![Nanfangcaomuzhuang](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Nanfangcaomuzhuang.svg)
The (c. 304 CE) ''Nanfang caomu zhuang'' (南方草木狀 ''Plants of the Southern Regions''), attributed to the
Western Jin dynasty
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
scholar and botanist Ji Han (嵇含, 263-307), is a
Flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
describing the plants of
Nanyue
Nanyue (), was an ancient kingdom ruled by Chinese monarchs of the Zhao family that covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Fujian and central to northern Vietnam. Nanyue was establish ...
and
Jiaozhi
Jiaozhi (standard Chinese, pinyin: ''Jiāozhǐ''), or Giao Chỉ (Vietnamese), was a historical region ruled by various Chinese dynasties, corresponding to present-day northern Vietnam. The kingdom of Nanyue (204–111 BC) set up the Jiaozhi Co ...
, present-day
South China
South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
and northern
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. The ''Nanfang caomu zhuang'' is the oldest work extant in any language on subtropical botany. The book contains the first descriptions of several economic plants, for instance
jasmine
Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...
and
black pepper
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diame ...
, as well as the earliest accounts of some agricultural techniques such as
biological pest control
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...
(using
"citrus ants" to protect
orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
crops), and the cultivation of vegetables on floating gardens (centuries before the earliest recorded Mesoamerican ''
chinampa
Chinampa ( nah, chināmitl ) is a technique used in Mesoamerican agriculture which relies on small, rectangular areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico. They are built up on wetlands of a lake o ...
'').
Since 1273, when the ''Nanfang caomu zhuang'' was first printed in the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
, it was frequently quoted by Chinese authors, both in literature and technical books on horticulture, agriculture, and
Chinese herbology
Chinese herbology () is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A ''Nature'' editorial described TCM as "fraught with pseudoscience", and said that t ...
. Since the 19th century (e.g.,
Hirth
Hirth Engines GmbH is an engine manufacturer based in Benningen, Germany. It is currently a part of the UMS Aero Group. Hirth began manufacturing aero engines in the 1920s, was taken over by Heinkel in WWII to develop the Heinkel-Hirth jet en ...
and
Bretschneider, many Western sinologists, botanists, and historians of plant cultivation have studied it.
Ji Han
The ''Nanfang caomu zhuang'' author Ji Han was "one of the greatest of all Chinese botanists".
The primary source of information about Ji Han's life is the ''
Book of Jin
The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...
'' biography of his uncle Ji Shao (嵇紹), who was the son of the poet-musician
Ji Kang
Ji Kang (, 223–262), sometimes referred to as Xi Kang, courtesy name Shuye (, "shu" means the 3rd son of the family, "ye" means night), was a Chinese writer, poet, Taoist philosopher, musician and alchemist of the Three Kingdoms period. He w ...
(23–262), one of the
Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove. Ji Han was born in 263 in Zhixian (銍縣, in present-day
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
province). His
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
was Jun Dao (君道 "Gentleman's Way"), and his
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
Boqiuzi (亳丘子 "Master of Boqiu") refers to his residence at Boqiu (present-day
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
) near the capital
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
. He served as a scholar-administrator and poet on the staff of several princes.
In 300, during the
War of the Eight Princes
The War of the Eight Princes, Rebellion of the Eight Kings, or Rebellion of the Eight Princes () was a series of civil wars among kings/princes (Chinese: ''wáng'' 王) of the Chinese Jin dynasty from 291 to 306 AD. The key point of contention in ...
, Ji Han was a military commander under the future
Emperor Huai of Jin
Emperor Huai of Jin (; 284 – March 14, 313), personal name Sima Chi (司馬熾), courtesy name Fengdu (豐度), was an emperor of the Jin Dynasty (266–420).
Emperor Huai was captured in 311 and later executed in 313 under the order of Liu ...
(r. 307-313), whose army suffered a defeat at Tangyin (蕩陰), in which his uncle Ji Shao was killed protecting the emperor. Ji Han was made prefect of
Xiangcheng in 304, but when it was conquered, he had to escape south to
Xiangyang
Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...
(present-day
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
), and at the recommendation of the official Liu Hong (劉弘), he was appointed governor of
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
in 306. However, before he could leave, Ji Han was assassinated at Xiangyang in 307 after Liu Hong's death. When Ji Han was made Governor, he appointed his friend
Ge Hong
Ge Hong (; b. 283 – d. 343 or 364), courtesy name Zhichuan (稚川), was a Chinese linguist, Taoist practitioner, philosopher, physician, politician, and writer during the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was the author of '' Essays on Chinese Characte ...
, the alchemist and author of the ''
Shenxian zhuan'' and ''
Baopuzi
The ''Baopuzi'' () is a literary work written by Ge Hong (also transliterated as Ko Hung) (), 283–343, a scholar during the turbulent Jin dynasty. ''Baopuzi'' is divided into two main sections, the esoteric ''Neipian'' () "Inner Chapters" an ...
'', as
aide-de-camp. Ge Hong went to Guangdong ahead of Ji, and remained there afterwards for several years, probably because he was interested in the exotic plants and unusual mineral substances of the south.
In addition to writing the ''Nanfang caomu zhuang'', the "first botanical treatise of all time", Ji Han was a prolific poet, particularly ''
fu'' "rhapsody; poetic exposition", and deeply interested in botany. While most of his ten-volume collected works were lost, later texts quote the prefaces to Ji's poetical ''fu'' essays on the
daylily
A daylily or day lily is a flowering plant in the genus ''Hemerocallis'' , a member of the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae. Despite the common name, it is not in fact a lily. Gardening enthusiasts and horticulturists have long ...
,
hibiscus
''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...
, ''
Platycarya
''Platycarya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Juglandaceae native to eastern Asia in China, Korea, and Japan.Flora of China''Platycarya''/ref>Flora of China''Platycarya strobilacea''/ref>
It is a deciduous tree growing to 15 m tall ...
'' tree, evergreen tree, and sweet melon. Ji Han also wrote a ''fu'' on the fashionable "
Cold-Food Powder
Cold-Food Powder () or Five Minerals Powder () was a poisonous psychoactive drug popular during the Six Dynasties (220–589) and Tang dynasty (618–907) periods of China.
Terminology
Both Chinese names ''hanshisan'' and ''wushisan'' have the su ...
" mixture of mineral and plant drugs, which says "it cured his ailing son when other treatments had failed".
Title
The title uses three common Chinese words.
*''Nánfāng'' (南方, lit. "south direction/region") "south; southern part of a country"
*''Cǎomù'' (草木, lit. grass/herb
ndtree") "vegetation; plants (in general)"
*''Zhuàng'' (狀) "form, shape; state, condition; account, record; description, narrative"
The title ''Nanfang caomu zhuang'' does not have a standard English translation. For instance, the ''
Science and Civilisation in China
''Science and Civilisation in China'' (1954–present) is an ongoing series of books about the history of science and technology in China published by Cambridge University Press. It was initiated and edited by British historian Joseph Needham (1 ...
'' series of books, edited by
Joseph Needham
Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, in ...
and his international collaborators, gives six variant versions.
*"Plants and Trees of the Southern Regions"
*"Records of the Plants and Trees of the Southern Regions"
*"Prospect of the Plants and Trees of the Southern Regions"
*"Appearances of Plants and Trees in the Southern Regions"
*"Herbs and Trees of the South"
*"Flora of the South"
Content
![Yue statue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Yue_statue.jpg)
The ''Nanfang caomu zhuang'' text is divided into three chapters, with a total of 80 botanical entries. The first (''cǎolèi'' 草類 "Herbs", 1-29) consists of 29 herbs and plants, the second (''mùlèi'' 木類 "Trees", 30-57) 28 forest trees, and the third consists of (''guǒlèi'' 果類 "Fruits", 58-74) 17 fruit trees, and (''zhúlèi'' 竹類 "Bamboos", 75-80) 6 bamboos.
The Preface explains Ji Han's motive in writing the book.
The plants of Nan-yueh and Chiao-chih are the most interesting of the four borderlands. They were not known before the Chou and Ch'in dynasties. Since the expansion territories undertaken by Wu Ti of Han, the rare and precious kinds were sought and brought in and the best were used as tributes. As people of the central regions hina
Hina may refer to:
People and deities
* Hina (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Hina (chiefess), a name given to several noble ladies who lived in ancient Hawaii
* Hina (goddess), the name assigned to ...
are often unfamiliar with their nature, I hereby record and describe these from what I have heard for the benefit of future generations.
The ancient kingdom of
Nanyue
Nanyue (), was an ancient kingdom ruled by Chinese monarchs of the Zhao family that covered the modern Chinese subdivisions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hong Kong, Macau, southern Fujian and central to northern Vietnam. Nanyue was establish ...
("southern
Yue") was located in parts of the present-day
Chinese provinces
The provincial level administrative divisions () are the highest-level administrative divisions of China. There are 34 such divisions claimed by the People's Republic of China, classified as 23 provinces (), five autonomous regions of China, au ...
of
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
,
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
, and
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
;
Jiaozhi
Jiaozhi (standard Chinese, pinyin: ''Jiāozhǐ''), or Giao Chỉ (Vietnamese), was a historical region ruled by various Chinese dynasties, corresponding to present-day northern Vietnam. The kingdom of Nanyue (204–111 BC) set up the Jiaozhi Co ...
was in northern
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. The pre-Han dynasties were the
Zhou (c. 1046–256 BCE) and
Qin Qin may refer to:
Dynasties and states
* Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China
* Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC
* Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...
(221–206 BCE).
Emperor Wu of Han
Emperor Wu of Han (156 – 29 March 87BC), formally enshrined as Emperor Wu the Filial (), born Liu Che (劉徹) and courtesy name Tong (通), was the seventh emperor of the Han dynasty of ancient China, ruling from 141 to 87 BC. His reign la ...
(r. 141–87 BCE) led the
Southward expansion of the Han dynasty
The southward expansion of the Han dynasty was a series of Chinese military campaigns and expeditions in what is now modern Southern China and Northern Vietnam. Military expansion to the south began under the previous Qin dynasty and continued ...
.
Among six proposed categories of Chinese authors who wrote botanical books, Ji Han and the exotic botanical ''Nanfang caomu zhuiang'' exemplify the first, "scholar-officials, physicians and others whose duties took them to those places within or on the borders of the empire where special plants flourished".
Genre
The ''Nanfang caomu zhuang'' is considered the type-specimen for the "strange plants of the south" genre of Chinese botanical writings. Within the traditional
Sinocentric
Sinocentrism refers to the worldview that China is the cultural, political, or economic center of the world. It may be considered analogous to Eurocentrism.
Overview and context
Depending on the historical context, Sinocentrism can refer to ...
world-view, China's "south" (''nan'' 南) referred to the seaward-facing regions of present-day
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
,
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
,
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
,
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
, and
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
provinces, all subtropical or tropical in climate are distinctly separate from the rest of China, which is borne out by their affiliation to a different