Although Xu Guangqi made no achievements in politics, he stood out in the history of China with his outstanding scientific achievements. He was an outstanding scientist in the late Ming Dynasty and one of the pioneers of modern science in China. He has written in mathematics, astronomical calendar and military affairs, but his research on agriculture and water conservancy is the most diligent and far-reaching in his life. As Chen Zilong said, "Everything he has learned in his life is based on nature and human beings, and all of them are practical. As for farming, I am particularly careful. " Among them, the main representative is the Encyclopedia of Agricultural Administration. In the agricultural history of China, just as The Book of Songs is to classical poetry and Compendium of Materia Medica is to ancient medicine, it has become synonymous with traditional Chinese agriculture, and can be hung in the sun and the moon together with The Book of Qi Yao Min written by Jia Sixie at the end of Wei Dynasty, and is listed as two great monuments of China's agricultural writings.
There are 60 volumes of Agricultural Administration Encyclopedia, with rich contents, including agricultural books, farmland system, farming, water conservancy, farm tools, tree art, sericulture, sericulture, planting, animal husbandry, manufacturing, famine relief, etc. 12. This book not only contains a large number of documents about agriculture in the previous generation, but also includes Xu's own scientific research achievements and translations in agriculture and water conservancy, which can be called a master of the agricultural scientific heritage of the motherland at that time.
The leading idea of Xu's compilation of "The Complete Book of Agricultural Administration" is that "a rich country must rely on its industry", so he put the three volumes of "Agriculture" before the complete book. Among them, "historical allusions" cite classics to clarify that agriculture is the foundation of the country; Various schools of thought quoted hundreds of theories to prove that agriculture has always been the top priority; In addition, Feng Yingjing's "National Examination of Attaching Importance to Agriculture" accepted the meaning of "attaching importance to agriculture". Xu Guangqi's "agriculture-oriented" thought not only conforms to the past history of a big agricultural country, but also may not be helpful to the present. At present, agricultural issues and farmers' issues are still important contents of national decision-making. From this point of view, Xu Guangqi's "agriculture-oriented" thought still has some reasonable factors for reference.
The book "Every Case" says: "Water conservancy workers are the foundation of agriculture, and there is no field without water. Don't rush to the northwest to build water conservancy projects, which has been wasted for a long time; The northwest is before JD.COM, and it is close to the suburbs because of its prosperity. " It is another important aspect of Xu Guangqi's agricultural policy thought to build water conservancy according to local conditions, and to combine it closely with such measures as reclaiming farmland to store grain, protecting the border and enhancing national strength. In the book "Water Conservancy", according to the geographical differences between "North of C" and "Southeast", a series of water conservancy projects and measures are put forward. The water conservancy atlas of agricultural books, Xiong Sanba's dictation and the Taixi Water Law written by Xu himself are all experiences of water conservancy construction in ancient China and historical and cultural heritage worthy of serious exploration and utilization.
The purpose of the "field system" in the book is a book "field inspection of mines". The book "Every Case" said: "The system of mining fields is not feasible today, but if rivers are gully, it will not be easy through the ages. There are many infertile people in the northwest today, and they are sitting here. Therefore, Mr. Hu Xuan wrote "The Minefield" and wrote the ancient system to make it clear today. " Xu cited the literature of past dynasties to study the agricultural land system, and cited the Agricultural Book to introduce the different characteristics and utilization of various agricultural land systems, in order to advocate adapting measures to local conditions, making full use of land resources and enriching the country and benefiting the people. These historical experiences are still enlightening today.
The title of "famine relief" accounts for more than 1/3 of the book, which shows that famine relief is an important content of Xu's agricultural policy thought. Although Xu attached so much importance to famine relief, the starting point was to safeguard the feudal rulers, but his disaster relief policy of "preparing for disasters first, preparing for disasters and helping the poor" was not without benefits to the national economy and people's livelihood. Herbal Medicine for Famine Relief and Picnic Book recorded by the Xu family have made great contributions to the development of the world's health care resources, whether hungry or rich.
The most academic value in the book is the plants and their cultivation methods recorded in the titles of Tree Art and Planting. According to statistics, there are 159 species of cultivated plants recorded in the Catalogue of Agricultural Administration Encyclopedia, which have been the source of food, clothing, housing and transportation for thousands of years. With his rigorous scientific attitude, Xu extensively collected historical documents, combined with field visits and even personally experimented. The plant morphology, characteristics, values and cultivation methods recorded in the book were mostly faithful. According to historical documents, it is still an important subject in agricultural research to explore rare plants that are on the verge of extinction and summarize the cultivation methods of various useful plants left over from history. From this point of view, the practical value of the historical document Encyclopedia of Agricultural Administration is self-evident. As Mr. Xin Shuzhi and Mr. Wang Zuobin wrote in the Encyclopedia of Agricultural Politics, the article "159 kinds of cultivated plants" said: "Xu Guangqi was born in the late Ming Dynasty, and collected various cultivation methods, recorded the experience of the masses at that time and his own experiments. If the Book of Fan Sheng Zhi is the beginning of the formation of various crop cultivation theories in history and the Book of Qi Yao Min is the foundation work, it is very reasonable to regard the Theory of Agricultural Politics as a masterpiece. "
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