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Fanzi Jiran 范子計然

Jun 7, 2013 © Ulrich Theobald

Fanzi Jiran 范子計然, also called Fanzi wen Jiran 范子問計然 "Master Fan's questions to Jiran", was an ancient agricultural treatise. It is first mentioned in the imperial bibliography Jingji zhi 經籍志 in the official dynastic history Jiutangshu 舊唐書, where it is listed among the masters of the Five Progresses (wuxing jia 五行家), with a length of 15 juan.

The book is composed as a dialogue between Fan Li 范蠡, a minister in the Spring and Autumn period 春秋 (770-5th cent. BCE) state of Yue 越, and the expert Jiran 計然, who was no one else than the philosopher Xin Jian 辛銒, better known as Wenzi 文子. The bibliography Yiwen zhi 藝文志 in the history book Xintangshu 新唐書 lists it among the agricultural treatises (nongjia 農家). It was lost before the Song period 宋 (960-1279), but is quoted extensively in the Northern Wei-period 北魏 (386-534) book Qimin yaoshu 齊民要術.

The Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Ma Guohan 馬國翰 (1794-1857) collected surviving fragments and published them in his series Yuhanshanfang jiyi shu 玉函山房輯佚書. Interestingly enough, the bibliographic treatise Yiwen zhi in the history book Qingshigao 清史稿 mentions the Fanzi Jiran (in the shape of Ma Guohan's collection), as well as Huang Shi's 黃奭 collection of its fragments (1809-1853).

Sources:
Gao Liushui 高流水 (1996). "Fanzi Jiran 范子計然", in Feng Kezheng 馮克正, Fu Qingsheng 傅慶升, eds. Zhuzi baijia da cidian 諸子百家大辭典 (Shenyang: Liaoning renmin chubanshe), 448.
Gu Nong 顧農 (2000). "Guanyu Lu Xun jiben Fanzi jiran deng wu zhong 關於魯迅輯本《范子計然》等五種", Wenxian 文獻, 2000 (4): 254-263+253.
Tang Tangqiu 唐廷猷 (2000). "Fanzi jiran yanjiu: Xihan shi yi yaocai wie zhu de shangpinxue 《范子計然》研究——西漢時以藥材為主的商品學", Chengdu Zhongyi Daxue xuebao 成都中醫大學學報, 2000 (2): 56-57.
Tang Tingqiu 唐廷猷 (2018). "Qingren Huang Shi ji Fanzi jiran Xihan de yaocai shangpin shouce 清人黃奭輯《范子計然》西漢的藥材商品手冊",Zhongguo xiandai yiyao 中國現代醫藥, 2018 (8): 1028-1033.
Zhao Jiuzhou 趙九洲 (2010). "Fanzi jiran chengshu shijian kao 《范子計然》成书时间考", Nongye kaogu 農業考古, 2010 (4): 364-370.
Zhao Jiuzhou 趙九洲 (2013). "Gu nongshu Fanzi jiran sanyi shijian yu jiyi qingkuang kaoding 古农书《范子計然》散佚時間與輯佚情況考訂", Nongye kaogu 農業古, 2013 (1): 328-330.
Zhao Jiuzhou 趙九洲, Song Qian 宋倩 (2015). "Fanzi jiran de xingzhi yu zuozhe chutan 《范子計然》的性質與作者初探", Nongye kaogu 農業考古, 2015 (1): 275-279.
Zhao Jiuzhou 趙九洲, Yang Juan 楊娟 (2014). "Fanzi jiran zhong de wuchan jizai chutan 《范子計然》中的物產記載初探", Nongye kaogu 農業考古, 2014 (1): 259-266.