|
Records from the Warring States (481 BC-221 BCE), Qin Dynasty (221 BC-207 BCE), and Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 CE) provide a picture of early Chinese agriculture which included a nationwide granary system, and widespread use of sericulture. An important early Chinese book on agriculture is the Chimin Yaoshu of 535 CE, written by Jia Sixia.[27] Jia's writing style was straightforward and lucid relative to the elaborate and allusive writing typical of the time. Jia's book was also very long, with over one hundred thousand written Chinese characters, and it quoted many other Chinese books that were written previously, but no longer survive.[28] The contents of Jia's 6th century book include sections on land preparation, seeding, cultivation, orchard management, forestry, and animal husbandry. The book also includes peripherally related content covering trade and culinary uses for crops.[29] The work and the style in which it was written proved influential on later Chinese agronomists, such as Wang Zhen and his groundbreaking Nong Shu of 1313 CE.[28] For agricultural purposes, the Chinese had innovated the hydraulic-powered trip hammer by the 1st century BC.[30] Although it found other purposes, its main function to pound, decorticate, and polish grain that otherwise would have been done manually. The Chinese also began using the square-pallet chain pump by the 1st century CE, powered by a waterwheel or oxen pulling an on a system of mechanical wheels.[31] Although the chain pump found use in public works of providing water for urban and palatial pipe systems,[32] it was used largely to lift water from a lower to higher elevation in filling irrigation canals and channels for farmland.[33] |
About us|Jobs|Help|Disclaimer|Advertising services|Contact us|Sign in|Website map|Search|
GMT+8, 2015-9-11 22:09 , Processed in 0.142483 second(s), 16 queries .
