Chapter 37 The new development of the fourth section

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there was a new development in the practical spectrum records closely related to agriculture, animal husbandry, aquatic products, and horticulture. It is characterized by a wide range, many types, a large number, and richer and deeper content. It is the traditional biological knowledge of our country. An important part of the treasury.Here we especially want to introduce works such as "Qunfangpu", "Guangqunfangpu" and so on. "Qunfangpu" (1621 AD) is a very rich record of genealogy.The author Wang Xiangjin was born in Xincheng County (now Huantai County), Jinan Prefecture, Shandong Province in the Ming Dynasty, and was a Jinshi in the 32nd year of Wanli (AD 1604).He likes to grow flowers, vegetables and fruit trees. There is a garden outside his house for him to grow all kinds of plants.He not only planted exotic flowers and herbs, but also tried to grow sweet potatoes and so on.Therefore, Wang Xiangjin has rich practical experience in gardening. "Quanfangpu" was written based on Chen Yong's "Quanfang Beizu" in the Southern Song Dynasty.The whole book mainly discusses plants, and also discusses goldfish and cranes.Since planting is related to season, this aspect is listed.The book has 28 volumes, divided into 12 categories, including Tianpu, Suipu, Gupu, Vegetables, Fruits, Tea and Bamboo, Sangma, Geramie, Medicine, Wood, Flowers, Flowers, Crane and Fish ( Spectrum).Under each score, there is a "Sub-order" first, explaining the intention of the score; and then there is a "Preface", which summarizes the main points of the score and records historical documents.Then write down the morphological characteristics of each plant. "Qunfangpu Gupu" is an important document describing maize (corn) in the early stage.Wang Xiangjin wrote: "The dry leaves are fat and short like sorghum, and also like coix. The seedlings are three or four feet high and bloom in June and July. The ear buds are as long as fists, the whiskers are like red velvet, and the grains are like gorgon seeds. The flowers are large and white. It opens at the top and is solid at the joints. It is called Yumai because it used to enter the imperial court. It comes out of Xifan, the old name of Fanmai. It tastes sweet and flat, and it tastes appetizing in the middle. Grind it into noodles. If you steam wheat noodles, add less beard, and the color will be white. And Kaida...a maize, a jade sorghum, a rongshu, and one thing.” Here Wang Xiangjin gave a fairly detailed description of the corn that had just been introduced from abroad.Not only that, Wang Xiangjin also experimented with many varieties of ornamental plants, and first described them.There are more than 30 kinds of species names described by him first, and now there are more than 30 kinds in "Chinese Botanical Illustrated Book" and "Botanical Dictionary".

The species selected in Qunfangpu are all edible, fiber, wood and ornamental plant species except for the "Medicine Spectrum".Therefore, in a sense, Qunfangpu can be called a work of agrobotany. In the early 18th century, Kangxi ordered Liu Hao and others to expand the material according to the format of "Qunfangpu", and recompile a book. This is "Guangqunfangpu" published in the forty-seventh year of Kangxi (AD 1708). In addition to Tianshipu, there are 43 kinds of grains and beans recorded in Gupupu; 10 kinds of fiber plants are recorded in Sangmapupu; 140 kinds of vegetables are recorded in Shupupupu; There are 156 kinds of edible fruits, 241 kinds of trees in wood records, six kinds of bamboo in bamboo records, 191 kinds of herbs in Huipu records, 527 kinds of medicine in medicine records, and 1557 kinds of plants in total.Except for medicines, the recorded plants are all cultivated plants related to practical use. Even the description of the plants contained in the medicine list is limited to the morphology and planting, not medical treatment.This is completely different from previous herbal works.Like Qunfangpu, its content is more focused on agricultural biology. Each category of "Guang Qun Fang Pu" is accompanied by historical biographies, prefaces, inscriptions, miscellaneous works, poems and other literary and artistic works, so this book has a certain literary nature.

Chen Hao (Hao Hao) in the Qing Dynasty is a famous monograph on ornamental plants in my country, and it is a summary of the author's life-long experience in growing flowers.Among them, the "Flowers and Trees Research" part is divided into three parts: flowers and trees, vines, and flowers and grasses. A total of 295 species of plants are included, and 11 important species of them are recorded with species traits and explanations: flowers and trees include peony, plum, camellia, peach, and litchi. The vines include bamboo and Ganoderma lucidum; the flowers and plants include peony, orchid, lotus, and chrysanthemum.Among them, there are 131 varieties of peony, such as yellow, bright red, pink, pink, purple, white, and blue, which are very rich.Especially based on the in-depth understanding of the habits of flowers and trees and long-term practical experience, the book has detailed descriptions of plant cultivation methods (such as cuttings, grafting, hybridization, selection, bonsai production, vase flower cultivation, etc.).The description of plant morphology is also very nuanced.For example, Ling Xiao wrote: "Villing, several feet high, with whiskers like scorpion and tiger feet between the tendrils, the tree is the strongest... In early spring, there are several leaves on each branch, with teeth at the tip, dark blue. Each branch blooms more than ten The flower is as big as a morning glory, with five petals on the flower head, with a few yellow spots on it. It is full in summer and redder in late autumn. In August, it bears pods like beans, about three inches long, and the seeds are as thin as elm kernels." For stems, leaves, The flowers and fruits are all remembered very carefully, highlighting the characteristics of Bignoniaceae plants.At the end of the book, more than 40 kinds of ornamental animals are described, such as cranes, cats, crickets, and goldfish.

Some of the layout and writing methods of "Qunfangpu" and "Qunfangpu" also had an influence on the late ancient Chinese botanical works (such as "Plant Names and Facts").