The farming culture with a long history is an indispensable part of Chinese traditional culture. Inheriting and developing farming culture can not only provide rich experience for modern agriculture, but also add luster to the cause of rural revitalization in the new era.

On the occasion of the Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival in 2023, people.com.cn interviewed Cao Xingsui, the first doctor of agricultural history trained in China and the deputy director of the expert committee of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on important global agricultural cultural heritage, to exchange and discuss topics such as the inheritance and development of agricultural culture, the National Farmers' Harvest Festival, and the protection of agricultural cultural heritage.

host: What are the characteristics of China's farming culture? What evolutionary process has it undergone since ancient times?

Cao Xingsui: China is an ancient agricultural country. According to current archaeological discoveries, China has a history of 12000 years of agricultural production. Many of the excavated rice, soybean and other sites are more than 10000 years old. During the primitive agricultural period, China's agriculture made several great achievements in civilization. First, we took the lead in domesticating and planting rice, millet, soybeans and other food crops. In addition, our ancestors also domesticated many animals, such as pigs, cows and chickens.

The second stage is the Stone Age. Today, we see stone tools in archaeological sites. In fact, when our ancestors used these stone tools, the additional wooden handles were decayed, leaving only stone tools. After the Stone Age, we entered the era of metal smelting tools, that is, the Bronze Age. During the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, a state was formed, and agricultural production was organized within the national system. Since then, China's agriculture has made new progress, forming the original agricultural production system, as well as water conservancy projects.

After the Bronze Age, we entered the Iron Age to smelt iron as a tool. Iron farm tools are more suitable for agricultural production than bronze farm tools, which are more durable and sharp. In the era of iron farming tools, our agricultural production has further developed, farming technology and breeding technology have been greatly improved, and many agricultural products with local characteristics began to be produced at this time.

After the Iron Age, it entered the era of great agricultural development in the north, also known as the era of dry farming. At this time, a set of drought prevention and drought resistance farming system was formed in the north. After the dryland agriculture in the north has been developed to a certain extent, the population has become denser and denser, and the exploitable resources have become less and less, so the agricultural resources and rice technology system in the south have been further developed. The south is rich in water resources. In order to make rational use of water resources in the south, our ancestors have developed many terraces for paddy and dry rotation, which can grow a rice crop. In winter, the water in the paddy field is drained to grow wheat, forming a rice wheat double cropping production system. Under this system, the development of agricultural production resources was more powerful, which could feed more people. After the simultaneous development of agricultural production resources in the north and south, the economy was very developed at that time.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, we called it the period of great exchange of the world food crop system. In these years, China has introduced corn, sweet potatoes, potatoes and other food crops. In modern times, our traditional agriculture was relatively backward in all aspects. China introduced western science and technology, and with the help of modern agricultural science and technology, it has promoted new production development, which has continued to this day.

China's agriculture has probably gone through these stages in 10000 years. What experience and characteristics have been accumulated? The first feature is that it has a long history and has formed its own unique agricultural culture. The second feature is sustainable agriculture. The land cultivated for thousands of years has always maintained its original land productivity, without desertification or impoverishment. The third feature is that the regional culture is obvious, each region has its own agricultural production characteristics, and has different varieties and production technologies. We have created the 24 solar terms in agricultural production. Through the 24 solar terms, we can adjust agriculture and breeding work, so that our agricultural production can be closely combined with the natural environment and climate of various places, so that local agriculture can form its own characteristics under specific natural environment.

host: How can the ancient farming culture be combined with rural revitalization?

Cao Xingsui: Modern agriculture is developed on the basis of traditional agriculture. Therefore, modern agriculture contains a lot of agricultural cultural heritage. In several aspects, it has a great combination with rural revitalization. For example, we now emphasize the development of local specialties. The so-called local specialties are high-quality agricultural products with local characteristics formed in history. For thousands of years, our ancestors have bred high-quality animal and plant products for us, which are the most important resources we need to inherit for today's rural revitalization.

Second, our farming concept. For thousands of years, China's agricultural production has been sustainable, and this concept has played a great role in our ecological environment protection. One of our rural revitalization is the construction of ecological civilization. To build a livable village, we must inherit this tradition.

Third, many traditional agricultural technologies are also sustainable. For example, in agricultural production, we use a lot of organic fertilizer to provide fertilizer for crops, which can maintain ecological balance while maintaining land fertility without environmental pollution.

The same is true of our agricultural production mode. In ancient times, the agricultural production system of intercropping and crop rotation was invented. For example, in recent years, we have advocated the intercropping of corn and soybeans. The intercropping of corn and soybeans is a way we inherited. Why do we inherit it today? Because soybean has rhizobia, it can absorb nitrogen in the air and improve the soil. When intercropping with corn, it can not only harvest corn and soybean, but also improve the soil fertility and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers.

Even some rural management traditions, as well as folk cultural traditions, are what we need to inherit. When many places carry out tourism, they turn traditional festivals into tourism cultural elements and tourism products. For example, the Water Splashing Festival in Yunnan, which was originally a traditional festival, has now become a tourist product, which is very good. There are similar development cases everywhere, which are all examples of how our traditional culture can play a good role in rural revitalization.

host: Since 2018, China has set up a special harvest festival for Chinese farmers at the lunar autumnal equinox every year. What do you think of this festival?

Cao Xingsui: The Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival is a very good initiative to inherit traditional culture and integrate it into modern life. China is a large agricultural country with ancient agriculture. In history, we have different festivals to celebrate harvest, including various ethnic groups have their own festivals to celebrate harvest. However, before that, there had not been a unified harvest festival participated by all the Chinese nation. Therefore, the establishment of the Farmers' Harvest Festival unifies the traditional harvest festivals in the national system.

The Farmers' Harvest Festival is of great significance. First, it can enhance the attention of the whole country to agriculture. The whole country has participated in the celebration of the Harvest Festival, which can promote everyone to care about the countryside, farmers and agriculture. In addition, in the modern agricultural system, the establishment of a unified national harvest festival can promote the entry of agricultural products into the market. In addition, it can improve the social status of farmers, so that farmers can get more sense of honor and happiness in the festival. At the same time, with this festival, the interaction between urban and rural areas will increase every year until the autumnal equinox, which will also promote the communication between urban and rural areas.

host: Is there a different way to celebrate the harvest across the country?

Cao Xingsui: As far as I know, there are more than 300 local festivals held simultaneously with the Farmers' Harvest Festival in China. For example, the Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival and Tourism Festival, Cultural Festival and even some crop festivals are held together with the Farmers' Harvest Festival. We hope that urban residents can go to the countryside to share a variety of festival activities with farmers during the harvest period. The cultural programs, performances and customs of the harvest festival held in different places are different and colorful.

host: In 2002, the FAO launched an initiative to protect the world's important agricultural cultural heritage. You have also been committed to the protection of China's agricultural cultural heritage. What is agricultural cultural heritage? What are the main aspects of the importance of protection?

Cao Xingsui: The FAO's initiative to protect the world's important agricultural cultural heritage proposed in 2002 is targeted. When entering the new millennium, mankind reviewed the agricultural development in the past millennium and found that there were some defects in the modern agricultural system, which would affect the further sustainable development of agriculture. For example, modern agriculture uses too many fertilizers, pesticides, and many growth hormones. There are also some agricultural production supplies, such as the use of film and mulch film in production. These things will cause some pollution to the environment, but also cause some pollution to food. Therefore, FAO proposed to protect traditional agriculture. Because there is no fertilizer or pesticide in traditional agriculture.

Our protection of agricultural cultural heritage does not mean that we will return to the traditional agricultural era. However, the original fine traditions in traditional agriculture and environmentally friendly technologies should be protected. Combine modern agriculture with traditional agriculture to create a new agricultural production model.

What is agricultural cultural heritage? Different countries have different definitions. The definition put forward by FAO has several criteria, including traditional technology, traditional knowledge, traditional varieties, and those systems and varieties that are closely combined with the local area and can promote local agricultural production and socio-economic development are called agricultural heritage.

host: So far, what achievements have been made in the protection of agricultural cultural heritage in China? How to promote China's agricultural development through cultural heritage protection?

Cao Xingsui: China is the first country to respond to the FAO initiative to protect agricultural cultural heritage. In 2005, China's first agricultural heritage, Zhejiang Qingtian Rice Fish Symbiosis System, was also the world's first agricultural cultural heritage. Why did you mention it as the first agricultural heritage? There are several characteristics in this system that other agricultural systems, especially modern agricultural systems, do not have.

One is to raise fish in the paddy field, which means that no pesticide is used in the paddy field. If pesticides are used in the paddy field, the water in the field will be polluted and the fish will not grow. It shows that it has strict requirements for the ecological environment.

Second, rice fields and fish farming can promote the three-dimensional production efficiency of agriculture. In one field, rice and fish products are harvested at the same time. One field can be used for two purposes, which is in line with the combination of our agricultural production factors. This is very advantageous.

Third, rice and fish are used together here, inheriting the production combination of improved varieties cultivated by our ancestors, which is also what we particularly advocate now.

Fourth, it has promoted local economic development. After Qingtian Paddy Field Fish Culture was rated as a World Heritage Site, the tourism industry there has developed, the price of agricultural products there has increased, and the local social and economic development has been promoted.

At present, China has identified 19 important global agricultural cultural heritage sites. In addition, 138 important agricultural cultural heritages of China have been evaluated in China, which have played a great role in the revitalization of our countryside.

First of all, as cultural symbols and cultural resources, heritage sites have carried out a variety of rural tourism projects, designed a lot of tourism routes for agricultural heritage sites, and promoted exchanges between urban and rural areas through tourism projects.

Secondly, heritage sites all over the country attach importance to protecting the original crop varieties of heritage sites, which promotes the species diversity of agricultural production. Now we are eating more and more simple things, less and less of the original taste. Eating cucumbers has no taste of cucumbers, and eating corn has no taste of corn. The heritage site has protected the original traditional varieties, provided our society with more choices of food types and varieties, and promoted the diversification of species.

In addition, the protection of the heritage site has inherited many folk traditions from the original agricultural culture. Many traditional technologies, traditional cultures, and traditional customs have been protected in the heritage site.

Another is to promote the transformation and upgrading of modern agriculture. The defects and abuses in modern agriculture have been gradually overcome in the heritage sites.

Therefore, heritage sites have played a great role in rural revitalization. After we selected the heritage sites, the local environment is almost better than the original, the economy is more developed, and the popularity is more prosperous. All regions are taking the heritage sites as tourism development projects, and the exchanges between urban and rural areas, as well as personnel exchanges between regions are increasingly frequent. We are full of confidence in the review of heritage sites. We believe that more heritage sites will be protected in the future, and the agricultural production and cultural atmosphere of the whole countryside will be greatly changed.

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