Archaeological Research On Agricultural Production Of Lingnan Area In Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was a special and important period in the history of agricultural development in ancient China.At that time,agricultural production reached an unprecedented level and height.During this period,the agriculture in Lingnan area should have made great progress,but what was its situation?It is still worth research carefully.The archaeological remains unearthed in Lingnan are the basis of the research.Meanwhile,historical documents and ethnological materials are fully utilized to make a comprehensive analysis of agriculture of Lingnan in the Han Dynasty.On the premise of paying attention to the planting of crop,specific links and elements of agricultural production,the livestock breeding should be taken into account.From the scope of research,Hainan of China and the north-central part of Vietnam will be included in order to form a comprehensive understanding.This paper researches on the Planting of Crop from the following four aspects.The one is the research on "Farmland Tillage Tools and Tillage Methods".Farmland tillage tools included wood,stone,copper and iron tools.Metal tools can be subdivided into Local Culture,Central Plains Culture,Yunnan Bronze Culture and Wuyue Culture.The full use of farmland tillage tools of the Central Plains Cultural was the symbol of the iron-tool-lization.The time was in the Eastern Han Dynasty,and the iron-tool-lization was realized by importing large quantities of iron raw materials or iron farm implements from north of Lingnan.At that time,Farmland tillage technology and methods were also very diverse,cattle ploughing was undoubtedly the most important,it was introduced to Lingnan in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty,until the Eastern Han Dynasty was greatly promoted.The second is the research on "Grain Crops and Related Planting Technology".Grain crops mainly included rice,millet,broomcorn millet,hemp,wheat,beans,sorghum,coix,rhizome crops and so on.Rice,coix and rhizome crops were domesticated and cultivated locally,dryland crops were all derived from nonlocal.The turning point of Qin and Han Dynasties was the main time for dry crops to enter Lingnan area,mostly from the east.Rice was divided into rice and dry rice,as well as indica rice and japonica rice.The direct seeding method was widely used,and the seedling raising and transplanting technology was not implemented in some areas until the late Eastern Han Dynasty.Apart from millet and beans,other dryland crops were not widely planted in Lingnan.The third is the research on "Farmland Type and Farmland Management".The farmland included dryland field,She field,paddy field and Luo field,among which Luo field was a special form of paddy field.In the management of farmland,irrigation,fertilization,soil loosening and weeding had been taken.In particular,it is worth mentioning the ditch-digging technology,which spread to Lingnan along with the digging of Lingqu canal.Lingqu canal had irrigation significance in the early Western Han Dynasty,and the canal was widely used in Lingnan in the Eastern Han Dynasty.In the process of loosening soil and weeding in intertillage management,paddy fields basically did not use farming tools,while dryland fields mainly used hoes,shovels,spade and so on.The fourth is the research on "Harvesting,Storage and Processing of Grain Crops".The harvest of grain crops included not only the original form of bare-handed pinching,but also the use of sickles and Zhi(another kind of little sickle),those tools can be subdivided into Local Culture,Wuyue Culture and Central Plains Culture.With the help of ethnological materials,it is speculated that there are primitive hand-twisting,hand-rubbing and foot-stepping methods in crop threshing besides the beating,slapping and rolling with external tool.Crop storage,including barn facilities and grain storage implement.Stilt-style was the most common type of barn facilities,and it had the functions of moisture-proof and rodent-proof.It was widely used in the Eastern Han Dynasty.Of course,there were also phenomena of non-storage of crops.The processed tools found in archaeology were only pestle mortar and stone grinder,and their types were far less than those in Central Plains,indicating that the processed methods in Lingnan area were still relatively backward.Livestock breeding was an important part of agricultural production of Lingnan in Han Dynasty and there were many kinds of livestock.There was also peak cows(bos indicus)and pigeons,which were relatively rare in the Central Plains.Among them,pigs and buffalo were domesticated and cultivated locally,and other livestock were imported from nonlocal at different times.During the Eastern Han Dynasty,livestock were closely related to the social life of people.As a result,livestock breeding began to flourish and there were excellent livestock species,such as pigs,peak cows and chickens.In terms of rearing method,pigs were mainly kept in captivity,and other livestock were mostly free-range.In order to cope with fine-management and different natural environment,diversified forms of livestock sty had been developed.On the scale of rearing,family rearing was dominant,and professional rearing farmers appeared in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.The agriculture of Lingnan area in the Han Dynasty was quite different from the previous dynasty.The development level of planting and livestock breeding had been significantly improved.However,within Lingnan area,the development of agriculture still showed regional imbalance and difference in time.If we take agricultural tools as the main evaluation index,we will find that the eastern region centered on Nanhai County and Cangwu County had the highest level of agricultural development.The agricultural development level of the western region centered on Yulin County,Hepu County,Jiaozhi County and Jiuzhen County was the second,and that of the southern region centered on Rinan County,Daner County and Zhuya County was the lowest.At the same time,from the analysis of cultural factors,Lingnan's agriculture in Han Dynasty went through three periods:the transformation of local traditional agriculture,the entry of foreign characteristic agriculture,and the promotion of characteristic agriculture in Central Plains.Natural environment,historical accumulation,political unity,social stability,cultural dissemination,population growth,geographical location and livelihood tradition were the main factors affecting agricultural development at that time.Because of the achievements of agriculture,which promoted the prosperity of handicraft industry and commerce.Together with agriculture,they formed the cornerstone of Lingnan's social civilization in the Han Dynasty.