Science and Civilisation in China Volume 6: Biology and Biological Technology, Part 3, Agro-Industries and Forestry; Agro-Industries and Sugarcane Technology

772 Pages·1996·5.41 MB·English

by  Joseph Needham

THE PICTURE OF THE TAOIST GENII PRINTED ON THE COVER OF
this book is part of a painted temple scroll, recent but traditional, given to Mr
Brian Harland in Ssu~Chhuan province (1946). Concerning these four divinities,
of respectable rank in the Taoist bureaucracy, the following particulars have been
handed down. The title of the first of the four signifies 'Heavenly Prince' that of
J
the other three 'Mysterious Commander'.
At the top, on the left, is Liu Thien Chiin, Comptroller.General of Crops and
Weather. Before his deification (so it was said) he was a rain-making magician
and weather forecaster named Liu Chiln, born in the Chin dynasty about +340.
Among his attributes may be seen the sun and moon, and a measuring-rod or
carpenter's square. The two great luminaries imply the making of the calendar,
so important for a primarily agricultural society, the efforts, ever renewed, to rec·
oncile celestial periodicities. The carpenter's square is no ordinary tool, but the
gnomon for measuring the lengths of the sun's solstitial shadows. The Comptrol
ler-General also carries a bell because in ancient and medieval times there was
thought to be a close connection between calendrical calculations and the arith
metical acoustics of bells and pitch-pipes.
At the top, on the right, is Wen Yuan Shua£, Intendant of the Spiritual Officials
of the Sacred Mountain, Thai Shan. He was taken to be an incarnation of one of
the Hour-Presidents (Ch£a Shin), i.e. tutelary deities of the twelve cyclical char
acters (see Vol. 4, pt 2, p. 440). During his earthly pilgrimage his name was Huan
Tzu-Yil and he was a scholar and astronomer in the Later Han (b. +142). He is
seen holding an armillary ring.
Below, on the left, is Kou Yuan Shuai, Assistant Secretary of State in the Minis
try of Thunder. He is therefore a later emanation of a very ancient god, Lei
Kung. Before he became deified he: was Hsin Hsing, a poor woodcutter, but no
doubt an incarnation of the spirit of the constellation Kou-Chhen (the Angular
Arranger), part of the group of stars which we know as Ursa Minor. He is
equipped with hammer and chisel.
Below, on the right, is Pi Y uan Shuai, Commander of the Lightning, with his
flashing sword, a deity with distinct alchemical and cosmological interests. Ac
cording to tradition, in his earthly life he was a countryman whose name was
Thien Hua. Together with the colleague on his right, he controlled the Spirits
of the Five Directions.
Such is the legendary folklore of common men canonised by popular acclamation.
An interesting scroll, of no great artistic merit, destined to decorate a temple wall,
to be looked upon by humble people, it symbolises something which this book
has to say. Chinese art and literature have been so profuse, Chinese mythological
imagery so fertile, that the West has often missed other aspects, perhaps more
important, of Chinese civilisation. Here the graduated scale of Liu Chiln, at first
sight unexpected in this setting, reminds us of the ever-present theme of quanti
tative measurement in Chinese culturei there were rain-gauges already in the
Sung (+12 century) and sliding calipers in the Han (+Ist). The armillary ring of
Huan Tzu.Yii bears witness that Naburiannu and Hipparchus, al-NaqqAs and
Tycho, had worthy counterparts in China. The tools of Hsin Hsing symbolise
that great empirical tradition which informed the work of Chinese artisans and
technicians all through the ages.

SCIENCE AND CIVILISATION
IN CHINA
I have been astonished that so little has been published on the cultivation of
the sugar~cane while the press has groaned under the folios of every other
branch of the rural economy.
James Grainger (1723-1767),
Foreword to 'The sugar cane', a poem, 1764
SUGAR: the sweets (dates, honey, sugar) is [st"c] much accounted of by the
Arabians (living in hunger and nakedness) as very good for the health.
Charles Montagu Doughty (1843-1926),
TrlJ1Jtls in Arabia DeserlJl, 1888
The sugar industry, as it exists today with all its ramifications is only a gradual
evolution from the early and less complicated industry of a generation ago,
just as the latter in turn was the out-growth of a previous more simple devel
opment. It is an advantage, as well as a satisfaction, at times to take note of our
bearings and to trace back the details of our occupations to their early com~
mencement. We obtain in this way a grasp of our subject such as is possible
in no other way.
C. A. Browne,
'The unedited documents upon sugar in the archives of Seville'
Louisiana Planter & Sugar Manufacturer, vol. 55 (no. 7) p. 108, 1915
Rather perch in a wild wood
Rather drink from a mountain stream
Than consume fine rice and meat
And struggle for audience of the great
WangWei,
from 'Presented to the Duke of Shih~ Hsing'.
Transl. G. W. Robinson, Penguin Books, 1973
If there is a Wutong tree in your home the phoenix will land on its branches
Chinese proverb
The hill and mountain lands, wherever accessible to the densely peopled
plains, have long been cut over and as regularly has afforestation been encour
aged and deliberately secured even through the transplanting of nursery stock
grown expressly for that purpose. We had read so much regarding the reckless
destruction of forests in China and Japan and had seen so few old forest trees
except where these had been protected about temples, graves or houses, that
when Rev. R. A. Haden, of the Elizabeth Blake hospital near Soochow, insisted
that the Chinese were deliberate foresters and that they regularly grow trees
for fuel, transplanting them when necessary to secure a close and early stand,
after the area had been cleared, we were so much surprised that he generously
volunteered to accompany us westward on a two days journey into the hill
country where the practice could be seen.
F. H. King,
Farmers of ForV' CmlJ-'ries, IgII, pp. 151-2
joseph Needham's
SCIENCE AND CIVILISATION IN CHINA
joseph Needham directly supervised the publication of 17 books in the Science
and Civilisation in China series, from the first volume, which appeared in 195~h
through to the current work, which was in press at the time of his death in
March 1995.
The planning and preparation of further volumes will continue. Responsi
bility for the commissioning and approval of work for publication in the series
is now taken by the Publications Board of the Needham Research Institute
in Cambridge, under the chairmanship of Dr Christopher Cullen, who acts as
general editor of the series.
]OSEPH NEED HAM
SCIENCE AND
CIVILISATION IN
CHINA
VOLUME 6
BIOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL
TECHNOLOGY
PART III
AGRO-INDUSTRIES AND FORESTRY
AGRO-INDUSTRIES: SUGARCANE
TECHNOLOGY
BY
CHRISTIAN DANIELS,
M.A., D. LITT.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF CHINESE HISTORY
INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF LANGUAGES AND CULTURES OF
ASIA AND AFRICA, TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN STUDIES, TOKYO
RESEARCH FELLOW OF THE TOVO BUNKO
FORESTRY
BY
NICHOLAS K. MENZIES,
PH.D.
FORD FOUNDATION, PEKING
DCAMBRIDGE
W
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Published by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge
The Pitt Building) Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 UtP
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY IOOIl-42II, USA
IQ Stamford Road, Oakleigh, Melbourne 3166, Australia
© Cambridge University Press'1996
First published '996
Printed in Great Britain at the University Press, Cambridge
A catalogue record foT this book is available from the British Library
Library oJ Co'Wess cataloguing in publica/um daw
(Revised for vol. 6)
Needham,Joseph, '900-'995,
Science and civilisation in China.
Half title ofv. 5, pt. 9 in Chinese characten:
Chung-kuo k'o hsueh chi shu shih.
Includes bibliographies and indexes.
Contents: v. L Introductory orientations - v. 2,
History of scientific thought - [etc,] - v, 6. Biology
and biological technology, pt. L Botany, pt. 2. Agri
culture / by Francesca Bray. pt. 3. Agro~industries and
forestry I by Christian Daniels and Nicholas K. Menzies.
1. Science - China -- History. 2 . Technology - China -
History. 3. Science and civilization. 4. China - Civilization.
1, Wang, Ling. 11, Title. Ill, Title: Chung-kuo
k'o hsueh chi shu shih,
DS72LN39 509,5' 54-4723
ISBN 0 521 32021 6 (v. 5, pt. 9)
ISBN 0 52I 41999 9 hardback
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations page xiii
List of Maps . xxiii
List of Tables . XXIV
List of Abbreviations XXV
Foreword by Joseph Needham XXVI
42a AGRO-INDUSTRIES: SUGARCANE
TECHNOLOGY . page xxix
Author's Note page
1
(a) Introduction: general characteristics of agro-industries in China,
p. 5
(1) Six representative agro-industrial crops, p. 5
(i) Oil and oil seed crops, p. 7
(ii) Sugarcane and sugar making, p. 1 I
(iii) Paper, p. 13
(iv) Indigo, a blue dye, p. 15
(v) Lacquer, p. 19
(vi) Tea, p. 28
(2) The Chinese technological tool kit, p. 30
(3) The relationship between agro-industries and economic and
social factors, p. 39
(4) Local gazetteers as sources for agro-industries, p. 45
(b) Sugarcane and sugar; consumption and production in China,
P·51
(I) The uses of sugarcane in China, p. 55
(i) Sugarcane as a food, drink and condiment, p. 55
(ii) Sugarcane as medicine, p. 59
(iii) Sugarcane in religion, p. 6
I
(iv) Sugarcane in ceremonies, p. 63
(v) Sugarcane as a commodity, p. 64
(2) Patterns of sugar consumption in China, p. 67
(i) Sugar as a medicine, p. 69
(ii) Ceremonial usage, magic and religion, p. 71
(iii) Sugar as a decorative material, p. 74
(iv) Sugar as a condiment or spice, p. 75
VIII CONTESTS
(v) Sugar as confectionery, p, 77
(vi) Sugar as a preservative, p, 79
(vii) Feedstock for other handicraft industries, p, 8.1
(viii) The Mintz model and sugar as a food in China,
p,83
(3) An outline of the development of sugar production in
China, p, 87
(i) Pre-Sung period,p, 88
(ii) The beginning of commodity production; Sung
and Yiian, p, 88
(iii) The golden age of Chinese sugar: expansion of
sugar production from the mid-Ming to the late
Chhing, p, 93
(iv) Chinese sugar from 1870 to '930, p, 125
(c) Sugarcane clones, species and origin, p, 129
(I) Sugarcane species, p, 129
(2) Selecting clones for the temperate climate in Central China,
p,
140
(3) Sugarcane species in the period from -'200 to +670, p, '41
(4) Identification of sugarcane species in China after +670,
P,I46
(5) S, Sinense Roxb, (bamboo cane, chu chi! and miscanthus cane,
ti cM), p, 150
(6) S, OJficinarum in China, p, 156
(7) The concept of 'varieties' in sugarcane East and West,
p, ,62
(8) Western botany and sugarcane in China, p, 167
(9) Sugarcane illustration, p, 172
(d) Sugarcane agriculture, p, 177
(I) Climate and ethnic origins of the cultivators, p, In
(2) Long-term climatic variation in China, p, 186
(3) Sugarcane agriculture in general, p, 187
(i) Sugarcane as an agricultural phenomenon, p, 187
(ii) Sugarcane agriculture in early India, the Islamic
World, the New World and South-East Asia!
Oceania, p, 191
(iii) Summary of world methods and initial contrast
with Chinese sugarcane agriculture, p, 201
(4) Sugarcane agriculture in China north and south of the
ranges, p. 202
(i) Selection of land for sugarcane, p, 203
(ii) Selection of clones and pro,~sion of seed cane,
P, 2°7
CONTENTS IX
(iii) Land preparation, drainage and planting, p. 2[4
(iv) Weed control and inter-row cultivation, p. 225
(v) Irrigation, p. 23[
(vi) Fertilisation, p. 239
(vii) Growth and harvesting, p. 242
(viii) Ratooning, p. 247
(ix) Crop rotation, p. 250
(x) Intercropping, p. 252
(xi) Pests, diseases and acts of God, p. 257
(5) Conclusions on agriculture, p. 265
(e) Cane sugar manufacture, p. 276
([) Introduction, p. 276
(2) Unrefined sugar products, p. 277
(i) Sugarcane stalks, p. 277
(ii) Juice (ehe ehiang), p. 278
(iii) Syrup (ehe ehiang), p. 278
(iv) Amorphous (concrete) and massecuite sugars,
p. 279
(3) Refined sugar products: introduction, p. 28 [
(i) Juice extraction (separation of juice from fibre),
p. 284
(ii) Alternative techniques in China, p. 298
(iii) Crushing sugarcane with grain mills in China and
Europe, p. 30[
(iv) The advent of roller milling, p. 303
(v) The origin of the two-roller horizontal mill from
the cotton gin, p. 307
(vi) The development of the two-roller horizontal
sugarcane mill, p. 3[5
(vii) The development of the two-roller vertical mill,
P·322
(viii) The origin of the vertical three-roller mill, p. 332
(ix) The rise of roller mills; their outputs and efficien
cies, p. 337
(x) Chinese managerial expertise versus technological
solutions, p. 34[
(4) Refined sugar products: clarification, p. 346
(i) Introduction, p. 346
(ii) Clarification by heating, p. 347
(iii) Clarification with milk, p. 349
(iv) Clarification with plant additives and ashes, p. 35[
(v) Clarification with lime and eggs, p. 352
(vi) Conclusions on clarification, p. 356
x CONTENTS
(5) Refined sugar products: boiling techniques, p. 357
(6) Refined sugar products: crystallisation, p. 366
(i) Introduction, p. 366
(ii) Outline of crystallisation technologies, p. 366
(iii) Claying, p. 389
(iv) Reboiling, p. 394
(v) Quality of Chinese sugar on the European and
Asian markets, p. 398
(vi) Other sugars, p. 400
(vii) Review of sugar and general crystallisation tech
niqnes, p. 401
(7) Packaging, storage and transportation of sugar, p. 403
(8) Conclusions on mannfacture, p. 405
(1) Transfer of Chinese sugar-making technology to East and South
East Asia, p. 411
(I) Patterns of post +16th centnry technological transfer in
East and South-East Asia, p. 412
(2) The bearers of technological transfer, p. 414
(3) Case studies of trade-induced transfer by Chinese immi-
grants, p. 419
(i) The Philippines, p. 419
(ii) Vietnam, p. 427
(iii) The Indonesian archipelago, p. 438
(iv) Siam, p. 442
(4) Case studies of State-induced transfer, p. 446
(i) The Ryiikyii kingdom, p. 446
(ii) The Amami Islands, p. 452
(iii) Japan, p. 455
(5) Conclusions on the transfer of sugar-making technology to
East and South-East Asia, p. 467
(g) Epilogue and overview, p. 470
BIBLIOGRAPHIES
Abbreviations, p. 482
A. Chinese and Japanese books before +1800, and all gazetteers, p. 486
B. Chinese and Japanese books and journal articles since +1800, excluding
gazetteers, p. 503
C. Books and journal articles in Western languages, p. 515
42b FORESTRY . page 540a
Author's Note . 541