中國大花生

文/蔡志書

中國大花生

The Chinese Big-Size Peanuts

文/蔡志書

126年前，一位美國傳教士從家鄉(xiāng)帶來大花生種子，在蓬萊栽培成功。從此，大花生在中國落地生根。

中國大花生的故事由蓬萊開始。The story of big peanuts in China started from Penglai.

假如當年，美國人梅理士帶回蓬萊的那包花生種分給兩個農(nóng)民后，其中，一位如果不是信守諾言將種子丟在了地里，而是像另一位那樣吃進了肚腹，那么，大花生對中國來說，很可能是另一個故事了。

遠渡重洋的大花生

126年前，一位美國傳教士從家鄉(xiāng)帶來幾粒大花生種子，在登州也就是今天的蓬萊試種栽培并獲得成功。從此，大花生在中國落地生根。蓬萊大花生的故事正是從這里開始的。

中國的花生可分為小花生和大花生兩大類，都來自國外。小花生原產(chǎn)于巴西、秘魯，明末清初旅居?xùn)|南亞的福建人帶回中國并傳播開來。小花生含油量高，但產(chǎn)量低，故一直不是經(jīng)濟作物，更與外貿(mào)出口不沾邊。大花生含油量低于小花生，但其高產(chǎn)的特性彌補了含油量低的缺點。下面的幾個史料證明，山東近代以及今天我們看到的大花生，是美國基督教傳教士梅理士從登州，也就是今天的蓬萊引進傳播出去的。1924年《國際公報》的一篇譯文說∶“大花生種子乃三十五年前為美國圣道堂傳教士塔木森(湯普森)君攜入中華者，其數(shù)僅一咖倫。始而攜至上海，在該處恰遇美國長老會傳教士米博士(梅理士)回山東蓬萊縣登州府，于是二君將大花生種子平分……米博士回山東后，復(fù)與二教友平分此半咖倫種子，然約定在前3年內(nèi)伊等只準播種，俾得漸漸蓄衍也。三年之后，將所獲之大花生完全分與眾人。此二教友固皆業(yè)農(nóng)者，惜其一竟不守約，卻將第一年所獲者盡數(shù)食之。幸喜第二農(nóng)夫忠心踐約，三年后即將所收成者全數(shù)分贈與人。且以大花生形體較大也，一般農(nóng)人皆喜得而播種之，故彼時該處傳播之?！庇种^：“引大花生入蓬萊縣一事，人頗認為重要之舉”，故在該縣公署前建一石碑，以紀念引入者之大德與洋花生之功能”。

據(jù)此記載推算，1924年之前的35年應(yīng)該是1889年，那么，距2015年已過去126年時間。

原金陵大學(xué)農(nóng)林學(xué)院記錄大花生的傳入經(jīng)過與《國際公報》大同小異，說“山東蓬萊縣之有大粒種,始于光緒年間,是年大美國圣公會副主席湯卜遜(湯普森)自美國輸入十瓜得大粒種至滬,分一半于長老會牧師密爾司（梅理士）,經(jīng)其傳種于蓬萊,該縣至今成為大?；ㄉa(chǎn)地?！?/p>

1946年《大公報》發(fā)表拓鳳寫的“花生小史”一文講，“大花生是美國傳教士米爾(梅理士)傳入，米爾19世紀到蓬萊，米爾的兒子曾在金陵大學(xué)任教，外號小花生，為紀念他父親傳入大花生故名?！?/p>

最近，筆者又得到了旅美華僑宋培林先生的幾份資料和他的研究成果，進一步證實了大花生是由蓬萊引進傳播的史實。

1924年美國《時代》雜志上的一篇《中國花生》文章提到了大花生的入華時間和方式：“由于經(jīng)濟原因，美國南方花生的種植園主沒有人對圣公會執(zhí)行主教湯普森和美國長老會傳教士梅理士博士有感激之心。35年以前，這些先生們帶了4包美國大花生去中國?，F(xiàn)在中國的花生產(chǎn)量已經(jīng)超過美國。”同年9月27日美國的《伯克利每日公報》上的一篇名為《花生和橄欖球》的文章講得更細：“35年以前，湯普森帶到中國的4包美國花生成了中國大花生的祖先，現(xiàn)在中國花生產(chǎn)量超過了美國。當年湯普森主教慷慨地把一半花生分給正要回山東的美國長老會傳教士梅理士博士。梅理士博士又把花生分給了兩個農(nóng)民并要求他們先種上3年，然后分發(fā)給大家。一個農(nóng)民在年底把花生給吃了。另外一個則按梅理士的要求做了?，F(xiàn)在光山東一年就生產(chǎn)（18,000,000蒲耳？）的美國大花生?！?/p>

通過以上記載可勾勒出花生入山東的線路：1889年，傳教士湯普森把大花生從美國帶到了常駐地上海。梅理士從登州到上海訪問時，從湯普森那里獲得大花生種，回登州時將花生種一并帶了回去……

假如當年，梅理士帶回蓬萊的那包花生種分給兩個農(nóng)民后，其中，一位如果不是信守諾言將種子丟在了地里，而是像另一位那樣吃進了肚腹，那么，大花生對中國來說，很可能是另一個故事了。

中國的花生主要來自山東，成為世界花生第一出口國、第一生產(chǎn)國。With Shandong as the main producing area of peanuts, China has become the first exporting country and the first producing country of peanuts in the world.

幾粒小種子，成就山東花生大產(chǎn)業(yè)

大花生的引進給中國北方，尤其是山東的經(jīng)濟和出口創(chuàng)匯帶來巨大的影響。

據(jù)《中國花生栽培學(xué)》一書和山東煙臺海關(guān)十年報告(1922—1931)記載，大粒花生傳到山東蓬萊縣后，由于它產(chǎn)量高，收獲省工，因而很快遍及山東各地及黃河和長江流域各省。山東煙臺農(nóng)民從花生得到的利益，據(jù)說比任何其他作物更為有利，花生土地占到了耕地的三分之一。更重要的是，花生帶來的出口創(chuàng)匯，為中國的國際貿(mào)易打開了一片新天地。在大花生引進以后的35年內(nèi)，中國不僅成為世界花生第一出口國，而且成為第一生產(chǎn)國。

據(jù)中國農(nóng)業(yè)博物館資料，大花生從傳入到1924年，蓬萊已經(jīng)是著名的大花生產(chǎn)區(qū)了。當時自煙臺海港輸出到世界各地帶殼的花生果和無殼的花生仁，1933年達530萬銀元，在那個時代乃是一個巨額。1934年出版的《中國實業(yè)志》稱，山東省當時已有82個縣種植花生。1979年至1990年，山東省花生外貿(mào)出口量占全國的60%～70%，多時占90%，最多時銷往70多個國家和地區(qū)。故花生在歐洲曾有“中國堅果”之稱，今在日本仍有“唐人豆”的稱呼。1922年，美國的花生專業(yè)雜志《花生推廣者》報道：“在過去的十年里，中國對美國花生的出口已超過印度等國，成為第一。中國的花生主要來自山東。山東的土壤和氣候非常適合花生種植。不僅個大，而且含油率高。其次是河南和直隸的花生。令人驚奇的是山東農(nóng)民用非常原始的方法，在一小塊地上種花生，不僅能夠養(yǎng)活全家，而且有的人家還能供兒子上大學(xué)?！?/p>

大花生傳入中國126年了。如今，當我們在品享花生之清香的時候，誰也不會回頭去探究大花生的來龍去脈。今天翻閱這段歷史，也不是要我們知道多少，只是有一句話不能忘了：吃水不忘打井人。

126 years ago an American missionary brought from his hometown several peanut seeds and successfully planted them in Dengzhou, today’s Penglai. From then on the big peanut took root in China. The story of the Penglai big peanut started from here.

The former College of Agriculture and Forestry of Jinling University made a similar record as that printed in the International Bulletin saying”The big seeds in Penglai, Shandong originated from the ten big seeds shipped from America to Shanghai by Thompson, the deputy chairman of the Episcopal Church of the USA, who shared half of them with Mills, a priest of the Presbyterian Church through whom the seeds were introduced to Penglai and it became a famous place for producing the big-size peanuts. ”According to the Chinese Peanut Planting and the report of Shandong Yantai customs from 1922 to 1931, when the big-size peanut was introduced to Penglai, Shandong, it soon became popular in different places of Shandong and the provinces along the Yellow River and the Changjiang River because it had a high yield and required less labor. The farmers in Yantai, Shandong gained more in the peanuts than any other crops and the farmlands of peanuts accounted for one third of all the farmlands. To be more important, the earning foreign exchanges through exports of peanuts opened a new world for the international trade of China. 35 years after the introduction of the big-size peanuts made China the fi rst country of peanut export in the world and the fi rst country of peanut production.

According to the fi les in China Agricultural Museum, from the introduction of the big-size peanut to 1924, Penglai had already become a famous region for big-size peanut production. At that time the shelled peanuts and unshelled peanuts exported from the Yantai port to different places of the world were worth 5.3 million silver dollars in 1933, a large sum of money in that age. As the Chinese Industry published in 1934, there were already 82 counties in Shandong that grew peanuts. From 1979 to 1990 the exported peanut production in Shandong accounted for 60 to 70 percent in China and sometimes as much as 90 percent. It was sold to as many as over 70 countries and regions. Therefore the peanut was called“the Chinese nut” in Europe and it is still named as “the Tangren bean” in Japan. It was reported by The Peanut Promoter, a professional magazine of peanuts in America in 1922 that “During the past decade the export of peanuts from China to America has exceeded that from India and other countries and ranked the fi rst. The Chinese peanuts are mainly from Shandong, which soil and climate are quite favorable for peanut growing. The peanuts there are not only in big size but also contain high yield of oil. The peanuts of Henan and Zhili are next to it. It is surprising that the farmers in Shandong plant peanuts in a small patch of farmland in a very primordial way but they can support the whole family and some can even afford the college tuitions of their sons.”

If in the old time when the bag of peanut seeds brought by Mills were shared by the two farmers, one farmer did not keep his promise to throw them in the farmland but ate it as the other one did, the big-size peanut would be of a different story for China.