China has always been known for its large population, mainly due to our country's excellence in agricultural technology. From ancient times to the present, Chinese agriculturists have always been highly recognized and respected by society.
Especially in modern times, Professor Yuan Longping has invented hybrid rice and made outstanding contributions to solving the problem of global food shortage, and he is the pride and pillar of our country.
In the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, the productive forces were relatively underdeveloped, and high-yield crops such as Champong rice, corn, and sweet potatoes had not yet entered China. However, the Han Dynasty still supported a population of nearly 60 million, twice as much as the Roman population of the same period.
All thanks to a great agronomist of the Han Dynasty - Zhao Guo. Zhao Guo, known as "Yuan Longping of the Han Dynasty", his life deeds are little known. He first appeared in historical sources in the fourth year of Zhenghe (89 BC).
At that time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was already in his old age, and the half-century-long war had caused China to suffer greatly, with a sharp decline in population and a lack of livelihood. According to demographic experts, the population of the Han Dynasty at that time was only about 30 million, 10 million fewer than the 40 million population during the Wenjing period.
However, even in such difficult times, Zhao Guo, through his wisdom and hard work, managed to feed the Han Dynasty with a population of nearly 60 million.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, in order to save the country, under the "Edict of Guilt", he cultivated the literature and abolished the harsh government, and based on the prosperity of the country and the people. Feng Tian Qianqiu was the Marquis of Fumin, and Zhao Guo was the Commander of Sosu, in charge of agriculture and restoring the economy.
The appointment of Zhao Guo reflects the foresight and foresight of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and he can be called the first emperor of the ages.
In ancient times, due to the depopulation and the abandonment of land, the traditional flat-ploughing and low-furrow cultivation method could no longer meet the needs of large-scale agricultural production. In this context, Zhao Guo invented the "Daida Method" to adapt to the cultivation of large farms.
The Shirota method is to open three ditches one foot wide and one foot deep on one acre of long strip of land, and the position of the ditches rotates every year, so it is called "Shirota". In the planting process, the seeds are sown in the ditch, and after the seedlings germinate, the ridge soil on both sides of the ditch is raked down and buried in the roots of the crops through cultivating and weeding, so as to achieve the effect of windproof, lodging resistance and drought resistance.
Zhao Guo is a rigorous scientist, and he will not easily popularize the Shirota method without sufficient testing. He first conducted experiments on the open space inside the outer walls of the palace and found that the yield per acre increased by about 60 kilograms.
He then taught the technique to agricultural experts in Guanzhong, including Sanlao, Litian, and Lifu. After further testing, the effect of the Shirota method proved to be excellent, not only greatly increasing yield, but also saving manpower, and achieving "less effort, more grain".
As a result, the Shirota method has been widely promoted, not only in the sparsely populated Guanzhong region, but also in the border areas. As a result, the originally empty granaries became piled up, and even the desolate border areas saw a bumper harvest and prosperity.
After Zhao Guo was widely used in the two oxen lifting bars, he organized craftsmen to improve farming methods and invented the cocoon car. In the Han Dynasty, people usually used oxen to plough the fields, but each person ploughed one ox, which was not very efficient.
So Zhao Guo created the cultivation method of two cattle and three people. When ploughing, the two oxen are seven or eight feet apart, and a "bar" is placed horizontally in the middle, and the "bar" is followed by the plow. One person leads the ox in front, one person uses the foot plow on the "bar" to control the depth of the plough into the soil, and one person supports the plow handle in the back.
This method is still used today. After the efficiency of ploughing improved, Zhao Guo invented the three-legged cocoon while the iron was hot. There are three ditch openers under the three-legged cocoon, with the ox pulling the cocoon cart, the cocoon can be ditched and sown on the flat land, and at the same time cover and compact, count in one fell swoop, save time and effort, and the work efficiency can reach "one hectare per day", which is equivalent to 667 acres per day.
This tool is still being used in some parts of northern China.
Zhao Guo's Cocoon Achieves China's Agricultural Leading Advantage in 2000 Since ancient times, agriculture has been the foundation of human society. In the Han Dynasty in the 2nd century BC, Zhao Guo invented the cocoon car, one of the world's earliest sowing tools, which greatly improved the productivity of Chinese agriculture.
According to statistics, the sowing system of the Han Dynasty was at least 10 times more efficient than the European system, and 30 times more efficient than the European system when converted into harvest. Since then, Chinese agriculture has been 2,000 years ahead of the West, and it was not until the 19th century that similar planting tools were invented in Europe.
Zhao Guo's efforts led to a great recovery of agriculture in the Han Dynasty. Wasteland was reclaimed, grain production increased greatly, displaced people returned to their hometowns, peasant uprisings throughout China were quelled, and the Han Dynasty turned the corner.
In 141 BC, after the death of Emperor Wu of Han, the Han Dynasty was revitalized, and the population quickly recovered, reaching an unprecedented 59.6 million people.
The Han Dynasty reached its peak in the reign of Emperor Xuan, and the historical records recorded that at that time, "the world was peaceful, there was no servitude, the people were rich, the Su Hu was thirty, and the cattle and sheep were wild", and even the desolate border became lively.
Without Zhao Guo, the Han Dynasty might not have been able to feed such a large population. Zhao Guo has made great contributions to Chinese agriculture, and he is probably one of the scientists who has made the greatest contribution to agriculture in Chinese history, and only Yuan Longping can compare with him.