SaturdaySep 26, 2026
Quotes: 53419 Authors: 9969
In Europe, the word peasant was a term of contempt used by the nobility, but the Chinese scholars used to fancy themselves rustics. Agriculture was viewed as a noble occupation; buying and selling, by contrast were considered nonproductive. One of the founders of the Chinese civilization was said to have been the venerable She Nung, the 'Divine Farmer.' A scholar often affected to be nothing more than an 'old farmer' or a 'simple fisherman' and referred to his elegant villa as 'my thatched hut.' This Rosseau-like feeling for the country life is an important undercurrent in the scholarly tradition.
Of all the lands in the world's temperate zones, China has the greatest number of plant species; the eastern United States has the next largest number.
The practice of intensive manuring emerged as the dominant mark of the Chinese system. All human and animal nitrogenous wastes were carefully husbanded in large terra-cotta vats where they were aged, and then ladled into irrigation ditches. Every 2,000 pounds of night soil provided 12.7 pounds of nitrogen, 4 pounds of potassium, and 1.7 pounds of phosphorus. Ashes were added to this compost from any kind of fire.
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