When Did Potatoes Enter China? A Detailed Explanation of Their Historical Origins

The potato is the world's fourth most important food crop, also known as the Irish potato, yam, Dutch potato, etc. It is the tuber of a perennial herbaceous plant in the Solanaceae family, genus Solanum, and is known together with wheat, rice, corn and sorghum as one of the world's five major crops. China is the country with the largest total potato production in the world. Now let us take a look at when potatoes entered China!

When did potatoes enter China?

Due to the lack of early written records or confusion among crop names in written records, experts differ on when the potato was introduced to China. Some believe it was during the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty (1573 to 1619), while others believe the potato was first introduced to China in the 18th century. According to Chinese scientists' textual research on the materials, the earliest time the potato was introduced to China was during the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty (1573 to 1619). In Volume 2, "Huangdu Miscellaneous Records," of "Chang'an Kehua" written by Jiang Yikui during the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty, the potato planted in the Beijing area is called tudou.

Where is the potato native to?

The potato is native to the Andean region of South America. The history of artificial cultivation can be traced back as early as 8000 BC to 5000 BC in southern Peru. The Lake Titicaca area above 3800 m in the Andes may be the place where potatoes were first cultivated. About 7000 years ago, a group of Indian tribes migrated from the east to the cold Andean mountains and set up camp near the Lake Titicaca area, living by hunting and gathering. They were the first to discover and eat wild potatoes.

How did the potato spread?

1. In the mid-16th century, the potato was brought from South America to Europe by a Spanish colonist.

2. In 1586, the British defeated the Spanish in the Caribbean and brought the potato to Britain.

3. By 1650, the potato had become Ireland's main food crop and began to spread throughout Europe.

4. In the 17th century, the potato had become an important food crop in Europe and had already spread to China.

5. In 1719, it was brought back to the United States by Irish immigrants and began to be planted in the United States.

6. In the early 18th century, when Peter the Great of Russia traveled through Europe, he bought a bag of potato seeds for a large sum of money and planted them in the palace garden, and later it gradually developed into cultivation among the common people.