Picturing tools for a perfect society: The Presentation of agrarian tools in the Yuan-dynasty Book of Agriculture

Abstract

The Book of Agriculture or Nong Shu 農書 (circa 1303) by Wang Zhen 王禎 (act. 1300s) is hailed as a scientific achievement that consolidated information on agriculture. The original text is lost, but later versions indicate it contained an extensive amount of woodblock-printed imagery. Scientific inquiry informed the depiction of implements and techniques; however this is only one aspect. Wang Zhen regarded agricultural knowledge as the means to perfect society. Through close textual and pictorial analysis, this presentation draws upon visual culture materials to reconstruct the larger discourse that surrounded the presentation of technological information. The Book of Agriculture includes literary citations, imagery, poetry, etymological studies, historical accounts, and discussions seeking to legitimize the heritage of Chinese agriculture during the Yuan era (1271-1368) of Mongol domination. Wang Zhen sought to perfect society through re-invigorating agrarian knowledge; he aligned the representation of agricultural tools and techniques with at least two distinct, interrelated strands of classical thought: the Zhou-era (c.1100-256 BCE) Confucian texts and Northern Song (960-1125) reformulations of them.