The Book of Fan Shengzhi
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Students and researchers in agricultural history and the history of science and technology
- Readers interested in traditional farming techniques
- Readers of literature and history concerned with ancient economic and livelihood documents
Not a good fit for
- Farmers seeking modern high-yield planting solutions
- General readers who want only complete, smoothly narrated literary works
Reading tips
- Read the preface or editorial notes first to understand the loss and reconstruction of the original text, and avoid mistaking it for a complete original.
- Focus on technical entries such as the pit-field method, and understand its intensive-farming approach in the context of Han agriculture.
- Read alongside relevant chapters of *Qimin yaoshu* to compare shifts in agronomic concerns across periods.
About the publisher
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.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序
- 卷上
- ○耕田篇
- ○收种篇
- ○种谷篇
- ○区种法篇
- ○黍祭篇
- ○大豆篇
- ○小豆篇
- ○麻子篇
- ○种麻篇
- ○大、小麦篇
- ○种稻篇
- ○种稗篇
- 卷下
- ○种瓜篇
- ○种瓠篇
- ○种芋篇
- ○种桑篇
- ○杂篇上
- ○杂篇下
FAQ
Does the original text of *Fan Shengzhi shu* still exist?
What farming techniques does the book mainly discuss?
What is the significance of reading it for general readers?
Comments
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About the author
Fan Shengzhi was an agriculturalist in ancient China whose exact life dates and personal details are unknown, as public information is limited. He is known today mainly through his representative work, The Book of Fan Shengzhi. One of the earliest extant Chinese agricultural treatises and an important record of Han-dynasty farming techniques, the original text is believed to have been lost after the Song dynasty, and what survives has largely been reconstructed through later compilations. The preserved chapters deal with agriculture in the Guanzhong region, covering cultivation, seed selection, fertilization, irrigation, drought prevention, and crop growing. The language is concise and practical, with attention to operational detail and a clear emphasis on summed-up experience. Its accounts of techniques such as quzhong and souzhong reflect the tradition of intensive farming and influenced later agricultural writings and dryland farming in northern China. Within agriculture and forestry literature, The Book of Fan Shengzhi is pioneering, and Fan Shengzhi is accordingly regarded as an important figure in Han-dynasty agronomy.
