# 救荒本草序

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## 救荒本草序

植物之生於天地間，莫不各有所用。苟不見諸載籍，雖老農老圃，亦不能盡識。而可亨可芼者，皆躪藉於牛、羊、鹿、豕而已。自神農氏品嚐草木，辨其寒溫甘苦之性，作為醫藥，以濟人之夭劄，後世賴以延生。而本草書中所載，多伐病之物，而於可茹以充腹者，則未之及也。

敬惟周王殿下，體仁遵義，孳孳為善，凡可以濟人利物之事，無不留意。嚐讀《孟子》書，至於「五穀不熟，不如荑稗」。因念林林總總之民，不幸罹於旱澇，五穀不熟，則可以療饑者，恐不止荑稗而已也。苟能知悉，而載諸方冊，俾不得已而求食者，不惑甘苦於荼薺，取昌陽，棄烏喙，因得以裨五穀之缺，則豈不為救荒之一助哉？於是購田夫野老，得甲坼勾萌者四百餘種，植於一圃，躬自閱視。俟其滋長成熟，迺召畫工繪之為圖，仍疏其花實根幹皮葉之可食者，彙次為書一帙，名曰《救荒本草》，命臣同為之序。

臣惟人情，於飽食暖衣之際，多不以凍餒為虞，一旦遇患難，則莫知所措，惟付之於無可奈何。故治己治人，鮮不失所。今殿下處富貴之尊，保有邦域，於無可虞度之時，乃能念生民萬一或有之患，深得古聖賢安不忘危之旨，不亦善乎？神農品嚐草木，以療斯民之疾；殿下區別草木，欲濟斯民之饑，同一仁心之用也。雖然今天下方樂雍熙泰和之治，禾麥產瑞，家給人足，不必論及於荒政。而殿下亦豈忍睹斯民仰食於草木哉！是編之作，蓋欲辨載嘉植，不沒其用，期與《圖經本草》並傳於後世，庶幾萍實有徵，而凡可以亨芼者，得不躪藉於牛羊鹿豕，苟或見用於荒歲，其及人之功利，又非藥石所可擬也。尚慮四方所產之多，不能盡錄，補其未備，則有俟於後日云。

*永樂四年歲次丙戌秋八月奉議大夫周府左長史臣卞同拜手謹序*
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## Preface to *Jiuhuang Bencao*

All plants came into being with their “usefulness.” If they are not recorded by books, even the most experienced farmers and gardeners cannot recognize all of them. As a result, the plants that can be collected and cooked are merely spoiled by animals such as oxen, goats, deer, and boars. Ever since the Divine Farmer tried out the grasses and woods, and distinguished their tastes and properties as medicines, people have been saved from dying young and from being laid low by diseases. However, most plants recorded in _bencao_ \[Materia Medica\] are materials attacking diseases; the edible ones to fill the stomach were not mentioned.

His Highness the Prince of Zhou wishes to embody benevolence and follow righteousness, devoting himself to good deeds and paying attention to everything that could benefit mankind and the myriad beings. Once, His Highness read _Mengzi_, which says: “if the Five Grains do not ripen, they are lesser than the weeds _ti_ and _bai_ \[the barnyard grass\].” And thus he thought of the people hailing from all walks of life—if they were facing droughts and floods, losing the harvest of the Five Grains, there must be something more than _ti_ and _bai_ that could cure their hunger. If (the edible plants) could be completely understood and recorded by books, enabling the desperate food-seekers to tell the tasty shepherd's purse from the bitter field sowthistle, to take the wholesome sweet flag and discard the poisonous aconite, it would make up for the lack of the Five Grains. Wouldn't that be of help to famine relief? Therefore, His Highness set up a garden and planted more than 400 kinds of seedlings, bought from farmers and gatherers. He himself observed the plants, and called in artisans to make drawings of the plants when they grew into maturity. Then, he put down in detail all the edible parts and compiled a book. His Highness titled the treatise _Jiuhuang bencao_ \[Materia Medica for Famine Relief\], and ordered me to preface the book.

I think that in general, the commoners usually do not worry about cold and hunger in times of abundance, when there is enough to eat and wear; once stricken by disasters, they do not know the measures to take and fail into panic. (Thus, in such an emergency,) it is rare that mistakes are not made  in matters of personal survival or ruling others. While His Highness is living in the area of jurisdiction sound and safe, without anything to worry about, he still follows the teaching of the sages, be alert to the unexpected suffering of the people and prepares for adversity in prosperity. How virtuous it is! The Divine Farmer tasted plants in order to cure illness; His Highness distinguished plants in order to cure hunger. They are benevolent purposes of the same kind. Nowadays, the people are living in peace and joy; the crops are thriving and every household can sustain themselves. So, it is not necessary to talk about famine administration. How could His Highness bear to see the people surviving on grasses and woods? Nevertheless, the aim of this treatise is to distinguish and list the beneficial plants and not allow their potential to be concealed. May this book be a classic matching up to _Tujing bencao_ \[Illustrated Classics of Materia Medica\], may it be transmitted to later generations, so that people will have references by which they can identify plants. May all the plants which can be boiled and steamed not be trampled by animals. If occasionally they are used in times of famine, their benefit to the people is incomparable even by that afforded by medicine. Still, further studies are needed in the future to perfect the list, since across different regions there grow numerous plants that this book cannot exhaustively detail.

Prefaced by Bian Tong
The _Zuozhangshi_ and _Fengyidafu_ of the Court of Zhou
In the eighth month of autumn, fourth year of Yongle (1406)

(Translation by HUANG Chen, Sarah)