Chinese Plants in the Persian Agricultural Manual Asar va Ahyā’,and a Discussion of Rashīd al-Dīn’s Chinese Knowledge and Agricultural Practice  

波斯农书《迹象与生命》中的中国植物--兼论拉施都丁的中国知识与农业实践

作　　者：CHEN Chunxiao 陈春晓(Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology,Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,Beijing 100081,China)

机构地区：[1]Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology,Chinese Academy of Social Sciences,Beijing 100081,China

出　　处：《Chinese Annals of History of Science and Technology》2022年第1期55-88,共34页中国科学技术史（英文）

摘　　要：The Asar va Ahyā’is a manual of agricultural production written in the early fourteenth century by the famous Iranian vizier and scholar Rashīd al-Dīn.Only chapter 6 to chapter 13 of the original work survive,dealing with agriculture and horticulture,and nearly a third of the pages of which are devoted to introducing Chinese plants and related knowledge.In addition to introducing botanical knowledge,the book also covered information on all the aspects of the Yuan dynasty(1271–1368),including the taxation system,monetary system,military system,economy and trade,manufacturing techniques,ethnic customs,food culture,and other fields,providing important materials for research on the dissemination of species,exchange of technologies,communication of ethnic groups,and integration of cultures between China and the world during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.Rashīd al-Dīn,the book’s author,took advantage of his identities as a statesman and a businessman to collect rich information about plants all over the world.Motivated by his specific interest in Chinese culture,he included a huge amount of Chinese information in the book.Meanwhile,records in the Asar va Asyā’reflect the author’s practice of researching,planting,and cultivating plants,making the book not only a compilation of agricultural knowledge,but also a report that recorded the author’s agricultural practice.《迹象与生命》是14世纪初伊朗著名宰相、学者拉施都丁撰著的一部农业生产指导手册。现存抄本仅保留了原书农学和园艺学的部分内容,其中有近三分之一的篇幅,是关于中国植物及相关知识的介绍。在讲述植物学知识之外,此书还述及元朝各方面信息,包括赋税制度、货币制度、军事制度、经济贸易、制造技艺、民族风俗、饮食文化等诸领域,为研究13~14世纪东西方物种传播、技术交流、民族交往和文化交融提供了重要材料。作者拉施都丁利用自己官员、商人的身份,通过多种渠道搜集到世界各地植物的丰富信息。而他对中国文化的特别爱好,使他将如此多的中国信息著述其书中。与此同时,书中记载还反映出作者研究、种植、培育植物的行为,这使得此书不仅是农学知识的汇编,也是记录作者农业活动的实践报告。

关 键 词：Asar va Ahyā’ Rashīd al-Dīn Chinese plants agricultural practice the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries 

分 类 号：S-5[农业科学]