Plough is a kind of agricultural tool for cultivated land. It consists of a heavy blade at the end of a beam, usually tied to a group of livestock or motor vehicles pulling it. It is also driven by human power. It is used to break soil blocks and plough grooves to prepare for sowing.
Farmers in Mesopotamia and Egypt began experimenting with ploughs 5500 years ago. Early ploughs were made of Y-shaped wood sections, the lower branch section was carved into a pointed head, and the upper two branches were made into two handles. Tie the plough to the rope and pull it by a cow. The tip scrapes a narrow shallow ditch in the soil. Farmers can drive the plough with their hands.
By 3000 BC, the plough had been improved, making the tip into a "ploughshare" that could more effectively open the soil, and adding an inclined bottom plate that could push the soil to the side.
China's plough evolved from Leihe. At first, it may still be called "LEIYU". After using cattle to pull Leibo, it gradually separated the plough from Leibo, with the proper name of "plough". The plough appeared in the Shang Dynasty and can be found in the oracle bone inscriptions. Early ploughs were crude in shape and system. Iron ploughs appeared from the late Western Zhou Dynasty to the spring and Autumn period, and cattle were used to pull ploughs. In the Western Han Dynasty, a straight pole plough appeared, with only ploughshares and handrails. In areas where there is a lack of cattle, the "treading plough" is widely used. Today, there are plough treading objects in ethnic minority areas in Sichuan, Guizhou and other provinces. Treading plough is also called "Min" and "foot plough". When in use, step on it with your feet to achieve the effect of turning the soil. Song and Zhou qufei's "outside the mountains. Answering the local customs on behalf of others":
The plough is shaped like a spoon and is about six feet long. At the end of the crossbar, more than one foot, these two hands also caught. Among the ploughshares, a short handle is applied on the left, which is also where the left county steps. Among the ploughshares, a short handle is applied on the left, and the place where the left foot steps is also Five days of treading on the plough can be a day of ploughing by cattle, which is not as deep as the soil.
In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the structure of the plough was greatly improved, and the curved yuan plough appeared. In addition to the armrest of the plough, there are also plough walls, plough arrows and plough ratings. According to Lu guimeng's leidan Sutra, there are 11 parts made of wood and metal, which can control and adjust the depth of ploughing. It is 2.3 feet long and very huge. It can only be pulled by two cows. The Chinese History Museum has a replica of the plough of the Tang Dynasty. Its principle is adopted by today's machine guided moldboard plough. Compared with the straight yuan plough in the Western Han Dynasty, the Qu Yuan plough in the Tang Dynasty increased the plough evaluation, which can meet the different needs of deep ploughing and shallow ploughing; The plough wall was improved. In the Tang Dynasty, the plough wall was round, which could push the overturned soil aside, reduce the forward resistance, and overturn the soil block to cut off the growth of weeds.
The plough used in ancient Europe has not changed much since the bronze age. Only the plough mouth has generally replaced wood with iron since the tenth century BC. At this time, the plough is raised to a certain height by the ploughman, which requires considerable strength. The furrows and ridges ploughed out are neither very straight nor very deep, so they have to be ploughed twice. When ploughing the second pass, form a right angle with the direction of the first pass.
In Europe, a new type of plough has been used since the first century BC. It has a wheel to control the depth of ploughing, which saves the ploughman effort. The new plough has a plough knife to cut the soil and a template to turn the soil. The furrow is deep and neat, which replaces the previous ploughing method. The new plough is heavier than the old one and requires considerable effort to pull it up, so farmers plough with cattle. Horse farming began in the tenth and eleventh centuries.
Ploughs are still used in many parts of the world, including China.
Instruments similar to ploughs are also called "ploughs".
Post time: Mar-18-2022