Sweet potato, also known as sweet potato, sweet potato, sweet potato and so on. It belongs to Panicum of Convolvulaceae and is rich in protein, starch, pectin, cellulose, amino acids, vitamins and various minerals. It has the reputation of "longevity food", but the origin of sweet potato is not China, but it originated in Mexico and tropical America from Colombia, Ecuador to Peru at the beginning of16th century. Sweet potato was introduced into China at the end of 16, and then from Nanyang to China, Fujian and Guangdong, and then to the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins and Taiwan Province Province. Today, the planting area and total output of sweet potato in China are the highest in the world.
Chen Zhenlong, born in Changle County, Fuzhou, is an important figure in introducing sweet potatoes. In the twenty-first year of Wanli (1593), in the spring of this year, when a crop named Zhushu entered Chen Zhenlong's field of vision, he would definitely look back at the red land in his hometown of Fujian, which is 4,000 miles away from the waterway. When Marco Long was young, he won a reputation as a scholar. But in those years when he was growing up, on the one hand, the imperial examination was difficult and his career was blocked; On the other hand, the wind of doing business pervades the southeast provinces, and "middle-class children eat out". I don't know when, Chen Zhenlong also started his career as a businessman, "shuttling between Fujian Province and Luzon".
A large number of Fujian businessmen went to Luzon and had close ties with the Spanish. Before that, there were only about 150 overseas Chinese in Luzon. 157 1 year After the Spanish fleet conquered the Philippine Islands, it bought a large number of China commodities such as raw silk, cotton cloth and ceramics. In just over 20 years, "Fujian people are close to their land, but they are rich and there are tens of thousands of vendors." The Spaniards not only brought rolling silver coins, but also brought some crops native to America. According to historical records, Zhu Shu entered Luzon in about 1565. After conquering these islands, "Hongyi often lacked food and rice", so it was widely planted. By 1593, this vine crop with lavender flowers has been "wild" in Luzon. Chen Zhenlong saw the local indigenous people "dig everywhere" and "use it to help with food" (Biography of Golden Potato).
Zhu potatoes are extremely cheap and easy to introduce. Chen and his son found that Zhu Shu "is connected with mother and child, the little one is like an arm, the big one is like a fist, and the taste is the same as pear and jujube". Fujian Governor Jin was very excited when he learned that Chen and his son's trip was a "righteous act". Later, he thought that the introduction of Zhu Shu was "a boon" (Biography of Golden Potato). That winter, Zhu Shu from Luzon was named "sweet potato".