Rice Part 2: Penglai Rice 蓬萊米

Source: http://taipics.com/taipei_schoolshospitals.php

During the Qing era, migrants from Hokkien brought with them the 秈稻, commonly known as Zhailai rice (在來米) to Taiwan. In 1752, it was discovered that rice cultivated in Pintung area could yield crops twice a year. This strain was then widely distributed. And the resulting increase in output had turned Taiwan into a major rice supplier to the Hokkien homeland.

Father of Taiwan Penglai Rice (1886-1972)

There were numerous different Zhailai sub-strains with varying qualities, however. Also, Zhailai was deemed unacceptable to the Japanese who generally preferred their own sticky short-grained 稉米. Therefore, starting in 1900, the Japanese Colonial Gov't ordered experimentation of rice breeding, importing 1,256 strains from Japan and settling on 752, represented by the Nakamura中村 strain, to be inter-bred with 236 Zhailai strains. By 1906, the purification and improvement of Zhailai were largely complete, with nothing to show for the Japanese needs, however. ［Note: The most notable strains were 臺北101號, 苗栗2號, and 臺中35號, among the more than 100 newly developed cultivars.］Worse, the cultivation of the Japanese strains was met with repeated failure.

Mother of Penglai 末永  仁 (1886-1939)

In 1921, the director of agricultural affairs of Taipei Prefecture 平澤 龜一郎 found that the 草山 (now Yang Ming Shan) 竹子湖 area was similar in weather to Kyushu and proposed that Japanese rice cultivars be empirically planted here to improve the odds of survival (see photo below). Cross-breeding of Japanese strains had actually started in 1922 at Taichung Agricultural Experimental Station, going somewhat against the gov'tal orders of improving Zhailai strains for Japanese use first.  And in 1924, it was finally successfully done between 龜治 and 神力 strains by Mr 末永 仁, under the direction of Prof 磯 永吉. In 1925, the Gov't relaxed its Zhailai first policy. So in 1929, the most promising hybrid 臺中65號 was selected and planted in Yang Ming Shan under a shortened germination schedule (幼苗揷植法). Surprisingly, it also readily adapted to the warmer weather in southern Taiwan where the farmers began cultivation, thus quickly replacing the lesser 嘉義晚2號 (found in 1926 from the 伊予仙石 strain). Together with another disease-resistant Nakamura-Zhalai strain the 高雄10號, these two eventually became the most widely planted rice crops. The twice a year harvests proved not only enough for consumption in Taiwan but also for export to Japanese mainland.

The origin site of Penglai cultivation

The name Penglai Rice (蓬萊米) was coined in 1926 by Prof 磯 at a national rice and grain conference in Taipei. He was one of the few Japanese invited to stay after the war who finally retired from National Taiwan University and returned to Japan in 1957, after serving Taiwan for 47 years. In gratitude, Taiwan Provincial Council voted to send him and his family 1,000Kg of Penglai rice every year as a life-long pension (see the original draft below). Prof 磯 passed at age 86, two years short of his personal wish of 88 (88 in kanji is 八十八, the 6 strokes of 米 rice), a humble man who had always attributed the success of Penglai to his co-workers and the cooperating farmers, but never himself. 

The cross-breeding success between 龜治 and 神力 strains that finally yielded the revolutionary 臺中65號 remains a mystery, since both parental strains were sensitive to the seasonal change in daylight duration, but not the offspring. As it turns out that an extra segment of DNA of 1,901 bases was somehow incorporated into the genome of 臺中65號 rendering it insensitive to the sunlight duration. This is most crucial to the twice yearly planting/harvests in Taiwan. The source of this DNA segment has only recently been identified and traced to the aboriginal dry-land rice strain. Apparently, its DNA segment had somehow "contaminated" the initial 6 generations of 臺中65號 breeding. Inadvertently through cross pollination? No, not under the meticulous care of Mr 末永. Genetic introgression? Perhaps, but how? Most definitely, an angel who happened to be passing by had done it in answer to the rice-children's plead for help for their beloved and overworked parent, Mr 末永. This, we the people of Taiwan have absolutely no doubt.