The Silk Road, which winds thousands of miles in the northwest, is a major channel for economic and cultural exchanges between China and the West in ancient times. On the long Silk Road, there are many legends about the camels in Sasha Vujacic. Zuo Tang Zong (1812-1885) was born in Xiangyin, Hunan. His great achievements in his life are closely related to this big talk. Zuo Yu 1877 defeated the Agubo invading army and recovered Xinjiang. At the same time, the military and civilians were mobilized to carry out afforestation along the Silk Road to improve the ecological environment in the northwest. This effort has played a role in strengthening the roadbed of the official road, preventing wind and fixing sand. Later, people called the willow trees passing along the way to Xinjiang Zuo Gong Liu. The generals have not sent the children of Huxiang back to Tianshan Mountain, and the newly planted willows have attracted a spring breeze. In fact, it is not willow but mulberry that grows the most on the left. In the northwest, he strongly advocated planting mulberry and sericulture, and introduced mulberry seeds and silk weaving technology. In particular, sericulture in Xinjiang has been revitalized on a considerable scale. /kloc-More than 0/00 years ago, Zuo exported cocoon and silk from Xinjiang to Europe and America. On the way to Xinjiang, Zuo Gong Liu promoted mulberry planting and sericulture in Xinjiang. 1867, Zuo came to the northwest to supervise the army and became attached to the northwest from then on. When he first arrived here, Zuo witnessed the desolation of the land, the exile of residents, the ruin of the countryside, the waste of reclamation areas and the lack of people. In his letter, he described to his friends: looking at the yellow sand and white bones is not like the world. Zuo, a farmer from Hunan, cultivated land in Xiangyin, his hometown before he was 40 years old, and was familiar with rural farm work such as planting mulberry, sericulture, tea and bamboo. He believes that to improve the life of the people in the northwest, we must start from small things. He chose to promote mulberry planting and sericulture, thinking that mulberry planting and sericulture are as important as farming. Obviously, Zuo hopes that people will develop mulberry and sericulture as an industry. Zuo is very clear that mulberry trees are the easiest to grow, and a gap in the village fort, ditch pit, wall and corner can ruin mulberry trees. Moreover, planting mulberry trees does not need fertile farmland and will not occupy cultivated land. Mulberry trees can raise silkworms when they grow up, and women can engage in textiles, which will not affect farming. After Hu Xueyan supported Zuo to plant mulberry trees in Xinjiang and came to the northwest, Zuo realized that the people in the northwest were too poor to wear clothes, mainly because they didn't have their own industries. As Zuo said, "the income from folk farming is not much, and the local money is scarce, so we have to endure the cold." Every winter ... it's a pity. Why did Zuo promote mulberry planting and sericulture in Xinjiang? He gave the answer himself. First, planting mulberry and sericulture can directly solve the problem of people's food and clothing. Second, planting mulberry and sericulture can help people broaden the sources of profits and obviously increase their economic income. Third, planting mulberry and raising silkworms, Xinjiang has excellent soil and climate conditions. Especially in the tenth century, silk products from southern Xinjiang were very popular in the Central Plains market. The way for silk clothing to promote mulberry planting and sericulture in Xinjiang was left in 1878, when Xinjiang was recovered and began to design sericulture in Xinjiang. First of all, leftists investigated the mulberry trees in Xinjiang, and counted that there were more than 800,000 mulberry trees in Xinjiang. I also learned that Xinjiang mulberry is a good place for mulberry because of its large leaves and thick juice compared with southern mulberry. Zuo further learned that at that time, ethnic minorities in Xinjiang used mulberries instead of grain, and people also used mulberries as medicinal materials, but deep processing into silkworms did not bring great profits. The reason is that the mulberry varieties in Xinjiang are single and very old, and the original sericulture and silk weaving skills have been lost for a long time. In other words, Xinjiang not only lacks silkworm varieties, but also lacks experts in sericulture and silk weaving technology. Zuo presided over Xinjiang sericulture bureau. Who will host it? At this point, the left thought of Hu Xueyan. Hu Xueyan recommended someone to him. This man is Zhu Yingtao, the deposed magistrate of a county. However, this man is a real agricultural expert. Left report to the court, come back to life. 1in the spring of 878, Zhu Yingtao recruited more than 60 craftsmen who were familiar with mulberry planting and sericulture from his hometown in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, and went to Xinjiang to assist the left-hand sericulture bureau. Zhu Yingtao came to Xinjiang non-stop, first south and then north, and actively promoted planting and sericulture techniques. In Korla, Kashgar, Aksu, Hotan and other places in southern Xinjiang, local minority compatriots are taught to plant mulberry, graft, stack, bathe silkworm, feed silkworm, cook cocoon, reel silk and weave. Xinjiang Silk Production Technology Left Set up a sericulture bureau in Xinjiang, which is responsible for urging ordinary people to plant mulberry and raise silkworms and develop the economy. Left, two methods are used to grow mulberry and raise silkworm. First, the silkworm bureau issued silkworm eggs and silkworms, and the people kept them at home. For three months, they were given 60 kilograms of grain flour every month. If the quality of cocoons is good, there will be additional rewards. Secondly, the Silkworm Bureau does not provide grain and flour, and ordinary people grow mulberry and raise silkworms themselves, and the cocoons are sold directly to the Silkworm Bureau. Zuo planted hundreds of mulberry trees in Jiuquan, which played an excellent demonstration effect. He said that planting mulberry, planting trees, raising silkworms, learning weaving and learning animal husbandry are the top priorities in Xinjiang. Zuo also entrusted Hu Xueyan to hire Chinese and foreign craftsmen in * * * to enrich the power of Xinjiang Silkworm Bureau. With the support of Hu Xueyan, Zuo made great achievements in sericulture in Xinjiang. Zuo vigorously promoted mulberry planting and sericulture in Xinjiang. After two years of hard work, he has gained a lot. /kloc-in the summer of 0/880, Zuo made a special trip from Jiuquan to Hami, Xinjiang. Zhu Yingtao, who is in charge of the work of Xinjiang Silkworm Bureau, presented him with new silk produced in Hami, Turpan, Kuqa and Aksu, and he personally inspected it. Look at the local silk, which is white and tough, and the color is the same as that in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Zhu Yingtao reported that the silk was taken according to the indigenous method in Xinjiang, and the silk was yellow and thin, but it was taken according to the craft in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and the woven silk was no different from that in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. It can be said that at that time, the silk products in Xinjiang had surpassed those in Sichuan and kept pace with those in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Zuo is satisfied with it. However, the left has mixed feelings. He saw that only one tenth of the silkworm eggs trafficked from the south could survive this year. In Hami, the young mulberry trees were not carefully managed, and the mulberry seedlings shipped from Wan Li turned into a pile of dead trees. He lamented that it was difficult to do things! Of course, Zuo also said that it is more difficult to realize deep processing of silk. /kloc-at the end of 0/880, Zuo was ordered to return to Beijing. In Huining County, Gansu Province, I met two silkworm weavers sent by Hu Xueyan, who were waiting for the bus with 394 silkworm eggs. Two craftsmen, Wan Li, trudged, and Zuo was greatly moved. He called and encouraged them. More than a month later, Zuo met Hu Xueyan in Beijing and criticized that the mulberry trees sent by Hu Xueyan to Xinjiang were not as good as last year. Zuo worked hard for the cause of weaving mulberry in Xinjiang. In the third year in Xuan Tong, the development of sericulture in Xinjiang became a major source of Xinjiang. For example, there are two million mulberry trees in Hotan, and 270,000 Jin of silkworm cocoons are sold to Britain and Russia, making a profit of more than 70,000 taels. Production of 80,000 Jin of silk, with a profit of 65,438+2,000 yuan; A county in shache produces 30,000 Jin of cocoons; A county in Yecheng produces more than 10,000 kilograms of cocoon 10, and silk 1 10,000 kilograms. The cocoon output in Pishan County is close to 350,000 Jin. The annual sales of Xinjiang cocoons by British and Russian businessmen reached 6.5438+0.5 million Jin. And this is just the statistics of several counties in southern Xinjiang. Conclusion Zuo's development of sericulture in Xinjiang is mainly due to the consideration of developing economy and improving people's livelihood. The root system of mulberry is deeply rooted and objectively forms a shelter forest. It can be said that Zuo developed sericulture in Xinjiang, realizing the combination of ecological benefits and economic benefits. This is not only a story on the Silk Road, but also a great inspiration for today's industrial development. When the silk harvesting technology of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang returned to the capital, Zuo was thinking about mulberry and silkworm. Xinjiang silk was sent to the capital and was widely loved. Zuo was very proud and said happily, "After ten years of work, I still have a dream today." . "He can't imagine that today, Xinjiang silk has long been famous in the world. As the poet Ai Qing said, when silkworms spin silk, they didn't expect to spit out a silk road. (Text/Fan Ganfeng) References: 1, The Complete Works of Wen Zuo "xianggong", Volume 56. 2. Mu Shouqi: "A Brief History of Qing Dynasty in Gan Ning" Volume 24. 3. Zhu Shoupeng: "Guangxu Chaodong Lu Hua" Volume III. 4. Qin Yucai: "Wen Zuo Xianggong is in the northwest". 5, "Liu Xianggong Played Draft" Volume II.