BOTANICAL WORKS, WITH NOTES ON
THE HISTORY OF PLANTS AND
GEOGRAPHICAL BOTANY FI‘.(_J,\I
CHINESE SOURCES. <...> ITSSIAN. [LE<G£ ‘T'0©W ÐТ Ð ÐКПÐМГÐÑŒ
ILLUSTRATED WITH 8 CHINESE
WOOD CUTS. <...> ON THE STUDY AND VALUE OF CHINESE BOTANICAL
WORKS, WITH NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF
PLANTS AND GEOGRAPHICAL BOTANY
FROM CHINESE SOURCES. <...> PREFACE.
ln presenting these pages to the leamed world, I consider it my duty to confess, that I am neither a Sinologus nor Botanist, my knowledge in Chinese as well as in
Botany being very limited‘ But living in the Chinese Metropolis live yours, I Wu
encouraged by the favourable conditions in which I found myself, to minke some
inquiries into Chinese plants and to venture on the publication of these notes on
Chinese Botany. <...> Every body will admit, I think, tlnit some questions regarding
Chinese plants can l)e more easily decided by men, living in cliina, by (llrecl;
observation and information mlccn directly from the n:ltives,——tho.n in Europa by
eminent snvnuts, who have not been in Clllllu and must llzlxw their views, for the
most part upon accounts given by travellers, which are not always exempt from
errors, and upon translations from Chinese works, made by sinologues, who know
little or nothing about Botany.‘ I beg therefore tobe excused if I hnva attempted
sometimes to coutmdict some views of well known scholars. <...> I implore indulgence
for any errors which I may myself have committed. <...> I have а: least alivays endeavoured to adduce the sources whence I derived my information mill prosecuted
my enquiries in order to afford an opportunity for correcting or aonfirining my views, Although l had the advantage of having access to the splendid library of the Russian
Ecclesiastical Mission at Peking, where are to he found not only nll Chinese works
of importance, but also most European books relating to выдадим render will
observe the want of some special works on Botany, indispeumble in the treatment oi
botanical questions. <...> But such works can only be шве within the gent Eui-opean
librariesl—â€As my notes have been written for Sinologues as well as for Botnnisln, I have
endeavoured to be intelligible <...>