Jan 29, 2022 © Ulrich Theobald
Mashou nongyan 馬首農言 "Words on agriculture in Mashou" is a book on farming written during the mid-Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Qi Juzao 祁寯藻 (1792-1866), courtesy name Chunpu 春圃, Chunfu 淳甫 or Shuying 叔穎, style Guanzhai 觀齋 from Shouyang 壽陽, Shanxi. Qi obtained his jinshi degree in 1814 and was Minister of Rites (libu shangshu 禮部尚書) and Grand Academician (daxueshi 大學士) of the Hall of the Embodiment of Kindness (Tirenge 體仁閣). Mashou is a place name in the district of Shouyang.
The short book was finished in 1836. It is divided into 14 chapters speaking on weather, general cultivation, farming tools, irrigation, domestic animals, disaster relief, spinning and weaving of silk, diseases of grain and their treatment, sacrifices, farmer's proverbs and local expressions, prognostication and prices of agricultural produce.
The Mashou nongyan was first printed in 1855. It is included in the series Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書. In 1991, the Nongye Press 農業出版社 published a modern, annotated version. It is also part of the collection Qin-Jin nongyan 秦晉農言 from 1957 (edited by Wang Yuhu 王毓瑚), together with Yang Shen's 楊屾 (1699-1794) Zhiben tigang 知本提綱, and Yang Xiuyuan's 楊秀元 Nongyan zhushi 農言著實.
Table 1. Contents of the Mashou nongyan 馬首農言
| 1 |
地勢氣候 |
Soil and weather |
| 2 |
種植 |
Sowing and replanting |
| 3 |
農器 |
Farming tools |
| 4 |
農諺 |
Farmer's proverbs |
| 5 |
占驗 |
Prognostication |
| 6 |
方言 |
Local dialect expressions |
| 7 |
五穀病 |
Diseases of the five types of grain |
| 8 |
糧價物價 |
Prices of grain and various objects |
| 9 |
水利 |
Irrigation and water conservation |
| 10 |
畜牧 |
Domestic animals |
| 11 |
備荒 |
Precautions for disaster relief |
| 12 |
祠祀 |
Sacrifices |
| 13 |
織事 |
Spinning and weaving |
| 14 |
雜說 |
Miscellaneous explanations |
Sources:
Ding Furang 丁福讓. 1984. "Qi Juzao yu Mashou nongyan 祁嶲藻與《馬首農言》." Nongye kaogu 農業考古 1984 (2): 381-383.
Gao Enguang 高恩廣, and Hu Fuhua 胡輔華. 1987. "Mashou nongyan pingjie 《馬首農言》評介." Shanxi nongye kexue 山西農業科學 1987 (3): 36-39.
He Hongzhong 何紅中. 2008. "Cong Mashou nongyan Lianjia wujia kan Qingdai zhong-houqi Shanxi Shouyang diqu liangjia wujia biandong ji qi shangpinhua 從《馬首農言·糧價物價》看清代中後期山西壽陽地區糧價物價變動及其商品化." Nanjing Nongye Daxue xuebao (Shehui kexue ban) 南京農業大學學報（社會科學版） 2008 (3): 107-111.
Li Jian 李建. 2021. "Mashou nongyan de bianzhuan ji yi jiazhi 《馬首農言》的編撰及其價值." Heilongjiang shizhi 黑龍江史志 2021 (3): 54-57.
Li Xueqin 李學勤, and Lü Wenyu 呂文郁, eds. 1996. Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典, vol. 2, 1652. Changchun: Jilin wenshi chubanshe.
Miao Qiyu 繆啟愉. 1998. "Mashou nongyan de zhongzhi tedian he mingwu kaosuo 《馬首農言》的種植特點和名物考索." Zhongguo nongshi 中國農史 1998 (1).
Peng Shijiang 彭世獎. 1995. "Mashou nongyan 馬首農言." In Zhongguo nongye baike quanshu 中國農業百科全書, vol. Nongye lishi 農業歷史卷, 200. Beijing: Nongye chubanshe.
Wang Guozhong 王國忠. 1996. "Mashou nongyan 馬首農言." In Zhongguo xueshu mingzhu tiyao 中國學術名著提要, vol. Keji 科技卷, edited by Zhou Gucheng 周谷城, 468. Shanghai: Fudan daxue chubanshe.
Wang Qian 王茜, Huo Kairui 霍凱蕊, and Gao Yan 高燕. 2018. "Jinzhong fangyan zhong nongye dongci ji nonggeng wenhua yanjiu: Yi Mashou nongyan wei li 晉中方言中農業動詞及農耕文化研究——以《馬首農言》为例." Mingzuo xinshang 名作欣賞 2018 (23): 158-160.
Wang Shuying 王樹英. 2015. "Jianxi Qingdai nongshu Mashou nongyan 簡析清代農書《馬首農言》." Zhongguo nongxue tongbao 中國農學通報 2015 (29): 248-252.
Wang Yuhu 王毓瑚, ed. 1964. Zhongguo nongxue shulu 中國農學書錄, 259. Beijing: Nongye chubanshe.
Wu Feng 吳楓, ed. 1987. Jianming Zhongguo guji cidian 簡明中國古籍辭典, 67. Changchun: Jilin wenshi chubanshe.
Yang Zhimin 楊直民. 1994. "Mashou nongyan tiyao 《馬首農言》提要." In Zhongguo kexue jishu dianji tonghui 中國科學技術典籍通彙, part Nongxue 農學, edited by Ren Jiyu 任繼愈, vol. 4, 981-982. Zhengzhou: Henan jiaoyu chubanshe.
