The Spread of Asian Rice

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to pinpoint precisely where rice comes from. Evidence suggests Asia, but rice is an ancient crop that predates written history. What we do know is how rice spread, and most of that comes from Asia. 

Around 1000 B.C., we know that Japan began the cultivation of rice. We know that the grains came from somewhere south or southeast in Asia, or possibly China. It’s possible that the Chinese introduced the Japanese to rice in the third century B.C. Most likely, rice was carried through the Yangtze to the islands of Japan or it was brought from the northern part of China. 

China definitely spread the seeds of rice into the area that was the former Soviet Union. The spread of the Indica race throughout south and Southeast Asia explains the spread of rice from within the continent. China also had wild rice that grew, which its scholars maintained was different from the seeds that were circulating in the country. How much of this difference is real is a fact buried in history.

The Persians kept detailed records of their trade activity, so we can safely estimate the arrival of rice there to be somewhere around 1,000 B.C. The Romans most likely received rice during the conquests of Alexander the Great, who came into contact with it first in India. However, the Romans used it for wine making and didn’t grow it as a crop.