Camellia oleifera, a woody edible oil tree species unique to my country, is as famous as olive, oil palm and coconut, and is known as one of the four major woody oil plants in the world. It is full of treasures. It not only brings rich economic benefits to farmers in the southern hilly areas, but also is an important source of traditional edible vegetable oil in my country. Its profound cultural heritage and long historical background have left an indelible impression on people. Camellia oleifera, a woody edible oil tree species with a long history in my country, not only carries a profound historical heritage, but also contains rich cultural connotations. Its cultivation history can be traced back to the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" in the pre-Qin period. The book records that "Yuanmu is an oily food in the south", indicating that my country has a history of extracting oil from camellia fruits for oil extraction for consumption for more than 2,300 years. Although the name of camellia oleifera has changed many times in history, such as Yuanmu, Mujia, Tea, Tea Oil Tree, Camellia, etc., its unique status has remained unchanged.
After the Song Dynasty, records on the cultivation of Camellia oleifera became more systematic and abundant. In his poem, the Northern Song poet Mei Yaochen expressed his regret for having camellia seeds but no land to plant them, while Su Song recorded in detail the properties, origin and efficacy of Camellia oleifera seeds in his Illustrated Materia Medica. Zheng Qiao's General History of the Southern Song Dynasty further confirmed that Camellia oleifera had developed to the stage of large-scale cultivation in the Song Dynasty.
Moreover, Camellia oleifera has been praised as the oil for "imperial palace cuisine" in history. Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, once bestowed it with the title of "imperial palace cuisine", and Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty even named Camellia oil as "imperial cuisine oil", praising it as "imperial cuisine wonderful juice, longevity tea for longevity". Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty praised Huaiqing Camellia oleifera highly, saying that it was as smooth as butter and not inferior to delicacies from land and sea. Li Shangyin, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty, also described its fragrant and nourishing taste in his ode to oCamellia oleifera.
It can be seen that Camellia oleifera is not only an edible vegetable oil, but also carries a profound cultural tradition. Its rich and diverse aliases, long-standing cultivation records, and unique status in the imperial palace's imperial cuisine all demonstrate its irreplaceable status in people's hearts.