Sui Curved-Shaft Plow and Sowing Tools

Timeline

1. 501–580Jiangnan region · JiangnanDuring the Northern and Southern Dynasties, agriculture in Jiangnan developed rapidly and straight-shaft plows and improved plow implements were widely used. The north inherited the Han seed-drill tradition (three-row and single-row drills) and promoted row sowing in the Yellow River basin. Exchange of northern and southern farm tools laid the foundation for technological integration after Sui unification.
2. 581–600Guanzhong region · ShaanxiAfter unification the Sui implemented the equal-field system and the zu-yong-diao tax system, and improvements to farm tools received attention. The curved-shaft plow was promoted in Guanzhong, Hedong, and elsewhere; its curved shaft and adjustable plow gauge allowed depth adjustment, could be drawn by a single ox, turned nimbly, and suited small fields. Early forms of the curved-shaft plow appear in official agricultural promotion texts and agricultural treatise illustrations, markedly more efficient than the straight-shaft plow.
3. 581–600Hedong region · ShanxiThe Sui continued and spread in the Yellow River basin the seed drill invented by Zhao Guo of the Western Han, drawn by animal power to open furrows and sow multiple rows at once—three to five rows in a single pass—saving labor and time. Curved-shaft plowing, drill sowing, and water-mill processing formed a matched set of farm tools, supporting the Sui expansion of reclaimed land and grain output.
4. 618–800Jiangnan region · JiangnanIn the Tang the curved-shaft plow's structure was fully finalized, and Lu Guimeng's Leisi Jing (Classic of the Plow) recorded its components and use in detail. In Jiangnan paddy fields the curved-shaft plow worked together with tools such as the seedling horse, forming an intensive-cultivation technological system that represents the peak of traditional Chinese farm tools and continued to influence later ages.