Book on Agriculture

陈敷Jul 2024

4.4

Word count: 17K words
Chapters: 9

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought and culture have a long history and are highly original, inventive, and literary. Early forms of thought have distinctive features, and subjects such as religious theology, classical Chinese medical texts, ancient military strategy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and the Hundred Schools of Thought, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, and customs and local gazetteers are profound and extensive. This "Essence of Classic Chinese Studies: Original Texts" series preserves the original appearance of the books and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers can cultivate their temperament and subtly appreciate the classics of Chinese studies.

Editor's review

Nongshu is a specialized agricultural work by Chen Fu of the Song dynasty, known among traditional agricultural books for its practical emphasis and attention to farming techniques. This edition is published in the "Essence of Classic Chinese Studies: Original Texts" series, preserving the original appearance of the book and focusing on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. For today's readers, its value lies not only in understanding ancient agricultural production knowledge but also in experiencing, through farming records, the ancients' way of thinking that followed the seasons and adapted to local conditions, as well as the pragmatic, agriculture-centered cultural tradition. Its content is close to production and daily life, and its language is plain and archaic, making it suitable as an introductory reader for understanding ancient Chinese agronomy and customs and local gazetteers. When reading, use annotations to understand terminology and do not be in a hurry; if you are interested in traditional science and technology and intellectual culture, read it alongside similar agricultural works to see the development of ancient agronomy more clearly. This book is better suited to slow reading and reference reading than to reading straight through in one sitting.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in ancient Chinese agronomy and agricultural technology
Literature and history enthusiasts studying traditional thought and culture and customs and local gazetteers
General readers who wish to understand the ancients' ideas of following the seasons and adapting to local conditions
Collectors of original Chinese classics who prefer editions preserving the original appearance of the book

Not a good fit for

Practitioners seeking guidance in modern agricultural production technology
Readers hoping for vernacular stories or light entertainment reading

Reading tips

First read the table of contents and preface to grasp the book's structure and agricultural themes, then choose chapters according to interest.
Look up agricultural terms in annotations or reference works as you go; there is no need to memorize every character.
Read alongside agricultural works such as Qimin Yaoshu to appreciate the development of ancient agronomy.
Focus on slow reference reading, reading a short section at a time and making brief notes.

版权信息
提要
农书序
卷上
卷中
卷下
后序
跋
蚕书

FAQ

Is this book suitable for readers with no foundation in classical Chinese?

This book preserves the original appearance of the text and its language is archaic, so it will be somewhat difficult without a foundation in classical Chinese. It is advisable first to read the preface and table of contents to get the general idea, then use annotations and reference works to read chapters of interest step by step; there is no need to force yourself to read it straight through.

How is this book different from modern agricultural technology books?

This book is an ancient agronomic work that focuses on recording traditional agricultural production experience and ideas and is a cultural original; modern agricultural technology books focus on workable contemporary techniques. The two have different uses, and this book is better for understanding ancient agronomy and culture.

What supplementary materials are needed to read this book?

A dictionary of common characters in classical Chinese can help with unfamiliar characters and words. For deeper study, consult original Chinese classics in the same series or popular works on agricultural history so as to understand the book's content against the background of ancient agriculture.

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About the author

陈敷 Author

Chen Fu's birthplace, dates of birth and death, and other biographical details are not clearly recorded in publicly available sources. All that is known today is that a single work, the Nongshu (Book of Agriculture), is attributed to him, and it is classified as a classic work. Because information about the author is so limited, this agricultural treatise is all the more valuable. Taking farming as its framework, it deals with cultivation, seasonal timing, and field management, placing it within the tradition of Chinese agricultural writings. Its style is practical, concentrating on recording production experience rather than discussing abstract principles. The very title Nongshu, meaning "book of agriculture," indicates that it was written for practical use, seeking to set out matters of farming and sericulture in an orderly way so that readers could act on them according to the seasons. Since only this one work is held in the collection, it is not yet possible to reconstruct the author's full intellectual profile or circle of associates from it, and the history of its transmission and the exact date of its composition require further investigation. Readers who begin with this book may glimpse one aspect of ancient agricultural writing and may also note the emphasis on the people's livelihood and on practical results that it reflects.