Nanfang Caomu Zhuang

Nanfang caomu zhuang
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	南方草木狀
Simplified Chinese	南方草木状
Literal meaning	southern region plants [and] trees account
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Nánfāng cǎomù zhuàng Wade–Giles Nan-fang ts'ao-mu chuang Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Naam4 fong1 cou2 muk6 zong6 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Lâm-hong chháu-bo̍k chōng Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Nom pjang tshawX muwk Old Chinese Baxter-Sagart Nˤ[əә]m C-paŋ [tsʰ]ˤuʔ C.mˤok
Korean name
Hangul	남방초목상
Hanja	南方草木狀
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Nambang chomok sang McCune–Reischauer Nambang ch'omok sang
Japanese name
Kanji	南方草木狀
Hiragana	なんぽうくさきじょう
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Nanpō kusaki jō

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Nánfāng cǎomù zhuàng
Wade–Giles	Nan-fang ts'ao-mu chuang
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping	Naam4 fong1 cou2 muk6 zong6
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ	Lâm-hong chháu-bo̍k chōng
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese	Nom pjang tshawX muwk
Old Chinese
Baxter-Sagart	Nˤ[əә]m C-paŋ [tsʰ]ˤuʔ C.mˤok

Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	Nambang chomok sang
McCune–Reischauer	Nambang ch'omok sang

Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn	Nanpō kusaki jō

The (c. 304 CE) Nanfang caomu zhuang (南方草木狀 Plants of the Southern Regions), attributed to the Western Jin dynasty scholar and botanist Ji Han (嵇含, 263-307), is a Flora describing the plants of Nanyue and Jiaozhi, present-day South China and northern Vietnam. 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 and black pepper, as well as the earliest accounts of some agricultural techniques such as biological pest control (using "citrus ants" to protect orange crops), and the cultivation of vegetables on floating gardens (centuries before the earliest recorded Mesoamerican chinampa).

Since 1273, when the Nanfang caomu zhuang was first printed in the Song dynasty, it was frequently quoted by Chinese authors, both in literature and technical books on horticulture, agriculture, and Chinese herbology. Since the 19th century (e.g., Hirth 1865 and Bretschneider 1870), many Western sinologists, botanists, and historians of plant cultivation have studied it.

The Nanfang caomu zhuang author Ji Han was "one of the greatest of all Chinese botanists" (Needham, Ho, and Lu 1976: 80).

The primary source of information about Ji Han's life is the Book of Jin biography of his uncle Ji Shao (嵇紹), who was the son of the poet-musician Ji Kang (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 province). His courtesy name was Jun Dao (君道 "Gentleman's Way"), and his pen name Boqiuzi (亳丘子 "Master of Boqiu") refers to his residence at Boqiu (present-day Henan) near the capital Luoyang. He served as a scholar-administrator and poet on the staff of several princes.

...
Wikipedia