Rice is a staple food for half of the world’s population, and it has been a significant icon of Chinese culture for thousands of years. So far the earliest written Chinese character of “wild rice” (秜) was recognized as 
on an oracle bone of the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 B.C.), and the first “rice” (稻) was identified as 
or 
inscribed in a bronze of the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 B.C.). Long prior to any written records, archaeological evidence indicates the earliest harvesting of wild rice can be traced back to more than 10,000 years ago in southern China. The origins and developments of rice cultivation in China have a very deep root and a long process of evolution, closely linked with technological advances and the unique characters of Chinese life and cultures.
Origins and Early Developments
Rice is a cereal crop that produces edible seeds of grain. The seed can be eaten in its natural “wild” form, but rice potentially can be more productive and reliable as a staple crop in its...
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Hung, Hc. (2014). Rice in China. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_10026-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_10026-1
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