A Reexamination of"Hexiamai"and"Maixiahedou"as Sequential Cropping
Hexiamai 禾下麦and maixiahedou麦下禾豆in Zhouli 周礼 noted by Zheng Zhong(Eastern Han Dynasty)are commonly interpreted as the sequential cropping of winter wheat after millet and the sequential cropping of millet or bean after winter wheat.Majority of scholars also claimed that the rotative and sequential cropping system of three crops in two years has been exploited since the Eastern Han Dynasty by quoting Zheng Zhong's notes.However,the above argument is not only inconsistent with the records of the ancient agricultural books,but also incoherent with the legitimacy of the original text as well as the meaning of the words.The reexamination found that millet of hexiamai and wheat of maixiahedou are not food crops,but green manure.Moreover,hexiamai and maixiahedou are not referred to as sequential cropping of food crops.However,hexiamai has accumulated the techniques and experience of sequential cropping of food crops,which is of great significance of the history of agriculture.Furthermore,the technology of planting millet and wheat as green manure marks an important transition from the use of natural weeds to the cultivation of green manure crops,leading to a great progress of the history of fertilizer development.
HexiamaiMaixiahedouThree Crops in Two YearsSequential CroppingGreen Manure
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