《洋犁初耕汉家田——晚清西方农业科技的认识、传入与推广》摘要

本书研究鸦片战争后至清亡这段时间内中国人认识、翻译引进

的西方近代农业科技的主要内容和传播推广西方近代农业科技的主

要方式与活动。所用文献以清末外交官游记、清末译成中文的西方

近代农业专著、清末农林试验场的试验报告、清末发行的农学报和

部分其他报纸，以及少量方志等文献为主。本书介绍清末出使欧美、

日本的外交使臣在出使国亲眼见到的近代化农业科技成果，包括近

代化的农业机械、林、牧、渔、园艺、丝、茶业和气象、水利以及

近代化的农业教育和农业管理机构。对清末译成中文的主要农书中

和清末相关报刊中介绍的近代农业科技也作了总结，本书分析了包

括以近代植物学为基础的作物栽培技术，以近代昆虫学、真菌学为

基础的病虫害防治技术，以地质学、化学为基础的土壤肥料技术，

以动物学为基础的畜牧、兽医和渔业技术，以蚕体解剖学和蚕体病

理学为基础的养蚕技术，还有园艺、农机、水利、气象等对中国近

代农业的影响及其作用。本文还对近代农业技术的传播与推广，包

括兴办新式农务学堂和农林试验场、近代农业科技的实践等作了总

结和分析。

传播与推广中的举措，都是在清末新的重农思潮和新政的背景

下进行的，是政府倡导的。虽然效果有限，但是，译出的农书、引

进的作物、参照外国模式建立起的近代农业教育体系，是留给民国

的重要遗产。传播与推广的效果不理想的原因包括内部原因：政府

赤字累累、农民贫困，难以拿出应有的经费；相应的基础教育、基

础工业和基础设施不达标；劳力过剩使得节省劳力的设备和技术难

以引进和推广等。外部原因有：西方近代化农业科技理论高深，在

短期内不容易被农民接受，而且西方近代农业技术在实际操作中并

不优于中国传统技术，对农民难以产生引力；农业技术具有区域性，

外国农书中有的内容与中国情况不相符；译名生疏、时间过短等，也

会影响推广和传播的效果。科技的发展与国家的政治、经济发展状

况息息相关。弱国无外交，弱国要取得科技的进步同样艰难。晚清

西方农业科技的认识与推广的历史状况也清晰地表明了这一点。

Abstract

This thesis is the research work on the Chinese people understanding,

translating, introducing and spreading the modern western agricultural

science and technology in China during the period of time from the

Opium War to the end of the Qing Dynasty, including the substance, the

main measures and the activities of the spreading. The main sources of

the thesis are the diaries by the diplomats to the Western countries or

Japan, the modern agricultural works translated into Chinese in the late

Qing Dynasty, the experiment reports from the agricultural experimental

farms, the newspapers on agriculture and others published in the late Qing

Dynasty, and some annals of local history.

In this thesis, what the Chinese diplomats saw in the Western

countries and Japan about modern agriculture is introduced, including

agricultural apparatus, modern forestry, modern animal husbandry,

fishery, horticulture, sericulture, meteorology, water conservancy and the

technique of tea production, etc. The main content on modern western

agriculture translated into Chinese in the late Qing Dynasty is analyzed in

the thesis. The agricultural science and technology translated into Chinese

were the theories of botany, zoology, geology, chemistry, meteorology,

insectology and the technology of horticulture, sericulture, veterinary,

animal husbandry and so on. The technology was based on the theories

of science, which showed the feature of modern technology, instead

of the traditional feature of experience. In this thesis, the activities of

introducing and spreading modern agricultural science and technology

were also analyzed. The main ways of the introducing and spreading

were by agricultural institutes and experimental farms. The main ways

of putting the theories of modern agriculture into practice were by the

agricultural companies, such as the irrigation company, the fishery

company, the modern farm, the silk company, the tea company and the

companies for grain and oil procession.

The activities of introducing and spreading modern agricultural

theory and technology were done by the political background of“ New

Policy” and at the time when there rose the new tide of thought ——

“Attaching Great Importance to Agriculture”. The government proposed

it. Though the effect was limited, the books on modern agriculture

translated into Chinese, the new varieties of crops & animals introduced

into China and the system of modern agricultural education, which was

constructed according to the forms of the modernized countries, became

the important heritage to the Republic after the ending of the Qing

Dynasty. The inefficiency of the introducing and spreading was the result

of the following two causes:

Firstly, the inner causes were the financial difficulty of the

government, the poverty of farmers, the lack of basic education and

of basic industry & basic apparatus. There were more farmhands than

needed, so there was no promotion of gaining the apparatus or technique

to reduce the usage of farmhands.

Secondly, the theories of modern agriculture were complicated but

some of the practical usage of the theories —— the technique was the

same as traditional Chinese technique. In this case such foreign technique

could not attract Chinese farmers. The foreign books on agriculture were

composed by the local foreign people, but the conditions in the foreign

countries were not the same as the conditions in China. The people could

not understand some of the Chinese translation of the special terms, and

the time was limited, which also worked unconstructively on the result.

The understanding and spreading of western agriculture in the Late Qing

Dynasty shows that the development of science and technology has close

relationship with politics and economy of the country. It is difficult for

weak countries to make great progress in science and technology.