Chapter 7 Chapter 4 Agronomy——"Qimin Yaoshu", "Wang Zhennongshu", "Agricultural Administration Complete Book"

China is one of the important origins of agriculture in the world.Legends in ancient history about Shennong's first planting of hundreds of grains and invention of Leisi and other agricultural tools actually tell us that in a very distant past, my country's agriculture came into being and established.This date is indeed very early. The remains of agricultural tools and grains unearthed from Neolithic sites such as Cishan in Hebei and Peiligang in Xinzheng in Henan prove to us that my country's agriculture has a development history of nearly 10,000 years. In ancient China, agriculture has always been the foundation of the country. As the old saying goes, "Food is the most important thing for the people", so the development of agricultural production has always been attached great importance in the past dynasties.In the oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty, there are many oracle inscriptions about farming, which involve the growth of crops, the weather, the weather, the harvest, grain storage and so on.Among them, the names of crops such as rice, grain, millet, millet, wheat, and lai (barley) appeared, as well as the words of land consolidation such as chou, jiang, zhen (Zhen), well, and garden, which showed that the agriculture at that time had reached a very high level. Level up.According to legend, the ancestor of the Zhou people was an agricultural official in the Xia Dynasty.They were an agricultural tribe very early on.From the sporadic records in ancient documents such as Bronze Inscriptions, "Shangshu", etc., we know that the Zhou Dynasty had preliminary developments in agricultural technologies such as land consolidation, soil improvement, crop layout, improved seed selection, farming time control, and insect and weed control. Intensive farming technology has sprouted in it.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the appearance of iron plows and ox farming, as well as the development of farmland water conservancy, marked the real arrival of traditional agriculture in our country.At that time, the farming system had transitioned from the leisure system to the continuous cropping system, deep plowing and mature cultivation techniques were gradually popularized, and field fertilization was paid more and more attention. ", "Land suitable" and the understanding of pest control are getting deeper and deeper.All these show that the production technology system of intensive farming in my country's traditional agriculture has begun to take shape during this period.With the advancement of agricultural production technology, agricultural research in our country has also been carried out.By the Warring States period, the thought of emphasizing agriculture had been formed and deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.In almost all the writings of various schools of thought, descriptions of emphasis on agriculture and related agricultural knowledge can be found.Among the many schools formed at that time, there was a school called "Nongjia", which was an academic group specializing in agricultural policy and agronomic knowledge.The earliest agricultural works in my country, "Shen Nong" and "Ye Lao" are their works.However, the agricultural works of this period are now lost, and all we can see are "Shangnong", "Rendi", "Biantu", and "Shenshi" in "Lu Shi Chunqiu". "Shangnong" specifically talks about how to use political measures to ensure that farmers can engage in agricultural production operations in a timely manner, emphasizing that agriculture is the primary factor for political stability. "Ren Di" pointed out the principle of using land.The content involves the use of water and dry land, improvement of saline-alkali soil, moisture conservation by cultivation, weed control, row spacing, plant robustness, yield and rice yield, grain quality, etc., which are still the most basic issues in agricultural production that people are concerned about. Discussed the principles of correctly handling the contradictory relations between hard and soft soil, fallow and continuous planting, barren and fertile, compact and loose, wet and dry, and the importance of timely cultivation. "Biantu" and "Shenshi" are actually specific answers to the questions raised in "Rendi". The former explains how to make different arrangements for the cultivation time for soils with different properties, and how to make different arrangements for cultivation time, as well as poor and untimely cultivation. and the disadvantages of improper land preparation, and also talked about the impact of the rational layout of crops on growth; the latter discussed the impact of timely and untimely operations on various aspects of crops, and made a summary comparison. These four articles in "Lu Shi Chunqiu" are already a complete set of agricultural papers. The agricultural ideas and related policies in them, as well as a set of specific agricultural production techniques discussed from the aspects of weather, location, and manpower, A system has been formed and has become the cornerstone of traditional Chinese agronomy.

During the Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, although the agricultural production in the northern Yellow River Basin was often destroyed by wars, it continued to develop and was an advanced agricultural area in the country at that time.In addition to food crops in agricultural production, economic crops, garden industry, forestry, animal husbandry, sericulture and fishery have all made great progress. Cattle farming has been widely used since the middle of the Western Han Dynasty and has been gradually promoted to the whole country; many important traditional agricultural tools in our country Inventions, such as the coupling plow, cog, rake, columbine cart, fan, turning mill, overturned cart, etc., all appeared at this time.By the time of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the northern dryland agricultural intensive farming technology system had been formed. Its specific manifestations were: in the planting system, a rich and diverse crop rotation and stubble method were formed; The farming system combined with pressing and hoeing, and special drought-resistant and high-yield methods such as "substituting field method" and "district field method" appeared; more attention was paid to fertilization and soil improvement, and ear selection method and similar modern mixed seed selection method appeared. technology, and have bred many varieties adapted to different cultivation conditions.Corresponding to the development of agriculture, Chinese agronomy also entered a mature stage during this period.According to the "Nongjia Class" in "Hanshu Yiwenzhi", the agricultural books of the Western Han Dynasty include "Dong Anguo", "The Book of Si Sheng", "Cai Kui" and so on.In addition, there are some works that were not regarded as agricultural books at that time, such as "Xiang Liu Animals", "Shen Nong Jiaotian Xiang Soil Cultivation", "Planting Trees, Hiding Fruits, and Silkworms", etc., should also be counted as agricultural books.There were about a dozen kinds of agricultural books in the entire Han Dynasty, but most of them were lost. Only some fragments of "Fanshengzhishu" and "Siminyueling" by Cui Shi [shi Shi] of the Eastern Han Dynasty have been preserved through the quotations of later documents. Nowadays. "The Book of Fansheng" has a complete agricultural thought system.The book summarizes the theoretical and technical issues of six basic links in agricultural production: timely cultivation, land utilization and improvement, fertilization, moisture conservation irrigation, timely intertillage and weeding, and timely harvest, and treats the whole process of crop cultivation as an organic whole. At the same time, it discusses seed selection, sowing, field management, harvesting and storage of more than a dozen crops such as millet, wheat, and soybeans.These two aspects are equivalent to the general theory and monographs of crop cultivation in later agricultural books. The discussion of agronomy in "Book of Fansheng" is more accurate, profound and richer than the four chapters in "Lushi Chunqiu". Its appearance is an important symbol that my country's agronomy has entered a mature stage. The "Monthly Order of the Four People" is based on the 12 months of each year and the order of the solar terms, and arranges the agricultural operations, handicrafts and commercial operations that should be carried out.The contribution of this book to agronomy is mainly to create a relatively good new genre of agricultural writing, and the agricultural books of the agricultural monthly order type in later generations all originated from it.Nearly 400 years after the completion of "Si Min Yue Ling", "Qi Min Yao Shu" appeared.During this period, there were also some works on animal husbandry and planting, such as "Bamboo Book" and "Southern Vegetation and Tree Shape", but these works are far less important to agronomy than "Qi Min Yao Shu"."Qi Min Yao Shu" by Jia Sixie of the Northern Wei Dynasty is the earliest and most complete agronomy masterpiece in my country, and it is a milestone in the history of agronomy development.The book summarizes and elucidates the agricultural production techniques of dry land in northern China before the 6th century AD comprehensively and precisely, and has a great influence on the writing of agricultural books of later generations, so it is highly praised by researchers of agricultural history at home and abroad.

In the following Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, my country's agronomy has developed in an all-round way.A notable change during this period was the development of southern agriculture and the southward shift of the national economic center of gravity.Since the mid-Tang Dynasty, agriculture in the south has shown a momentum of rapid development.The advanced Quyuan plow (also known as Jiangdong plow) was widely used in the southern paddy fields in the late Tang Dynasty, and the plow used for intertillage was invented in the Yuan Dynasty, thus forming the plow-rake-耖 [chao quarrel]-yun-耥〔 Tang Tang] combined paddy field farming system; there is also the gradual popularization of seedling field transplanting, field roasting, drainage and irrigation, paddy and dry rotation cropping rice and wheat double-cropping, as well as the emphasis on manure accumulation and use, and the emergence of a large number of local varieties of crops.These technological achievements mark the formation and maturity of the southern paddy field intensive cultivation technology system.Another manifestation of agricultural development in the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties was the great variety of crops.At that time, cotton had been introduced to the Yangtze River Basin, oil crops became more diversified, sugarcane and tea planting had developed into important sectors of agricultural production, the types of vegetables and fruit trees had greatly increased, and flower cultivation as a branch of horticulture was also very prosperous.In addition, animal husbandry and fishery have also undergone tremendous development. For example, the breeding of the "four major fishes", grass carp, silver carp and bighead carp, and the breeding of wild golden crucian carp into ornamental goldfish all appeared during this period.The agricultural works of this period have the following characteristics: 1. The types of works have increased unprecedentedly.According to statistics, there are more than 30 kinds of agricultural books in the nearly 1400 years from the Warring States period to the Tang Dynasty, and there are more than 170 kinds of agricultural books in the nearly 800 years in this period, an increase of more than four and a half times. 2. In addition to the continuous development of comprehensive agricultural books, a large number of professional agricultural books have emerged, covering sericulture, tea, flowers, fruit trees, vegetables, agricultural tools, crop varieties, etc., accounting for more than half of the total number of agricultural books at that time, reflecting the division of agriculture. Research was very developed during this period, especially during the Song and Yuan dynasties.Many of these professional agricultural books are groundbreaking and of high academic value. 3. Comprehensive agricultural books reflecting the knowledge of agricultural production in the south of the Yangtze River and taking into account both the north and the south appeared, and many professional agricultural books also described southern crops.Among the agricultural books of the Tang Dynasty, "Zhaoren Benye" ​​(AD 686) written by Wu Zetian is the first official agricultural book in my country (already lost); Lu Yu's "Tea Classic" is the earliest in my country and the world. A monograph on tea; "Four Seasons Compilation Yao" by Han E in the late Tang Dynasty is also the director of the collection of calligraphy books, comprehensive agricultural books and farm monthly orders, and attaches great importance to the description of agricultural production techniques, such as planting tea trees, planting fungi, beekeeping and various The cultivation techniques of medicinal plants are the earliest records in China; Lu Guimeng's "Lei Si Jing" in the late Tang Dynasty is not only the earliest book devoted to agricultural tools, but also the first work dealing with farming in the south of the Yangtze River; "is the oldest existing veterinary monograph in my country.The rulers of the Song Dynasty attached great importance to agricultural production. During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, he ordered his courtiers to compile "Shoushi Yaolu".Similar official agricultural books include Da Nong Xiao Jing and Shu Shu, etc., but they have all been lost."Chen Yan Nongshu" written by Chen Yan (fufu) in the Southern Song Dynasty is the earliest extant typical local agricultural book that reflects the agricultural production in the south of the Yangtze River.The book starts from the overall situation of agricultural production, and pays equal attention to agricultural management and production technology, breaking through the traditional form of previous agricultural books that focused on farming and cultivation techniques.In addition, for the first time, the book uses a special chapter to describe the use of land, the feeding and management of cattle, and treats sericulture as an important part of the agricultural book for the first time.In the Southern Song Dynasty, there was also a "Plowing and Weaving Picture" depicting the agricultural production process, including 21 plowing pictures and 24 weaving pictures, and each picture was accompanied by a poem.Although the picture has been lost, it has inspired Wang Zhen's later works such as "Nongshu" and "Tiangong Kaiwu" in the form of pictures and texts.In addition to the above several agricultural books, the Song Dynasty has the most types of professional agricultural books, such as Cai Xiang's "Litchi Pu", Qin Guan's "Silkworm Classic", Chen Yuren's "Yin Pu", etc., which are the earliest surviving relevant aspects. Monographs; as another example, Han Yanzhi's "Orange Record" is the first monograph in China and the world to systematically summarize citrus cultivation techniques, and Chen Zhu's "Tong Pu" is also the earliest paulownia monograph in China and the world. academic value.In addition, there are many monographs on flowers in the Song Dynasty, there are more than 20 kinds, the famous ones are Ouyang Xiu's "Luoyang Peony", Wang Guan's "Yangzhou Peony Spectrum", Chen Jingyi's "Quan Fang Bei Zu", Liu Meng's "Ju Pu", Wang Guixue "Lan Spectrum", etc., they reflect the great achievements of the Song Dynasty in flower cultivation.Although the founding of the Yuan Dynasty was less than a hundred years old, the rulers vigorously advocated agriculture and set up the Secretary of Agriculture to promote and reward agricultural production, so they left behind three good agricultural books in a short period of time.The first is "Nongsang Jiyao", which is the earliest official agricultural book in my country and was edited by the Secretary of Agriculture.The book is characterized by its complete system, rich materials, large scale, and practicality; the sericulture part is given special attention, accounting for about one-third of the book; the book strongly advocates the promotion of ramie and cotton in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. , in addition to detailing the relevant technologies, it also refuted the theory of only climate that hinders the spread of crops. "Wang Zhen's Agricultural Book" is the second important agricultural book in the Yuan Dynasty. It is the first time that it also discusses the agricultural production technology knowledge of the north and south paddy and dry fields, which is more holistic and systematic than previous agricultural books.The third important agricultural book in the Yuan Dynasty is "A Summary of Farming, Mulberry, Clothing and Food" written by Uyghur Lu Mingshan, which is the best existing agricultural book in the monthly order style.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the society was unified and stable for a long time, which was conducive to the development of agricultural production.However, the development of agriculture greatly promoted the growth of population, so more people and less land became an important issue in the Ming Dynasty, especially in the Qing Dynasty.There were three main solutions at that time. One was to do everything possible to reclaim new land; the other was to introduce and promote new crops and high-yielding crops; the third was to rely on the tradition of intensive farming to increase land utilization and yield per unit area.These have prompted my country's traditional agriculture to continue to develop in depth.Particularly far-reaching is the emergence of a production method of comprehensive utilization of dikes and ponds in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions, which is the first of its kind in today's "three-dimensional agriculture" or "ecological agriculture".During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the types and quantity of Chinese agricultural books were the largest in history, and because they are relatively close to today, they are also the most extant agricultural books. There are 541 kinds of agricultural books recorded in "Chinese Agricultural Science Book Records", and there are 329 kinds in Ming and Qing Dynasties, accounting for 60%, which is equivalent to one and a half times of the total number of agricultural books in the previous 1000 years.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were two large-scale comprehensive agricultural books, one was Xu Guangqi's "Nongzheng Quanshu" in the late Ming Dynasty, and the other "Shoushi Tongkao", which was the last large-scale comprehensive agricultural book in Chinese history compiled by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. Sex official repairs agricultural books, but there is nothing new in this book except for a large-scale compilation of previous materials.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, professional agricultural books developed in a direction of more types and more specific and detailed content, such as "Longan Pu", "Jui Peach Pu", "Sang Zhi", "Chicken Pu" and so on, all of which are dedicated to a certain Plants and animals; and for example, there are more than ten kinds of books devoted to Ou Tian, ​​such as "Ou Tian Bian" and "Jiao Jia Shu".Some professional agricultural books are of great value in academic history, for example, "Yuanheng Healing Horse Collection" in Ming Dynasty is a veterinary classic; "Materia Medica" is the earliest monograph on plants for famine relief; in addition, special books on locust control such as "Travel of Locust Control" and "Complete Book of Control of Locusts" also had important practical value at that time.There were also many regional agricultural books during this period, such as "Shen's Agricultural Book" (Huzhou), "Suoshan Agricultural Book" (Jiangxi Fengxin), "Qi Min Si Shu" (Jianghuai), "San Nong Ji" (Sichuan ), "Pu Mao [mao Mao] Agricultural Consultation" (Jiangsu), "Mashou Agricultural Words" (Xinyang, Shanxi), etc., these agricultural books all had the function of reference and guidance for the local agricultural production at that time.

"Qi Min Yao Shu" written by Jia Sixie in the Northern Wei Dynasty is the oldest and most complete large-scale comprehensive agricultural book in China, and it is also the world's first agricultural masterpiece involving various knowledge that has been completely preserved.Jia Sixie was a native of Yidu, Shandong, and once served as the prefect of Gaoyang County (now northwest of Linzi County, Shandong).He is a local official with my country's traditional "agricultural thinking", which can be seen from the title of this agricultural book written by him.In ancient China, in order to strengthen the feudal rule, the rulers arranged the household registration of the common people according to the relationship with the feudal country, which was called "registered households and Qimin". "Qi Min Yao Shu" means the main method for ordinary people to make a living.

"Qi Min Yao Shu" has 10 volumes and 92 chapters in total.At the beginning of the book is Jia Sixie's preface.In the preface, he first listed many lessons and stories in classics and history, explaining the importance of agricultural production, and pointed out that his purpose of writing this book is to educate the public and their families on the principles of farming.Secondly, point out the source of the book's materials, "Collect the classics and ballads of Jun Jun [Jun Jun], inquire about his experience, and test his actions", that is, excerpt ancient and modern books, collect oral legends, folk songs, and proverbs, and interview experienced old farmers. And experiment for yourself.Modern research proves that this book does collect a large amount of information, including more than 30 proverbs and ballads, and 160 ancient and contemporary works.Agricultural science and technology materials before the Northern Wei Dynasty, such as "Book of Fansheng" and "Monthly Order of the Four People", rely on this book to preserve them.According to Jia Sixie's design, the content of the book covers everything related to farm life from farming operations to making vinegar and sauce.Therefore, the contents of the book are: Volume 1, one chapter on land reclamation and land preparation, one chapter on harvesting, and one chapter on planting grain; Volume 2, 13 chapters on the cultivation and planting of various grain, fiber, and oil crops; , including one "miscellaneous theory"; volume four, two general articles on woody plant cultivation, a total of 14 articles on the cultivation of various fruit trees; volume five, 11 articles on timber trees and dye plants; volume six, livestock, poultry and fish farming There are six articles in total; Juan 7 and the first half of Juan 8, 11 articles in total for brewing wine, sauce, vinegar, soy sauce, etc.; the second half of Juan 8 and Juan 9, a total of 17 articles in food processing, preservation and cooking, as well as rubber and ink making Two articles; Volume 10, "Five grains, fruits [luoluo], and vegetables are not Chinese products".

The academic achievement and contribution of "Qi Min Yao Shu" lies in the systematic summary of the agricultural science and technology knowledge of northern dryland in the 6th century AD, especially the new experience and new achievements of intensive farming in the north after "The Book of Fan Sheng".Therefore, the appearance of this book actually marks the maturity of the northern dryland intensive farming system. Jia Sixie inherited the tradition of Chinese agronomy focusing on the three elements of weather, location and manpower.He pointed out in "Qi Min Yao Shu": "Following the weather and measuring the land, you will succeed more with less effort. If you let your emotions return to your nature, you will not gain anything from hard work." He clearly discussed the advanced methods of adapting measures to local conditions and local conditions in ancient my country. Agricultural production ideas.According to this idea, the book divides the time of agricultural operations into upper, middle, and lower according to different crops, and divides the appropriate time of land into upper, middle, and lower. Depending on the time, sowing should also be different.This is in line with scientific reality.

"Qi Min Yao Shu" mainly summarizes the experience of farming in the northern dry land.However, the north is dry and rainless. How to level the land and properly maintain soil moisture, that is, moisture conservation, is an important part of ensuring the growth of crops. "Qimin Yaoshu" puts forward a series of technical principles for intensive cultivation.For example, the importance of autumn plowing is emphasized, and it is believed that the first plowing should be deep, and the second plowing should be shallow, and the timing of proper soil moisture should be selected for plowing.Another example is the experience of leveling the ground after plowing, intertillage and weeding, which can prevent drought and preserve moisture, and grab moisture for planting, etc., which were also summed up by Jia Sixie.

In order to rationally use the land and improve the soil to achieve the purpose of "using the land to nourish the land", farming methods such as crop rotation and multiple cropping have appeared in my country very early.Crop rotation and multiple cropping means that different crops are planted in the same field every year according to the different characteristics of the crops.For example, melon stubble is used for planting grain, because there is a lot of fertilization in the melon field, and there is still room for use.Wheat is followed by millet stubble, or adzuki bean is followed by wheat stubble, which can make full use of the connection between the growth periods of the two crops. "Qi Min Yao Shu" summarizes these methods, points out which crops can be rotated and which cannot, and has perfected a whole set of crop rotation methods.When discussing crop rotation and changing crops, "Qi Min Yao Shu" proposed the use of green manure.Every year in May and June, mung beans, small beans, flax, etc. are densely planted in the field, plowed in July and August, and these crops are buried under the soil. When they are sown in the next spring, these crops will become fertilizer.The crop rotation system is an invention of our ancestors. In the 6th century AD, Western Europe only knew to use the method of rotating fallow to restore soil fertility. It was not until the 1820s that Britain began to implement the green manure rotation system.

"Qi Min Yao Shu" attaches great importance to the selection and breeding of crop seeds. There are more than 80 varieties of millet introduced in "Plant of Planting Grain" alone.The quality and characteristics of each variety are carefully analyzed in the book, such as crop maturity period, plant height, yield, quality, etc.These are not in the previous agricultural books.The book also introduces seed selection and breeding techniques such as soaking seeds, drying seeds, and dressing seeds with drugs to prevent and control diseases and insect pests, some of which are still used in modern agricultural production. In addition to agricultural production technology, "Qi Min Yao Shu" also records many other scientific achievements.In terms of animal husbandry, it summarizes the valuable experience of animal husbandry method (appearance identification) and feeding management, seed selection, breeding, etc. It is the earliest and relatively systematic animal husbandry scientific literature in my country.In terms of veterinary medicine, he has collected castration, rectal digging, veterinary syndrome differentiation, etc. These experiences are the earliest achievements in veterinary medicine in my country and the world.Because Jia Sixie personally observed the growth of crops and the processing of agricultural by-products, many of his discoveries are also very important in the history of biology.The book describes the different properties of stad and ewe, pointing out the relationship between pollen and fruit set.In the "method of making sauce", the role of "yellow coat" (that is, spores of Aspergillus flavus) in making sauce is clarified.He also discovered variations in crop production in different geographical environments.For example, there is no garlic in a certain place in Shanxi. After being introduced from Hebei, the garlic cloves are small and many, which is different from the large and few cloves in the original planting place.Jia Sixie pointed out that the reason for this change is "the difference in land". "Qi Min Yao Shu" is rich in content, with many materials and detailed descriptions.Some people say it is "Agricultural Encyclopedia of Ancient China".In the more than 1,000 years since the publication of "Qi Min Yao Shu", the development of dryland agricultural production technology in northern my country has basically not exceeded the direction and scope pointed out in the book.Therefore, it is a milestone in the history of agricultural development in my country. "Wang Zhen's Agricultural Book" is another important large-scale comprehensive agricultural book after "Qi Min Yao Shu".Wang Zhen, courtesy name Boshan, was born in Dongping (now Dongping, Shandong) in the Yuan Dynasty. He used to be a county magistrate in Jingde, Xuanzhou (Jingde County, Anhui) and Yongfeng, Xinzhou (now Guangfeng, Jiangxi).Wang Zhen also has a strong agricultural-based thought, and believes that local officials have the responsibility of "persuading Nongsang".During his tenure, he was very concerned about agricultural production, extensively collected and read agricultural books and related documents of past dynasties, and often went deep into the countryside to conduct field observations and carefully summarized the production experience of local farmers. "Wang Zhennong Shu" was written when he was a magistrate. "Wang Zhen's Agricultural Book" is the first agricultural book in the history of Chinese agricultural science and technology that discusses both the north and the south, and summarizes agricultural production experience from across the country.It is divided into three parts: "Nongsang Tong Jue", "Hundred Grain Book" and "Nong Qi Map", about 110,000 words. "Nongsang Tongjue" can be regarded as a general introduction to agricultural science, from the origin of agriculture, the application of climate, location and manpower, to the entire process of agricultural production, as well as various aspects such as sericulture and animal husbandry, every detail, Each aspect is discussed in detail. "Baigupu", which is equivalent to agricultural monographs, records the techniques and methods of cultivation, management, harvesting, and utilization of various crops.Wang Zhen listed the plants that were planted in the genus Cereal, Licorice, Vegetable, Fruit, Bamboo, Miscellaneous, Food, etc., and then divided them into details under the genus (category), and described one or several cultivated plants in detail.This method of writing contributed to the establishment of a scientific agricultural classification system.Wang Zhen also expanded the long-forgotten "Famine Relief" content in "Qi Min Yao Shu" into a special topic-"Famine Relief".This is of great significance in the age of natural and man-made disasters and constant famine in ancient times. The "Atlas of Agricultural Tools" includes 20 categories and 261 items, showing the outstanding achievements of ancient agricultural production tools.In the past agricultural books, except for the two chapters "Plowing Field" and "Harvesting" in "Qi Min Yao Shu", they all discuss the various aspects of cultivation and planting of various crops, and there is no general discussion; as for the detailed classification There are no more methods; it is also the first of "Wang Zhen's Agricultural Book" to list farm tools as an important part of a comprehensive agricultural book.Therefore, the establishment of a relatively complete agricultural system is a major achievement of "Wang Zhennongshu" surpassing its predecessors. It is a glorious tradition in my country's agricultural development to pay attention to the comprehensive use of weather, location and manpower, which is more prominent in "Wang Zhennongshu".In order to make it easier for people to grasp the farming time, Wang Zhen drew a picture of "telling the time and knowing the living method", which flexibly and ingeniously integrated astrology, seasons, solar terms, phenology, and agricultural production procedures to guide people to arrange agricultural activities reasonably.Wang Zhen specifically stated that the monthly timing is only based on "the air in the north and south of the world" as the standard. Due to the geographical distance and the difference in cold and warm weather, people should make adjustments according to the actual local conditions.Wang Zhen pays great attention to the different characteristics of suitable crops in various regions in the vast area of ​​our country, and believes that "within Kyushu, the customs are different. All kinds of things are suitable for each." He once compiled a "regional map", The differences in soil and suitable crops are marked.Wang Zhen hopes that people can arrange planting across the country according to this picture.Unfortunately, the picture was later lost.The use of pictures to indicate farming times, homework, soil conditions, etc. is the first example of Wang Zhen's agricultural book. Cotton, called "kapok" in ancient my country, was originally only grown in a small amount in remote areas.At the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, cotton began to spread to the interior.Wang Zhen attached great importance to cotton planting, and he spoke highly of the promotion of cotton planting and its role in textile processing. The "Kapok" article of "Baigupu" says: Cotton has the characteristics of "not silkworm but cotton", "not hemp but cloth", and "also used as a blanket", which can make up for the deficiency of mulberry and hemp.He used the fact that cotton grew well from Hainan to Fujian, Shaanxi and other places to refute the theory that "terroir determines" and contributed to the promotion of cotton planting. "Wang Zhennongshu" has a comprehensive and systematic understanding of farmland water conservancy.The book advocates the comprehensive consideration of farmland irrigation and shipping, water power utilization, and aquatic products, and rational use, and puts forward the conditions and some assumptions for the construction of water conservancy.In the "Illustration of Agricultural Tools · Irrigation Gate", the design of various irrigation tools is introduced and the patterns are drawn. "Agricultural Atlas" is the key point in "Wang Zhennongshu", and it is also the most distinctive part of this book.Its length accounts for about 80% of the whole book.There are more than 300 drawings in the book, most of which are agricultural implements.Each piece of agricultural equipment is accompanied by illustrations and inscriptions and poems, explaining the structure and use of the agricultural equipment. The "Agricultural Tools Atlas" not only includes the agricultural production tools that were used in the north and south at that time, but also depicts the world's advanced textile machinery, irrigation machinery, and even ancient machinery that has long been lost. A recovery map was drawn.For example, the one ox turning eight mills invented in the Western Jin Dynasty used levers and gears to drive, and achieved more work with less force, but it has been lost for a long time.Through research and restoration, Wang Zhen drew a "continuous grinding picture".Another example is Du Shi, the prefect of Nanyang in the Eastern Han Dynasty, who invented a blower machine for smelting—the water row, whose manufacturing method was unknown in the Yuan Dynasty.Wang Zhen not only restored the "water row", but also replaced the original leather bag with the "wooden fan" (simple bellows) at that time as a blower device, which is more advanced in technology.At the same time, it also provides evidence for the time when the "wooden fan" appeared in our country. The "Agricultural Atlas" also records a machine called "Water Turning Mill" designed by Wang Zhen.It uses a vertical large water wheel to drive three gears, and each gear drives three disc mills, "the power of the three wheels dials nine mills together".Several water pestles can also be installed under the wheel for pounding rice.In this way, a set of machinery can perform three tasks of rice milling, rice pounding, and flour grinding at the same time. It is said that the grain processed in one day can be eaten by 1,000 households.In the dry season, as long as a water cylinder is installed on the main wheel, it can play the role of diverting water for irrigation.Wang Zhen's design idea of ​​one machine with multiple functions has quite high scientific and technological value. The "Agricultural Atlas" is unprecedented both in quantity and quality, and it is the oldest and most complete agricultural atlas in my country.Most of the pictures of agricultural implements in the "Nongzheng Quanshu" of the Ming Dynasty, "Shoushi Tongkao" of the Qing Dynasty, and the large-scale "Ancient and Modern Book Integration" are taken from "Wang Zhennongshu". Wang Zhen's creative talent is not only manifested in agriculture, but also in his contribution to printing. In "Wang Zhennongshu", there is a miscellaneous record "Creating Movable Type Printing Calligraphy", which records the wooden movable type and rotary typesetting frame invented by Wang Zhen, which is one of the precious documents of movable type printing in my country.Shen Kuo's "Mengxi Bi Tan" recorded that when Bi Sheng invented movable clay type, he once said that the reason why he did not use wooden movable type was that the texture of the wood was inconsistent, and the unevenness after being stained with water swelled, and the turpentine, Wax, paper dust, etc. are not easy to remove.Wang Zhen overcame these difficulties and used wooden movable type on a large scale.After Wang Zhen, wooden movable type printing has been popular in our country.The rotary typesetting frame is a rotatable roulette, and the movable type is arranged on the roulette according to the phonetic classification.When typesetting, people only need to sit and turn the wheel to find the word they are looking for. "Nongzheng Quanshu" written by Xu Guangqi in the late Ming Dynasty is the largest agricultural encyclopedia in ancient China.Xu Guangqi (AD 1562-1633), styled Zixian and nicknamed Xuanhu, was born in Songjiang (now Shanghai) in the Ming Dynasty.He served as a senior official many times in his life, ranging from official to minister and cabinet scholar.Xu Guangqi was a first-class scientist in ancient my country, who made outstanding contributions to agriculture, astronomy, calendar, mathematics, surveying, water conservancy and other fields.He is also a pioneer in communicating Chinese and Western cultures. He learned Western science and technology from the Italian Matteo Ricci, and was the first to translate foreign works, such as "Elements of Geometry".As a politician, he was deeply influenced by the traditional Chinese thought of emphasizing agriculture. In his scientific research activities, agronomy was one of the subjects he worked hard on.He once opened up a small experimental garden in Shanghai to conduct experiments on the introduction and cultivation of sweet potatoes, and later used the opportunity of sick leave to try out water conservancy and agricultural operations in Tianjin twice. He has rich agricultural experience. In 1621, he began to concentrate on researching and summarizing ancient agricultural literature, and conducted various cultivation experiments, writing "Agricultural Encyclopedia".It is a pity that until his death, this agricultural masterpiece has not yet been finalized.Later, Chen Zilong, a famous scholar in the south of the Yangtze River, invited some people to sort out, delete and modify this book, and it was printed as a book in 1639. "Nongzheng Quanshu" has 60 volumes and about 700,000 words.The book is divided into 12 items, including: Nongben (classic and historical allusions, miscellaneous essays, etc.), field system, farming, water conservancy, agricultural equipment, arboriculture (grains, vegetables, fruit trees), sericulture, sericulture (kapok, ramie) , planting (cash crops), herding, manufacturing (food processing, housing construction, etc.), famine management (preparation for famine). "Nongzheng Quanshu" cites more than 200 ancient agricultural documents, more than "Qimin Yaoshu" and "Wang Zhennongshu", accounting for about 90% of the whole book.However, Xu Guangqi did not copy the works of his predecessors, but carefully selected and cut them into a complete system.In many places, he also wrote sidenotes, marginal notes, comments or added punctuation to express his views.At the same time, many of his own agronomy works are also included in this work. As a politician and agronomist in an important position, Xu Guangqi's perspective and method of writing agricultural books are naturally different from those of his predecessors.His agricultural books not only make a general summary of agricultural production technology, but also discuss the development of agricultural production policies, systems, and implementation measures.The word "agriculture" in the title of the book shows Xu Guangqi's deep intentions.The three items of reclamation, large-scale water conservancy projects, and wasteland preparation are not general agricultural production measures, but they are the necessary basis for ensuring agricultural production and the stability of agricultural laborers' lives, and these are not things that unorganized farmers can do by themselves .Except for the small-scale discussion of preparing for famine in "Wang Zhennongshu", the previous agricultural books never concentrated and systematically described these three matters.Xu Guangqi highlighted these three items, which became a prominent feature of the "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration". In the last years of the Ming Dynasty, the government declined, the army decayed, and the people were displaced.Seeing these phenomena, Xu Guangqi compiled the specific methods and practical experience of the predecessors on land reclamation in the "Nongzheng Quanshu", and also introduced his own practice of land reclamation, with the intention of formulating prescriptions for the serious phenomenon of abandoning farmland at that time .Although some of the technical measures he proposed are reasonable and feasible, these claims can only be minor improvements.The fundamental problem at that time was the violent land annexation by the big landlords and the extreme poverty of the working people. If this principal contradiction was not resolved, the problem could not be solved simply by suggesting to reclaim wasteland. Xu Guangqi attached great importance to the work of water conservancy, and believed that the construction of water conservancy could prevent drought and flood, and was a guarantee for the full use of land functions and a bumper harvest.In "Nongzheng Quanshu", he systematically summarized the predecessors' and his own farmland water conservancy theories, among which the five methods of water use proposed by him are the most important.These five methods are: 1. The source of water is the use of spring water, which respectively explains the methods to be used when the water source is higher than the field, below the field, close to the field, and far away from the field; 2. The flow of water, It is how to use the various water flows of rivers, ponds, puddles, jings, and banks; 3. The retention of water [zhuzhu] is to use the water accumulated in lakes and other sources; 4. The committee of water is to use the tides of the sea and islands 5. The use of water in places such as sandbars and sandbars; 《泰西水法》是徐光启和传教士共同翻译的一本介绍西方水利工程的书，在翻译的同时，他还请工匠制作器械，进行实验。这部译著也被收入《农政全书》，丰富了农田水利的内容。 徐光启非常注意备荒救荒的问题，认为有备无患，人定胜天。该书中辑录了历代备荒救荒的具体措施，并记入了他自己的研究成果。明初朱的《救荒本草》是我国最早的救荒专著，也是古代植物学的重要著作。徐光启将它全部收入《农政全书》。他曾亲自尝过《救荒本草》中的一些野菜野果。 《农政全书》重视“农政”，但并没有因此而忽视具体的农业生产技术。书中不但收集了前人著作中的农业技术，而且总结了当时农业生产的新经验。明代，棉花的生产和纺织技术已经有了很大发展。徐光启全面研究了棉花的品种、选种、种子贮藏和播种前处理、播种时期、间作套种、施肥技术，以及“摘心”等田间管理技术，提出了比较完整的棉花栽培技术理论。他将这些理论通俗地概括成14个字：“精拣核，早下种，深根短干，稀料肥壅〔yong拥〕”。他看到当时北方盛产棉花，却要运到南方去织布，认为很不合理，认为北方应当发展棉纺织业。为了解决北方天气干燥，纺织中容易断线的问题，在书中他介绍了肃宁(在今河北省内)人在地窖内纺织，以保持空气湿度的方法，供人们参考。 徐光启非常热心推广高产作物和优良品种。甘薯当时传入我国不久，他亲自在田间种植，仔细观察，写成了《甘薯疏》，收入《农政全书》，提倡人们大量种植，用来备荒。《农政全书》中对许多新引入新驯化的作物，都做了详细的记录。徐光启认为，“风土不宜”的说法是传播新品种新技术的极大障碍。我国古代农书里的“风土说”，本来有因地制宜种植农作物的含意，是有一定科学道理的。但是如果把它作为教条，认为某种植物只能生长在某地，而没有种过的地方绝对不能种，就妨碍了农业生产的发展。他列举了棉花、颇棱(菠菜)等一批引种作物，并结合自己的实践，对“风土说”的保守思想进行了批驳。 为了消灭蝗灾，徐光启统计了我国历史上记载的蝗灾发生的时间和地点，总结规律，认为蝗灾多发生在谷物成熟的五、六、七月，地点一般是湖泊沼泽、旱涝无常的地区。他还访问老农，研究蝗虫的产卵、变蛹、成虫和群集飞行的规律，成为我国古代详细描述蝗虫生活史的第一人。《农政全书》不但说明了蝗虫的危害和捕捉方法，而且指出，治蝗一定要发动群众，才能收到良好的效果。 《农政全书》全面总结了中国2000多年来农业科学的成果，还吸收了西方农业科学知识，是中国古代农学集大成之作，其科学性和实践意义都远超以前的同类著作，在农学史上占有重要地位。