Guangming Daily published Professor Zhang Jian's "From the Americas to China: The Transmission Paths of Maize, Potatoes, and Sweet Potatoes"

From the Americas to China: The Spread of Corn, Potatoes, and Sweet Potatoes

ZHANG Jian is a Level II Professor in the Department of World History, School of History and Culture, Sichuan University, with a Ph.D. in History and a doctoral supervisor. He is the Vice President of the Chinese Society for the Study of Overseas Transportation History, an advisor to the Chinese Society of Agricultural History, the Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Director of the Chinese Society for the Study of World Medieval History, and the former Deputy Secretary-General and Executive Director of the Chinese Society for the Study of World Ancient History. He mainly researches world history and has authored works such as "Research on the Great Geographical Discoveries, 15th-17th Centuries" and "The Spread and Significance of New World Crops," and has published over 200 academic papers.

Corn plant illustration from Fuchs' "Botanical Compendium," published in 1542. Data image

鈥冣�僃ood crops are the primary crops in agriculture, concerning human survival and reproduction. For China, the most populous country in the world with over 1.4 billion people, the feeling that "food is the paramount necessity of the people" is deeply felt. Among the crops from the Americas, food crops are also the most important. I once statistically analyzed that historically, American Indians domesticated, cultivated, and planted over 60 species of agricultural and forestry crops that are native to the Americas. Among them, those with a significant impact and wide distribution can be roughly divided into eight categories (including grains and fodder, economic crops, nuts, vegetables, fruits, medicinal materials, flavorings, and ornamental crops), totaling more than twenty species. Based on their importance, in this lecture, we will only briefly introduce the spread of corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, which are American food crops.

Corn: Two Centuries of Dissemination

鈥冣�僀orn, scientifically known as Zea mays, is an annual herb of the grass family. It is also commonly known as maize. Corn has strong adaptability to soil, climate, water, and fertilizer, with low requirements, rapid growth, high yield, low labor and time consumption, easy storage, and drought, cold, and barren resistance. Its advantages are numerous and prominent, so it spread all over the world in about two centuries. The dissemination, further improvement, and breeding of new varieties of corn have greatly solved the food problem for people in various continents and the feed problem for livestock and poultry.

鈥冣�僀orn began to be domesticated and planted in the central highlands of Mexico about seven thousand years ago. Large stone warehouses for storing corn dating back more than four thousand years have been found in Peru. Indians also revered corn and humans as symbols of life, carving them on Mayan monuments and the pyramids of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico. Through long-term selection and cultivation by Indians, by the end of the 15th century, the main characteristics of various cultivated species or varieties had basically formed.

鈥冣�僀olumbus's expedition "discovered" corn for the first time after reaching the Americas. Columbus first mentioned it in his diary on October 16, 1492, calling it "Indian grain." He said: "This island (referring to Fernandina Island鈥擫ong Island) is green all over, ...they cultivate and harvest Indian grains and other crops all year round" (translated by ZHANG Zhishan: "Columbus' Voyage to America鈥擧istorical Documents and Modern Research," The Commercial Press, 1994). On November 15, Columbus wrote: "There (they were in Cuba at this time) is a piece of land planted with a crop that bears fruit somewhat like wheat, which the locals call Mahiz (the etymological source of the later Spanish 'maiz' and English 'maize,' meaning corn)." As a unique crop that Columbus and other Europeans at the time had never seen, corn aroused great interest among the crew. After tasting it, Columbus and his party greatly praised its taste. When the expedition returned, Columbus brought back corn. Among the gifts he presented to the King and Queen of Spain was a package of golden corn kernels. Corn thus entered Europe. In 1494, an Italian booklet provided a preliminary description of corn. In 1511, the introduction of corn by botanist Peter Martyr was widely circulated. By 1532, there were specimens of cultivated corn in European herbaria. German naturalist Fuchs drew an accurate picture of the corn plant in his 1542 book "De historia stirpium commentarii insignes" (or translated as "Illustrated Commentary on Plants"), and introduced that corn was planted in various courtyards at that time. Spanish historian and missionary Salgon of the 16th century described corn in detail in his 1577 publication "General History of Things in New Spain." From the mid-16th century, corn slowly left the courtyards and became one of the main food and feed crops in southern Europe. By the 17th century, corn had spread in the Iberian Peninsula, becoming the second most important grain crop after wheat, and was introduced to the Mediterranean coast of Europe. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the names of corn in various parts of Europe were relatively chaotic, with more than a dozen names such as Spanish wheat (millet), Indian wheat, Turkish wheat (grain, millet, sorghum), and French millet. This also reflects people's understanding of corn and the situation of its dissemination.

鈥冣�僆n the early 16th century, Portuguese slave traders sailing off the west coast of Africa introduced corn to the Congo in West Africa, which was then called "Portuguese millet." Portuguese data from 1561 already mentioned corn in Monomotapa (now western Zambia and northern Zimbabwe, the country of the Kalanga people) in the Zambezi River basin of Africa. Subsequently, corn quickly spread to the tropical rainforest areas of Central Africa. According to the Dutchman Olfert Dapper in the early 17th century, corn was already widely planted on the Gold Coast (Ghana) of Africa at that time. At the same time, Angola and some other parts of Africa also planted corn. According to Portuguese records, by 1634, Portuguese colonists had planted corn in Zanzibar in East Africa.

鈥冣�僆n the early 17th century, corn was introduced from the Balkans under Turkish rule to Russia and the surrounding areas. By the end of the 18th century, corn had spread among the Slavs in Ukraine, the Kuban lowlands, and Georgia. Over time, corn gradually replaced millet, becoming one of the staple foods for some poor residents of Russia. However, in the eyes of the Russian middle and upper classes, corn was still considered a vegetable until the 19th century, after which it was gradually regarded as a grain.

鈥冣�僆n 1601, the Spanish introduced corn to the Mariana Islands in Oceania. In the late 17th century, explorer William Dampier discovered that corn was already a major food for the residents of Timor. It can be seen that corn had begun to become popular in Southeast Asia at this time. In 1542, the Portuguese came to Tanegashima Island in southern Japan, and in 1579 they introduced corn to Nagasaki, Japan. The Japanese wrote corn as "Southern Barbarian Millet" or " 鐜夎渶榛�".

鈥冣�僒here were many channels for corn to enter China. To put it simply, one was from West Asia and Central Asia along the Silk Road into Northwest China (Shaanxi and Gansu); the second was that the Portuguese brought corn to India, and then it entered Southwest China (Yunnan) via Indochina and Myanmar, and then it was promoted to Sichuan and Guizhou; the third was across the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, and the Portuguese and Chinese merchants brought corn to the southeast coast of China (Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong). The time when these three routes introduced corn was all later than the middle of the 16th century. In 1560 (the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty), China began to have the earliest clear records and morphological descriptions of corn. "Pingliang Fuzhi" Volume 4 "Pingliang County 路 Products" records: "Fanmai, also known as Xitianmai, the seedlings and leaves are like Shu sorghum but fat and short, with ears at the end, like rice but not real. The fruit is like a tower, as big as a tung seed, growing between nodes. The flowers hang with red velvet at the end of the tower. Five or six inches long. Planted in March and harvested in August." The detailed description helps us to clearly judge that it is corn, while the "Yumai" and other crops recorded in previous local chronicles are difficult to determine as corn due to the lack of morphological descriptions. The literature of 1573 (the first year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty) first stated that corn was introduced from foreign countries. TIAN Yiheng's "Liu Qing Ri Zha" Volume 26 "Yumai" records: "Yumai comes from the West, formerly known as Fanmai. Because it was once presented to the Emperor, it is named Yumai... The flowers bloom on the top, and the fruit is tied to the nodes, which is truly a strange grain. My hometown (Hangzhou) has obtained this species, and many people plant it." LISHI Zhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" pointed out: " 鐜夎渶榛� , the species comes from the West, and the planters are also rare." It also said: "A bud emerges from the heart of the seedling, shaped like a brown fish, with white beards hanging down from the bud. After a long time, the bud splits and the seeds come out, clustered together. The seeds are also as big as zongzi, yellow and white. Can be fried and eaten." (Volume 23 "Grain Department 路 鐜夎渶榛�") XU Guangqi's "Complete Treatise on Agriculture" only mentions corn in a few strokes, but it is worth noting that the "Complete Treatise on Agriculture" uses the name " 鐜夌背 ": "There is another kind of 鐜夌背 , or called 鐜夐害 , or called 鐜夎渶绉� , which is also obtained from other places." (Volume 25 "Arboriculture 路 Grain Department")

鈥冣�僑trictly speaking, XU Guangqi's "Complete Treatise on Agriculture" was only the first to use the term " 鐜夌背 " in the scope of agricultural books. In my research, I found that the term " 鐜夌背 " had already appeared in literary works before the "Complete Treatise on Agriculture." For example, the term "corn flour" appeared in the Ming Dynasty novel "Jin Ping Mei" as a food pastry: such as "Immediately four plates and four bowls were brought, and many Ga rice were placed on the table, which could not be eaten; there were also two large plates of corn flour goose oil steamed cakes piled up" (Chapter 35). This seems to indicate that the cultivation of corn in the Ming Dynasty was still very rare, and people still regarded corn flour as a relatively rare food for entertaining guests. By the Qing Dynasty, due to the increase in population, corn was completely spread and popularized. What needs to be added is that Chinese people are not only good at historical thinking and have left rich historical books and historical materials, but also good at figurative thinking, and have drawn many historical pictures about corn. LISHI Zhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" drew a simple picture of corn, capturing the characteristics of the corn plant; WU Qijun's "Illustrated Examination of the Names and Realities of Plants" (Volume 2 "Cereals 路 鐜夎渶榛�") in the Qing Dynasty, drew detailed parts of the stem, leaves, male inflorescence, and female inflorescence (ear of corn). The appearance of corn pictures in the Ming and Qing Dynasties also reflects from the side that corn is entering the daily life of Chinese people.

鈥冣�僆n terms of the processing and consumption of corn, Chinese people have developed a variety of edible methods: including boiling, grilling, and steaming corn on the cob, stir-frying corn kernels as a dish, grinding corn kernels into flour to make steamed buns, and crushing corn kernels and cooking porridge with rice or millet. Corn also has an impact on Chinese language and culture, for example, forming a popular proverb: "A monkey (or bear) breaks corn (or maize) - breaks one and loses one," etc.

Potatoes: From "Devil's Apples" to "Hot Potatoes"

鈥冣�働otatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.), also known as potatoes, yams, etc., are annual herbs of the Solanaceae family. For the convenience of introduction, I will use the more common name of potatoes in life - potatoes. According to research so far, the history of potato domestication and cultivation can be traced back to 7,000 years ago. The initial area where humans planted potatoes can be located between Lake Titicaca and Lake Poop贸 in Bolivia. Pottery products with potato images dating back to the 4th century AD have been found in Peru and Bolivia. Pottery made in the shape of potatoes has also been excavated from ancient tombs from Peru to Chile.

鈥冣�働otatoes have many advantages, including low requirements for soil, less demand for water and fertilizer, high yield, good nutrition, not afraid of war, convenient processing and consumption, and can grow in high-altitude cold areas. Potatoes gradually spread to all parts of the world around the end of the 16th century.

鈥冣�僒here are different opinions on the initial spread of potatoes. American scholars believe that the Spanish did not discover it until they arrived in northern Peru in 1532. Potatoes were introduced to Spain from Peru in 1570. However, British scholars believe that potatoes were introduced to Europe by the Spanish in 1525. Soviet scholars once verified that the Spanish navigator Cieza de Le贸n brought some tubers back to Spain from Peru in 1555 and reported the eating method of this rare crop to King Charles I. This was also the first appearance of potatoes in Europe. After entering Europe, potatoes were initially only planted in courtyards for viewing and for collection and research by botanists and pharmacologists. The famous German botanist Fuchs probably drew the color picture of potato plants and fruit tubers in his "Vienna Plant Dictionary" before 1560, referring to the cultivated potato crop. This is probably the earliest potato picture in Europe.

鈥冣�僅istorically, the fruit tubers of potatoes were slow to promote due to their irregular shape, many nodules, deep buds, difficult peeling, and poor color. People once suspected that they were poisonous. Of course, now we know that sprouted potatoes and uncooked buds are toxic because they contain solanine; the surface discolors and turns green due to poor preservation and excessive sun exposure is also toxic because it contains glycoalkaloids, which needs to be discarded or peeled off. Four hundred years ago, people even thought that eating potatoes would cause leprosy to spread. Therefore, the Burgundy region of France officially announced in 1619 that potatoes were prohibited from being eaten in the region. Prejudice against potatoes lasted for two centuries in Europe, but the high yield of potatoes and people's improved understanding still made potato planting gradually promoted.

鈥冣�僃or a long period of time, the names of potatoes in various European countries were very chaotic, with as many as dozens of types. The chaos of the names also reflected the views of various countries on the origin, spread and characteristics of potatoes at that time. This confusion has also led to the fact that the roots of potatoes in major European languages today are very different. English, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese are potato, patata, patata, and batata, respectively, which are derived from a common root; German, Russian, and Dutch are kartofell, 泻邪褉褌芯褎械谢褜, and aardappel, respectively, which are derived from a common root; French is the phrase pomme de terre (meaning: apple from the earth).

鈥冣�僒he earliest record of Europeans eating large amounts of potatoes appeared in 1573, when a hospital in Seville regularly purchased potatoes for consumption. It can be seen that potatoes had entered the fields and markets in Spain. According to records, potatoes had been cultivated as vegetables in Italy by 1588. Potatoes were introduced to England in the second half of the 16th century. Famous pirates such as Drake, Hawkins, and Raleigh were the first to introduce potatoes to Britain. By 1596 at the latest, the Englishman Gerrade had planted potatoes in his garden in London. In 1552 and 1553, "General History of the Indies" and "Peruvian Yearbook" written by Gomara were published in Spain, becoming the earliest Western documents to record and briefly introduce potatoes. French agronomist de Serres accurately introduced potatoes in 1600, and Austrian Clucius made the earliest botanical description of potatoes in 1601, and introduced that potatoes had been planted in most vegetable gardens in Germany at that time. The frequent and fierce wars in Europe in the late Middle Ages and early modern times also greatly stimulated the promotion and popularization of potatoes. In 1641-1642, the Irish Rebellion broke out against England. The British invaders brutally suppressed the insurgents in Ireland. The war led to the poor harvest of most crops or even no harvest. However, potatoes survived the suffering safely underground, allowing the Irish to survive the famine and disaster. Ireland has also become the first European country to have potatoes as one of its staple foods. Between 1697 and 1698, the Russian Peter the Great and his party inspected Western Europe. In 1699 after returning to China, he received a bag of potatoes (tubers) from a Dutch friend in Moscow. Peter the Great ordered them to be distributed to various provinces for cultivation, and potatoes were introduced to Russia from then on. Contrary to the long-term discrimination against potatoes in Western Europe, in Russia throughout the 18th century, potatoes, as a rare food, were basically only supplied to aristocratic families. Due to the frequent occurrence of various food poisonings caused by sprouted tubers not being discarded or the bud eyes not being completely removed, the green parts of the skin and flesh not being peeled off, or not being cooked, some Russians at this time called potatoes "devil's apples" (褔褢褉褌芯胁邪 褟斜谢芯泻邪). The vast majority of peasants and serfs in Russia at that time did not accept it. Later, as Russia encountered a combined famine and plague in 1765, it prompted Catherine II at the time to realize the importance of potatoes, so the Tsarist government began to vigorously encourage the planting of potatoes. Nicholas I in the first half of the 19th century continued to persuade farmers to plant potatoes, and potatoes gradually spread in Russia.

鈥冣�僆t is currently speculated that the Portuguese introduced potatoes to India around the second half of the 16th century. Potatoes were then introduced to Indonesia. According to Western historical materials, the Dutch transported potatoes to Nagasaki, Japan in 1601. Recent research has further clarified that the Dutch transported potatoes from Jakarta Port on Java Island, Indonesia (which the Japanese at the time called 銈搞儯銈偪銉╂腐) to Nagasaki and introduced them to Japan. Therefore, in the late Middle Ages and early modern times, the Japanese called potatoes 銈搞儯銈偪銉╄妺. Later, after phonetic changes and simplifications, it evolved into the Japanese word for 鈥減otato鈥� 銈搞儯銈偆銉�, whose pronunciation is still based on that place name (銈搞儯銈偪銉�). At the end of the 18th century, the Russians introduced potatoes to Hokkaido from the north. Potatoes gradually spread in northeastern Japan and changed from being used for viewing to feed, and then to vegetables and grains.

鈥冣�僒here may be two routes for potatoes to enter China, north and south. In the mid-17th century, the Dutch introduced potatoes from Japan to Taiwan, China. According to the Dutchman John Struys, he saw potato cultivation in Taiwan in 1650 (the seventh year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty). Later, it was introduced to Fujian and Guangdong from Taiwan, so these regions still have the custom of referring to potatoes as Dutch potatoes and Java potatoes (see YANG Hongzu, TENG Zongfan, and YI Fan: "Potatoes", "Encyclopedia of Chinese Agriculture 路 Crop Volume", Agricultural Press, 1993 edition). Around 1700, Westerners also saw the cultivation of potatoes in Dinghai County on Zhoushan Island. Currently, the earliest and more accurate Chinese historical data recording potatoes may be LISHI Zhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" (completed in 1578). "Compendium of Materia Medica" Volume 27 "Vegetable II 路 Tuyu" said: "Tuyu, named Tuyu, Huangdu, and Tudou. Tuyu vines grow, the leaves are like bean leaves, and the cuckoo (referring to the cuckoo) vomits after eating, and people cannot eat it." This is the first time potatoes are mentioned. It also said,