Well they didn’t actually invent the apple, as that was the work of Mother Nature, but it is very possible that the Chinese first invented the method which allowed us to grow apples as we know them. Grafting, the art of attaching one variety of apple to another variety, allowed us to consistently eat a macintosh, or a gala, or a fuji, etc. Basically, if we try to grow an apple tree from seed we would probably end up with something random, perhaps something a bit reminiscent of the wild crab apple. Grafting allowed for the consistent production of a predictable apple variety, a genius invention to say the least!
The history of grafting is a bit obscure, as references to the technique exist in both ancient Greek and Chinese literature. However, there is a trend amongst historians to place the Chinese as the first to invent grafting, as is suggested by the authors of the informative paper ‘The history of Grafting’:
“Whether the Chinese and Greek references to grafting represents separate independent ‘‘inventions’’ or more likely an Asian discovery that migrated, East and West, along with other components of agricultural technology (Carter 1977)…”
Simon Winchester, the author of Joseph Needham‘s biography entitled ‘The man who loved China”, shares a quote from Needham’s diary about watching a Chinese man graft a plum tree – an act that may have first ignited Joseph Needham to start writing his epic 24 volume work entitled ‘Science and Civilization in China‘. Winchester writes, ‘He had evidently stopped to watch this old gardener, not just because of the man’s exotic appearance. He had realized that in following as closely as he could the manner in which the man was splicing, tying, and grafting the plum tree, he was actually witnessing something rather important. He was watching a performance – the carrying out of a technique, a craft, a science – that was … thousands of years old’ (Winchester, 2008).
So why I am writing about the Chinese inventing grafting, or even apples for that matter? Well for two reasons really:
- Apples are good for you! ‘An apple a day will keep the doctor away’, is what they say. Chinese authorities claim that the apple’s sweet and sour flavour helps to: stop thirst by generating fluids, lubricate the lung to stop cough, promote digestion, and relieve intoxication (Henry Lu, ‘Chinese system of food cures’, 1986). I also came across some modern research suggesting that certain compounds found within apples may be good for skin disease by helping to control the over-production of keratin.
- Apples are fun to grow! This last march, 2012, I grafted 30 apple trees myself (first time I tried) with big plans of building an espaliered apple fence! Well 18 of them took very well, and I am now prepping the bed and frame work so that I can plant them in the next couple weeks. This ‘apple fence’ will line the drive way of my home, which is also where my clinic is located, and as such has everything to do with my practice of Chinese medicine!
The apples trees that I grafted (Pictures taken in June, 2012)
This is one of the apple fences displayed at UBC’s botanical gardens (picture taken during the apple festival, Oct 2011)
Wishing you health,
Dr. Trevor Erikson
Copyright © 2019 Dr. Trevor Erikson