There is evidence that the turnip was domesticated in India for its oil-bearing seeds before the 15th century BCE.[1] Unlike the European turnip, however, the cultivation of the Chinese cabbage has focused on its leaves instead of its roots.
It was principally grown in the Yangtze River Delta region, but the Ming Dynasty naturalist Li Shizhen popularized it by bringing attention to its medicinal qualities. The variant cultivated in Zhejiang around the 14th Century was brought north and the northern harvest of napa cabbage soon exceeded the southern one. These were then exported back south along the Grand Canal to Hangzhou and traded by sea as far south as Guangdong.[citation needed]
The Napa cabbage became a Manchurian staple for making suan cai, the Chinese sauerkraut. In Korea, this developed into kimchi. The vegetable spread to Japan following its wars in Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War in the early 20th Century. Chinese cabbage is now commonly found in markets throughout the world, catering both to the Chinese diaspora and to northern markets who appreciate its resistance to cold.