New Peace County: A Chinese Gazetteer of the Hong Kong Region

3. ECONOMY

3. ECONOMY The economy o f Xin'an was different fro m th e simple agricultural economy of most of the other regions of the Chinese Empire. Farming, it is true, played the leading role in the county's economic life, and land-tax was the main source of official revenu e a s it was elsewhere; but th e geographical condition s o f Xin'an made possible the developmen t o f two other industrie s which wer e tapped b y the government fo r revenu e — fishing an d sal t production . The gazetteer does not set aside a chapter exclusively for discussion of the occupations of the people. In Chapter Three a list of agricultural products is given, as wel l a s a lis t o f th e fishes which ca n b e foun d i n th e county' s waters ; i n Chapter Eight are details of how farmers, fishermen an d salt-makers were taxed by the government; th e three major occupation s ar e also mentioned her e an d there in the edicts reproduced in the Premier Chapter and in the memorials and proposals written by Xin'an officials whic h are quoted in Chapter Twenty-two. But thes e majo r industrie s ar e discusse d fro m th e poin t o f vie w o f th e ad ministrators rather than of those who actually worked in them. Only in passing does the human element intrude — such as in the 'Natural Disasters' section of Chapter Thirteen . Th e resultin g picture o f the econom y i s neither broa d no r clear. Agriculture Agriculture, an d i n particular th e growing of grain, was a major concer n of administration an d people alike. The soils of Xin'an were capable of producing high qualit y rice , an d wit h tw o crop s pe r yea r (eve n thre e i n a few speciall y favoured location s such as the Lincun $ W valley) and a possible catch crop of vegetables in the dry winter months the county could be self-sufficient i n food . The rice from Shatin Valley was reputed to be the finest in China, and was sent as part of the annual tribute to the Emperor in Peiping.1 Early rice was planted in March and harvested in July, and the late crop period was July t o November . A smal l amoun t o f hill padd y wa s grown a s an earl y crop; and in soils with a high salt content, such as those of the Deep Bay marsh 38 New Peace County area, a brackish-water padd y crop was grown in the late summer.2 The gazettee r lists by nam e five varietie s of early first cro p rice, three of late first crop , four o f first cro p 'dry' ^ ric e and tw o of first cro p glutinous rice. For the second cro p i t gives two early , fou r late , four glutinous , an d on e brackis h variety. 3 As wel l a s ric e othe r grain s coul d b e grown , an d th e gazettee r note s thre e kinds o f mille t an d thre e o f wheat. Th e 'Grains ' sectio n als o include s a lis t o f eight differen t pulses , thre e type s o f taro , thre e kind s o f sesam e an d eigh t varieties o f yam I f : There ar e several types of yam grown in the county: there is the sweet yam, th e mountain yam , the sweet potato, the linen yam, the hairy yam, the red yam, the white yam and the greater yam. Of these the sweet potato is used by the local people as a substitute for rice. It is an extremely nutritious characteristic food o f the area.4 The swee t potat o H i ! wa s importe d t o Chin a i n th e lat e sixteent h century . High-yielding, nutritious , drough t resistan t an d abl e to flourish i n poor soil s so that i t di d no t compet e wit h othe r crops , i t soo n becam e established : In th e southeaster...