Plow development history

The plow was developed from a primitive double-edged triangular stone tool called a "stone plow". Xia, Shang and Western Zhou were the initial development periods of China's agricultural technology. There were great progress and creations in production tools and farming and cultivation, and bronze agricultural tools appeared. The emergence of the iron plow during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period reflected a major change in the history of the development of agricultural tools in my country.
In the Han Dynasty, the plow was produced. The plow in the Han Dynasty was a straight-shaft plow, with double shafts and single shafts. Basically, it was carried by two oxen. It was especially suitable for use in plain areas. It could ensure that the fields were plowed straight and was easier to control. , the efficiency is also higher.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, agricultural production had fully entered the stage of ox-pulled plowing. The intensive farming technology based on the tillage-harrow-harrow system became more and more mature. The structure of the straight-hook plow was quite complete and its application was more widespread.
The Sui and Tang Dynasties were the expansion period of intensive farming in ancient China. The most significant achievement of its agricultural technology was the formation of the southern paddy field intensive farming technology system. The application and promotion of the curved shaft plow has greatly improved labor productivity and the quality of cultivated land. The invention of the curved shaft plow opened a new page in the history of traditional Chinese agricultural tools. It marked that the development of Chinese plows had entered a mature stage. At this point in the development of my country's traditional step plow, its structure has been basically finalized. Since then, the curved shaft plow has become the mainstream type of plow in China.
The plows of the Song and Yuan Dynasties were improved and perfected on the basis of the curved shaft plows of the Tang Dynasty. The plow shafts were shortened and curved, and components such as the head and the pressing trowel were reduced. The structure of the plow body was lighter, flexible to use, and the farming efficiency was higher. .
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the plow had not changed much. However, due to the further development of the iron smelting industry in the late Qing Dynasty, some plows switched to iron shafts, omitting the plow arrows, digging holes in the middle of the plow tip, and using wooden wedges to fix the iron shafts and adjust the depth, thus simplifying the structure of the plow body. It does not affect the efficiency of plowing, but also makes the plow more sturdy and durable, which not only extends the use time, but also saves production costs, which is also an improvement.