Chapter 9 Section 6 Talking about Citrus in Golden Autumn

Tangerine (C. erythrosa), tangerine (C. reticulata), orange (C. sinensis), pomelo (C. grandis) are special fruits in my country, they belong to the genus Citrus, Rutaceae. The history of citrus cultivation in my country has been four or five thousand years. "Shangshu Yugong" has "Huaihai is only Yangzhou (referring to the area where the Huaihe River is in the north and the sea is in the southeast):... Juebao orange, pomelo, Xigong".That is to say, the wrapped orange pomelo will be presented as a tribute. In "Lu Shi Chunqiu · Filial Piety Xinglan", there are "Jiangpu oranges, Yunmeng pomelo", which show that citrus has been cultivated in the Yangtze River Basin in ancient times.Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty's "Historical Records · Huo Zhi Biography" has "a thousand tree oranges in Shu, Han, and Jiangling, all of whom are like the Marquis of Qianhu".It is reflected in the Western Han Dynasty that Sichuan, Hanzhong, Shaanxi, and Hubei were planted in patches of citrus, and one could be as rich as a "thousand household lord" with a thousand tangerine trees.The "Orange Record" written by Han Yanzhi in the Southern Song Dynasty in the 12th century AD is the world's first citrus monograph.It records 27 citrus varieties, including eight citrus species, one orange species and 18 tangerine species.And concluded that the quality of oranges is getting worse and worse when they cross the Huaihe River to the north, and the quality of oranges is getting better and better when it develops southward to Dongting Lake, southeast coast to Huangyan, and discusses the relationship between oranges and the natural environment.

Citrus is originally a native plant in China, and it began to spread to all parts of the world as far back as 1,000 years ago.In the 8th century AD, the Japanese monk Tanaka went to study abroad at Guoqing Temple in Tiantai Mountain, Zhejiang, China, and brought back Huangyan tangerines for cultivation. The improved new variety is called "Tangmiju" (Wenzhou tangerine).This seedless tangerine returned to its homeland at the beginning of the 20th century and was widely planted in Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Guangxi, and then spread to Africa and Europe, becoming the best orange among oranges.Sweet orange was spread to the Mediterranean area by the Portuguese in 1520 and then to America. In 1892, the U.S. brought in Chinese tangerines from China, which were called "Chinese tangerines" locally, and in 1812, the tangerines were introduced to Europe.

Citrus tastes mellow and nutritious. The content of vitamin C per kilogram of fresh fruit is 440 mg for kumquat, 112 mg for Fuju, and 180 mg for Guangcheng, which is higher than that of pears and apples.According to the "Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine", the peel, tangerine network, seed core and leaves of citrus fruits can be used as medicine.For example, tangerine peel is called tangerine peel, which has the effects of regulating qi and invigorating the spleen, drying dampness and resolving phlegm. In the current citrus family in my country, there are many high-quality varieties.Among them, the citrus fruit is larger, the skin is slightly thicker, easy to peel off, the seed is white, and the embryo is light green. The famous varieties include mandarin orange and banana tangerine.Tangerine fruit is smaller than tangerines, flat, thin-skinned, easy to peel off, with obvious tangerine veins, green seeds and embryos. The famous varieties are Jiangxi Nanfeng Tangerine, which has thin skin and strong flavor.Zhejiang Huangyan Tangerine has golden skin, juicy and sweet.The orange peel is thick, the flesh is not easy to peel off, and the seeds and embryos are white.Such as Sichuan Jiangjin Jinjiang Orange, Guangdong Xinhui Orange.The pomelo fruit is the largest, with a light yellow skin, very thick, white flesh, and a mellow and sweet taste. Guangxi Shatian pomelo has the best texture.In addition to eating fresh citrus fruits, people can also process them into jams, canned foods, fruit wines, fruit juices, and snacks made from the peels of the citrus fruit are sold well both at home and abroad.