More than 400 years ago, he risked his life to introduce sweet potatoes from Vietnam and successfully planted them in Humen, which opened up a grain source for China and eased the famine at that time, and his contribution was self-evident.
According to textual research, sweet potato originated in Central and South America and was introduced to Europe and Southeast Asia at the end of15th century. Yang Baolin, an expert in Dongguan literature and history, published a paper in the second issue of Agricultural Archaeology 1982, pointing out that Humen was the first place to introduce sweet potatoes in China, and Chen Yi was the first person to introduce sweet potatoes in China. This statement has been recognized and accepted by the academic community.
According to historical records, Chen Yi was born in Beizha, Humen, and his date of birth is unknown. In the eighth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1580), he set out from Humen to Annan (present-day Vietnam) by a friend's merchant ship, dressed in cloth and wrapped around his shoulders. When they arrived in Annan, the local chiefs put on formal dishes when they received them. This dish is sweet and smooth. Besides being very delicious, it can also satisfy hunger. This is sweet potato.
After that, Chen Yi paid special attention to the growth habits and cultivation methods of sweet potatoes. Two years later, on 1582, he risked his life, bribed a chief, hid potato seeds in a bronze drum and wanted to take them back to China secretly.
When the boat was about to set sail, several Vietnamese official ships carrying several chief soldiers came to arrest him. In this life-and-death battle, China crew sailed in the sea breeze, successfully escaped capture and brought sweet potato seeds back to Humen.
At that time, Chen Yi didn't fully understand the planting process of sweet potato, so he had to be buried in the flower dock. Soon, sweet potatoes sprouted in the flower dock and slowly extended into long potato vines. One day, a servant of Chen Yi's family was curious when he saw the potato vine, so he pulled it out with his hand and squeezed it. Unexpectedly, the tender potato vines were suddenly cut off by her.
The servant panicked for a moment, fearing that Chen Yi would blame her, and quickly buried the potato vines she had cut in the mud of the flower dock. Who knows that after many days, the potato vine has sprouted again. Chen Yi was very surprised when he found out, and the servant "confessed" what had happened. Chen Yi not only didn't blame the servant, but also praised her for being "a big help", so she really mastered the cultivation technology of sweet potato.
Then, Chen Yi bought 35 mu of land in front of his grandfather's grave on the hillside of Xiaojie Mountain in jinzhou area, Humen, and began to plant sweet potatoes on a large scale. After the harvest, he decided to spread food widely, and chose his longevity spot next to the potato field to stay with the sweet potato.
Chen Yi wrote his last words when he died, instructing future generations to bring a pair of sweet potatoes to commemorate him every spring and autumn.
According to Yang Baolin's research, until the early days of the founding of New China, the descendants of Chen Yi still sacrificed red-skinned potatoes when they visited the grave every year, and wrote the words "A pair of sweet potatoes is worth a thousand boxes".
According to the article "Agricultural Archaeology", the sweet potato field next to Chen's tomb halfway up Xiaojie Mountain in Humen Jinzhou is the earliest place to introduce sweet potatoes on a large scale in China. 1989, Chen's tombs and sweet potato site were announced as cultural relics protection units in Dongguan.
In 2008, under the guidance of relevant experts, the community of Humen Beizha renovated the Chen tombs, with a total area of more than 600 square meters. Chen's descendants planted hundreds of cypress trees around the mausoleum. Since then, every year in Tomb-Sweeping Day, local residents will spontaneously come here to pay homage.
The day before yesterday, the reporter came to Chen's tomb. There are four tombs in this tomb group, including Chen Yi's grandfather, Chen Yi's wife and other people surnamed Chen, all of which have been well protected.
A small piece of sweet potato is planted in front of the tombs. On one side of the tombs, stands a marble stone tablet, which reads "Dongguan Cultural Relics Protection Unit".
Suggestion: Build a park to commemorate Chen Yi as "the first person to introduce sweet potato into China", which has made great contributions to the development of grain sources in China. To this end, many people in the cultural circles in Humen Town proposed that the land belonging to the cultural relics protection unit of Chen's tombs should be preserved, and Chen Yi Memorial Park or China Agricultural Relics Park should be built here. A statue of Chen Yi was erected in the park, showing the story of Chen Yi risking his life to introduce sweet potatoes in the form of group sculptures and paintings.
Cultural circles also suggest planting sweet potatoes on the land where sweet potatoes are planted in Chen Yiyuan to inform tourists and citizens that this is the first sweet potato land in China. It is also suggested that local restaurants and restaurants make Humen cuisine featuring sweet potatoes, so that tourists can remember Humen celebrity Chen Yi and cherish and save food while enjoying the delicious food with sweet potatoes as raw materials.