[JIAO, BINGZHEN]: - Yu zhi geng zhi tu (Imperially Commissioned Illustrations of Agriculture and Sericulture). Two volumes. Shanghai, Dian shi zhai, Guangxu 5 (1879).

. Comprises two volumes; the first is devoted to rice cultivation and the other to silk production. Title and preface in Chinese, and preface and content in French. Lvs. 49 + 49, double folded in the oriental fashion. With 46 lithographic double-page illustrations with printed Chinese poems included. Translations into English and French are added on pages in between. A few leaves with minor staining in the silk volume. Original decorated silk covers, one green and the other purple. "Gengzhi tu" (Pictures of Tilling and Weaving) was originally compiled by Lou Shou in the twelfth century comprising illustrations of rice cultivation and silk production. Agriculture and silk making held a special place in China and both occupations were regarded as paramount for the well-being of the state. In 1696 a famous version of this work was edited by Jiao Bingzhen. It was titled "Yu shi geng zhi tu" because the poems were written by the Kangxi emperor. This is a lithographed version published almost two hundred years later. A very good set of a charming and interesting work of ancient Chinese workmanship.