BOTANICON SINICUM, 33 
The 3 #€ Shu king or Classical Book of Historical Records, 
the most ancient historical work in China, was compiled by Con- 
fucius about 500 B. C. Besides some scattered notices on Chinese 
plants this Classic contains a chapter entitled & H Vi kung or 
Tribute of Emperor Yi, which presents a peculiar interest for 
us, This is a geographical description of ancient China, referring 
to about 2200 B. C., in which are enumerated the principal 
natural productions of each of the nine provinces into which China 
was then divided. 
The s§ #2 Shi hing, or Book of Odes, likewise compiled by Con- 
fucius, is replete with names of plants, which however are often 
difficult to ascertain. There are even special Chinese works 
dealing with the plants and animals mentioned in the Shi king 
and the commentaries on them. The oldest work on the subject 
is the = #5 WN Ay E BR OBR A GE Mao Shi ts‘a0 mu niao shou 
ch‘ung yit shu, Commentary on the herbs, trees, birds, beasts, 
insects and fishes mentioned in ¥; EF Mao Ch‘ang’s version of the 
Shi king, in 2 books, by fi #¢ Lu hi, literary name +: 8 Shiheng, 
of the kingdom of Wu, 260-303 A.D. ‘The original work was 
lost and that now current was compiled, it is not known when 
and hy whom, mainly from K‘ang Ying ta (Dr. Legge, Shi king). 
{In quoting the Shu king and the Shi king I always refer to 
the splendid translations by Dr. Legge. 
The Ji] i Chou li, or Ritual of the Chou dynasty, B. C. 1199- 
249, gives a good deal of interesting information on Chinese 
plants, domestic and others. It was written about 1100 B.C. 
A good French translation of this classic was published by Biot, 
1861. 
The 7% 32, Zi ki, Book of Rites, Although the matter con- 
tained in it is of early origin like that of the other classics, it 
came to light in its present form about the close of the first 
century B.U. It is especially the section entitled FJ 4} Yiie ling, 
Rules for every month of the year, in which names of plants : 
frequently occur and which is often quoted in Chinese botanical 
_ Works. The Li ki has been commented upon by 8h % Cheng 
