As we all know China is the land of silk.According to the legend,Leizu,the wife of the Yellow Emperor who lived about four thousand and five hundred years ago,was the first lady to introduce the culture of silkworms and the spinning of silk among the Chinese people.In Beihai Park in Beijing,there is the Altar of the Goddess of Silkworms,and the goddess of silkworms enshrined there was Leizu.
The Chinese guarded the secrets of their valuable art with great vigilance until the third century when sericulture began to spread to country in the east of China.One of the most ancient books of Japanese history states that towards A.D.300,some Koreans were sent from Japan to China to engage competent people to teach them how to rear silkworms and make silk.They even brought back four Chinese girls to Japan to instruct the court and the folk people in the art.And later,a temple was erected to the honor of these four Chinese girls.Shortly after that,the knowledge of silk travelled westward and the cultivation of silkworms was established in India.From the Ganges Valley the art was slowly carried westward and spread in Persia and the states of Central Asia.
According to historic records,two Persian monks who had long resided in China learned the whole art and mystery of silkworm rearing.In the sixth century,they arrived at Constantinople and imparted their knowledge to the emperor,by whom they were induced to return to China to get and bring back to the emperor the material necessary for the cultivation of silkworms.They concealed silkworm eggs in a hollow cane and brought them back.It was from these precious contents of that bamboo tube that,in the year A.D.550,all the races and varieties of silkworms were bred in Constantinople,and thereafter,it grew into a sericulture center that stocked and supplied the Western world for more than one thousand and two hundred years.From there the art of sericulture was spread to all parts of Europe.In 1522,Spain introduced sericulture into Mexico,and mulberry trees were then planted in North America.(423)
filialadj.子女的；孝順的
sericulturen養蠶
spinningn紡織
altarn祭壇；聖壇
goddessn女神
vigilancen警惕；警覺
erectv建立
residev居住；駐留
Constantinoplen君士坦丁堡
impartv分給；傳授
inducev引導；勸導
concealv隱蔽；隱藏
canen手杖
mulberryn桑葚
ⅠFill in the blanks with the correct words from the passage.
1was the first lady to introduce the culture of silkworms and the spinning of silk among the Chinese people.
2Shortly after that,the knowledge of silk travelled.
3imparted their knowledge to the emperor of Constantinople.
4The two monks concealed silkworm eggs inand brought them back.
5In 1522,
ⅡDecide whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F).
1Lei zu was the first woman who learned how to rear silkworms.
2Chinese liked to share the sericulture with other countries.
3The spread of sericulture was first to west.
4Constantinople became a trade center as the spread of sericulture.
5In 1524,Spain introduced sericulture into Mexico.
As the four major wellknown inventionscompass,papermaking,letterpress printing and gunpowder——traditional Chinese agriculture also made great contributions to the development of human civilization.
It was as early as in the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 B.C.—A.D.220) that the system of traditional Chinese agricultural science and technology began to take shape.As time went on,the system further developed and became more perfect on the basis.Compared with the agricultural technology in Europe at that time,traditional Chinese agricultural science and technology were in the forefront in the world.
China is also the first paddy rice producer in the world.It was said that rice was spread to other countries in the Zhou Dynasty,about three thousand years ago.China also took the lead in silkworm raising and silk production.It was as early as in the New Stone Age about four thousand to five thousand years ago that the Chinese ancestors began to raise silkworms and produce silk in the present Hebei and Henan provinces.From the Spring and Autumn Period (770—476 B.C.) to the Qin Dynasty,silk production was spread out all over China.During the Western Han Dynasty,fine silk products were transported to the countries in Southwest Asia and Europe through the wellknown “Silk Road”.
China is also the world pioneer in growing,producing and drinking tea.Legend goes that tea was used as a medicine as early as over four thousands years ago.During the Qin and Han Dynasties,drinking tea gradually became a fashion.In the 9th century,tea trees were transplanted in Japan,and in turn,in Indonesia,India,and some other countries.Tea has been so widely spread and has produced so great influences that the English word “tea” and French “thé” both derived from Chinese “te”,the pronunciation of tea in Fujian dialect.
There are many kinds and varieties of vegetables in China,totally one hundred and sixty.Half of them originated in China.Among these vegetables,many have been spread abroad and appreciated there.The scientific names of Chinese cabbage and pakchoi are respectively Brassica Chinensis and Brassica Pekinensis.Japan began to transplant cabbage from China in 1875,and now it has a great output a growing field.