Chapter 36 Section 3 Aquatic Animal Chronicle "Minzhong Sea Cuoshu"

"Minzhong Sea Cuoshu" is a book in the Ming Dynasty that records the morphology, living environment, living habits and distribution of various aquatic animals along the coast of Fujian, my country.The author, Tu Benju (jun Jun), whose style name is Uncle Tian, ​​claimed to be Mr. Han, was born in Yin County (now Ningbo), Zhejiang.He successively served as Dianbo of Taichang Temple, doctor of the Ministry of Rites, and magistrate of Chenzhou.Tu Benquan is honest and self-sufficient, and he likes to read books all his life. He claims: "I read books. When I am hungry, I eat, when I am thirsty, I drink, when I am understretched, I use it as a pillow, and when I am sad, I use it to preach." It should be written at the request of Yu Yin, the Taichang Shaoqing in Beijing at that time.In addition, he believes that there are many kinds of marine animals, which are closely related to people's lives. As a salt official, he is familiar with marine products, so he will write this book as his duty.

"Minzhonghai Cuoshu" was written in the Bingshen Year of Wanli (AD 1596).The whole book is divided into three volumes: upper, middle and lower.Both the upper and middle volumes are scales, respectively listing carp, crucian carp, bream [fangfang], shark, blowing shark ((yupi)), squid [ci this], (fish roe), stone head, squid [tuo] Camel〕, sea 鰌 [qiuqiu], flounder, Guola (on the roll) and black squid, horse mackerel, squid, hairtail, squid, (fish regulation) [gui regulation], jellyfish, stingray [hong baked] fish . 〕, maple leaf, bouldering, (Yu Ding) [ding Ding] fish, Gu mackerel [taitai], (yu 夬) fish, shrimp, dace carp (pangolin), toad, water chicken (in the volume), etc., each There are 107 kinds of descriptions under the category.The bottom of the volume is the introduction section, which is divided into turtles, turtles, crab cockles, clams, oyster houses, shell vegetables, scorpions, sea moons, mud bamboo shoots, turtle feet, stone cassia, razor clams (cheng support), horseshoe crabs (houhou), There are 90 species of snails, dragon lice, etc.Among them, marine economic fish are the main species, and some freshwater species are also included.This includes the four seafood treasures of large yellow croaker, small yellow croaker, hairtail and squid, as well as prawns.There are more than 80 kinds of fish recorded, belonging to more than 20 orders such as Cyprinidae, Perciformes, Herringiformes, and Mullet (zizi) and 40 families such as Cyprinidae and Seabream (diao)idae.There are 10 species of amphibians recorded, which belong to Bufoidae, Hylaidae and Ranaidae.There are also mollusc shellfish, arthropod shrimp and crabs, and a few reptiles such as turtles, soft-shelled turtles and mammals.

The descriptions of animal forms, habits and ecology in "Minzhonghai Cuoshu" are very careful and distinctive.For example, remember the red sea bream (cured fish): "The head of the wax is like crucian carp, the body is like mandarin fish, and it is like silver carp. The meat is reddish and delicious. There is meat at the end and teeth like saws in the mouth. It is delicious for clams. With wax Spring comes and goes, hence the name Guola." It can be compared with the description of modern people.It not only describes the morphological characteristics of red sea bream with canines, molars and light red body in its mouth, but also describes the living habits of bottom fish mainly eating shellfish, and also describes the characteristics of migration in Laichun to Qinghai, which is very clear.Note on mudskipper: "It is as big as a thumb, with green and spotted mane, in a mud cave, and its head faces north at night. It is called a jumping fish." It highlights the ecological characteristics of the mudskipper living in the mud.The description of the horseshoe crab not only records the body shape such as iron, the shell covers the body, the tail is sharp and long, the touch can stab, the body color is black and blue, the eyes are on the back, the belly has 12 legs, and the ring mouth is born, etc. Its blood is blue, the female has many sons, the sons are as big as kidney beans and yellow, covered with bones, medium and very delicate.

On the basis of careful observation and identification of morphological features, "Minzhonghai Cuoshu" also made an attempt to classify.First of all, adopt the method of rowing, and arrange the species with similar traits together: for example, row the carp, yellow tail, big aunt, golden crucian carp, spiny mane, red mane, black cheek, square head, etc., and then further group the bream There are three genera in the family, ivy, red mane, and black cheek, which reflect their kinship and show a preliminary understanding of the concepts of family and genus.List 12 kinds of sharks: tiger shark, saw shark, dog shark, blackhead shark, husha shark, mackerel shark, sword shark, black shark, entry and exit shark, time shark, cap shark, and yellow shark, and compare and distinguish them. They have similar common characteristics, and pay attention to their different individual characteristics, and make distinctions in classification and comparison; the author also pointed out in the commentary: "Sharks are of different types, with the same skin and flesh, but the head is slightly different." Features are the key points for distinguishing comparisons.Before Tu Bengan, Huang Zhong had described two species of sharks in his book "Sea Language". "Minzhonghai Cuoshu" expanded to 12 kinds.For some sharks, such as blowing sharks (small fish), they are considered to be one species and are not included (actually belong to Perciformes), which shows that their classification standards and selections are obviously improved.

"Minzhong Haicuoshu" also has detailed descriptions of aquatic invertebrates. The mollusk snails recorded fragrant snails, mother snails, purple backs, nautilus, mud snails, rice snails, field snails, brook snails, There are 21 kinds of yellow snails, red snails, Polygonum snails, edge tails, horseshoes, nails, octaradies, robin snails, flower snails, bamboo snails, oil snails, and sand snails, which are distinguished in terms of shape and size.Some common snails such as mud snails are described as: "the shell is thin, the meat is short like a snail, and there is a lot of salivation and cream." Its growth situation is recorded: "it is born at the beginning of spring and March, very thin, like powder, the shell is soft, delicious, until It grows slightly in the first ten days of April, and is full of fat in May. The plum snails are taken from the plum rain, which can be stored for a long time; soaked in wine for one or two nights, the ointment overflows the shell, and it is like crystal..." Recorded growth conditions and modern investigations It is basically consistent, but it is more vivid, wonderful and attractive in terms of processing and utilization.Another example is that 12 species of arthropod shrimps are recorded, especially the description of lobsters is very vivid: "Put it on a plate, about one foot long, with four legs, half its body length, protruding eyes, raised triangles, negative Jieangzang, whose body is like a small dragon, spits out red seeds from the back of his tail, and his color is full of durian flowers." The language is concise and fascinating.In addition, the book also records the breeding process of grass carp and silver carp: "Natives take their sons from the river in mid-spring and call them fry; they live in Zichi and grow them into reed ponds and call them silver carp. They can be moved to Guangchi by about a foot. , Feed with grass, and take it in September." These methods not only reflected the high level of freshwater aquaculture at that time, but also have practical reference value today.

"Summary of Siku" commented on this book and said: "It is insightful to distinguish between various types, and it is beneficial to know more, and those who test real estate will not give up." Tu Shi's other book "Sea Taste Suoyin" lists sixteen items: Song of clam, praise of Jiang Yaozhu, solution of Zixie, praise of lifang, Ming of mussels, song of soil iron, song of (chong fawn), variety of clams, praise of yellow clams .The author uses various literary forms such as eulogy, praise, song, saying, note, and inscription to express the knowledge of the names, shapes, types, nature, flavors, origins, and uses of aquatic animals, which is also very distinctive.

After "Minzhonghai Cuoshu", Li Tiaoyuan (styled as Yucun, born in Sichuan) wrote the second volume of "Ranxi Zhi" in the Qianlong period (AD 1779), recording nearly 100 species of aquatic products in Guangdong, remembering their shapes, and examining their origins , one by one finely prepared, is also very impressive.For example, remember "Sea Horse": "Its head is like a horse, its body is like a shrimp, its back is rickety, with bamboo patterns, two or three inches long, the female is yellow, and the male is cyan." It is also very vivid, and can be compared with the current seahorse picture. control.In addition, Hao Yixing, a Confucian scholar and naturalist in the Qing Dynasty, wrote a volume of "Records of Haicuo" (1874 A.D.), recording more than 40 species of marine animals (including a kind of kelp) seen.It is characterized by attention to textual research and concise writing.For example, record "Wang Chao" (crab): "There is a hole in the mud between the sea creeps, and the eyes are blurred when looking at the sea. There is a small crab beside the cave, with its legs up and its head up, looking sideways and seeing people coming in." The shape and activities of sea crabs in the sea, sky and sediment habitat are vivid and fascinating.Remember "Haipantang": "The big one is like a fan, with a round and flat center, and five teeth diverge on the side, and a deep groove is formed under the belly of each tooth; there are beards next to the teeth, and small insects stray into the groove, and they will have five teeth. , close its beard, grab it and swallow it. It lacks stomach and intestines, pure bones and no flesh. The back is dark blue, mixed with spots..." The image is lifelike, and the activities are true.Hao Shi also remembered the characteristics of "(Yuwa) 鮥〔genglu Gengluo〕fish" and "extraordinary scales, bright at night", and corrected Wang Yuyang's mistake of using Heluo fish as shad.Later in the Hao family, in 1886, Guo Baicang wrote five volumes of "Hai Cuo Bai Yi Lu" based on his own experience at the seashore for decades, plus the experience of interviewing old fishermen, and recounting the ancient books.Juan 1 and Juan 2 record fishing, including fishing tools and fishing methods. There are 174 species of fish recorded in the two volumes.Juan 3 records 121 kinds of shell stones.Volume 4 records 30 species of insects (and 24 species of marine plants in addition), which supplements and enriches the contents of the books before the Qing Dynasty. Most of the records are actual observation records, and many folk materials are used.For example, there are as many as 25 species of sharks. Firstly, the characteristics of "its skin is like sand, with mane on its back, wings under its abdomen, and viviparous" are listed, and then they are distinguished according to body size, head and tail characteristics, body texture and color, etc. .In total, there are: sea shark, hu shark, mackerel shark, sword shark, tiger shark, (fish dog) shark, yellow shark, time shark, cap yarn shark, entrance and exit shark (named after the baby shark enters and exits from the mother's mouth), blowing shark Shark, King Shark, Blackfin Shark, Hammerhead Shark, Roundhead Shark, Plowhead Shark, Rat (Zongwu) [Wu Wu] Shark, Clam Shark, Loach Shark, Longwen Shark, Flat Shark, Black Shark, Yellow Shark sharks, white sharks, tassel sharks, great sharks, begging sharks, etc.Volume 5 records seabirds, sea beasts, and seaweeds. "Hundreds and One Records of Sea Mistakes" can be called the encyclopedia of marine life.

The publication of these works played a positive role in guiding production and enriching biological knowledge at that time.