Zhaoren benye 兆人本業

Zhaoren benye 兆人本業, also called Zhaoren benye ji 兆人本業記 "Records of the basic mission of bringing fortune to the people", is an agricultural treatise compiled by Empress Wu Zetian 武則天 (ruler 690-704) of the Tang period 唐 (618-907) and finished in 686. However, a record of the reign of Emperor Dezong 唐德宗 (r. 779-804) says that the book was presented to the throne by some state officials and by Li Jiang 李絳 (? 764-830) in particular. Yet according to the annals of Emperor Wenzong 唐文宗 (r. 826-840), Li only seems to have revised the original text, which had indeed been written by the Empress herself. Other, more reliable, sources mention the officials Zhou Enmao 周恩茂, Fan Lübing 范履冰 (d. 690) and Wei Jingye 衛敬業 (Xue 1998).

The finalized text had a length of 3 juan and was ordered to be distributed in all districts of the empire in order to enhance farming. In the series Guyi congshu 古逸叢書, the book is erroneously listed as Zhaomin benye 兆民本葉.

The text is still listed in the book catalogue Zhongxing guange shumu 中興館閣書目 from the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279), as well as in the Wenyuange shumu 文淵閣書目 from the Ming period 明 (1368-1644). It was lost thereafter.

The encyclopaedia Yuhai 玉海 from the very late Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) quotes a memorial of Lü Wen 呂溫 (772-811) that says the text was arranged in 12 chapters. The book Kunxue jiwen 困學紀聞 (ch. 5) speaks of 80 paragraphs. The book was a comprehensive treatise on various aspects of agriculture. It is completely lost.