farming activities,we can see this link clearly from books in different times.The climate of North China Plain is semi-arid monsoon climate of temperate,and influenced by ocean.The uneven distribution of rainfall has great influence on the growth of crops.High temperatures in rainy summer,little snow in cold and dry winter,in spring,temperature rise fast and it has high evaporation,more wind,these cause serious spring drought,which is an important threat to agricultural development in Henan.Since 120000 years,paleoclimate in North China Plain had many alternation,the period of warm continued into the early Zhou Dynasty,then warm and cold alternating,in the Eastern Han Dynasty climate tends to cold,Tang Dynasty is a warm period,while the Northern Song Dynasty is from warm to cold.The different climatic conditions contributed to the development of different types of soil,and soil provides base for crop growth.People’s ability of observe and understand the soil improved gradually in the long-term work process,they adopt appropriate soil tillage,in order to improve soil structure and soil fertility,so,soil has been in a state of good ecological cycle,this is the ecological basis for the sustainable development of traditional agriculture in China.Appropriate water is the necessary conditions for the growth of plants,so the irrigation is lifeblood of agriculture development.The water environment of Henan is from good to bad in the Middle Ages,Yellow River is the main river,she is in the calm period,but changes of lakes is obvious.The change of water environment has brought great impact on the local agricultural development,and the most direct example is rice and aquatic vegetable.Rice,Wheat,Setaria italica,Glycine max are the main crops in Henan.Rice was the crop of the south,but the northern China has a long history of rice cultivation,too.And,according to historical records,we can see people pay attention to the rice production and the construction of water conservancy,which closely related to the rice planting.Before the Wei and Jin Dynasties,Henan area as the center of China,she has concentration of population,developed economy and culture,and developed agricultural technology.Regardless of rice cultivation technology or irrigation the North is better than the South.Thesis taking "Transplant rice" as a key technology,illustrates this situation.After the Southern Dynasties,the rice industry in the north and south was changed.The Central Plains war stricken,farmland construction suffered serious damage,and the population moved south,rice fading,while the southern region is rich in water resources,suitable climate,stable social environment,so,rice production has entered the golden period in South China.And then,rice occupy the dominant position of crop.In general,the process of transformation of rice begin from the Wei and Jin Dynasties,end in the late Southern Song Dynasty.The paper refers to winter wheat,since wheat was introduced into China,it was restricted by threshing ground powder and processing technology,until the Eastern Han Dynasty it got rapid development,and in Tang Dynasty,wheat was important as Setaria italica and Glycine max.Later,wheat became the main grain crops in Henan.Setaria italica and Glycine max in addition to the daily food for people,is often used as feed for livestock,especially for horses.Since the Western Han Dynasty horse industry began to flourish,Tang and Song Dynasties is a peak,so,contradiction of food for men and horses,competition of pasture and farmland is inevitable.Because Setaria italica is important to feeding livestock,it was not fading fast,but Glycine max gradually withdraw from the ranks of staple food,as one of the most important non-staple food continues to flourish today.Cucumis melo,Eggplant,A.tuberosum,Zingiber officinale,Lactuca sativa,Brassica juncea,Brassica rapa,Trapa bispinosa Roxb.and other aquatic vegetable is important vegetable in Henan.Dry land cultivation of vegetable got development in Middle Ages in Henan,but aquatic vegetables are limited to environmental constraints,gradually reduced.Paper combination with the biological characteristics of various vegetables and examine the records of these vegetables in the ancient books,try to make the skeleton of these vegetables’ planting technology more clearly.Sericulture and Cannabis sativa were main source of people’s cloth.The middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River has a long history of planting mulberry.Here is the largest sericulture technology center area in China before the Tang Dynasty.After the Tang Dynasty,the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River sericulture industry although compared with the previous inferior slightly,but still retains a considerable strength.Flax-weaving is the ordinary material sources.The paper refers to the male hemp,which take fiber for the purpose.Selection and development of technical base on certain conditions,at the same time,the development of technology will lead to changes in the environment.Farming first depends on the season and soil conditions,so the season and soil environment are important observation points,so,paper analyzes the main features of crop planting technology in this way,and takes Luoyang as an example,combining the literati poetry,describes the farmland landscape changes caused by the technical development.The ancestors in Henan according to the topography,climate,water environment and other natural resources foundation created the agricultural situation as waterlogged and aerobic coexist,but after the Northern and Southern Dynasties,agricultural situation concentrated to dry farming gradually,dryland system setting and fine.In this process,the deterioration of water resources led to the adjustment of agricultural structure directly,and promote the mature of dry system.Other,people as the initiative producers,in the process of transforming nature and creativing agricultural landscape,played an extremely important role.So,what kind of agricultural landscape on a piece of land,people who live here plays an important role.Effects of human factors on crop planting technology is mainly embodied in two aspects,one is the effect of population’s change,the other is the different cultural backgrounds of the people caused.In agricultural ecosystem,the shorter food chain,the less consumption of energy between trophic levels.So,shorten the food chain,will be able to support a larger population.On the problem of how to feed more people on the limited land,farming shows outstanding advantages.When the contradiction between people and land appeared,supplemental energy inputs of agriculture was increased gradually,and farming technology was refined gradually,while animal husbandry retreating gradually.In the Northern Dynasties,and afer the late Tang Dynasties,a lot of nomadic people went into the Central Plains,the minority residents abandoned nomadic way of life gradually,learned and adapted to the agricultural production and the life settlement,rather than changed the living way of the Central Plains,this phenomenon is determined by the ecological factors.At the same time,the minority people who went to the Central Plains inject fresh blood for the agricultural development in Central China,the status of agriculture and animal husbandry,livestock species and dietary culture had undergone change of varying degrees."Hu cake" is an important represent of diet culture,it is an important factor to promote the technology development of wheat.In addition,irrigation and farm tools provided the necessary condition of cultivation technology’s development in Middle Ages in Henan.