Wang Zhen's Nong Shu, which is also called the Nong Shu or Book of Agriculture, was written by Wang Zhen in Yuan Dynasty, regarding the agriculture field. This book has 22 manuscript rolls (卷), including 270 subjects (目), with 136,000 words and 281 picture illustrations. Categorized into Agriculture section in Siku Quanshu.
The whole contents in this book is divided into three sections.
The First Section (manuscript rolls no.1~6) is called "Nong Sang Tong Jue" (农桑通诀, means the general tips for agriculture and sericulture), regarding the history of agriculture and sericulture, tillage (耕垦), sowing (播种), compost (粪壤), irrigation (灌溉), harvest (收获), planting (种植), husbandry (蓄养), bombyx mori and silk（蚕丝).
The Second Section (manuscript rolls no.7~10) is called "Bai Gu Pu" (百谷谱, means the sheet for all the grains), describing the method for cultivating the rice (水稻), barley(大麦), vegetables and fruits (蔬果), bamboo and trees (竹木).
The Third Section (manuscript rolls no.11~22) is called "Nong Qi Tu Pu" (农器图谱, means the illustration sheet for agricultural tools, such as winnowing (扇车), louche (耧车).
Based on the Wang Zhen's Nong Shu, current historians can recover many ancient mechanic equipment that were not exist for years, bringing the great value for researching.
- ^ Clegg, Brian (2019). Scientifica historica: how the world's great science books chart the history of knowledge. London, United Kingdom: Ivy press. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-78240-878-9.