Lizhipu 荔枝譜 and other books on lychee

There were quite a few books on lychee (Litchi chinensis) written in pre-modern times, some of which deserve a closer description.

Cai Xiang's 蔡襄 Lizhipu 荔枝譜

Lizhipu 荔枝譜 "On Lychees" is a treatise on the lychee tree and fruit written during the Song period 宋 (960-1279) by Cai Xiang 蔡襄 (1012-1067), who has also written a book on tea, Chalu 茶錄.

The Lizhipu consists of 7 short chapters and was finished in 1059. Cai came in contact with lychee cultivation during his service period as transport commissioner (zhuanyunshi 轉運使) in the province of Fujian. His book describes 32 different kinds of lychee mainly cultivated around the city of Fuzhou 福州. He provides details about the appearance of the fruit, its outer shell and the pulp, colour, smell and taste, and the location where they were cultivated.

Cai's descriptions are very important for understanding the origin of modern lychee cultivars. In the earliest times, the fruits were delivered to the imperial courts as a from the southern regions. Cai Xiang also provides information about the processing of lychee fruits and methods of storage, preparing food with lychees, and the medical use of the fruit. One chapter focuses on the cultivation of the lychee tree.

Cai Xiang's Lizhipu is included in the collected writings of Cai Xiang, Cai Zhonghuigong ji 蔡忠惠公集 (also called Duanming ji 端明集), as well as in the series Baichuan xuehai 百川學海, Shuofu 說郛, Gujin shuobu congshu, 古今說部叢書Yipu souqi 藝圃搜奇, Shanju zazhi 山居雜志, Siku quanshu 四庫全書 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編. It is also part of Deng Daoxie's 鄧道協 collection Lizhi tongpu 荔枝通譜.

Xu Bo's 徐{火勃} Lizhipu 荔枝譜

Xu Bo 徐{火勃} (1563-1639), courtesy name Weiqi 惟起 or Xinggong 興公, hailed from Jin'an 晉安, Fujian, and was a famous poet.

His book on lychees has a length of 7 juan, yet the version in the series Shuofu xu 說郛續 is condensed to 2 fascicles. The first part describes 100 cultivars known in the region of Fujian, while the second part focuses on the general rules for the cultivation of the trees, consumption, storage, and fruit processing.

The whole text is included in the collections Shuofu xu and Lizhi tongpu.

Deng Qingcai's 鄧慶采 Minzhong lizhi tongpu 閩中荔枝通譜 (Lizhi tongpu 荔枝通譜)

Minzhong lizhi tongpu 閩中荔枝通譜, short Lizhi tongpu 荔枝通譜, is a comprehensive book on lychee cultivation in the province of Fujian written during the late Ming period by Deng Qingcai 鄧慶采 (also written 鄧慶寀), courtesy name Daoxie 道協, from Fuzhou 福州, Fujian.

Deng quotes five whole books (16 juan) on the theme, namely Cai Xiang's classic Lizhipu from the Song period, Xu Bo’s 7-juan Lizhipu, the two books of Song Yu 宋珏 and Cao Fan 曹蕃, each with a length of 1 juan, and Deng’s own book. His own contributions refer not just to the consumption of the fruit, but also to various methods and techniques of cultivation. Deng corrects some errors in older books, like Xu Bo's assumption that less good cultivars could be refined by grafting, yet in fact, grafting is not possible with lychee cultivars.

The book was finished in 1628 and printed a year later. The text is included in the Tongpu, the series, Xu shuofu 續說郛 and is quoted in the early Qing-period encyclopaedia Gujin tushu jicheng 古今圖書集成 (part Caomu dian 草木典, ch. Lizhi bu 荔枝部).

Chen Ding's 陳鼎 Lizhipu 荔枝譜

Chen Ding 陳鼎 (b. 1650), courtesy name Dingjiu 定九, hailed from Jiangyin 江陰, Jiangsu. He also wrote a book on bamboos, Zhupu 竹譜.

His brief text on lychee is the result of observations made during long travels through the provinces of Fujian, Sichuan, Guangdong and Guangxi. Chen’s book is outstanding because most other texts on lychees focus on the cultivation in the province of Fujian, while Chen speaks about the fruits as cultivated and consumed in all southern provinces.

It is found in the series Zhaodai congshu 昭代叢書, Xu shuofu 續說郛, Lixiangshi congshu 粟香室叢書, Jiangyin congshu 江陰叢書 and Nongxue congshu 農學叢書.

Wu Yingkui's 吳應逵 Lingnan lizhi pu 嶺南荔枝譜

Lingnan lizhi pu 嶺南荔枝譜 is a book focusing on lychee cultivation in the region of Lingnan 嶺南, i.e., the province of Guangdong. The author of this book was Wu Yingkui 吳應逵, courtesy name Honglai 鴻來, style Yanshan 雁山, from Heshan 鶴山. Guangdong. He obtained the juren degree in 1795.

The book of 6 juan length (original arrangement 2 juan) was finished in 1826. The sources for the text were provided by Wu's friends who used to gather in the lychee gardens during summer. The first part of the book (Zonglun 總論) discusses the origin, history and physical appearance of the lychee fruits as well as methods of consumption. The chapter closes with literary quotations. The second chapter (Zhongzhi 種植) is dedicated to the cultivation of the tree and recommends methods for protection against pests. Fascicle three (Jiehou 節候) describes the flowering and maturation process of the fruits and the influence of the weather on the quality of the fruit. Chapter 4 (Pinlei 品類) enumerates more than 80 different cultivars of lychee throughout the province, many of which are still known today. The rest of the book discusses "miscellaneous matters" (Zashi 雜事).

Wu quotes from at least 94 books, making this book a valuable source for preserving of pre-modern knowledge of lychee cultivation. It is included in the series Lingnan congshu 嶺南叢書 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編.