Earthly Endowments

Guan ZhongJinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJun 2024

4.4

Word count: 2.8K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

The irrigated fields are all shifted; the five grains are all suitable; their standing is late yet the hand is fruitful. Their trees are suited to the huo, the yuan, the du, and the pine; their grasses are suited to the chu and the ji. Seeing this soil, one names it "five shi"; five times seven is thirty-five feet down to the spring. The pitch of its call matches jue. Its water is full; its people are strong.

Editor's review

Di Yuan is the chapter of Guanzi that concentrates on the relationship between land and produce; it opens with "the irrigated fields are all shifted" and records the trees and grasses suited to different soils, uses "five shi" to measure the depth of the water table, and touches on pitch, water nature, and local customs. It embodies the ancients' holistic vision linking soil, vegetation, hydrology, and human affairs. The language is archaic and the names of things numerous, so annotations are needed to make one's way through. Its value lies not in offering directly applicable agronomic conclusions but in presenting a way of thinking grounded in land and suited to local conditions, which is quite helpful for understanding pre-Qin views of nature and the tradition of political discourse. It is suitable as an auxiliary text for studying Guanzi and ancient geographical and agronomic literature; it should be read alongside relevant commentaries, carefully examining its classificatory logic and mode of inference without hastily seeking modern equivalents.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University students and researchers studying Guanzi and pre-Qin thought texts
Professional readers interested in ancient soil classification and the history of agronomic knowledge
Scholars of literature and history needing pre-Qin geographical and produce materials for annotation or teaching
Enthusiasts with a foundation in classical Chinese interested in classical Chinese views of nature

Not a good fit for

Readers hoping for directly applicable modern agricultural techniques
Beginners lacking a foundation in classical Chinese who need line-by-line vernacular translation to read
General readers seeking light entertainment

Reading tips

First read the original through once, marking difficult terms such as soil, grass, and tree names, then consult commentaries in a focused way.
Read alongside other chapters of Guanzi dealing with land and farming to grasp its overall approach.
While reading, make a simple table of correspondences among soil type, water level, and produce to aid understanding.
Do not insist on matching every named thing to a modern species; focus on appreciating the logic of its classification and inference.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
地员第五十八

FAQ

What does the Di Yuan chapter mainly discuss?

This chapter mainly discusses the relationship between land and produce, recording the trees and grasses suited to different soils, using "five shi" to explain the depth of groundwater, and touching on corresponding pitch, water nature, and local customs, embodying the idea of suiting measures to the soil.

Can I read Di Yuan without a foundation in classical Chinese?

Reading the original directly is quite difficult, as the chapter contains many names of things and difficult terms. It is advisable to start with an edited edition containing annotations and vernacular translation, first understanding the general meaning and then gradually reading the original in detail; otherwise one may remain stuck at the literal level and fail to grasp the whole chapter.

What reference materials should I use when reading Di Yuan?

One may refer to commonly available annotated translations of Guanzi and related studies, focusing on annotations concerning its soil classification and records of produce. If ancient agronomy and geography are involved, one may consult agricultural and geographical works on the side, but the text of this chapter should remain primary, avoiding excessive forced comparisons.

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About the author

Guan Zhong Author · Chinese

Guan Zi is Guan Zhong, of the Ji clan and the Guan lineage, named Yiwu, styled Zhong, posthumously honored as Jing, a native of Yingshang (present-day Yingshang County, Anhui). A statesman of the early Spring and Autumn period and a forerunner of Legalism in the state of Qi, he assisted Duke Huan of Qi in uniting the feudal lords and setting the realm in order, and has been acclaimed as "the foremost minister of China." His thought is preserved in the book Guanzi, of which 28 related works are held in the collection, with representative chapters including "Guo Xu," "Nei Ye," "Di Yuan," "Qing Zhong Ding," "Zhou He," "Li Zheng," "Jin Zang," and "You Guan." These pieces span economic regulation, mind-and-nature cultivation, geography and products, and statecraft; their style is sometimes terse and substantive, sometimes developed through dialogue, reflecting an early blend of Legalist and Qi-regional scholarship. Public sources on the details of his life are limited, and later accounts mostly rely on the Guanzi text and pre-Qin histories. His works are commonly classified under Eastern philosophy, prose and miscellaneous writings, comprehensive biography, and literary appreciation, and have influenced both ancient political thought and the prose tradition.