Research On Xuepuzashu Of Wang Shimao

Wang Shimao was one of litterateurs who liked gardening in Ming Dynasty.He came from a well-known family of Taicang county of Jiangsu Province,who was one of the Jinshi during the years of Jiajing reign in Ming Dynasty.Firstly,he took charge of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing,and he used to be an official in Shanxi,Jiangxi,Fujian and other places.Finally,his highest official title was Nanjing Taichangsi Shaoqing.Meanwhile,he was willing to learn.What's more,he was especially good at poetry and writing.His writings are mostly literary works,and some of them are related to agriculture.In particular,he had a wide range of interests and hobbies,such as calligraphy,collecting calligraphy and painting,travelling and gardening.In his late years,on the grounds of physical illness,Wang Shimao retired and lived in seclusion.At that time,he built a private garden called Dan Yuan in his home town Taicang,where he has selected and bred a variety of plants,including flowers,fruits,vegetables,melons,beans,bamboos and so on.On the basic of studying the horticultural plants of Dan Yuan,Wang Shimao wrote a book called Xuepuzashu in1587,which was one of the representative writings of his works on gardening.At present,the academic circles have different views and evaluation of the book of Xuepuzashu.If we attend to evaluate its value of agriculture and horticulture scientifically,we must have a thorough understanding of the agricultural science and technology and horticultural experience recorded in it.So that we would explore the agronomy and horticultural ideas contained in this book,and determine its agronomic status and modern significance comprehensively.A variety of gardening plants are explained in Xuepuzashu,but the whole book focuses on the interpretation of flowers.Although it's not long,which has more than 7000 words,it processes substantial contents.The book recorded the cultivation techniques,gardening,ornamental and edible functions of horticultural plants,which reflected Wang Shimao's agricultural and gardening ideas to a certain extent.At the same time,the agricultural science technology and gardening skills thatcontained in this book has made a good contribution to the development of agricultural technology in Ming Dynasty.The paper is divided into several aspects as follows:First of all,on the basis of making a summary of researches of predecessors,this paper is to review the academic history of Wang Shimao and his book Xuepuzashu,and then explores the direction of the subject.Furthermore,we could take it as the background of the following analysis of the paper.Secondly,it's going to make a brief introduction of Wang Shimao and his writings,so as to master his works as a whole,and then to give a good foundation for the next detailed exposition of his agriculture works Xuepuzashu.Thirdly,it is to analyze its writhing source,version and writing style,so as to discuss the contents of Xuepuzashu in a comprehensive way.Fourthly,in the viewpoint of agronomy and horticulture,the main content of Xuepuzashu will be explained,and the cultivation techniques,horticultural ornamental and edible functions that referenced in this book are analyzed in detail.According to these,this paper will reveal the agricultural and gardening ideas,that this book contained much better.Fifthly,on the basis of the analysis of Wang Shimao and his book Xuepuzashu,this paper will analyse the scholar's leisure culture of the late Ming Dynasty by studying the era background,diet habit and leisure life of Wang Shimao.Lastly,with the analysis all above,this paper is going to draw a conclusion,including academic value and practical significance of the book,and then it is to sum up the value of academic research and modern significance of Xuepuzashu,so as to respond to the research of the academic circles.Furthermore,it's hoped that some useful inspiration and reference are provided form this paper,that will be helpful for the development of gardening career and the push of modern agriculture.