太湖流域柑橘生产史考

自古吴县、太仓、金华、龙泉等太湖流域盛产各色柑橘,尤其是太湖洞庭山的柑橘,在神话时期即有生产,因其种类多、品质佳、获利丰,名闻天下。柑橘的花可蒸馏制香、果皮可入膳或制药。很多人依赖柑橘为生。柑橘因其可食、可药、可赏玩的特性,提升了人们的生活品质。柑淡(种子)发芽、砧木嫁接的种植法;火粪培壅、防治虫藓病害的治理法等柑橘栽培技术流传至今。随着时间的推移,柑橘不仅在太湖流域传播,还传播到世界其他地区,在传播过程中产生了一些品质优良的新品种。研究柑橘的生产与利用史,也是对农业技术史与饮食史的考察。

Research on the History of Citrus Production in Taihu Lake Basin

Since ancient times, Wuxian, Taicang, Jinhua, Longquan and other Taihu Lake basins were rich in citrus of various colors, particularly the citrus from Dongting Mountain in Taihu Lake, which was well-known for its variety, high quality, and profitable profits during the mythological period. The flowers of citrus could be distilled to make incense, and its peel could be used for food or medicine. Many people relied on citrus for living. Citrus improved people’s quality of life due to its edible, medicinal and enjoyable characteristics. The citrus cultivation techniques such as citrus(seed) germination and rootstock grafting, fire dung cultivation and treatment methods for preventing and controlling insects and diseases had been passed down to this day. With the passage of time, citrus not only spread in the Taihu Lake basin, but also to other parts of the world, and some new varieties of good quality were produced in the process of spreading. The study of the history of citrus production and utilization may be seen as an investigation of the history of agricultural technology and the history of diet.