ChinaKnowledge.de -
An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History and Literature

Qunfangpu 群芳譜

Jun 17, 2011 © Ulrich Theobald

Qunfangpu 群芳譜 "Notes on all various herbs", full title Erruting Qunfangpu 二如亭群芳譜, is a compendium on plants compiled during the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Wang Xiangjin 王象晉 (1561-1653), courtesy name Jinchen 盡臣 or Zijin 子進, style Kangyu 康宇, Mingnong Yinshi 明農隱士 or Haosheng Jushi 好生居士.

Wang hailed from Xincheng 新城 (modern Hengtai 桓臺, Shandong) and obtained the jinshi degree in 1604. The highest office he occupied was that of administration commissioner (buzhengshi 布政使) of Zhejiang. Between 1607 and 1627, Wang stayed at home and took over the management of the family possessions that included large tracts of cultivated land. During that time he was able to gain experience in agricultural matters part of which he noted down over a long period of time. Apart from the Qunfangpu, he also authored the books Qingwuzhai xinshang bian 清悟齋欣賞編, Jiantong zaibi 翦桐載筆 and Qin Zhang shiyu hebi 秦張詩餘合璧.

The 30-juan-long Qunfangpu assembles important knowledge about the most useful plants that could be grown in everyone's garden. The book is the result of both studies of older literature on that topic as well as private experience. The book is divided into 12 chapters covering the themes weather and seasons, grain, vegetables, fruits, tea and bamboo, mulberry and hemp, cotton and ramie, medical plants, trees, flowers, grasses, as well as useful zoological information of cranes and fishes. For each of the 400 described objects or species, Wang Xiangjin notes down the appearance and the conditions under which they grow, as well as how they could be consumed, and in the case of medical plants, how they are applied. For some of them, stories and literary statements are also provided.

Very interesting is the large collection of different names for various plants, which helps to identify them in a confusing nomenclature. Some scholars criticized the book for its focus on the medical use of plants and the negligence of concrete cultivation methods. Wang Xiangjin quoted from a lot of ancient books that were later lost. Fragments of them are thus only preserved in the Qunfangpu. A substantial part of Wang Xiangjin's book is quite probably based on a Song-period 宋 (960-1279) writing, the Quanfang beizu 全芳備祖 compiled by Chen Yong 陳詠 (b. c. 1201).

The compendium was first printed in 1621, and there is another print from the late Ming period preserved in a revised Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) edition, as well as a Ming-period print in 29 chapters produced by the Shacun Caotang Studio 沙村草堂.

In 1708, an imperially commissioned enlarged version of the book was published, Wang Hao's 汪灝 Guang qunfangpu 廣群芳譜 (also known as Peiwenzhai guang qunfangpu 佩文齋廣群芳譜).

The Qunfangfu has not been included in the imperial series Siku quanshu 四庫全書 because the quotations are of a very short and unreliable style.

Table 1. Contents of the Qunfangpu 群芳譜
1.-3. Heaven
4.-7. The seasons
8. Grains
9.-10. Vegetables
11.-14. Fruits
15.-17. 茶竹 Tea and bamboos
18. 桑麻葛苧 Mulberry and various kinds of hemp
19.-21. Medical herbs
22.-24. Trees
25.-27. Flowers
28.-29. Grasses
30. 鶴魚 Birds and fishes
Sources:
Che Yanni 車豔妮, Liu Qingchao 劉慶超 (2018a). "Qunfangpu shupu zhong yin shi de jiazhi tanxi 《群芳譜》蔬譜中引詩的價值探析", Nongye kaogu 農業考古, 2018 (4): 196-202.
Che Yanni 車豔妮, Liu Qingchao 劉慶超 (2018b). "Cong gulei zuowu kann Erruting Qunfanpu dui Qimin yaoshu de jicheng yu fazhan 從穀類作物看《二如亭群芳譜》對《齊民要術》的繼承與發展", Anhui nongye kexue 安徽農業科學, 2018 (20): 229-231+236.
Chen Pingping 陳平平 (1996). "Lun Erruting Qunfangpu zai jingji zhiwu yanjiu shang de chengjiu 論《二如亭群芳譜》在經濟植物研究上的成就", Nanjing Gaoshi xuebao 南京高師學報, 1996 (4): 57-65.
Cui Jianying 崔建英 (1986). "Erruting Qunfangpu banben shilüe 《二如亭群芳譜》版本識略", Wenwu 文物, 1986 (2): 75-79.
Fan Chuyu 范楚玉 (1994). "Qunfangpu tiyao 群芳譜提要", in Ren Jiyu 任繼愈, ed. Zhongguo kexue jishu dianji tonghui 中國科學技術典籍通彙, part Nongxue 農學 (Zhengzhou: Henan jiaoyu chubanshe), Vol. 3, 1-3.
Fu Kui 符奎 (2019). "Qunfangu yu sancai lilun 《群芳譜》與“三才”理論", Nongye kaogu 農業考古, 2010 (1): 371-37.
Fu Meihong 付美洪, Hu Xiaofeng 胡曉峰 (2014). "Qunfangpu yu Bencao gangmu yuanyuan chutan 《群芳譜》與《本草綱目》淵源初探", Zhongyi wenxian zazhi 中醫文獻雜誌, 2014 (2): 36-38.
Li Ming 李明 (1993). "Qunfangpu 群芳譜", in Shi Quanchang 石泉長, ed. Zhonghua baike yaolan 中華百科要覽 (Shenyang: Liaoning renmin chubanshe), 990.
Li Shuhua 李樹華, Shao Danjin 邵丹錦 (2015). "Qingchu Chen Haozi Huajing: Zhongzhi weizhi fa yu Ming mo Qang Xiangjin Qunfangpu Yasheng bijiao yanjiu 清初陳淏子《花鏡》“種植位置法”與明末王象晉《群芳譜》“雅稱”比較研究", Zhongugo yuanlin 中國園林. 2015 (4): 74-78.
Li Xueqin 李學勤, Lü Wenyu, eds. 呂文鬰 (1996). Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典 (Changchun: Jilin daxue chubanshe), Vol. 2, 1869.
Luo Guoguang 羅國光, ed. (2007). "Qunfangpu ji Guang qunfangpu 《群芳譜》及《廣群芳譜》", in Guoshu cidian 果樹詞典 (Beijing: Zhongguo nongye chubanshe), 316.
Nongye da cidian bianji weiyuanhui《農業大詞典》編輯委員會, ed. (1998). Nongye da cidian 農業大詞典 (Beijing: Zhongguo nongye chubanshe), 1340.
Sun Zhaoliang 孫兆亮, Xu Weitong 徐維統 (1996). "Qunfangpu 群芳譜", in Zhou Gucheng 周谷城, ed. Zhongguo xueshu mingzhu tiyao 中國學術名著提要, Vol. Keji 科技 (Shanghai. Fudan daxue chubanshe), 713.
Wang Dajun 王大鈞 (1996). "Qunfangpu 群芳譜", in Zhongguo nongye baike quanshu 中國農業百科全書, Vol. Guanshang yuanyi 觀賞園藝卷 (Beijing: Nongye chubanshe), 357.
Wang Jiali 王佳麗, Hong Bo 洪波 (2018). "Mingdai ban hua zhong tingyuan huamu zhongzhi yu Qunfangpu yacheng zhi guanxi yanjiu 明代版畫中庭院花木種植與《群芳譜》“雅稱”之關係研究", Fengjing yuanlin 風景園林, 2018 (12): 121-124.
Wang Zuohuai 王佐槐, Gao Wanqing 高萬慶 (2002). "Gu nongshu Qunfangpu chaoben lüe kao 古農書《群芳譜》抄本略考", Gansu Nongye Daxue xuebao 甘肅農業大學學報, 2002 (3): 385-389.
Wu Feng 吳楓, ed. (1987). Jianming Zhongguo guji cidian 简明中国古籍辞典 (Changchun: Jilin wenshi chubanshe), 909.
Yao Kunde 姚昆德 (1990). "Qunfangpu 群芳譜", in Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, part Nongye 農業 (Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu), Vol. 1, 889.
Yun Xiaoyan 韻曉雁 (2021). "Rong zhu bai shi, hui cheng yi jia de bowu zhi zuo: Erruting Qunfangpu he ta de qunfang zhuren “熔鑄百氏,彙成一家”的博物之作——《二如亭群芳譜》和它的群芳主人", Nongcun nongye nongmin 農村農業農民, 2021 (1): 61-63.
Zhou Fengyao 周鳳瑶, Li Qiang 李强, Li Rong 黎蓉 (2019). "Qunfangp zhong de zhifang fushi xinxi zhengli 《群芳譜》中的紡織服飾信息整理", Fushi daokan 服飾導刊, 2019 (1): 22-29.
Zhou Zhaoji 周肇基 (1995). "Qunfangpu 群芳譜", in Zhongguo nongye baike quanshu 中國農業百科全書, Vol. Nongye lishi 農業歷史卷 (Beijing: Nongye chubanshe), 276.