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Asian Rice

Type Object Region East Asia Time c. -5000

Asian rice (Oryza sativa) is the staple crop of East and South Asian wetlands, divided into indica and japonica types;…

Timeline

  1. c. 1–200Jiangnan and Jiaozhi · JiangnanThe Han dynasty promoted military-agricultural colonies in Jiangnan and development of Jiaozhi; rice cultivation spread south along the Yangtze, and pond-dike irrigation and seedling transplanting made double-cropping possible in some areas, gradually making Jiangnan an important imperial grain-producing region.
  2. c. 300–500Ganges Delta and Deccan · BengalDuring the Gupta Empire, rice was widely grown in the wetlands of Bengal and Odisha; irrigation channels and reservoir engineering supported high-yielding paddies, and rice became a major component of imperial taxes and exports.
  3. c. 200–500Red River Delta · VietnamRice-growing techniques spread to Southeast Asia via South China and maritime routes; systematic wetland rice cultivation emerged in the Red River Delta and lower Mekong, supporting population concentration and urban development of early Southeast Asian states.

Sources