Pingle Ramie

Pingle Ramie

　　Ramie is one of the traditional specialties of Pingle. The county is home to seven varieties: Heipi Dou (Black Root), Lvzi Ma (Green Self Hemp), Dayeqing (Big Leaf Green), Huangjin Chuan (Golden String), Manyuan Chuan (Full Garden String), Hongya Dou (Red Sprout Root), and Ye Ma (Wild Ramie). Archaeological and historical records indicate that Pingle is one of the original habitats of China’s ramie (Boehmeria nivea). Artifacts unearthed from Warring States–period tombs in Yínshānlǐng within the county reveal that male tombs contained weapons but no pottery spinning wheels, while female tombs had pottery spinning wheels but no weapons. This natural division of labor between men and women—as seen in the tombs—where women were primarily engaged in weaving, indicates that as early as the Warring States period, the people of Pingle already knew how to cultivate ramie and use its fibers to weave textiles. During the reign of Emperor Xianzong of the Tang Dynasty (806–820 AD), the “Guibu” (Gui Cloth) and “Guiguan Bu” (Guiguan Cloth) woven from local ramie in Zhao and Gui prefectures under the jurisdiction of the Gui Administration Commissioner’s Office gained nationwide fame for their affordability and quality. This is attested by the famous poet Bai Juyi, who wrote: “Gui cloth is white as snow, Wu cotton softer than clouds. The cloth is thick and heavy, warm enough for a coat.”

During the Xianping era of the Song Dynasty, just the ramie cloth collected as taxes from Zhao and Gui—converted to raw ramie—amounted to over 10,800 dan. When Chen Yaosou served as Transport Commissioner of the Guangnan West Road, he learned that ramie cultivation in the Zhao and Gui area “benefited both public and private interests, yielding great profits,” and thus “encouraged the local populace to widely plant ramie, purchasing it in exchange for salt and money.” Within two years, ramie cultivation had spread throughout the entire Lingnan region.

In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, not only did the people of Pingle grow ramie themselves, they also hired farmers from Yangshan, Guangdong, to specialize in ramie planting. At that time, tax on ramie planting was considered equal to that on cotton planting in the county. In the late Ming period, a ramie farmer surnamed Lu in Taohuachong, Yinshan Village, Daba Township, domesticated and cultivated “Wulong Ma” (Black Root) from wild ramie. Due to its strong adaptability, high yield, and good quality, it was quickly adopted for planting both inside and outside the county. Ramie became a major cash crop in the county. By the 38th year of the Republic of China (1949), the total ramie planting area in the county had reached 11,278 mu, with a total output of 1.2792 million jin.

After liberation, the government provided rewards and support for the development of ramie production. From 1954 to 1956, the ramie planting area exceeded 14,000 mu each year, with yields surpassing 900,000 kg. From the 1960s to the early 1980s, due to large-scale conversion of ramie fields to grain cultivation and the cancellation of ramie purchase incentive policies, the county’s ramie planting area sharply declined. In 1963, the planting area and yield were only 40.84% and 25.24% of those in 1954, respectively. After 1984, the county government strengthened technical guidance for ramie production, adjusted the purchase price and incentive standards for ramie, and motivated farmers to grow ramie. At the same time, efforts were made to improve and rejuvenate ramie varieties, gradually restoring and developing ramie production in the county.

In 1986, the planting area reached 30,961 mu, more than five times that of 1963. Since liberation, provinces such as Hunan, Guangdong, Yunnan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Fujian, Anhui, Sichuan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Henan, and Hainan have successively introduced the high-quality Pingle ramie variety Heipi Dou (Black Root). Internationally, countries such as Bulgaria, Vietnam, Romania, India, and Indonesia have also introduced Heipi Dou ramie seeds from Pingle. By the late 1960s, over 90% of the ramie in Guangxi was the premium Pingle variety Heipi Dou. In 1988, Pingle’s ramie planting area reached 55,000 mu, with a total output of over 3.48 million kg, accounting for 26.1% and 30.1% of Guangxi’s total, respectively, making it the county with the largest ramie planting area and yield in Guangxi. Pingle has been designated as Guangxi’s most important commercial ramie base county.

Ramie has a wide range of uses: the stalks can be used as raw material for papermaking; the leaves can serve as animal feed; the roots are medicinal, cool in nature and sweet in taste, clearing heat and cooling blood, and are used to treat conditions such as feverish thirst and fetal restlessness with bleeding; ramie fibers are an important raw material for industries such as textiles, machinery, national defense, fishing, mining, and rubber, and are premium materials for making aircraft wing fabric, parachutes, wire insulation, drive belts, fire hoses, and industrial sewing thread.

Pingle ramie single fibers typically range from 1,800 to 2,000 counts, reaching up to 2,722 counts. This is seven or eight times that of cotton, with tensile strength eight or nine times higher. Since 1980, Nanning Silk Spinning Mill has purchased over 600 tons of Pingle ramie annually to blend with synthetic fibers for producing various lightweight fabrics. The “Huajin” brand polyester-ramie fabric woven by the mill won a silver award from the National Textile Ministry in 1981.

From May 24 to 28, 1990, the National Ramie Textile Products Trade Fair was held in Beijing. The ramie fabrics exhibited by Guangxi stood out due to their comprehensive variety, delicate texture, clean and crisp fabric surface, fresh and elegant patterns, and styles that combined lightness, thinness, fineness, drapability, and translucency, winning the favor of consumers in the capital. After evaluation, 18 ramie products from Guangxi received awards for innovation and encouragement.

Ramie growth requires ample sunlight and suitable temperatures. From germination to maturity, it needs approximately 1,600°C of accumulated temperature, with monthly rainfall during the growing season around 100 mm. Planting ramie in fertile soil can easily yield high production. Pingle’s climate is highly suitable for ramie growth. All 13 townships (towns) in the county grow ramie, with the main ramie-producing areas being Daba, Changtan, Fucheng, Faxing, Qiaoting, Etang, and Shazi. Especially along the river towns like Daba, Faxing, and Fucheng. Typically, three harvests can be obtained in a normal year, and four if rainfall is well-distributed. The average dry ramie yield per mu is over 100 kg, with highs reaching 200 kg. In 1954, farmer Tong Tingxian from Jiangzuo Township planted 1.44 mu of ramie, yielding 371 kg of dry ramie, averaging 258 kg per mu. Currently, ramie has become one of Pingle’s most important cash crops.

In 1985, the county’s ramie planting area was 11,728 mu, with a total output of 970,000 kg, accounting for 51.4% and 50% of Guangxi’s totals, respectively. That year, ramie income in the county reached 10.5 million yuan, accounting for about 16% of the total agricultural output value. In that year, Shangpen Village in Faxing Township planted 660 mu of ramie, yielding 72,000 kg, with income of 604,100 yuan, accounting for 68.5% of the village’s total agricultural income of 881,900 yuan. In 1986, 13 farmers in Cangban Hengtan Natural Village, Daba Township, planted 78.4 mu of ramie, yielding 8,400 kg of dry ramie, with total income of 110,000 yuan, averaging 1,122 yuan per person, including seven households earning over 10,000 yuan. In 1990, the county’s planting area was 14,783 mu, with a total output of 836,900 kg.

Pingle ramie was exported even before liberation. According to the 29th-year (1940) “Pingle County Annals,” in the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935), Pingle’s ramie exports reached over 1 million jin. In the international market, Guangxi’s exported ramie was mostly labeled “Pingle Daba” to indicate authenticity. In the early years after liberation, the county maintained an annual ramie export volume of around 200,000 kg. For a long time after 1960, due to reduced planting area and low yield, exports were temporarily suspended. Exports resumed in 1985, with 209,000 kg exported that year, earning 630,000 USD in foreign exchange. In 1987, 362,000 kg were exported, earning over 1.1 million USD in foreign exchange.