The multidimensional cultural influence of rice cultivation on historical and present-day China, on the numerous local cultures and ethic groups, and its relevance within the various agricultural regions constitutes an enormously complex topic. A multitude of social and pure science disciplines would find themselves involved in its comprehensive depiction. There is an awe-inspiring body of primary historical sources, the most important being the "agricultural manuals" (nongshu) as well as the regional descriptions (fangzhi) from the time before 1949, which encompass…