The ancestors of the Chinese nation first discovered and recognized pearls in fresh water, not pearls in the sea. This is from the Confucian classic "Shangshu? There is Gong Yu's record as evidence: "Huai Yi CuO Zhu" refers to mussel pearls melted in Huai Shui, and "Zhuangzi" has a story of "not going out of Sichuan to find pearls", which also refers to freshwater pearls. Pearls of mussels were first discovered in the historical records of the South China Sea. Pearls produced in the sea, once found, have excellent color, far eclipsing pearls in rivers and lakes. The South China Sea is a treasure house of pearls; Therefore, the eyes of the ancestors in the Yellow River valley are like a powerful magnetic field, and they are attracted together with their civilization. Since then, the natural beauty of the South China Sea has brought benefits to the coastal people, but it has also brought disasters.
The sky is high and China is vast, with Luoyue poverty in the south, Shuomo in the north, Hotan in the west and Jieshi in the east. In this vast territory where Huangzhou people eat wool and practice soil, where is the treasure that sustains the life of landlords and breeds splendid Chinese civilization? Every grass and tree, every inch of gravel, every inch of gold and every pearl treasure should belong to the ancestors who have worked hard and developed and utilized this land for a long time.
With the replacement of slave society and feudal society, the natural treasures of Kyushu's mountains and rivers "hiding mountains and seas" no longer belong to the primitive commune group, but are taken by slave owners and feudal emperors as their own and become their private wealth and that of the bureaucratic class. "All over the world, is it the land of kings?" Wealth in the world is "the foundation for emperors to serve people and keep their positions", and I believe CoCo Lee, the first leader of Guizhou, should also abide by it. However, contrary to their wishes, ordinary Lebanese people who don't want to be enslaved and squeezed often rise up and fight to become the masters of pearls. Therefore, the struggle between seizing treasure and opposing treasure runs through the history books from beginning to end. There are both satirical comedies and tragic dramas on the historical stage. The story of "Hepu Huanzhu" which happened on the South China Sea coast more than 65,438+0,800 years ago is one of the most wonderful scenes.
It is said that in ancient Hepu area, "gems were produced from the sea" and the land "did not produce food". Residents don't understand agricultural technology, and they all rely on collecting pearls and rice from the sea to satisfy their hunger. Later, due to the corruption and exploitation of local officials, people's livelihood was cut off, which led to the tragic phenomenon of hunger floating everywhere, and the spiritual pearl mussels in the sea also "ran" to their toes angrily. Emperor Shun Di of the Eastern Han Dynasty immediately appointed Meng Changjun as the county magistrate of Hepu. He carried out a comprehensive reform in view of the disadvantages of his predecessor, so that the local social and economic life returned to normal, and Pearl mussels returned to Hepu's original place from their toes. This is the well-known story of Hepu Zhu Huan.
The ancients set the grade of pearls so detailed and complicated that it was "indistinguishable" in the early Qing Dynasty.
The Annals of South Vietnam says that there are nine kinds of pearls, and those with a diameter of five to one inch are "big pearls". One side is flat, and the other side is like an inverted iron pot (cover pot), which is also a treasure. It's not qualified to walk on the bead. "Heavenly Creations" said that all products with a diameter of five points to one inch and five points are "big products". On one side, it is shiny and slightly gilded, and it is "Zhu Zhu", which is worth thousands of dollars. "Guangdong Newspeak" says that "big and slightly flat" pearls are "pearls among southern pearls", second only to large pearls with an inch diameter, and pearls with perfect shape, silvery white color, bright jade and no silk winding are refined pearls. By weight, each one is "a heavy one with six silver coins and a half with forty silver coins". Meat beads with poor luster, "those that weigh twice as much are worth four taels of silver", and those that weigh one or two are called "eight hundred taels" and worth twelve taels of silver; One thousand pieces weighing one or two are called "Zheng Qian", and the value of silver is only eight or two.
The pearl produced in Zhu Chi, Hepu County is called Nanzhu, also known as Julian or Bailongzhu, which is world-famous together with Zhu Bei produced in Saibei, China. According to Brahma, "the upper reaches of Mudanjiang are south of Ning 'an. There are all other big streams ",between Xining in northern Song Shenzong," the imperial court has noticed it and called it the Pearl of the North ". After the late Ming Dynasty, Zhu Bei was picked at will and its roots were cut off by competition. From then on, Zhu Bei will never be made again.
China is the first country in the world to collect and utilize pearls. According to Shangshu? Yu Gong said: "Zhu Gong is just a five-color soil, with summer feathers, Fuyang solitary tung, and floating pearls on the shore, and there are fish in the bosom." Among them, pearl is another name of mussel, and pearl is named after pearl. Huaiyi is also called these two waters. It can be seen that mussel pearls have been used as tributes in the Warring States period. The book Er Ya says: "Those who use gold are milling, those who use jade are milling, and those who use jade are called silicon." Shuowen says: Stork is also called pearl. It is said that so is the old pearl producer. A clam, an oar, what Zhou Li called (humble) things. Obviously, mussel pearls have been used as decorations at this time. As for marine pearls, Qu Yuan, a great poet of Chu, described in Lisao that women in China have used pearls as decorations. It has a history of more than two thousand years.
"The Biography of Meng Taste in the Later Han Dynasty" said: "(Meng) wants to move to Hepu Dashou, and the county does not produce grain, but the jewelry is produced in the sea. At first, the slaughter was greedy and deceptive people sought it, but they didn't know the truth. Therefore, Zhu Sui moved to Jiao Jiao County. After the official tasting, it is easy to change the previous disadvantages, but the pearls have not recovered ... "From the historical data of the later Han Dynasty, before Meng Changjun was appointed as the magistrate of Hepu, the pearl picking in Hepu was quite developed. Due to the insatiable greed of officials and over-harvesting, the natural resources of pearls have been destroyed and the pearl seedlings have become extinct. This is the legendary "Pearl is only in the border of Wenzhi County". After Meng Chang took office, he saw that the pearl resources in Hepu were seriously damaged, and pearl people fled their homes one after another. Meng Chang took some effective measures to protect and breed the pearl resources in Hepu, so there is a saying that "pearls belong to Hepu". This shows that the pearl picking industry in Hepu was quite prosperous as early as the Han Dynasty. From 32 BC to 7 years before the Western Han Dynasty proclaimed itself emperor, I cried with my wife in the middle of the night when I was poor. The famous later became Jing. Wang Feng, who was in power, was imprisoned by Wang Fengdong for treason because he was outspoken, and all his wives were seated. Heir Zhang Wang died in prison, and his family defended Hepu, but his property was not confiscated. Because Hepu produces pearls, Zhang Wang's wife collected a lot of pearls after Hepu, and kept millions of property. Later, Zhang Wang's family was pardoned and returned to their hometown, but they were able to redeem their farmland and enjoy life. The development of pearl industry in Hepu reached its peak in the Eastern Han Dynasty, but the pearl resources were seriously damaged due to indiscriminate mining in the coming year. There is a saying in the biography of Meng Taste the Fresh that "the pearl migrates and crosses the toes". Tao Huang used Hepu people to collect pearls, and borrowed rice to match pearls. During the period of Sun Wu in the Three Kingdoms, pearl collection was strictly prohibited. After Wu returned to the state of Jin, he asked for approval. Every June 10 to February of the following year, when pearls are not picked, businessmen are free to go in and out, and people are trapped. In February of the second year of Guangde in Tang Daizong (764), Ningling wrote for the first time in "Hepu Guizhu": "Since the year of Dabao in Hepu County (742), there has been no government and no pearl. In the past 20 years, it has not served. In February of this year 15, I returned to Jiupu. " The feudal rulers of the Tang Dynasty still forced people to pay tribute to pearls. Because of over-harvesting, pearls will be on the verge of extinction, so "pearls cannot escape." The Chronicle of Yuenian said: "Guo Buming, Hepu Zhu Sheng, this is really a national treasure, and others can't help it. I call it Cai." It is a fact that pearls are national treasures. However, in feudal times, the rulers only knew how to search, force pearl pickers to die and collect pearls, and many pearl pickers were buried at the bottom of the sea. In this way, what pearls bring to people is not happiness, but profound disaster. In the year of Song San (the fifth year of Dabao in the Southern Han Dynasty), Liu Yong decorated the palace with pearls, which was the highest in his generation and was extremely luxurious. He also set up the capital of Mei Chuan in Hepu, and set up 8,000 soldiers to collect pearls. Taizu razed Lingnan and abandoned it as Jingjiang Army. At that time, when Liu forced to collect pearls by hook or by crook, he threw the stone (stone crane) Zhu Min into the sea 700 feet deep and drowned countless times. Liu Bu once tied a saddle with pearls, and the shape of the dragon was very delicate. In the fourth year of Yuan Dynasty, in June+February, 5438, Lianzhou Pearl Picking Department was re-established, specializing in pearl picking. In June of 7, pearl picking was stopped. In the third year of Yuan Shundi Zhiyuan, the pearl picking department was re-established and stopped in April of the same year.
Pearl picking in Ming Dynasty was the most prosperous period in China's history. In the first month of the twenty-ninth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, pearl picking was stopped in Yongle period of Ming Dynasty, and pearl picking was ordered in the following year. Tomorrow, in February of the third year (1459), eunuch Fuan invited him to pick pearls. Strike the official to guard the pearl pool, steal the pearls of Annan Merchants and Qin Lianshang, and order not to communicate with Annan. At the beginning of Chenghua, there was an "official pearl pond", which was 14500 at the beginning of mining, and the largest was 56 liang the following year. The price is nearly 5000 taels of platinum, which is not worth the loss when it is less. Ming Hongzhi 12, Zhao Caizhu, aged 28,000 pearls. In the ninth year of Ming Dynasty (15 14), Zhu was collected by imperial edict. 13 years, and the imperial edict to pick pearls, and in Zheng De 9- 13 years, it happened to be about 4 years, but the people didn't get any rest, Jiajing for 5 years, and then picked pearls. Because pearls are small and tender, they get very little. It was a heavy rain and snow in Hepu in winter. The water in the pool froze and the trees were broken. Many people froze to death, but the Pearl people were still forced to go out to sea day and night. The following year, there was a famine in Lianzhou, and many people starved to death. However, the following autumn, feudal rulers continued to force pearl pickers to collect pearls. The pearl picking was stopped because of low income. After 9 years, the imperial edict was issued again in 22 years and again in 36 years. Five years later, in the spring of April1year, pearls were picked again, which was the second winter. Qin Long spent six years collecting pearls by imperial edict. In 8 years, he came back to collect pearls. Ming Mu Zong picked pearls twice during his six years in office. At that time, the Governor was reviewing Fu Lin's Begging and Pearl Picking. He said: "Jiajing picked pearls for five years, and tens of thousands of people died, only 82 pearls were obtained. It is said in the world that people change pearls. I am afraid that even if people exchange pearls today, they can't buy them. "
In the Qing Dynasty, the pearl picking industry in Hepu gradually declined. From the first year of Shunzhi to the thirty-fourth year of Kangxi in 565,438+0, pearls were first tested by imperial edict, and the pearls were abandoned the following year because they were few and far between. Fifty-eight years later, in September of 17, Qianlong sent another letter to collect pearls, but this time he found nothing.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, only a few local pearl-picking boats and several Hainan Lingao boats collect pearls every autumn, and several boats share about 4 to 5 ounces of pearls every day. Pearl people can't make a living by picking pearls every day.
During the period of 1955, China Scientific Marine Biological Laboratory conducted an investigation on pearls along Hepu coast. 1958 On March 26th, Hepu established the first experimental field for pearl culture. Since then, Hepu pearl breeding industry has entered a brand-new development period.