Agroecological Farming Systems in China 215activities might be going on at the same farm unit. By 1620, however, mulberry
was widely cultivated on the dykes between the fishponds. Experience has shown
that economic returns from integrated mulberry dyke–fishpond systems were greater
than those obtained from cultivating fruit trees on the dykes. Moreover, pond mud
enriched with silkworm excrement and other wastes that had been first used to ferti-
lize the pond and feed the fish was found to be a superior fertilizer for mulberry
bushes than raw silkworm excrement which, when applied to excess, damaged mul-
berry leaves. With this discovery an integrated dyke–pond system was found to be
beneficial to both mulberry and fish, and far better than growing rice.
Thoughts and practices in the Ming and Qing Dynasties
Nong Zheng Quan Shu (Complete Treatise on Agriculture), an unprecedented
monumental work compiled by Xu Guangqi (1562–1633), an outstanding scien-
tist of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), in mathematics and astronomy as well as
use of the lunar calendar. This book contains more than 700,000 words and makes
use of 229 written documents. It is the most comprehensive of all works on agri-
culture up to that time. The 60 volumes of the book are divided into 12 sections:
1 agriculture as the foundation (classics, history, literary references, various
schools of thought, miscellaneous essays, studies of various dynasty’s policies
stressing agriculture);
Source: Agricultural Treatise of Wang Zheng
Figure 9.1 The farming chart in Wang Zheng Nong Shu