Sannongji 三農紀

Sannongji 三農紀 "Records of the three country people" is an agricultural treatise written by Zhang Zongfa 張宗法 (1714-1803), courtesy name Shigu 師古, style Weiliaoweng 未了翁, from the district of Shifang 什邡, Sichuan. Zhang never achieved academic merits, but was a literatus engaging in farming. The title of the book refers to the knowledge of the "farmers of old" (laonong 老農), the skills of the cowherd boys (mutong 牧童), and the diligence of the cultivators (gengfu 耕夫).

The first three of a total 24 juan (in the two oldest editions; the others are divided into 10 juan) are dedicated to the weather of the seasons, prognostication, and farming activities in each particular month. Chapter 4 and 5 speak of soil treatment, general cultivation, and irrigation. Fascicle 6 is dedicated to disaster relief. The longest part of the book (ch. 7-18) describes the cultivation of individual plants from grains to legumes, fruits, bamboos, mulberry, tea or sugar cane, but also cover topics like ploughing, fertilization, the processing of fibre, oil, dye, and medical plants. This part is followed by two chapters on domestic animals, including medical care. The book closes with descriptions of farm buildings, tools, customs, and sideline work like food processing and health care.

Figure 1. Illustration from the Sannongji 三農紀

Paragraph on weather prognostication in the second lunar month. The small-character text under the black cartouche (left part) presents an old story (diangu 典故) from the book Guoyu 國語 on the topic of weather prognostication. Guilin Hall 桂林堂 edition.

Zhang's book does not just quote from older agricultural books but also adds information based on his own experience. Much information is related to the particular situation in the province of Sichuan.

The Wenfa Hall 文發堂 published the first edition of 1760. Later editions were published by the Qingli Hall 青藜閣, the Qingzhao Bookstore 藜照書屋 (best quality), the Rongmao Hall 榮茂堂, the Shancheng Hall 善成堂, the Guilin Hall 桂林堂 and the Hongdao Hall 宏道堂. A modern, annotated edition was published in 1989 by the Nongye Press 農業出版社.