In this study, GIS technology was used for modelization and quantification research on historical geographic issues to provide a new research approach and technical route for the study on various crop transmission pathways and historical geographic issues such as material and cultural diffusion. In order to explore the transmission path and diffusion process of corn after its entry into China, a digital ground model of corn transmission in China was established based on the earliest recorded literature and time in various parts of China. Quantitative and model analysis methods were used to study the starting point, direction, main line, and expansion speed of corn transmission in China, and explore the relationship between its diffusion area and population growth since the late Ming Dynasty.The results showed that during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, corn was introduced to China and formed four independent sources of transmission in western Gansu(1522), southeastern Yunnan(1563), southeastern Guangxi(1564), and eastern Fujian(1545), spreading along eight routes to the whole country. The spread of corn in China was mainly along land transportation routes, and the promotion of corn dissemination by official roads and highways in the Qing Dynasty was significant. However, in the southwestern region of China, due to complex terrain and inconvenient land transportation, the spread of corn mainly extended along river valleys. Since the Qing Dynasty, corn had been rapidly spread and cultivated in China, and the population in China had grown rapidly. The two had shown a significant positive correlation. The widespread introduction of corn was one of the reasons for the rapid population growth in China from the early Qing Dynasty to 1950.
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