Chinanews.com, Beijing, December 7th (Reporter Shangguan Yun) contains more than 1,700 kinds of plants, both literary and informative... Recently, a rather unpopular "Plant Names and Facts" has attracted attention.

　　The proofreader Luan Baoqun of "Plant Names and Facts of Plants" said that the text in "Plant Names and Facts of Plants" is also very good.

From some argumentative texts, we can not only understand the benevolent heart of the author Wu Qijun, but also see his far-reaching ambition as a botanist.

Image source: photo courtesy of Zhonghua Book Company

　　He also mentioned that since ancient times in China, literati must have some deep or shallow knowledge of botany.

In addition, since the Six Dynasties, there have been poets named after medicine, and Chen Ya, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, was famous for his "poems named after medicine".

More than 1,700 species of plants are recorded

　　"Plant Research on Plant Names and Facts" is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese botany written by Wu Qijun, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty.

It is voluminous and contains more than 1,700 plant species from all over the country.

　　Looking at the catalog, it mentions many grains that people are familiar with, such as red beans, soybeans, and wheat; there are also various vegetables and fruits, and there are as many as 21 volumes of grasses, which are divided into mountain grasses, scorpion grasses, stone grasses, and aquatic plants. Wait for eight subcategories.

　　"Plant Names and Facts" is a book based on the reprinted edition of Shanxi Zeng Guoquan in the sixth year of Guangxu's reign. The obvious errors are explained in the school as appropriate, the incomprehensible allusions are annotated, and various quotations are checked.

　　Interestingly, many chapters in the original work are quite like essays. For general readers, it is very important to understand these literary chapters. .

　　Luan Baoqun gave an example. In the article "Du Heng" in Juan Bashancao Taihangzhibanlei, when it comes to the breeding and use of horses, there is a saying that "there are more people who have horses, and more people who have horses. "The East of the State of Lu", the second half of the sentence is very difficult to understand.

　　After reading a lot of materials, Luan Baoqun finally figured out that the word "Dongfang" was originally wrong, and the correct one should be "Dongye", that is, Dongyebi, a man who is good at riding horses but not cherishing them. "A story in .

An indissoluble bond with an ancient book

　　The school annotation "Plant Test of Plant Names and Facts" is actually Luan Baoqun's long-cherished wish.

Image source: photo courtesy of Zhonghua Book Company

　　When he was in college, he found two sets of "Plant and Facts of Plants" and "Changbian" in a second-hand bookstore, both of which were hardcover. The price is the same, five yuan and a few cents.

　　"I liked this set of books very much. First of all, it was because of the exquisite illustrations in it. The plant names I read from "Book of Songs" and "Chu Songs" can be found here." Luan Baoqun recalled.

　　It's a pity that he didn't have enough money at that time, so he had to discuss with the salesperson whether the book could be cheaper, but he failed.

Although the sale is not possible, the bookstore is open, and you can sit on the ground and read casually.

After careful reading, he found that the words describing plants in the book were very beautiful.

　　Later, every time Luan Baoqun went to the bookstore, he had to look through this book.

In 1965, he saw that the price of old books in that bookstore was greatly reduced, but the set of books he had wanted for a long time was gone.

Fifty years later, he received another set of "Plant Studies of Plant Names and Facts" from a friend.

　　After reading this set of books, Luan Baoqun felt that it is very necessary for literature and history lovers, especially those who are keen on ancient Chinese culture, "Then, I came up with the idea of ​​re-editing and annotating it. ".

It is a botanical work, and it is also literary

　　"Plant Research on Plant Names and Facts" is a botanical work, but it is not unrelated to the history of literature.

"Plant Name and Reality Map Examination Notes".

Published by Zhonghua Book Company in September 2022

　　Luan Baoqun explained that since ancient times in China, literati must have some deep or shallow knowledge of botany.

Confucius said that reading "poetry" can "know more about the names of birds, animals, plants and trees"; Lu Ji wrote "Mao Poems, Plants, Birds, Animals, Insects and Fish".

　　In addition, "Lisao Vegetables and Trees" and "Southern Vegetation and Trees" are basic books for studying ancient Chinese culture.

As for the reading materials of "Materia Medica", people of ancient culture should also dabble, at least know the names, properties and flavors of some commonly used herbal medicines.

　　He said that due to the popularity of herbal medicine knowledge, there have been poets named after medicine since the Six Dynasties, and Chen Ya, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, was famous for his "poems named after medicine".

　　In addition to popular science knowledge, "Plant Names and Facts" is also a highly readable literary work.

The author Wu Qijun basically left all the highly professional content in the "Changbian", which is the conclusion of his personal textual research, which is concise, clear and full of literary talent.

　　It is mentioned in the preface of "Plant Names and Facts of Plants" that Zhang Shaotang, who later reprinted "Compendium of Materia Medica", took a fancy to the pictures drawn in "Plant Names and Facts Pictures" due to their exquisiteness, so he removed Li Shizhen's original pictures Nearly 400 pieces were edited, and the pictures in "Plant Names and Facts" were replaced with the pictures in "Plant Names and Facts", which caused the prevalence of incorrect editions of "Compendium of Materia Medica".

　　This also confirms the exquisiteness of the above drawing from the side.

The name of this book is "Picture Research". For most plants, especially those newly discovered by Wu Qijun, pictures are more important than words, and the accuracy of pictures is the proof of "name and reality".

　　"Because most of the pictures in this book are drawn according to the fresh state of the plants, they can not only accurately describe the shape of the plants, but also be vivid, and each picture is like a line drawing of flowers." Luan Baoqun praised.

(Finish)