Page 101 - Vol_2_Archaeology of Manila Galleon Seaport Trade

4 A Historical Review on the Social-Cultural Impact … 69

Fig. 4.2 Distribution of the earliest centers of grains’ domestication in the world (made by C. Wu)

Philippines by Manila galleon. These American domesticated grains were also
brought into China by Yuegang-Manila sea route, once again enriching and re!ning
the framework of cultivation farming and people’s live of ancient China.

4.1.1 Sweet Potato

Sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam., is known as Fanshu (!!) in Chinese
language, meaning “the potato from foreign country”. Sweet potato is a typical
galleon exotic species from south America which was smuggled to Yuegang from
Philippines after it had been introduced to Philippines by Manila galleon (Fig. 4.3).
Sweet potato is so flexible and adaptable to variant environments that it was quickly
cultivated in southeast coast of China and then disseminated northern to Zhejiang
(!!), Shandong (!") and inland China. This exotic grain became an important
food resource of Chinese people besides the traditional Five Crops (Wugu, #!) as
rice (!), bean ("), wheat ("), broomcorn millet (#), Foxtail millet ("), recorded
in Huangdi Neijing (!!!!!", The Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Medicine,
Chapter of “Truth in the Golden Chamber”) of ancient China.
A series of historical documents of Ming and Qing ("") dynasties recorded the
transferring history in detail of sweet potato as a grain species from Philippines to
southeastern China. It had been brought to Yuegang from Luzon of Philippines by
oversea Chinese Z. Chen (!!!) before 21st year of Wanli ($!) of Ming
Dynasty (1593).
The story was recorded in detail by Z. Chen’s son J. Chen (!!") in the paper
The Report of My Fifth Generation Ancestor of Chen Family Offering Both the
Species of Sweet Potato and the Guide Essay of its Growing (!"#%!#!!"
"$!!!!#""):