Rice: dào. It is a straight-stemmed cereal crop of the gramineae family, the main type of which is the soil-cultivated "rice". It is one of the most important food crops for human beings and has a long history of cultivation and consumption. Half of the world's population now eats rice, mainly in Asia, southern Europe and tropical America and parts of Africa.

Millet: shǔ. Millet is yellow rice with the husk removed, and its seeds are sticky when cooked, so it can be used to make wine and cakes. Because it is not good for digestion, nowadays it is not used as a staple food.

Ji: jì. also known as corn, drought-resistant growth, a variety of varieties, commonly known as "corn has five colors", there are white, red, yellow, black, orange, purple various colors of millet, there are also sticky millet. The earliest Chinese wine was also brewed with millet. Millet is suitable for growing in areas that are dry and lack irrigation. Its stems and leaves are hard and can be used as fodder, which is generally digestible only by cattle. Nowadays, ji is not used as a staple food.

Wheat: mài. annual or biennial herbs, wheat, barley, oats, rye and so on. The seeds are mainly used for grain or as concentrate feed, for brewing wine, and for making caramel, etc. The culms are used for weaving or for manufacturing. The culms are used for weaving or papermaking.

Peas and beans: shū, a general term for beans, the old saying goes: "Beans are the strongest crop. Anciently known as 尗, Han called the beans, now the word for beans. Beans, the general name of the beans. However, the soybean said beans, bean seedlings said Huo, small beans are said to agree." Bean products are also one of the favorite foods of the Chinese people.

According to historical records, the earliest planting of "grains" appeared in China during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, China was in the prosperous period of slavery, people planted more kinds of crops, and the state strongly supported the development of agriculture, "well field system" to implement collective work, improve labor productivity.

This period also saw the emergence of a complete drainage and irrigation system, and the use of manure, green manure, and wood ash. These conditions led to the further development of agriculture during the Shang and Zhou periods.

The five grains of corn, millet and other crops, because of the drought-resistant, barren, short growing period and other characteristics, and therefore in the northern drylands of the original cultivation of the situation occupies a particularly important position. To the Spring and Autumn, the Warring States period, peas have the "easy to protect the age of the" feature was found, peas and corn together into the indispensable food.

At the same time, it was discovered that winter wheat could be planted in the late fall and early spring growing seasons, and could play a role in solving the problem of the shortage of green and yellow crops, coupled with the invention of the stone round mill at this time, the development of wheat consumption from grain to pasta, the palatability was greatly improved, so that wheat was generally valued by the people, and thus became one of the major food crops, and compared with corn.

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