During Song times, new developments in rice cultivation —
especially the introduction of new strains of rice from what is now Central Vietnam,
along with improved methods of
water controland irrigation — spectacularly increased rice yields.
Rice was used primarily as food, but was also used to brew the wine consumed in
homes and taverns.
Rice was grown primarily south of the Yangzi
River. This area had many advantages over the north China plain, as the climate
is warmer and rainfall more plentiful. The mild temperatures of the south often
allowed two crops to be grown on the same plot of land — a summer and a winter
crop.
The many rivers and streams of the region facilitated
shipping, which reduced the cost of transportation and, thus, made regional
specialization economically more feasible. During the Song period,the Yangzi River
regions became the economic center of China.
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| Map showing borders of the Northern Song (960-1126) and Southern Song (1127-1279) dynasties, with the Yangzi River in orange.
All rice cultivation is highly labor intensive. Rice is generally grown as a wetland crop in fields flooded to supply water during the growing season. Transplanting seedlings requires many hours of labor, as does harvesting.Mechanization of rice cultivation is only minimally advanced. Rice cultivation also demands more of other inputs, such as fertilizer, than most other crops.
Rice Fields
Rice is highly prized by consumers as a food grain,
especially in south China, and per capita consumption has risen through the
years. Also, as incomes have risen, consumers have preferred to eat more rice
and less potatoes, corn, sorghum, and millet. Large production increases in the
early 1980s and poor local transportation systems combined to induce farmers to
feed large quantities of lower quality rice to livestock.
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