Qí mín yào shù 齊民要術
Essential Techniques for the Common People by 賈思勰 (Jiǎ Sīxié, 6th c., 後魏)
About the work
A 10-juan agricultural encyclopedia by Jiǎ Sīxié, composed under Northern Wèi (the Kanripo catalog form 後魏 = Northern Wèi), dated to ca. 533–544 CE on internal evidence. The work is the foundational pre-modern Chinese agricultural reference and one of the most consequential pre-modern Chinese technical works. Coverage includes: cultivation of grains, vegetables, and fruits; sericulture; animal husbandry; food preparation (vinegar, soy, alcohol, preserved meats and vegetables); plus a closing 1-juan zá shuō (miscellaneous discussions) appendix. The work draws on prior agricultural literature (now mostly lost) and on Jiǎ’s own experience as Tàishǒu of Gāoyángjùn. The frontmatter brackets to ca. 533–544.
Abstract
The Qí mín yào shù is the foundational pre-modern Chinese agricultural encyclopedia. The bibliographic record: Suí shū jīngjí zhì; SKQS Zǐbù — Nóngjiā lèi. The work has had unbroken East Asian reception (Korean, Japanese) and is the principal source for pre-modern Chinese agricultural technique.
Translations and research
- Joseph Needham et al., Science and Civilisation in China vol. 6 — extensive use.
- Francesca Bray, Agriculture (= Science and Civilisation in China vol. 6.II), Cambridge UP, 1984 — major treatment.
- Standard modern Chinese editions: Shí Shēnghàn 石聲漢, Qí mín yào shù jīn shì 齊民要術今釋 (Zhōnghuá Shūjú, 1957).