Challenging National Narratives: On the Origins of Sweet Potato in China as Global Commodity During the Early Modern Period

Abstract

The sweet potato (Ipomoea Batatas L.) and other American high-yield cereal crops played a key role in Chinese agricultural production and national consumption. The importance of comprehending the introduction and distribution of sweet potato in China to the further study of the early modern Chinese economy and culture has been acknowledged by academia. In this chapter, a survey of Chinese historiography on the introduction of sweet potato has been carried out through a sample of 181 articles, from 1958 to 2015, which includes the main journals of natural sciences and economic history in China. Only 30 articles were found to be qualified for the field of economic history. The aim is to observe the historiographical trend and impact in Chinese studies of the introduction of American crops, such as sweet potato, which transformed the Chinese economy and contributed to the ongoing debate as to whether this crop was indigenous to China or was of American origin. The significance of the literature review includes a brief history of the phases of research of sweet potato in China, the main topics of discussion in Chinese historiography and what further research should focus on.