Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1884-06-20
Farming in China.

The Chinese, of all people, are the
sons of the soil, and may almost claim
to be the fathers of agriculture. Their
earliest scraps of history present lis
pictures of arabic fields and waving
crops of grain. At a time when our
home lands were bowling wildernesses
and our forefathers gloried in theirpaint,
feathers and bearskins the sons of Ham
and fed their swine much as they do
now. When they first broke up their
nomadic life and settled down TO the
more peaceful pursuits Of agricultural
life would be impossible to say. 1t is
too far back for my ken. After read
ing the statement of one native G.uhJr
ity. according to which China was
evolved out of chaos exactly 1926, 1872
years ago, resolved to let the qucs-
ton drop. Carlyle's ''dry-as-dust anti
quariansn will settle the question some
day. The Chinese historian takes us
back to 1857 b. c., and gives us,
amidst much haze of myth and fable,
glimpse of the middle kingdom under
the reign of the yellow Emperor, -
when people knew how to read and
write, build houses and boats, make
wheelbarrows and plows and SOW and
reap the "tive kinds of grain" Over
1000 years before the birth of Christ
was the golden age of Tu and Shun.
when the King followed the plow and
the sage went hand in hand with the
husbandman; when autumn crops
waved in the valleys and herds of low
ing cattle grazed in the green pastures
when men obeyed instruction and be-
came virtuous, and held to the plow
and became prosperous; when street
doors were never locked, lost goods
were always restored and happiness
and virtue reigned.
Almost Hebraic in its quaint sim.
plicity is the story told of the virtuous
Shun, who was taken from the plow tc
! the throne and made Emperor because
he was good. Very pretty, too, are the
| legends that are woven into the history
of this grand old man. 1t is said thai
when he went to his fields, wild beast:
| of the forests came forth from theil
lairs, crouched at his feet, submitted t.
the yoke. and drew the good man.
plow. When he sowed his seeds, it i:
told how eagles and hawks daily hoy
cred over the sprouting grain and pro
1ected his crops from the ravages o
birds and vermin. The farmer kins
became the great patron of agricul
ture, and showed how practical his in
terest was by devoting portion o
each day to the cultivation with his Owl
hands of few acres of the imperia
estates. No wonder that farming il
considered an honorable occupation
when one of their greatest, wisest ant
most reverend sovereigns has digniiiet
the tolls of husbandry by his own roya
example. Over 1000 years have passel
since the days of Shun, but still tn,
farmer king is taken as the patterI
monarch. Early in the spring of ever,
gear the Emperor of China, true to th'
traditions OF the dragon throne, in
iugurates the agricultural work of thu
rear by special state ceremonies. HI
proceeds in great state to plot o
tround near the altar of agriculture a
seking, where, after solemnly Offering
acriiices to "Holy Farmer" he take
With his own hands yellow plow, ant
works few burrows, then rakes th
and with yellow harrow, and finall,
pws grain in the presence of the gran
lees OF the empire. The object Of thi
ceremony is to encourage the work o
illing the soil, which in China prope
said to be not less 100000 acres o
lrable land. Every farmer in the eigh
ieen provinces is supposed to wait be
ore he turns up the soil until his owl
sovereign, as lord of the land, has Sc
,im the example. San francisco Chron