What common food do you think of when someone is talking about China. I’m sure rice comes to mind. Now the real questions is, how did it get to be this way? Why is rice everywhere in China and how has it become such a big part of the Chinese culture?
Rice is one of the most important staple foods in the entire world. Rice grows pretty much anywhere as long as it’s not too cold. This is why so many locations in China contain giant rice fields. Specifically in China, most rice grows in something called a paddy field. Other wise known as wet rice farming. This method can be dated as far back as 5,000 BCE! These fields are just like any open area of land, except that it’s flooded with water. This water creates a stable environment for the rice to grow, not too hot or cold. Additionally, the layer of water makes the weeds want to grow upwards away from the rice. This allows more room for the grain to grow bigger and faster. It has also been shown, that this process is way more productive than growing dryland rice (this is another method of growing in some parts of Asia). In terrace paddies, water flows from a higher level paddy to a lower one. This maintains the replacement of nutrients taken from the field by the crop.
During the western Zhou Dynasty, 1046 BCE to 771 BCE, rice had become widely popularized in all aspects of society. On many bronze vessels were inscriptions that were about storing rice. Also, it was a huge part of meals during banquets for aristocrats. During the Han Dynasty, 206 BCE to 220 CE, and the development of new farming techniques and technology, rice started making its way to the southern region of China.
All in all, the cultivation of rice led to lifestyles centered around farming. Plowing would take place in the spring, weeding in the summer, harvesting in autumn, and storing during the winter. Nowadays, rice is incorporated in so many different dishes all across Asia. Comment below some of your favorites foods that contain rice. Also, check out this video below of what it’s like to grow rice in Jiuxiancun, China!
Sources:
http://www.china.org.cn/english/2002/Oct/44854.htm
https://www.thoughtco.com/origins-history-of-rice-in-china-170639
http://www.fao.org/docrep/t7202e/t7202e07.htm
Its cool to learn about rice in china. It is interesting to see how they terrace farm on the mountainss. I enjoy to eat rice myself. I also learned how the chinese lifestyle used to be around farming. I read that rice is one of the most important foods on the planet. I never knew how important it really was
Great article! I have heard about how hard it is to plant and take care of rice
Great article! I have heard about how hard it is to plant and take care of rice through ancient poems, but I have never seen it myself. After watching the video, I feel like rice is really hard to take care of. I really wonder how farmers take care of these fields!
I eat rice almost everyday, so learning specifically how its grown is interesting. I didn’t know that growing dryland rice was a thing. I always thought all rice fields were flooded with water. Even thousands of years later, rice is still an important part of the world. So many things can be made with rice
Wow, what an amazing article. I’ve never realized that rice grew on paddy fields. Also, I knew rice was incorporated in many dishes, but the process it takes to make rice is so much harder than I thought. I just can’t believe that there were methods of growing rice since 5,000 BCE. Overall this was an amazing article of the history of rice
This was such an interesting article. i never realized that making rice took so much effort. Its shocking that rice started to become a thing since 5,000 BCE, that’s crazy! After watching that video on how to make rice i would have never thought that’s how you make it. This article taught me a lot on rice.
I eat rice with every meal but never considered how it gained widespread adpotion and how it was grown but after reading this article now I know. The reason so many people eat rice is because of its versatility which is why there are so many rice fields in China.I also learned there are two ways of farming rice dryland-normal farming and wetland-which floods fields with water to provide a stable environment for rice to grow in and also prompts it to grow faster. Another fact I learned is the reason behind Terrance paddies, which I’ve seen when I went on a tour of rural china,it allows water to flow from the higher levels to the lower ones which maintains the replacement of nutritions taken from each crop.
Learning about how to grow rice like this is pretty cool. Didn’t realize how hard it was until watching this video! I never thought that’s how they make rice.
I eat rice with every meal and I never considered it’s widespread adoption and cultural value but after reading this now I know. Rice is so widespread because of its versatility it can grow in many places and this is why rice fields are all over china.I also learned there are two ways to plant rice, dryland-normal conventional method, or wetland-flooding the rice fields with water which is widely thought to be more efficient. I also learned the uses of Terrance paddies which I saw during a tour of rural china,by having water travel from the higher levels to the lower ones they maintain the replacement of nutritions taken from each crop.
Coming into this article I knew the rice would be a Chinese staple but I didn’t know the history of it!
This article is interesting because everyone knows that china’s main food is rice. But not everybody knows where they get if from. They mainly grow the rice on paddy field. This is pretty cool that there is a main place where they grow rice. Rice led to the civilizations around farming.
This article was interesting because I learned the history of how rice is grown. Rice is an important part in my everyday meals, and it’s amazing how I didn’t know where it came from. I didn’t know what a rice paddy looked like until I saw the pictures and I find them really cool. Also, I learned that rice takes a lot of energy to be taken care of, so it’s surprising how something so small could take so much effort. I learned a lot about how rice was grown in this article.
Really cool article! I never knew how important rice was to the lifestyle and culture of Chinese citizens, not to mention the whole world. I found it really interesting how rice is grown in flooded plains called paddy fields. I think it’s really amazing how rice can be grown in many different climates and conditions, making it a staple all across the world. Not many plants can sustain life in different environments. Also, I thinks he video really helped enhance the article. It definitely gave me a great visual of what was being described in the article, and I liked that a lot, Thanks!!
I learned that rice plays a large impact on Asian culture. I also learned that rice has been farmed for more than one thousand years. I also learned that wet rice fields are a more efficient way to farm rice compared to dry rice farming. This also taught me a little bit more of one of my favorite foods. I also know learned that rice is a staple food for the world.
I learned that rice plays a staple in the world economy. I also know learned that rice can live in so many different areas so it can be harvested. I also now know that rice has been farmed for more than one thousand years. I also now know how rice is most efficiently farmed. I now know that rice has been grown and cultivated for thousands of years.
What an interesting article! I never knew that there were two types of ways to grow rice (wet rice farming and dryland rice farming). I also never knew that all the layers of land for growing rice in China was for water flow and for maintaining nutrients. It’s very interesting to learn about the history of rice and how it is grown since I eat it every day for almost every meal. The video was also very helpful as it describes how they have to grow the rice. Overall thanks for sharing this article!
Wow I’ve always wonder how rices come. 这篇文章真的让我长见识了。这篇文章还写得非常的详细非常好。
The asian culture is greatly surrounded by the role of rice. It’s amazing to see how early the food we often eat was first produced. Knowing that rice has been in this world for a very long time shows how important it is to asian culture. Not only is it important, but it also has an ever-lasting effect on the asian lifestyles and communities. No wonder why rice is such a big part of Chinese culture.
这篇文章真的写得非常好。俗话说民以食为天，在中国北方大家吃很多米饭。我也基本每天晚上吃米，所以这篇文章能贴合我的生活。我了解了许多关于米的来之不易。我以后也会一直吃米，因为真的很好吃！非常好的文章
It is hardly imaginable for myself to not have rice nearly every day; as such, it is very interesting to read on the history of the staple in so many Asian cuisines. The great enthusiasm and effort of the rice farmers in the video was moving – to say the least. The mechanisms of the early rice fields are so complex – it is hard to imagine how those of Ancient China even thought of such systems. Though not wholly authentic, fried rice is always a personal favorite dish of mine – easy and tasty!
Wow Wesley! Rice is definitely the crop that comes to mine when I think of Chinese staple foods. My uncle used to live on a rice paddy and was a rice farmer. I would always enjoy visiting him and learning how to grow rice. I was also surprised to see how long rice has been around. Seeing the complexity of my uncle’s rice paddy, I cannot believe that such an intricate system was developed so long ago! Rice will always be a staple in the Chinese diet.
This is interesting because when I usually eat rice i don’t think about it. But there is a history to it. Thats why its so iconic to China. Its also cool to see that the modern farmers use the same techniques as those in ancient times. I never knew so much about rice.
This is an amazing article! I can’t believe rice, a Chinese staple had this much history behind it! I think that it’s so cool that rice dates back to 5,000 BCE. The video about growing rice is so interesting! Next time I eat rice, I’ll think back to the history behind it.
This is a really great article. I didn’t know that there was so much behind rice yet I eat it everyday. I didn’t know the techniques they use are the same as those from 5000 BCE. The video was also really great and was interesting. I hope you continue to write articles just like this in the future.
I learned a lot about rice from this article. I always knew that rice was a big part of Chinese culture, but I never knew why. I’ve never heard of terrace patties before and it was great to learn that rice is grown on one. It was great to learn how rice affected different societies in Chinese history. I like how you included the video at the end of your article. Great article!
I learned a lot about rice from this article. I always knew that rice was a big part of Chinese culture, but I never knew why. I’ve never heard of terrace patties before and it was great to learn that rice is grown on one. It was great to learn how rice affected different societies in Chinese history. I like how you included the video at the end of your article. Great article!
I personally know how important rice is to most peoples diets eaten be most ethnic groups. Rice is something that develops a lot of income for China because they grow rice on such a large scale. A was very surprised to find out that China developed this technology 10,000 to 7,000 years ago. I also watched the video below to see the very interesting and affective process of making rice in the patty fields. The 2 things I learned were there were 2 different types of method to grow rice and that During the western Zhou Dynasty they enjoyed rice and it was something with much of value. Overall, this is a very interesting topic to talk about and the article is very informative.
This article was very interesting. I knew that rice is very prominent in Chinese food, but I never knew why. I now know it is because rice can be grown in many places. I also didn’t know that growing rice in paddies was also called wet rice farming. Another thing I learned is that terrace paddies help the rice plants get nutrients.
this is a great article. i learned a lot about where the food on my table comes from. i have always wondered why rice seemed to grow on flooded lands but now i know why. i now have a greater appreciation for rice now that i know the history of rice. i would love a more in depth version of this article since it not only teaches me about my food but also some of the history of china.
Interesting article! I grew up eating rice almost every day, but I never knew much about its history. I never knew that wet rice farms are called paddy fields. I also had no idea how terrace paddies worked, and how water flows to lower levels to maintain nutrient replacement. It’s interesting how rice has been grown in China using the same method as today since 5,000 BCE.
一些关于水稻在中国的成长过程和历史经过。记得在前几年袁隆平研究出来了杂交水稻，并获得了极大的好评，好像还获奖了。体现了中国在农业方面的一步步增长。
I’d never known that the method of growing rice in paddy fields originated as far back as 5000BCE! It’s very interesting that the layer of water eventually led to the rice grains becoming larger, instead of the opposite happening. I was also surprised to find out that rice spread to southern China during the Han Dynasty. It was super cool to learn about something I eat almost every day!
In Asian households, rice is usually eaten at most meals so its interesting to learn more about it. Its widely recognized as a staple food of Asian countries but most people don’t realize the work and effort put into growing rice. When I visited China, I went to my cousins rice farm, and the amount of work and space it takes is ridiculous. Great article Wesley!
I. really like this article because I love the way that the article talks about growing rice and I find it extremely interesting because it shows how they become rice by growing and I never knew that rice grew on flooded lands. The pictures were really cool because I never wondered how rice actually becomes itself whenever Im eating I just eat and never think further and this makes me wonder about it
I enjoyed reading this article. I eat rice with every meal. I never knew that something that I eat everyday could be so interesting to grow. The picture creates a great visual for how much work is needed. I learned that rice farming is not easy, and it requires a lot of time.
Nice article! Rice is a very important food that is incorporated in my everyday meals, so learning about its history was very interesting. I’ve always wondered out of the many crops to choose from, why rice? Well, now I know, as rice is very versatile and can be grown in many different environments. This article showed me that there are two main methods for growing rice in China being wetland farming and dryland farming, in which the former method includes flooding and is considered more efficient than dryland method. That left me wondering, what makes wetland flood farming more effective and efficient than dryland farming. Thanks to this article, I now know that in wetland farming, the water provides a stable environment with temperature that is just right, as well as making it so the weeds will grow upwards which in turn allows the rice to have more space to grow. Back then, rice was a very popular part of banquets held by aristocrats and it seems that it has made its way as a common part of meals all over Asia and even possessing a whole lifestyle centered around farming this common crop.
Interesting topic! Learning about a food that I eat on an almost daily basis is fascinating, from the history, to how it is grown, to even the methods how growing, it is great to gain an insight into the world of rice. I didn’t know that rice was farmed such a long time ago, and it is still the largest source of grain today! That is just crazy to me, the way that rice was farmed hundreds of years ago still apply to farm rice today. The lifestyle that the people dedicate in order to farm the rice is such hard work and makes me appreciate it much more.
This article is very relatable because I’m chinese and I eat rice for pretty much every home cooked meal. However, I never knew the history or why rice became so dominant in Chinese cuisine. The pictures really show all the hard work and time farmers put into rice. Methods to farm were also dated back to 5,000 BC! Rice became more dominant in the BCs when the people in the Han and Zhou dynasties used it in banquets. I also learned there are two methods to grow rice. Wetland and Dryland. However, wetland is much more productive.
Very Interesting article Wesley! As an Asian-American, I eat rice almost every day, but I really don’t know much about the history of rice. I can’t believe that the methods of farming rice date all the way back to 5,000 BCE! I also find it interesting where some of the farming lands are purposely flooded to allow the plants to grow properly. Moreover, to see that some of these civilizations adapt to their surroundings by implementing terrace farms is very interesting. I hope there are more methods to produce rice faster. Now, I understand the amount of work put into rice farming!
这篇文正讲述了中国从古至今最重要的食材之一—米的历史，我生在中国，很小就和米打交道，这篇文章非常贴合我的生活。
民以食为天，我作为中国南方人更是体会得到这点。从小我就是吃米饭长大的，也有看过很多种米的稻田，有很多是像文中所示的梯田。南方的气候温暖湿润，同时也是季风气候，非常适合种植水稻。现在在美国也是有米饭吃，但是我总觉得还是中国米好吃。米作为中华文化中的一部分，当然与中国人关系密切了。
大米是中国人最普遍的主食。想到中国的食物就可以想到大米。大米是世界上第一主要的粮食原因就是他栽培起来十分方便。早在5000年前就有稻田人们用不同的栽培方法让稻田渐渐变得更普遍。比如梯田，人们通过从高层梯田灌水渐渐通过渠道流向低层的稻田里让每一株水稻都能够充分吸收营养。
This is an amazing article. I like the history in it. I also like the photos. It’s amazing that they use something so similar to Terrace Farming. I think they also use it to save/create space, which is what Terrace Farming does. This technique was/is used all around the world to make it possible to grow food on mountains, which is useful for mountainous areas like Japan. It was also used by ancient civilizations like the aztecs.
I love eating rice with many different meats, vegetables, and sauces, so it was interesting to read about the history of rice in China! I had no idea rice grew pretty much everywhere except in the cold. I never quite understood paddy fields, but after reading your article, I get the gist of how they work. I also understand how terrace patties work now. Great article about rice and its history in ancient China!
Great article about the history of rice in China! I love eating many different meats, vegetables, and sauces with rice, however I never quite understood how it was made. I didn’t understood how paddy farming worked, however now I understand it. I didn’t know that rice could be grown pretty much everywhere where it isn’t cold. However, the thing I found most interesting was that flooding rice with water allowed the rice to stay at a certain temperature and helps accelerate rice growth. Very interesting!
What a fascinating story! This commodity in today’s time for people all over the world has such an intriguing background and role in society prior to modern times. I also appreciate this article more, since I traveled to China this past summer and indulged in the cuisine during my stay in Beijing, enjoying a great deal of rice. For example, a lot of the dumplings that I enjoyed throughout China did not use wheat flour, but rice flour as an alternative. I felt that this was an interesting contrast then, but doesn’t surprise me now, due to the fact of its high importance in Chinese society. Excellent work, Wesley.
While the stereotype “Rice=Chinese” is so well known, this wonderful article delves deeper into the history of rice. So adaptable and easily grown, rice is one of the most important staple foods in the entire world. It’s interesting how the author contrasted wet land farming and dry land farming, and how wet land farming is much more productive. I also found it quite extraordinary how methods of growing rice date as far back as 5000 B.C.! It’s great that now I have a better understanding of a dish that is practically incorporated in every single meal of mine.
Great Article! When I go to China and visit my grandpa’s old town I see the rice fields everywhere and I didn’t know what they were but now I know. I did not know that it was this hard to make rice and how hard it was to retrieve it too. This is probably why my grandma always gets angry when there is a grain of rice left on my bowl.
Great article Wesley! It was so interesting to see how rice is really made. I’ve seen rice fields before but never really knew the method behind how they were made. It’s so interesting to learn that the layer of water creates a stable environment for the rice and keeps away the weeds! Also, I didn’t know that rice was also grown on dry land too! Making rice seems like a lot of hard work. I’ve been eating rice since I was born, and it is interesting to learn how it is made. Thanks for sharing!
Great article! This article was very interesting because most people take the rice for granted. It is clear that rice is very common in China and the pictures and videos were extremely helpful to see the hard work it takes to grow and farm the rice. This article definitely gave me more appreciation to rice because now I see that it is a very demanding job that requires a lot of work. I never really thought about how rice was grown but it was very interesting to see how it is made. I really liked this article and it taught me a lot.
This is quite a fascinating article. As a part of my dinner meal every single day, it is hard not to take it for granted. Clearly many of us rice-lovers should be more appreciative of all the hard work it takes to farm and cultivate this crop. My parents always have told me to never waste food as others have put in a lot of effort to make it. This just adds on to their teachings. I had no idea on the specifics of rice growth. Great job and keep it up, Wesley!
I found this article very informative and interesting. Although I knew that rice was grown in China I did not know that it was grown in this fashion. I found it interesting that rice is grown by simply flooding it. It was also amazing how Chinese farmers were able to adapt to their mountainous environment by farming on top of terraces, in history class we also learned about other civilizations who used this method. The video at the end also gave some more context as to how the rice is farmed and it gave a more primary source to the farming.
Great article, Wesley! I eat rice everyday, so it’s really interesting to learn some of the history associated with rice! I remember learning about terrace farming in ancient history classes. The cultivation of rice was an important aspect of Asian history and culture. Rice was important then and is still rather important nowadays! Keep up the great work!
Very interesting article Wesley. I never knew rice had such a rich history. I come from a culture where rice is an integral part of our diet, so learning about this is very important to me. The picture you inserted of the rice land is very nice, and I think that it portrays the cultivation of rice in a very accurate way. Keep up the great work!
I eat rice quite often so it was quite intriguing to read about its history. It’s amazing how these methods of farming rice were dated back to 5,000 B.C! The author was very informative on the order of how farmers would farm the rice. It was interesting to find out that there are two methods for farming rice, wetland and dry land. Very informative and brought great interest from me with how it was described. Great work!
Great article Wesley! I never knew that there were methods of rice farming, like wetland and dry land farming. It’s hard to believe that these techniques originated as far back as 5,000 BCE! It’s also amazing how a food once only fit for aristocrats is now a staple food! Rice will always be important in our diets. Keep up the great work!
wow i never knew rice dated back so many years ago! this was a extremely interesting article considering the fact i almost have rice every night with my family.
this article was extremely informative and covered lots of history at the same time. i found it extremely interesting how rice farming is a extremely important job and the request for these workers is extremely high!
It is interesting and cool to know that rice had such a far back history, I didn’t know that there were many different methods of farming. It is interesting to know how rice is harvested because it is a part of my daily diet. I never knew how rice was grown on flooded lands. I think that it is pretty cool that the Chinese are using the same method as today since 5,000 BCE to grow their rice.
This was amazing. Learning about food that people consume almost every night is truly fascinating. I’ve never realized how rice farming played such a key role in Chinese society and how important it is. Also, I can’t believe that many rice techniques originated from 5,000 BCE, which is astonishing.
This is a great article. I learned a lot about the food I eat pretty much every day. This article helped me learn how rice was grown which was pretty interesting to learn about. I didn’t know that rice has such an important role in Chinese history throughout the years! This helps me think about how important rice actually is and how we should understand that rice is such an amazing thing with years of history to back it up.
Wow, Wesley, amazing article; I had no idea that rice was considered a delicacy by aristocrats in ancient China especially when considering that in modern times, rice is fairly accessible to people of all different income levels. I had no idea that the Chinese grew rice in rice paddies because of weeds and temperature control. Also, terrace paddies seem like such an efficient way to distribute nutrients to all of the different rice paddies. I find it fascinating that rice is so resilient that it can grow in any environment. In fact, my favorite dish that involves rice is not Asian at all, but rather has Spanish influences. It is Arroz con Pollo! Thank you for the wonderful article.
This is a great article! As many know, rice is a main food in china. I learned the reasons for this. One reason is because rice can grow almost everywhere, except for very cold climates. Most rice is made in paddy fields, which look so cool. Overall, this was a very interesting article, very well done!
This is great! This is great!