Preface to the Supplement to the Treatise on Agriculture

陈克鉴Jun 2024

3.2

Word count: 4.5K words
Chapters: 16

Summary

Why was the Supplement to the Agricultural Treatise written? In former times, Mr. Wu Kangzhai expounded the learning of Lian, Luo, Guan, and Min, yet lived in retirement among farmers, leading his disciples in tilling the soil themselves. Mr. Zhang admired and emulated him. Beyond his reading and lessons at the study hall, he took up every minute task of the farm household, mastering the work and able to explain its principles. His earnest teaching of later generations through the two words “farming and reading” is fully set out in the Notes for Beginners and Instructions for My Sons. As for the methods of field cultivation, planting, and livestock raising, he took Shen’s Agricultural Treatise as his foundation and went into still greater detail on lesser matters—what is meant by “both the court and the hills have their tasks.” Some may regard him as one of the likes of Chang Ju and Jie Ni—how could they truly know Mr. Zhang?! Respectfully recorded by the younger scholar Chen Kejian.

Editor's review

The “Introduction to the Supplement to the Agricultural Treatise” is a prefatory note by Chen Kejian for Zhang Lüxiang’s Supplement to the Agricultural Treatise. Though brief, it is the key entry point for understanding the whole book. The text explains the occasion for the supplement: Zhang Lüxiang admired Wu Kangzhai’s model of teaching through farming and, beyond his reading and coursework, attended to the fine details of farm household work, both practicing them and explaining their principles, instructing later learners with the two words “farming and reading.” For agricultural methods he took Shen’s Agricultural Treatise as his foundation while going into greater detail on lesser matters. The introduction also clarifies the stance that “both the court and the hills have their tasks,” refuting the misunderstanding that would classify the author among the likes of Chang Ju and Jie Ni. These contents give readers a double thread—the book’s background and the author’s aims—and are best read before the main text of the agricultural treatise. As a standalone piece, it is also a concise literatus’s account of farming and reading, useful as auxiliary material for agricultural history and intellectual history.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers about to read the main text of the Supplement to the Agricultural Treatise who need background context
Scholars studying Ming–Qing prefatory and postfatory documents and the process of book composition
Readers interested in the idea of farming and reading and literati attitudes toward public and private life

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking direct practical farming instructions
Readers expecting a long systematic exposition
Readers unaccustomed to short classical Chinese texts and prefatory genres

Reading tips

Read through once for the general sense, then check sentence by sentence against the book titles and personal names mentioned.
Read alongside the main text of the Supplement to the Agricultural Treatise to observe how the aims stated in the introduction are embodied in the farming entries.
Extract key terms such as “farming and reading” and “both the court and the hills have their tasks” for thematic notes.

版权信息
补农书引
上卷，沈氏农书
正月立春、雨水
二月惊垫、春分
三月清明、谷雨
四月立夏、小满
五月芒种、夏至
六月小暑、大暑
七月立秋、大暑
八月白露、秋分
九月寒露、霜降
十月立冬、小雪
十一月大雪、冬至
十二月小寒、大寒
运田地法

FAQ

Who wrote this introduction, and what does it say?

The introduction was written by the younger scholar Chen Kejian. It explains why the Supplement to the Agricultural Treatise was written, describes how Zhang Lüxiang admired Wu Kangzhai’s teaching through farming, attended to farming matters beyond his reading, and taught later learners through “farming and reading,” and states that for agricultural methods he took Shen’s Agricultural Treatise as his foundation while going into greater detail on lesser matters.

Why does the introduction mention Chang Ju and Jie Ni?

Chang Ju and Jie Ni are reclusive tillers from the Analects. The author of the introduction uses them to show that it is incorrect to regard Zhang Lüxiang as a world-shunning recluse, because Zhang held that “both the court and the hills have their tasks”—farming and reading do not conflict with worldly affairs, and this is precisely the purpose of the supplement.

Is it acceptable to read only this introduction and not the main text?

It can be read on its own as a short piece for understanding the book’s background and the author’s aims, but it is after all only a preface, and the farming content requires the main text. To understand what exactly the “supplement” adds, one should still read it alongside the Supplement to the Agricultural Treatise and Shen’s Agricultural Treatise.

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About the author

陈克鉴 Author

Chen Kejian's life, nationality and other background information remain limited in publicly available sources, and his detailed experiences are still difficult to ascertain. One work by him is held in the collection, namely Preface to the Supplement to the Agricultural Treatise (Bu Nong Shu Yin), commonly classified under Eastern philosophy. Judging from the title and classification, the work likely concerns agricultural experience and traditional thought, and may serve as an introduction, exposition or supplement to writings in the agricultural treatise tradition, reflecting the orientation of traditional scholars who cared about people's livelihood and connected practical learning with moral principles. Such writing generally avoids empty discourse and values empirical order and practical application, with plain language and a clear structure that make it easy to transmit and study. Because surviving materials on the author are scarce, scholarly discussion of him and his work is not extensive, and current understanding rests mainly on this single work. Readers should situate it within the context of traditional agricultural and philosophical literature, understand its argumentative background and purpose, and remain cautious about the author's biography, while hoping that more materials may emerge for reference.