Here’s the story. During the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty, the magistrate of Fu’an County in Fujian ate only one bean-sized piece of sweet potato at every meal. The locals gave him a nickname, “Shu Gong” (the Sweet Potato Elder). When I first opened Volume 8 of the “Wanli Funing Zhou Zhi” and saw the name “Chen Si” in the “Officials” section, I expected a routine Ming-era biography of a model bureaucrat. ...
Introduction Luoyuan County, historically known as Luochuan, occupies a strategic position along the coast of Eastern Fujian (Mindong). In the digital archives of chinaroots.org, Luoyuan’s history is not merely a record of military defense against external threats, but also a history of industrial evolution driven by the profound interaction between people and the sea. Drawing upon primary sources such as the Qianlong Gazetteer of Fuzhou Prefecture, the Wanli Gazetteer of Funing Prefecture, and the Kangxi Gazetteer of Luoyuan County, this article explores the structural shifts in Luoyuan’s defense—from the Song-Yuan Patrol Office (Xunjian Si) system to the Ming-Qing Garrison (Yingxun) system. Furthermore, it examines how the local specialty, the Red-paste Crab (Scylla serrata), evolved from a local staple into a cultural symbol of the regional economy. ...