Research On The Introduction And Promotion Of Sweet Potatoes And Peanuts In Qingdao From The Qing Dynasty To The Republic Of Chin

During the Qing and Republican periods,the environment for food production in China underwent dramatic changes,both internally due to the pressure of rapid population growth and externally due to the dynamics of transformation brought about by the development of markets,industry and cities.The changes in the cultivation of sweet potatoes and peanuts are typical of both the region and the times.Under the combined influence of the market,the government and farmers,sweet potatoes and peanuts expanded rapidly in Qingdao and formed a concentrated production area around Jiaozhou Bay.In the process of expansion,the impact of sweet potatoes and peanuts not only eased the pressure on food caused by population growth,gradually replacing the traditional wheat and corn as the main foodstuff of the common people,forming a new agricultural cultivation structure dominated by sweet potatoes and peanuts,which led to the development of the population’s diet structure from diversification to homogenisation;but also its own excellent high and stable yields and commercialisation characteristics,which began to breed the seeds of modernisation in the process of agricultural change.The commercial element of rural society and agricultural production gradually grew,further contributing to the modernisation of the whole of Qingdao.