Grains, Volume 2

Barnyard Millet

Barnyard Millet (稗子 — bàizi): A hardy grass harvested for its seeds. While often considered a weed in modern rice cultivation, it was historically a vital "famine crop" because it can grow in poor soils where rice and wheat might fail.

This illustration depicts a barnyard millet plant (Echinochloa). The artist has meticulously rendered the plant's dense, fibrous root system and the heavy, drooping seed heads (panicles). Such detail was essential for farmers and herbalists to distinguish between edible grains and common weeds.


Shanxi Flax original: "山西胡麻" (Shanxi huma). While "huma" can mean sesame, in Shanxi province it specifically refers to flax, which was grown for its seed oil.	Jute	Black Medicine Bean original: "黑藥豆" (Heiyaodou). These are black-skinned soybeans used in traditional medicine (藥 — yào) to nourish the kidneys.	Black-beak Bean	Dragon-claw Bean Another variety	Pea	Maize original: "玉蜀黍" (Yushushu). Maize reached China from the Americas in the 1500s. By the 1800s, it was a staple in mountainous regions.	Oat
	Wild Soybean	Bat Bean	Wild Flower Bean	Hyacinth Bean	Sword Bean	Cowpea	Broad Bean original: "胡豆" (Hudou). The prefix Hu (胡) signifies that this bean was introduced to China via the ancient Silk Road trade routes.

The grid above continues the systematic classification of the "Grains" category. In traditional Chinese botany, legumes (beans) and some fiber-producing plants like flax were grouped with cereals because they were essential agricultural crops harvested for their seeds.