China is the largest producer of watermelons in the world, but there are different opinions about the origin of watermelons. It is said that watermelon was discovered by Shen Nong when he tasted the herbs. It was originally called watermelon, which means watery and fleshy melon, but later it was passed down and became watermelon. Another theory is that it did not originate from China, but spread to the Western Regions, hence the name watermelon. As early as 4,000 years ago, the Egyptians planted watermelons. Later, they gradually moved northward. Initially, they spread from the Mediterranean coast to Northern Europe, and then went south to the Middle East, India and other places. In the 4th and 5th centuries, they were introduced to China from the Western Regions, so they are called "watermelon". According to the Ming Dynasty scientist Xu Guangqi's "Agricultural Policy Complete Book": "Watermelon was grown in the Western Regions, hence its name." Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty recorded in "Compendium of Materia Medica": "According to Hu Jiao's melon seeds in Huihe, they were named watermelon. So watermelon has its own name. It first entered China during the Five Dynasties and is now found in both the north and the south. This shows that watermelon cultivation has a long history in China. Watermelon has been cultivated in Egypt for five to six thousand years. In the past, someone cited Ouyang Xiu of the Song Dynasty's "New History of the Five Dynasties·Siyi Appendix" as saying: Hu Qiao, the magistrate of Heyang County in Tongzhou during the Five Dynasties, "first ate watermelon" when he entered Khitan. "It's as big as Chinese winter melon and sweet in taste", "in the third year of Zhou Guangshun's reign (953)... he returned home". Therefore, it seems to be a conclusion that watermelon was introduced to China from the Western Regions during the Five Dynasties. In recent years, many articles discussing watermelon in newspapers and magazines hold this view. The extracurricular reading "History of Clothing, Food, Housing and Transportation" for middle school students published by Hunan People's Publishing House in 1981 includes the section "Watermelons began in the Five Dynasties". In fact, this statement is not accurate. Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty pointed out in "Compendium of Materia Medica": Watermelon is also called cold melon. "Tao Hongjing (during the Southern and Northern Dynasties) noted in the melon stems that there were cold melons in Yongjia (the reign of Emperor Huai of the Jin Dynasty) that were so big that they could be hidden until spring, that's what happened. In the Five Dynasties, melon seeds had already entered eastern Zhejiang, but there was no name for watermelon. "The Biography of Teng Tan Gong in Southern History" says that Tan Gong "was five years old, and his mother, Yang, was suffering from fever and wanted to eat cold melons, which the local customs did not produce. Tan Gong was unable to get it, and his title was very sad." I met a Sangmen and asked him about it. Tan Gongju told me, "I have two melons, one of which is left behind." I returned it to my mother, and the whole family was surprised and looked for the Sangmen, but I didn't know where it was." Volume 19 of "Youyang Zazu" written by Duan Chengshi of the Tang Dynasty records the poem "Traveling in the Garden" written by Yinhou (Shen Yue): "Cold melons are lying on the ridge, and autumn cattails are all over the slope. Purple eggplants are rotten and rotten, and green taros are everywhere. They are all different.” Judging from the poem’s mention of the season when cold melons are lying on the ridge, it is consistent with watermelons. In addition, in old Beijing, the watermelons that came to market first were called "water melons" and those that came later were called "cold melons." Today, when I visited an old farmer, they also said that later watermelons were indeed called "cold melons." It seems that the above-mentioned literature can be corroborated with Li Shizhen's statement. However, Li Shizhen's statement seems to have not attracted people's attention for hundreds of years. In 1976, watermelon seeds were found in the mud of the coffin chamber of a Western Han tomb in Guixian, Guangxi; in 1980, watermelon seeds were found in the lacquer lining of a Han tomb in Hanjiang County, in the western suburbs of Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. The owner of the tomb died in the third year of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty (B.C.) 71 years). This irrefutably proves the reliability of Li Shizhen's records. Watermelon, as the name suggests, is a melon from the Western Regions. Five generations ago, since it had been introduced to the southeastern coastal areas of China, it was not called watermelon. Instead, it was called cold melon because of its cold nature and antipyretic properties. Therefore, it seems doubtful that watermelon was introduced to China from the Western Regions. So, from what route did it enter China? It is speculated that it was introduced to China through the "Maritime Silk Road". Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty once sent a "translator" to recruit merchants and people, carry silk, and go to Western countries by sea ship to "market pearls, bis, strange stones, and foreign objects." The sea ship set sail from the Leizhou Peninsula and sailed along the west coast of the Beibu Gulf and the coast of Vietnam. It bypasses Cape Ca Mau at the southern tip of Vietnam, then along the Gulf of Siam, and goes south along the coast of the Malay Peninsula to Singapore, then turns west and crosses the Masigua Strait. "The translation has returned since then" ("Hanshu Geography"); this sea route is the so-called "Maritime Silk Road". Where is the "already gone" place today? Most scholars believe that it is Sri Lanka , and some people say it is Abyssinia in eastern Africa. Whichever version is correct, it shows that the sea route for communication between China and Africa has been opened during the Han Dynasty, because during the Han Dynasty, the Arabs had mastered the secret of the trade winds in the Indian Ocean. , able to sail east-west through the Indian Ocean. In this way, it is entirely possible that Sri Lanka and the Nanyang Islands will become a transit point for transportation between China and Africa. Watermelons from Africa can be introduced to China through Sri Lanka or the Nanyang Islands. The watermelon seeds unearthed from Han tombs in Guangxi and Jiangsu are. Evidence of cultural exchanges between China and Africa along the Maritime Silk Road. In addition, according to a report by Guangming Daily on February 24, 1959: Watermelon seeds have also been found in the Shuitianfan Neolithic site in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. If this archaeological harvest is indeed reliable. In other words, watermelon has a history of at least four thousand years in China, and it is another matter to say that watermelon is native to Africa. Watermelon is the fruit of the Cucurbitaceae plant Citrullus Lanatus Matsum. In one item, it was mentioned that "there are cold melons in Yongjia that are very large and can be hidden until spring. Li Shizhen believes that this is a watermelon. He also said that before the Five Dynasties, melon seeds had entered eastern Zhejiang, but there was no name for watermelon because it was not spread throughout China. According to the record of "Huqiao Entrapment": Qiao conquered Huihe and got this kind of watermelon, which was named watermelon. Watermelon first entered China in the Five Dynasties and is now known as cold melon because of its cold nature. When you come from the west, you call me watermelon.
The name of watermelon comes from ancient books such as "Daily Materia Medica" and "Dietotherapeutic Materia Medica" of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Watermelon was introduced to China in the Five Dynasties and was originally called cold melon. It remains to be seen whether it is also known as water melon, summer melon, and Qingden melon. research. There are many varieties of watermelon, not only in modern times. In ancient times, its skin color was divided into green and green, its flesh was red and white, and its seeds were yellow, red, black, white and other varieties. Now there are countless varieties of watermelon. Watermelon vine
Watermelon peel, pulp, and seeds are all edible and medicinal. "Watermelon cream" made from seed shells and watermelon rinds is specially used for medicinal purposes. It can treat aphthous sores, oral malnutrition, tooth malaria, throat moth (acute pharyngitis), and all laryngitis. Watermelon pulp (pulp) has the effects of clearing away heat, quenching polydipsia, diuresis, and detoxifying alcohol. It is used to treat all fevers, polydipsia due to summer heat, difficulty in urination, sore throat, oral inflammation, and drunkenness. Watermelon rind is used to treat nephritis, edema, liver disease, jaundice, and diabetes. Watermelon seeds have the effect of clearing and moisturizing the lungs, quenching thirst, aiding digestion, and can cure vomiting blood and chronic cough. The seed shell is used to treat intestinal wind and blood dysentery. "Ben Jing Feng Yuan" records: Watermelon can induce pericardial heat and cause diarrhea from the small intestine and bladder. It can relieve severe thirst caused by the sun and Yangming, as well as fever, so it is known as the natural "Baihu Decoction". Baihu Decoction is a prescription for treating colds in Han Dynasty. It has the functions of clearing away heat and promoting fluid production, quenching thirst and relieving restlessness. It refers to the metaphor of watermelon rind having the same effect. In spring and summer, when the cold air causes distemper, people who collect it the next year eat it like soup and snow.