Ancient China was a typical agrarian civilization, with the "men farming, women weaving" model forming the basis of its prosperous culture, rituals, and national systems. To this day, agrarian culture remains a precious asset of China and an important component of Chinese culture.
　　When mentioning farming, people's first impression is often the scene of oxen pulling a plow with people guiding it across the fields. This shows that the plow is one of the most representative agricultural tools. The main function of a plow is to turn over the soil, and it also loosens and breaks up the soil. Farmers in Mesopotamia and Egypt began experimenting with plows 5500 years ago. By 3000 BC, plows were improved, with the point made into a "plowshare" that could more effectively break up the soil, and the addition of a slanted bottom board to push the soil to the side. The Chinese plow evolved from the *lěi sì* (耒耜), and after using oxen to pull the *lěi sì*, it gradually acquired its own name—plow. Plows appeared in China during the Shang Dynasty, iron plows appeared in the late Western Zhou to the Spring and Autumn period, straight-handled plows appeared in the Western Han Dynasty, and by the Sui and Tang dynasties, the structure of the plow had been significantly improved, with the appearance of the curved-handle plow. After the Tang Dynasty, there were no major changes to the plow in China.
　　After thousands of years, with the development of agricultural mechanization, traditional plows have gradually faded from view, and moldboard plows have begun to be widely used. Moldboard plows occupy a place in land cultivation due to their high production efficiency, low energy consumption, and good effects on burying crop residues. Moldboard plows are classified into trailed, semi-mounted, and mounted types according to their suspension method. Trailed plows have a complex structure, are heavy, and have poor maneuverability, but their working depth is stable, and their soil penetration is good. They are mostly used with high-power tractors and are single-point hitched to the tractor. Mounted plows have a simple structure, are light, and have good maneuverability, allowing for operation in small plots of land, but their soil penetration is poor. They are mostly used with medium and low-power tractors and are three-point hitched to the tractor. Semi-mounted plows combine the advantages of both trailed and mounted plows.
　　Common moldboard plows range from single-furrow to six-furrow, and of course, more furrows can be used if land and power machinery conditions permit. Currently, the most common type is the hydraulic reversible plow, which has plowshares installed on both the left and right sides. After reaching the end of the field, the plow body can be reversed to continue operation, and the soil direction is uniform after operation, greatly improving operational efficiency. To adapt to different soil conditions and special situations, and to match tractors with different power outputs, the working width (width of a single operation) of current moldboard plows is generally adjustable in multiple stages. The power consumption of the plow is also relatively easy to calculate: 1 centimeter of width matches 1 horsepower of power. If the tractor is 200 horsepower, it can drive a plow with a width of 200 centimeters. The appropriate plow spacing can be selected according to the land conditions. Fields with a lot of weeds and straw are suitable for using plows with larger spacing to prevent clogging.
　　Moldboard plows are divided into polished plows and ridged plows. The biggest advantage of ridged plows is that the soil after operation is finer, which is more conducive to subsequent land preparation operations. Secondly, if a polished plow is used on sticky land, a lot of soil will stick to the plow wall, preventing the soil from turning over smoothly, thus creating a lot of resistance. Ridged plows have a small contact area between the plow wall and the soil, so they can reduce the chance of soil sticking, thus achieving energy and fuel savings. Of course, polished plows are more suitable for stony land, land with many drip irrigation tapes, and land with many roots. The pressure on the polished plow is less than that on the ridged plow in stony land, and the wear and tear on the polished plow is relatively less. In land with many drip irrigation tapes and roots, the drip irrigation tapes and plant roots will become entangled with the ridges, making them difficult to clean.
　　Ridged plows and polished plows, hydraulic reversible adjustable-width plows, generally have a fore-plow installed in front of the main plow. Its function is to turn the straw and crop residues on the surface of the land into the furrow for deep burial, which is more conducive to the straw and weeds turning into fertilizer for the field.
　　The changes and development of plows have accompanied every important historical period, and each innovation in plows carries important historical information and background. Plows are not just farming tools, but also an important part of farming culture. A good plow helps with spring plowing!