明清时期河南地区的红花种植

Study on Safflower Planting in Henan in Ming and Qing Dynasties

红花作为重要的药材和染料作物,很早就被引进中原,元代河南设置了专门管理红花种植、征收、流通等事务的机构。明清时期,红花在河南地区得到广泛种植。这一时期,红花在河南民众生活中地位突出,其种植也逐渐融入到河南民众的土地利用和轮作制度中,形成了合理的土地利用方式。明清河南普遍种植和利用红花或与当地适宜的自然环境、药商在河南地区的经营活动、中原便利的交通、棉花种植的兴起与桑麻业的复苏以及频发的自然灾害等因素有关。

As an important medicinal herb and dye crop,safflower was introduced to the Central Plains at an early stage,and during the Yuan Dynasty,agencies were set up in Henan specifically to manage the cultivation,collection and distribution of safflower.In the Ming and Qing Dynasties,safflower was widely cultivated in Henan.During this period,safflower had a prominent position in the lives of Henan people,and its cultivation was gradually integrated into the land use and crop rotation system of the locals,forming a rational way of land use.The widespread planting and utilization of safflower in Henan during the Ming and Qing dynasties may be related to the suitable natural environment of the region,the activities of medicine merchants in Henan and the convenient transportation in the Central Plains.Besides,the rise of cotton planting,the revival of the mulberry and hemp industry,and the frequent occurrence of nature disasters also played an important role.