中国大花生

文/蔡志书

中国大花生

The Chinese Big-Size Peanuts

文/蔡志书

126年前，一位美国传教士从家乡带来大花生种子，在蓬莱栽培成功。从此，大花生在中国落地生根。

中国大花生的故事由蓬莱开始。The story of big peanuts in China started from Penglai.

假如当年，美国人梅理士带回蓬莱的那包花生种分给两个农民后，其中，一位如果不是信守诺言将种子丢在了地里，而是像另一位那样吃进了肚腹，那么，大花生对中国来说，很可能是另一个故事了。

远渡重洋的大花生

126年前，一位美国传教士从家乡带来几粒大花生种子，在登州也就是今天的蓬莱试种栽培并获得成功。从此，大花生在中国落地生根。蓬莱大花生的故事正是从这里开始的。

中国的花生可分为小花生和大花生两大类，都来自国外。小花生原产于巴西、秘鲁，明末清初旅居东南亚的福建人带回中国并传播开来。小花生含油量高，但产量低，故一直不是经济作物，更与外贸出口不沾边。大花生含油量低于小花生，但其高产的特性弥补了含油量低的缺点。下面的几个史料证明，山东近代以及今天我们看到的大花生，是美国基督教传教士梅理士从登州，也就是今天的蓬莱引进传播出去的。1924年《国际公报》的一篇译文说∶“大花生种子乃三十五年前为美国圣道堂传教士塔木森(汤普森)君携入中华者，其数仅一咖伦。始而携至上海，在该处恰遇美国长老会传教士米博士(梅理士)回山东蓬莱县登州府，于是二君将大花生种子平分……米博士回山东后，复与二教友平分此半咖伦种子，然约定在前3年内伊等只准播种，俾得渐渐蓄衍也。三年之后，将所获之大花生完全分与众人。此二教友固皆业农者，惜其一竟不守约，却将第一年所获者尽数食之。幸喜第二农夫忠心践约，三年后即将所收成者全数分赠与人。且以大花生形体较大也，一般农人皆喜得而播种之，故彼时该处传播之。”又谓：“引大花生入蓬莱县一事，人颇认为重要之举”，故在该县公署前建一石碑，以纪念引入者之大德与洋花生之功能”。

据此记载推算，1924年之前的35年应该是1889年，那么，距2015年已过去126年时间。

原金陵大学农林学院记录大花生的传入经过与《国际公报》大同小异，说“山东蓬莱县之有大粒种,始于光绪年间,是年大美国圣公会副主席汤卜逊(汤普森)自美国输入十瓜得大粒种至沪,分一半于长老会牧师密尔司（梅理士）,经其传种于蓬莱,该县至今成为大粒花生之著名产地。”

1946年《大公报》发表拓凤写的“花生小史”一文讲，“大花生是美国传教士米尔(梅理士)传入，米尔19世纪到蓬莱，米尔的儿子曾在金陵大学任教，外号小花生，为纪念他父亲传入大花生故名。”

最近，笔者又得到了旅美华侨宋培林先生的几份资料和他的研究成果，进一步证实了大花生是由蓬莱引进传播的史实。

1924年美国《时代》杂志上的一篇《中国花生》文章提到了大花生的入华时间和方式：“由于经济原因，美国南方花生的种植园主没有人对圣公会执行主教汤普森和美国长老会传教士梅理士博士有感激之心。35年以前，这些先生们带了4包美国大花生去中国。现在中国的花生产量已经超过美国。”同年9月27日美国的《伯克利每日公报》上的一篇名为《花生和橄榄球》的文章讲得更细：“35年以前，汤普森带到中国的4包美国花生成了中国大花生的祖先，现在中国花生产量超过了美国。当年汤普森主教慷慨地把一半花生分给正要回山东的美国长老会传教士梅理士博士。梅理士博士又把花生分给了两个农民并要求他们先种上3年，然后分发给大家。一个农民在年底把花生给吃了。另外一个则按梅理士的要求做了。现在光山东一年就生产（18,000,000蒲耳？）的美国大花生。”

通过以上记载可勾勒出花生入山东的线路：1889年，传教士汤普森把大花生从美国带到了常驻地上海。梅理士从登州到上海访问时，从汤普森那里获得大花生种，回登州时将花生种一并带了回去……

假如当年，梅理士带回蓬莱的那包花生种分给两个农民后，其中，一位如果不是信守诺言将种子丢在了地里，而是像另一位那样吃进了肚腹，那么，大花生对中国来说，很可能是另一个故事了。

中国的花生主要来自山东，成为世界花生第一出口国、第一生产国。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.

几粒小种子，成就山东花生大产业

大花生的引进给中国北方，尤其是山东的经济和出口创汇带来巨大的影响。

据《中国花生栽培学》一书和山东烟台海关十年报告(1922—1931)记载，大粒花生传到山东蓬莱县后，由于它产量高，收获省工，因而很快遍及山东各地及黄河和长江流域各省。山东烟台农民从花生得到的利益，据说比任何其他作物更为有利，花生土地占到了耕地的三分之一。更重要的是，花生带来的出口创汇，为中国的国际贸易打开了一片新天地。在大花生引进以后的35年内，中国不仅成为世界花生第一出口国，而且成为第一生产国。

据中国农业博物馆资料，大花生从传入到1924年，蓬莱已经是著名的大花生产区了。当时自烟台海港输出到世界各地带壳的花生果和无壳的花生仁，1933年达530万银元，在那个时代乃是一个巨额。1934年出版的《中国实业志》称，山东省当时已有82个县种植花生。1979年至1990年，山东省花生外贸出口量占全国的60%～70%，多时占90%，最多时销往70多个国家和地区。故花生在欧洲曾有“中国坚果”之称，今在日本仍有“唐人豆”的称呼。1922年，美国的花生专业杂志《花生推广者》报道：“在过去的十年里，中国对美国花生的出口已超过印度等国，成为第一。中国的花生主要来自山东。山东的土壤和气候非常适合花生种植。不仅个大，而且含油率高。其次是河南和直隶的花生。令人惊奇的是山东农民用非常原始的方法，在一小块地上种花生，不仅能够养活全家，而且有的人家还能供儿子上大学。”

大花生传入中国126年了。如今，当我们在品享花生之清香的时候，谁也不会回头去探究大花生的来龙去脉。今天翻阅这段历史，也不是要我们知道多少，只是有一句话不能忘了：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.