By 1975, after a period of widely divergent estimates for Chinese grain production, a consensus appeared to be emerging. Consider, for example, the estimates that were published at the time (in million tons):Not only was there a consensus, but it was widely assumed that the figures were consistent with those published in the late 1950s. Since then, evidence has been accumulating that the definition of grain has changed and that not all of the figures released in any given year conform to the definition commonly used at the time. We will review the changes in the definition of grain and present our interpretation of the data that have been released in the past 20 years.