Yixing, located at the junction of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, belongs to the Tianmu Mountains. In ancient times when bamboo, wood and grass were mixed, Phyllostachys pubescens grew. According to the article Liangzhu Culture-Primitive Culture in Taihu Lake, "During Liangzhu Culture, handicrafts included ... bamboo and wood." Yixing belongs to the main bamboo production base in Taihu Lake area. Ancient literati wrote many poems about bamboo in Yixing. For example, Zen master Yun 'an, a monk in the Song Dynasty, wrote the poem "You can't see the temple in the mountains, but you can't get tired of seeing it among thousands of bamboos, and the greenery is about to drip." It is also said that Zhuge Liang "borrowed an arrow from a grass boat", and the mast he used on his boat was bamboo produced in Yixing. These show that Yixing bamboo has a long history.
Before liberation, bamboos in our county were mainly distributed at the junction of Taihua, Mingling and Khufu in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, covering an area of 80,000-90,000 mu. In the past, due to inconvenient transportation, bamboo in the market was pushed by rickshaws and carried by animals, and the price was low. Shan Nong is blessed with abundant bamboo resources, and earns a little money by selling labor to support his family, which makes the economies of Zhang Zhu and Khufu, two mountain towns, relatively prosperous, so they are called "Jin Zhangzhu, Silver Lake Elder". According to the statistics of Zhang Zhu Town Federation of Industry and Commerce in May 1950, there are 193 merchant shops dealing in bamboo and bamboo products in the town, with more than 500 employees. Among them, there are 55 households in Changzhuhang (buying and selling bamboo on behalf of customers, charging 8% "commission"); 93 households with short bamboo (making short goods, bamboo chopsticks and other commodities); Flat bamboo (engaged in sleeping mats, bamboo plaques and other products) 17 households; Round bamboo (making bamboo beds, tables and chairs, hoe handles, shoulder poles, etc.). ) 28 households. These bamboos and bamboo products are traditional products in mountainous areas of Zhang Zhu, which are exported to the north and south of the Yangtze River and supplied to the vast urban and rural areas. But at that time, the price of bamboo was low, not as good as it is now (in the early 1980 s) 20% of the purchase price cannot be said to support and develop bamboo production, but it can only be resigned. What's more, the bamboo mountain has been seriously damaged by indiscriminate cutting, and some of them have already been "completely annihilated", leaving only scattered bamboo and old roots on the pier as historical witnesses.
With a series of changes in production modes such as land reform and cooperative transformation after liberation, the Party and the government attached great importance to forestry production and strengthened technical guidance for bamboo production, relying on the superiority of the socialist system. Like agricultural production, bamboo production has developed by leaps and bounds.
In order to green the motherland, Nanzhu moved north. From the late 1950s to the early 1970s, northern Jiangsu and Shandong supported about 65,438+million mother bamboos every year, and sent experienced bamboo farmers to Hsinchu area for technical guidance on field bamboo cultivation. Now there is a bamboo forest in Xuzhou which is the breeding place of Yixing mother bamboo, and the tough bamboo stands on the shore of the Yellow Sea, which is a great contribution of our county to the northward movement of Nanzhu.
Phyllostachys pubescens is known as the "king of bamboo" because of its fast growth, wide use, high economic value and broad development prospects. Phyllostachys pubescens is a treasure, its skin can be used for paper making, fiber, bamboo tips can be used as brooms and so on. Bamboo can be used as reinforcement and mast. Bamboo is widely used in daily necessities, such as bamboo chairs and cabinets. The ancients Su Dongpo always spoke highly of bamboo. He once said, "People who eat bamboo shoots, cover bamboo tiles, carry bamboo rafts, wear bamboo skins, write bamboo paper, and walk with bamboo shoes." Bamboo shoots can be described as the best in recipes, characterized by freshness, beauty, freshness, high protein, low fat and crude fiber. There is a proverb in Shan Nong: Bamboo leaves are pointed and rooted, bamboo shoots eat bamboo shoots, and bamboo buys money. Bamboo is an indispensable means of production in agriculture, such as bamboo handles, bamboo poles, shoulder poles and other agricultural tools must be made of bamboo.
Phyllostachys pubescens is also of great significance for purifying air, preventing soil erosion and maintaining ecological balance. There are 500,000-600,000 mu of mountainous areas in our county, with relatively high coverage, less soil erosion and relatively balanced ecology.