section_path: History/East Asia
section_name: East Asia
paragraph_text: East Asia
  
  The cultivation of soybeans began in the eastern half of northern China by 2000 BC, but is almost certainly much older. The earliest documented evidence for the use of Glycine of any kind comes from charred plant remains of wild soybean recovered from Jiahu in Henan province China, a Neolithic site occupied between 9000 and 7800 calendar years ago (cal bp). An abundance of archeological charred soybean specimens have been found centered around this region.
  
  According to the ancient Chinese myth, in 2853 BC, the legendary Emperor Shennong of China proclaimed that five plants were sacred: soybeans, rice, wheat, barley, and millet. Early Chinese records mention that soybeans were a gift from the region of Yangtze River delta and Southeast China. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia claims soybean cultivation originated in China about 5000 years ago. Some scholars suggest that soybean originated in China and was domesticated about 3500 BC. Recent research, however, indicates that seeding of wild forms started early (before 5000 BC) in multiple locations throughout East Asia.
  
  Soybeans became an important crop by the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–256 BC) in China. However, the details of where, when, and under what circumstances soybean developed a close relationship with people are poorly understood. Soybean was unknown in South China before the Han period. From about the first century AD to the Age of Discovery (15–16th centuries), soybeans were introduced into across South and Southeast Asia. This spread was due to the establishment of sea and land trade routes. The earliest Japanese textual reference to the soybean is in the classic Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters), which was completed in AD 712.
  
  The oldest preserved soybeans resembling modern varieties in size and shape were found in archaeological sites in Korea dated about 1000 BC. Radiocarbon dating of soybean samples recovered through flotation during excavations at the Early Mumun period Okbang site in Korea indicated soybean was cultivated as a food crop in around 1000–900 BC. Soybeans from the Jōmon period in Japan from 3000 BC are also significantly larger than wild varieties.