Junxian nongzheng 郡縣農政

Junxian nongzheng 郡縣農政 "Agricultural policy in the commanderies and districts" is a handbook for district magistrates providing information on essential matters of agriculture. The book was written by Bao Shichen 包世臣 (1775-1855), courtesy name Shenbo 慎伯, style Juanweng 倦翁, from Jingxian 涇縣, Anhui. He was not very successful in academic career, but was active as a consultant for local government, and thus experienced in practical matters of administration, focusing on river conservancy, tribute grain transport, disaster relief and taxation. His most important book is the collection Anwu si zhong 安吳四種, which includes the books Zhongqu yishao 中衢一勺, Yizhou shuangji 藝舟雙輯, Guanqing sanyi 管情三義, and Qimin sishu 齊民四術. Apart from his collected writings, the book Shuochu quanshu 說儲全書 deserves mentioning.

The book Junxian nongzheng with a length of just 1 juan is divided into seven chapters speaking about the classification of grain (Biangu 辨穀), duties of farming (Rentu 任土) like ploughing, irrigation, fertilisation and soil arrangement, breeding and sowing (Yangzhong 養種), plant cultivation and propagation (Zuoli 作力), sericulture (Cansang 蠶桑), arboriculture (Shuzhi 樹植), and animal husbandry (Xumu 畜牧). An appendix presents a peasant calendar.

The text was finished in 1801 and is part of the Qimin sishu, and thus also the Anwu si zhong. In 1962, the Nongye Press 農業出版社 published a modern, annotated edition of the book. The Beijing Library 北京圖書館 owns a manuscript titled Bao Shunbo's 包順佰 Shuoxinzhe 說信者 and slightly deviating from the transmitted text. This manuscript seems to be an early draft.