China: Great Dragon Rising - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 305

PASTURE LAND

OASIS FARMING
limited by irrigation
cotton, fruit, vegetables

CORN, KAOLIANG &
WINTER WHEAT
rotation of corn &
soybeans
cotton

MILLET , CORN &
WINTER WHEAT
kaoliang, oats &
buckwheat

Y ellow
Sea

BARLEY & WHEAT
tubers & hardy vegetables

Gr

edomi

RICE
followed by wheat, rape, peas
corn and sweet potatoes

East
China
Sea

RICE & TEA
wheat, rape, peas

RICE
wheat, beans, rapeseed
corn & subtropical crops

Pacific
Ocean

DOUBLE CROP RICE
2 crops annually;
wheat, veg, sugarcane

0 300 600 mi

Bay
of Bengal

South
China Sea

300

0 600 km

Figure 11-8
This agricultural map of China shows the division between north and south in terms of crops grown
and the ability to double-crop. The north grows more wheat while the south grows more rice. The
division coincides with the 20-inch isohyet, which follows the Qinling Shan and the Huai He.

China has had a long-standing relationship
with the pig' s ancestor, the wild boar. Farmers hated
the boar for destroying their vegetable crops but ad-
mired it for its strength, speed, and the perceived
therapeutic value of its body parts. Once the boar
was domesticated as the pig, it provided meat, bris-
tles, fertilizer, and countless other by-products. It
required no large space and ate anything. Its fast
growth and reproductive ability made it a symbol
of wealth and prosperity . Even today , you can pur-
chase gilded, golden pigs to bring prosperity to
your home or office.
Before 200 BC, social stratification defined
what one could eat. Pork could be eaten by the em-
peror and lower ministers. Others, such as feudal
lords, state ministers, generals, and commoners,

were required to eat other meats. Pigs also played a
role in life and death rituals, and pig effigies and
bones were often included in burials. Pigs were also
thought to be efficient guardians of children.
Pigs are raised on large, state-run feedlots as
well as on privately owned farms. Collectively , there
are about 4,000 of these enterprises. As incomes
rise with spiraling economic development, the de-
mand for pork has increased dramatically .
Pork production can be a risky business. For
example, bad weather in 2007 was responsible for
the death of 3.7 million pigs. The 2008 earthquake
in Sichuan killed another 4 million. Since then,
government price supports have brought the indus-
try back to its normal levels.