Crops in the Americas and Planting Regulations in the Southern Shaanxi Mountains

摘要

Based on the Chinese local chronicles, this article adopts a literature analysis method. From the perspective of environmental history, it discusses corn, sweet potatoes and potatoes at different times and was introduced for the purpose of economic development and the solution of famine, because of population increase, social governance and economy changes, in the way of development led to the destruction of the natural environment in southern Shaanxi. The study found that local elite groups have taken a series of measures to protect the environment: (1) Combining with the people's religious beliefs and prohibiting cultivation; (2) The government persuaded the use of widely-planted trees; (3) The official government erected a steel to ban mountainous areas; (4) The local gentleman and the merchant planted the trees spontaneously.