综述和讨论了稻的起源、分化和传播等的考古与现代生物学研究的一些成果。笔者根据这些研究成果描绘了稻的起源和传播路线，即稻起源于我国长江中下游地区或华南地区，分化成籼粳稻后一路向北传播至我国的北方，最后到达日本和朝鲜等国家（以粳稻为主）；另一路向南和西南方向传播至我国西南地区和福建等地，再经我国西南地区传至缅甸、越南、印度等东南亚、南亚国家（以籼稻为主），最后经印度传至欧洲美洲，从福建经台湾和琉球群岛传至日本。稻的分化亦有多种研究成果和推论，但从籼粳重要的栽培特征和农艺性状基因看，一次起源的可能性更高。文中还穿插介绍了稻的起源和传播中的一些人文传说和神话故事。

Some research achivements of the origin, differentiation and spread of asian cultivated rice （Oryza sativa L.） are reviewed and discussed in the paper, the route of cultivated rice origin and spread are drawn as follows: cultivated rice was originated and spread in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze river basin and south of China, and mainly japonica rice further spread from different east part of China to Korean  and Japan, mainly indica rice spread to the south and southwest of China and to Vietnam, India and etc., and further to European and Americas countries. Some research indicated that Indica and Japonica rice were differentiated from wild rice Oryza rufipogon Griff, and some research indicated that they were differentiated from middle cultivated rice, but a research showed that the most important agricultural gene in indica and japonica rice seems to originate from the same. Legend of humanities and fairy tales related to rice are introduced.