The Southward Movement Of Wheat Cultivating During The Period Of Wei,Jin,Southern And Northern Dynasties

Wheat is one of the main food crops in China.It was introduced to China during the Longshan era and developed slowly in the following thousands of years.Under the promotion of the government and the development of wheat processing technology,by the end of the Han Dynasty,wheat was widely distributed in northern China,and became a staple food crop second only to millets.During the Wei,Jin,Southern and Northern Dynasties,the rolling southward migration of the population made the wheat planting area expand in latitude.The scale of wheat cultivation increased in place between Huaihe river and Yangtze river,and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.The following factors are the main drivers for the southward expansion of wheat cultivation during Wei,Jin,Southern and Northern Dynasties.First of all,during the Wei,Jin,Southern and Northern Dynasties,the climate tended to be dry and cold,which on the one hand,prompted the ethnic minorities who originally lived in high latitudes to move to south places,and eventually led to the large-scale migration of the northern population to the south,on the other hand,the humid and hot climate in the southern region changed,so that it has the conditions to attract northern people,and it also provides a relatively suitable environment for the cultivation of wheat.Secondly,under the vigorous promotion of the Han governments,the status of wheat in northern China has risen to a certain extent,and wheat has become the staple food crop after millets.People in northern China thus developed a preference for wheat,so wheat was cultivated when they moved to the southern China.Besides,in the Wei,Jin,Southern and Northern Dynasties,the improvement of wheat flour milling technology and the development of flour food production technology made wheat a more attractive food.Furthermore,since the planting rhythm of wheat,especially winter wheat,is different from that of local food crops in China,and the busy farming time is staggered,it is of great significance to connect with the lack of succession.Since the Han Dynasty,it has always been valued by the feudal government.The frequent natural disasters during this period made disaster preparedness more important.The government of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Dynasties paid great attention to the cultivation and promotion of wheat from beginning to end.Finally,the development of medical and health care ideas and the promotion of religions in this period cannot be ignored.The behavior of eating wheat is common in Buddhist and Taoist diets,and was followed by people who followed the regions,which also promotes the cultivation of wheat.During this period,the planting of wheat in the southern China had a considerable scale,and it also had a certain interaction with the southern society.Such an interactive relationship is mainly reflected in that,the planting technology of wheat has been improved to suit the natural conditions in the south.The northern dry farming technology system,including wheat planting technology,was absorbed and improved by southern rice farming.The southern rice farming technology system got rid of the more extensive planting methods and developed towards a deeper level.In addition,the dietary and cultural meanings represented by wheat were accepted by the people in the southern regions and become an integral part of their daily life.With the continuous development of wheat cultivation,wheat has become a common commodity in the market and entered the national tax system,becoming one of the major staple crops besides rice and millet.The Wei,Jin,Southern and Northern Dynasties were an important stage in the development of wheat planting in China.The improvement of wheat planting technology and the improvement of processing technology during this period laid a certain foundation for the improvement of wheat’s status,surpassing millet in later generations and becoming one of the main staple crops in China.The improvement of wheat planting technology in the southern region also provided a technical exploration for the farming system of rice and wheat rotation in the later generations.