From Lychee to Snickers in 4000 Years

Archaeologists surmise that the royals who lolled in the imperial garden in China's  Guangdong province 2000 years ago ate well.

According to the People's Daily OnLine, "Members of the royal family of the Southern Yue enjoyed the beautiful scenery in the garden while tasting delicious fruits such as lychee, Chinese black olive, melon, persimmon, date, grape and apple," Zhao ( Zhijun) said.  Zhao is a researcher with the Institute of Archaeology.

In unearthing the oldest imperial garden yet found in China, scientists came across more than 100,000 seeds, preserved for thousands of years in a well. ( Were they spat into it??)

China is the original home of numerous food plants that have traveled the world and its farming practices are as old as or older than anything in the Fertile Crescent or the Andes. As James Trager points out in his uniquely useful book, The FOOD Chronology, in 479 BC when Confucius died he left behind numerous songs that mentioned "at least 44 different food plants. (The Old Testament mentions only 29.)"

China news from the 21st century--Snickers will be the official chocolate of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.