The Research Of Food Security In Ancient Cgina

Food security relates to the national security and social stability, and it is not only the political problem, but also the economical problem.In the traditional agriculture society, all dynasties have taken the food safety problem very important, and have formed the idea and the prevailing custom in the entire society which valued agriculture and food store very much. The feudal dynasty strengthens the food supply and food security in several fields such as the ideology, the agricultural production, the food storage, policy and so on, and has formed rich thought, culture, and system about food problems. This article takes the odern food security concept as the angle of view, inspects grain production, store, circulation, as well as the policy development in historical period, studies natural and social factors that has influenced food security problems in ancient times, in order to provide the historical model to the food security problems in modern times.Through the research, we find that the food security problems in ancient China manifests that safe in macroscopic and unsafe in microscopic. The food security in macroscopic displays that the progress of agricultural production has brought the balanced of food supply and demand, and the unsafe in microscopic has became the key of food crisis in ancient society, including the food production undulation, the unreasonable of food distribution region and food assignment. Taking agriculture important in order to guaranteed the food supply, strengthening food stores to avoid the food production undulation, and organizing and encouraging food circulation to balance the food distribution in different regions are the basic experience in food safety in ancient times. But strengthening the rationality of food assignment and enhancing the ability of the holding of food about the weak community are the key inspiration to the food safety problems in modern times.First, this article defines the concept of food security in ancient China, and analyzes the connotation and the basic characteristic of food security in the ancient times. Divide the food security in ancient times according to the influence scope and the different domain, and propose separately the concept of safe safety in macroscopic, food security in icroscopic,the food production safety, safety stores, and safety circulation. Secondly, the paper sorted out the historical ideological development of ancient food security. The ideology of food security penetrated through food production, circulation and consumption and formed ideological system: agriculture was regarded as a key issue and great importance was attached to food production from government and society as a whole; based on food storage and government policies for providing disaster relief, the ability of anti-crisis and crisis relief was strengthened; waterway and non-government transport was applied for food circulation to dispense surplus and deficiency and to balance prices; the policy of food as nucleus ensured the establishment of food security system.Thirdly, the issue of food production security was studied. The paper summarized agricultural production and examined the changes of per mu yield across different historical periods. Through the analysis of ancient food per mu yield, per capita food procession, cultivated area, population vicissitude, and overall food supply and demand, the paper proposed, except Spring and Autumn and Warring period and Qing dynasty, food supply and demand is in balance and macro food security was ensured. Traditional agriculture featured with intensive cultivation became matured. With extension of arable area, introduction of new crop, construction of water project, food productivity was increased, providing basic security for the safety of ancient food production.Fourthly, the storage function, form and management system of ancient food was explored. By way of making up for possible shortages with surplus, the time gap was filled as to the yearly food production fluctuation, which is also the approach for relieving calamity in ancient society. Food storage in different historical periods underwent dynamic changes and gradually formed three storage systems with respective objectives: first, government and local storehouse aimed at storing state levied taxes to support feudal officials and stratocracy; second, ever-normal granary, the main part of storage system, was established to realize stable food price and to relieve calamity; third, nation wide food reliving measures was taken, which was run by people and supervised by government. The feature of ancient food storage is the whole nation attaching great importance to food storage and nation wide involvement. Ancient food storage management system was formed with reserve monopoly, direct control from central finance and strict management.Fifthly, this article studies the function of circulation in food security in ancient times from the circulation form, policy and so on in historical period. The food region difference in ancient times is the primary factor of food production, but the food circulation can make the food distribution balance in space.Sixthly, this article has discussed the problem of food assignment. We think that the key factor of the unsafe of food in microscopic is the unfair food distribution of farmers which caused by the feudal society. Enhancing the food holding of the weak crowd in society is the useful method to solve the food safety problems in ancient times.Seventhly, this article has done the analysis of the factors which infects the food safety in ancient China. Moreover, it has given some brief elaboration about cultural custom, land system, and social transformation which have affected the food safety.Eighthly, this article has discussed the food policy in ancient times for important, studied the function and the change process of the thought of famine politics and the system of welfare. Moreover, it has talked about the related policy of food in ancient China, such as the balance system, the water conservancy facility, land taxes and levies system, and so on.