Chapter 38 Section 5 Wu Qijun and "Plant Names and Facts of Plants"

After it came out, it had a great influence on Chinese pharmacology and herbal medicine.With the development of society and the enrichment of medical practice, in the early Qing Dynasty, there were many books on herbal medicine, among which Zhao Xuemin (about 1720-1805 AD) wrote "Compendium of Materia Medica Supplements" (1765 AD), the whole book In volume 10, according to the classification system of the original book, the human department was deleted, and the rattan department and flower department were added.A total of 921 kinds of drugs are recorded, of which 716 are not listed, most of which are folk or currently used, and some imported drugs are also included.It not only supplements the legacy, but also corrects some mistakes.

After that, there are Wu Qijun (1789-1847 A.D.) "Plant Research on Plant Names and Facts" and "Changbian Edition of Plant Names and Facts Maps". Wu Qijun, courtesy name 瀹 [yue Yue] Zhai, nicknamed Yu Lou Nong, was born in Gushi, Henan.He loved plants since he was a child, and determined to "be useful in the world".In 1817 A.D., a Jinshi (the number one scholar), was appointed as the editor of the Imperial Academy. From 1818 to 1840, he served as the official examiner of the provincial examination twice (in Guangdong in 1819 and in Zhejiang in 1838), and in charge of academic politics twice (in Hubei in 1832). , Jiangxi in 1838), and two visits to the South Study Room (1831, 1834). These experiences enabled him to read the books of the Royal Siku and collect a large amount of information on the one hand; Take a field trip. From 1821 to 1829, due to the successive death of his parents, he stayed at home to observe the funeral. He also opened up Dongshu Garden, conducted plant planting experiments, obtained first-hand information, and laid a solid foundation for writing. From 1840 to 1846, he successively served as the governor of Hunan, Zhejiang, Yunnan, Shanxi and other places.As a great official in Xinjiang, he was diligent in political affairs. At the same time, he also took advantage of the favorable conditions of "employment for half the world". There are two great works, "Plant Research of Plant Names and Facts" and "Changbian Edition of Plant Names and Facts Pictures".The book was printed and published in Taiyuan by the then Taiyuan prefect Lu Yinggu (gu Gu) in the second year after his death (AD 1848).

"Plant Names and Facts Tu Kao Changbian" has 22 volumes and records 838 species of plants. The book extracts the information about plants from books such as herbal medicine, agricultural books, local chronicles, and poetry miscellaneous works in the past dynasties. There are 38 volumes of "Plant Research on Plant Names and Facts", containing 1,714 species of plants and 1,865 illustrations. The classification of "Plant Names and Facts" is based on the inheritance classification. It is divided into plant parts (the main body of traditional medicines): 53 kinds of cereals, 177 kinds of vegetables, and 202 kinds of grasses, and scorpions. There are 287 species, 98 species of stone grasses, 37 species of aquatic plants, 236 species of vine grasses, 71 species of aromatic grasses, 44 species of poisonous weeds, 143 species of Qunfang; 102 species of fruits and 271 species of wood.It can be seen from the above arrangement order: it is basically from herbaceous to woody, embodying the principle of "from small to large".Pay attention to people's livelihood, so grains and vegetables (cultivated plants) are highlighted.Grasses are arranged according to ecological and biochemical principles.To adapt to the development of horticultural plants since the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the category of "Qunfang" is specially listed.In the same type of plants, if you arrange similar plants together (for example, Fabaceae, Liliaceae, etc.), you can also see that you have paid attention to the natural attributes and genetic relationships of plants.There are 519 more species of plants recorded in the book (including more than 210 discovered by the author's research and more than 250 described by his interview).In particular, many of them are plants in the south or frontier regions (such as more than 400 species in Jiangxi, more than 280 species in Hunan, and more than 390 species in Yunnan), showing regional characteristics, supplementing the gaps and deficiencies in the past generations of herbal medicines, and having special value.

"Plant Names and Facts" fully affirms and absorbs the research results of predecessors' works, and corrects the mistakes of predecessors.For example, pointing out Li Shizhen's mistake in saying that people don't eat mallow again today; pointing out that "Tiangong Kaiwu" said that 〔kuang Mine〕Wheat is exclusively produced in Shaanxi, which is a "complex assumption, which cannot be seen".He attaches great importance to the practical experience of workers.In many places in the book, it is written: "Yu asked Yutai (sedan bearer) like this", "Yu Dezhi Mushu (shepherd boy)", "Hemo asked the old garden (vegetable farmer)", "School of crops in the future". , still entrusted to the old peasants", this is very valuable.

The description of plant morphological traits in the book is also more detailed than previous works.For example, for the plant "Wild Sesame", it is written: "There are a lot of mountain gardens in Linjiang and Jiujiang. In spring, it grows in clusters, square stems with four edges, green edges, and slightly purple stems. Opposite joint leaves, deep teeth and fine lines, Slightly resembling a hemp leaf. The base is flat and pointed, the face is green, the back is light, with slightly astringent hairs. It blooms around the joints, white in color, all upright, a few half inches long, the upper petal is covered like a spoon, and the lower petal is round and small. The two sides are short like a bird's mouth. Zhongsen's flat whiskers hang down with the upper petal, like a tongue touching the upper palate. Stars, calyx tips, like clusters of needles. The leaves and stems are light, slightly pungent, and the smell is more greasy when used as sesame. Hunan garden There are many in them, and they are endless. Or it is called white flower motherwort." It is consistent with the "square stem", "leaves on opposite nodes", "flowering around nodes" and "lip shape" recorded in the current flora. The descriptions of color, leaf pattern, flower shape, and leaf flavor are more vivid, more subtle, and easier to identify.Another example is the description of "Hongmeixiao": "There are many riversides in Jiangxi and Hunan. The thin stems are thorny, like bushes at first, and gradually lead to long vines, which can be five or six feet long. One branch has three leaves, and the leaves are like耨) Tian 藨〔biao〕. The face is blue at the beginning, and the back is white; the back becomes light blue as it grows. In March, small pink flowers are opened, the color is like a red plum, and they are not very open. There are green stalks at the bottom, and the stalks are strong, such as Raspberry, bright red, full of branches. It tastes sour and sweet and can be eaten...Jiangxi slang medicine uses red plum root soaked in wine as a medicine for nourishing tendons, promoting blood circulation, reducing redness, and reducing swelling. Get rid of freckles." From the place of origin to the habitat, from birth to fruit, from shape to color, from internal use to external use, the description is comprehensive and vivid. (Figure 27)

The biggest feature of "Plant Names and Facts of Plants" is that the pictures are beautifully drawn. On the one hand, it is convenient to check the names and facts to identify the species;The study of maps in our country has a long history.In this cursive book, both pictures and texts are emphasized, almost as a rule.However, "Plant Names and Facts of Plants" not only has many pictures, but also is precise (subtle, clear, and accurate).Most of the pictures (nearly 1,500 pieces) are sketches based on real objects, and families, orders, and even species (such as Juandan, Huoxiang, etc.) can be identified through textual research on the pictures.In terms of layout, pictures and texts alternate, pictures and texts are combined.It is illustrated with the diagram for easy inspection.

The nature of "Plant Names and Facts" is different from books such as Materia Medica, which mainly record medicines (such as "Qunfangpu" and "Guangqunfangpu"), which mainly focus on agriculture.Except that some of them involve medicinal and agricultural uses, a considerable number of species are not directly related to practical use. The range of plants contained in "Plant Names and Facts" is larger, and it has begun to break away from the purely practical frame, and has a tendency to change to pure botany. (Figure 28)

In "Plant Research on Plant Names and Facts", while describing and textualizing plant names and facts, some poems are either quoted or self-written; some places even express some political opinions and thoughts of the author, which are published for discussion.As far as plant assessment is concerned, although it has little effect, it still has valuable value from a broader perspective; in fact, ancient Chinese science has "medical treatment is like governing the country", "medicine is like using soldiers", "poetry The tradition of "seeing science in the text" is just a development of "Plant Names and Facts".

Although "Plant Names and Facts" has a tendency to change towards pure botany, it still belongs to the category of traditional Chinese biology.In the Ming Dynasty, the advent of the ancient Chinese herbal medicine shows that the study of animals and plants in our country is still in a leading position in the world.and other related works are widely circulated in countries all over the world.However, since the publication of Linnaeus' "Natural System" in the 17th century, western biological research, especially the study of plant classification, has developed very rapidly.However, "Plant Names and Facts" still adopts the classification method of Li Shizhen 270 years ago, and there is no research on plant morphology, anatomy and physiology.Therefore, from the perspective of the development level of biology in the world, "Plant Names and Facts" has already reflected the limitations of traditional biology.

Not long after the publication of "Plant Names and Facts", a translation of modern Western general botany knowledge - "Botany" was published in China. It was written by Chinese scholar Li Shanlan and British scholar Williamson (A.Williamson) Lindley (John Lindly AD 1799-1865) co-edited related works.Since then, modern western biological knowledge began to be introduced and gradually replaced traditional Chinese biology.