Tracing the Origins of Rice Civilization/稻作文明探源

Rice is one of the world's most important food crops, providing sustenance for over half of the global population. Rice cultivation served as the material foundation for the development of Asian civilizations and a core characteristic of their societies, while rice-growing culture constitutes the traditional mainstream culture of China as well as most countries in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.

水稻是世界重要的粮食作物之一，全世界有一半以上人口食用稻米。稻作是亚洲文明发展的物质基础和社会的核心特征，稻作文化是中国以及东亚、东南亚和南亚大多数国家的传统主流文化。

The author has long been engaged in archaeological work in the lower Yangtze River region, and this book primarily draws on materials from this area to explore the grand question of the origins of rice cultivation. Divided into six chapters, the book systematically describes and analyzes the origins, evolution, and development of rice cultivation on a global scale, with particular emphasis on how rice-growing civilizations, shaped by differences in geographical location and regional environments, gave rise to the rich and diverse cultural styles and characteristics found across Asia.

作者长期从事长江下游地区的考古工作，本书叙述的具体内容便以该区域的材料为主，探讨了稻作起源这个宏大问题。全书分六个章节，逐章叙述并分析了稻作在世界范围内的起源、演变、发展过程，并着重解析了稻作文明由于地理位置和区域环境差异，在亚洲各地孕育出的丰富多彩的文化风格和多样性特质。

Zheng Yunfei

PhD in Agriculture, Research Fellow, Executive Council Member of the Agricultural History Society of China, and Deputy Director of the Archaeobotany Committee of the Archaeological Society of China. His research focuses primarily on archaeobotany and agricultural archaeology. He has successively led more than ten national and provincial-level research projects, including "Archaeological Research on Prehistoric Rice Farming Remains in Zhejiang" and "Research on the Origins of Rice Agriculture in the Lower Yangtze River Region," achieving a series of significant results in fields such as the origin and development of rice cultivation, crop cultivation, and domestication. He has published over 80 research papers in major academic journals both in China and internationally, including Science, Journal of Archaeological Science, Chinese Science Bulletin, and Kaogu (Archaeology), and has contributed to the compilation of several archaeological monographs.

郑云飞
农学博士，研究馆员，中国农业历史学会常务理事，中国考古学会植物考古专业委员会副主任，主要从事植物考古和农业考古工作，先后承担"浙江史前稻作农耕遗迹的考古研究""长江下游稻作农业起源研究"等十几项国家和省部级科研项目，在稻作起源和发展、作物栽培和驯化等领域取得一系列重要成果, 在Science-Journal of Archaeological Science、 《科学通报》和《考古》等国内外重要学术刊物发表相关研究成果论文80余篇，参与编撰考古报告多部。