ChinaKnowledge.de -
An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History and Literature
Luotuojing 駱駝經 (also called Nangtuojing 囊駝經) is a book on camels written during the early Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Tong Hua 童華, courtesy name Xinpu 心樸, from Kuaiji 會稽 (today's Shaxing 紹興), Zhejiang. He once served in a military garrison in the Gansu Corridor, where he learnt much from commander Yang Zaikui 楊載揆 about the breeding and keeping of camels.
The book was finished around 1732 and speaks about the "inspection" of camels (xiang tuo 相駝), rearing, feeding and medical care.
The brief text is found in the series Tongshi zazhu wu zhong 童氏雜著五種, which also includes the texts Changqi jiwen 長崎紀聞 (about Nagasaki), Tongzheng tiaoyu 銅政條議 (copper administration), Chisheng shichao 赤城詩抄, Jiujia yaotun gongji 九家窰屯工記, and Gongshang zacheng 工上雜成.
| 駝馬屬細頭修頸高峯長足，以其能負橐，故曰橐駝，亦曰駱駝. | The camel is a species with a slender head, long neck, tall hump, and long legs. Because it can carry a saddlebag, it is called bag-camel (tuotuo) or burden-camel (luotuo). |
| 駝壽可四十歲，有牙無齒。三歲生二牙，即能任負至六牙而止，十五六歲而牙齊，此後漸摩漸平漸短而已。[...] 雄駝於六牙之外有虎牙二細而銳，蹁駝亦時有之。 | A camel's lifespan can reach forty years. It has molar but no canine teeth. At three years old, it grows two molars and can bear burdens. It continues to grow molars until it has six in total, after which it stops. By the age of fifteen or sixteen, the molars are fully grown. After this, they gradually wear down, become smooth, and shorten... Beyond the six molars, male camels have two additional slender and sharp incisive teeth, known as "tiger teeth”, which are sometimes also found in female camels. |
| 駝日行六七十里，急行可三四百里，馬不能及。雖冰雪，在地尋嚙草根木枝，即可度日，不費草料。遇戈壁數百里，則灌鹽一斤，縛其口，數日不飢渴。 | A camel can travel sixty to seventy li (30-35 km) in a day, and when moving quickly, it can cover three to four hundred li (150-200 km). Horses cannot match this speed. Even with ice and snow on the ground, camels can survive by nibbling on grass roots and tree branches without needing additional feed. When crossing several hundred li of the Gobi Desert, one can feed the camel a pound of salt and tie its mouth, allowing it to go without food and water for several days. |
| 駝肩皆有肉鞍如峰，故曰駝峰。旺則峰豎，疲乏則峰倒，亦有生而峰斜者。看膘以後腿胯縫，擠緊不能容芥者，為頂膘。 | Camels have fleshy humps on their shoulders, resembling peaks, hence they are called 'camel humps.' When a camel is strong, the humps stand upright; when it is exhausted, the humps droop. There are also some camels that are born with slanted humps. To assess the fatness of a camel, one looks at the gap between the hind legs near the hip. If the gap is tight and cannot fit even a sheet of grass, the camel is in prime condition. |