Biodiversity is an important foundation for the survival and development of human beings and the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, and the history of human civilization is a history of symbiosis and coexistence between man and biodiversity. Protecting biodiversity is the common mission of mankind, and building a beautiful earth home is the common dream of mankind.
Yunnan is known as the "plant kingdom", "animal kingdom" and "world garden", biodiversity ranks first in China, is one of the 17 key biodiversity areas in China and one of the 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world, and is also an important treasure house of biodiversity in China and an ecological security barrier in southwest China.
In October 2021, the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity was held in Kunming, where delegates reviewed the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and set new targets for global biodiversity by 2030, which will provide direction and guidance for global biodiversity conservation in the next 20 years. Holding this important conference in Yunnan that has attracted worldwide attention is the world's recognition of Yunnan's biodiversity, and it is also the world's high hope for Yunnan as a model of biodiversity.
Scholars of the Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences have been committed to the research and compilation of materials on the biodiversity and cultural diversity of Yunnan, and have produced many results over the years, accumulating rich fieldwork materials and historical documents. Now, the institute coordinates and organizes a professional team, based on the research on the collation and collation of literature in the previous 8 years, has compiled and published the book "Biodiversity Yunnan Historical Materials Compilation School", which aims to start from the collation of literature and historical materials, visit historical sources, inventory family treasures, and provide readers with a compilation of historical materials about yunnan biodiversity. It can be said that this is the first document in Yunnan to comprehensively sort out and record the historical records of biodiversity in Yunnan, which has the following characteristics:
The topic selection is unique, and there is innovation and pioneering work
For the research and sorting out of biodiversity in Yunnan, scholars from natural science related disciplines have done a lot of scientific investigation and collation research work, and have made great contributions. Humanities and social science workers on biodiversity and cultural diversity of the interaction and complementarity and integration, but also did a lot of in-depth investigation and research, and from the perspective of historical philology of Yunnan biodiversity more comprehensive combing hook sinking and summary, "Biodiversity Yunnan Historical Materials School" can be said to be the first book, has the important significance of pioneering and innovative, the future of the historical documents recorded biodiversity data and the actual biodiversity status of in-depth comparative research, to explore the historical changes of biodiversity in Yunnan, Comparative studies of the history and status of regional biodiversity are of great significance. For the various plants and animals of the three major parts and 23 genera recorded in this book, it is possible to conduct a meticulous survey to study their historical changes, and to explore whether there are any animals and plants that have been omitted in the historical documents of various places, or according to the records of historical documents, to investigate whether some animals and plants have been extinct or endangered in contemporary times. It can be said that the book "Biodiversity Yunnan Historical Materials Collection" is a weighty and innovative work of historical philology.
Rich historical materials, structural science
The book "Yunnan Historical Materials on Biodiversity" is based on the historical materials of plants, animals and microorganisms in Yunnan involved in historical documents. The sources of literature are mainly the existing provincial records of Yunnan Province and the records of various prefectures and counties, as well as the general history, the general history and some personal collections. The time limit lasted more than 2,000 years from the "Zhuang Jian Wang Dian" contained in Sima Qian's "Records of History" to before the founding of New China. The historical records of the whole book have achieved accurate sources, maintained the original style of historical materials, and carefully and accurately proofreading, which not only loses the rigorous and simple style of collation and research of ancient books, but also connects with the characteristics of the era of biodiversity in Yunnan.
From the content point of view, the whole book is divided into three parts: "Plant Kingdom Chapter", "Animal Kingdom Chapter" and "World Garden Chapter", with the chapter as the outline and the subordinate parts. There are 23 genera in total, and each genus is in accordance with the order of the time of formation of the literature, and the names of the species recorded in the historical documents are summarized by region, and the origin, shape, habits and other information of the species are also detailed under the names of individual species.
At the same time, the book also lists separate articles in various literatures detailing a certain species, such as the "Plant Kingdom Chapter" contains the genus of rice, the genus of glutinous, the genus of barnyard, the genus of millet, the genus of móu, the genus of shū (shū), the genus of vegetable ru, the genus of melon, the genus of potato (yù), the genus of medicine, the genus of fruit, the genus of pod, the genus of bamboo, and the genus of wood, a total of 14 genera; the "animal kingdom chapter" contains the genus of beasts, the genus of birds, the genus of scales, and the genus of insects, a total of 4 genera; the "World Garden chapter" contains the genus of flowers, grasses, and incense, The genus of tea and the genus of fungi, a total of 5 genera. In order to fully reflect the diversity of the very distinctive Yunnan flowers, the genus of flowers is divided into five categories: woody flowers, herbaceous flowers, yonghua works, flower appreciation customs, and anthers, which are recorded separately, arranged rigorously and very distinctively.
The compilers of this book have made solid efforts to compile, classify and annotate the above historical materials, and have compiled a comprehensive collection of historical documents on biodiversity in Yunnan.
A historical reader for the promotion of in-depth research on biodiversity
Rich and vivid and intuitive historical records of past dynasties constitute a vivid and lively picture of the biodiversity of ancient Yunnan, from which you can clearly see the distribution, transmission, form, characteristics, value and many other information of biological species in Yunnan, as well as the gradual process of classification of traditional products to modern disciplines, through this book, you can further explore and analyze the historical characteristics of biodiversity recorded in ancient books.
If we want to further do a good job in the protection and research of biodiversity in Yunnan, we must have the support of historical documents and the basis of historical materials. Through in-depth study of the documentary records of ancient biodiversity historical materials in Yunnan in different time and space, longitudinal comparison of historical sources, confirmation of the authenticity of the documents, and the description of the same species in different documents, to explore the process of its evolution, so as to clarify the historical stock and spatio-temporal variables of the gene pool of key species in the world, to clarify the endangerment degree and attribute changes of endemic species, the correlation nature of regional society and natural resources, and the joint handling of environmental contradictions between humanities and natural sciences, how to make good use of natural resources to provide authentic and credible literature, and many other aspects, The book provides true, reliable and informative information.
On the other hand, at present, to strengthen the national awareness of biodiversity conservation, to promote the protection of contemporary biodiversity, in addition to the natural science of science, we also need to understand the historical documents of the yunnan animal and plant species, this book is also a historical documentation work that can play a full role in this regard and a tool book for provincial education.
Inspiration for the in-depth excavation of biodiversity treasures in multi-ethnic literature
The book "Biodiversity Yunnan Historical Materials Collection" also has an important enlightenment significance, through the careful and comprehensive combing of Chinese historical materials, it brings together the biodiversity literature and historical materials in this book that can be called the grand view of the ocean. It also enlightens the academic community, Yunnan also has a large number of oral and written materials surviving in various ethnic groups, of which there are a large number of materials related to biodiversity, such as the author dabbled in more Naxi Dongba ancient texts, there are a large number of animal and plant records, in the relevant ritual recitation texts, there are also very rich names and uses of animals and plants, in the Yi Bi mo sutra, Dai people's Baye Sutra and other ancient books, there are also many records of animals and plants and their uses.
In addition, the local knowledge of biodiversity among the ethnic groups in Yunnan is very rich. Many of these names of animals and plants recorded in the languages of various ethnic groups are still commonly used in the fields of medicine, diet, clothing, architecture, crafts, art, religion and other fields. There are many ancient medical books of ethnic minorities in Yunnan alone. Some were handed down as religious texts, while others were passed down by word of mouth and eventually recorded in Chinese or their national scripts. From some ethnic minority folk ancient books, we can also see the results of exchanges and exchanges between different ethnic groups, such as the "Jade Dragon Materia Medica" of the Naxi ethnic group in Lijiang, which is a Naxi ethnic folk medicine book compiled after absorbing the theory of Chinese medicine and combining the unique medical resources and clinical practice in the region.
In the biodiversity knowledge genealogy of various peoples, in addition to the records of specific animals and plants and their practical applications, there are also very rich cultural connotations, such as the application of various animals and plants and their symbolic significance in specific ceremonies and festivals. For example, in the Naxi interpretation of plant culture, Artemisia annua is considered to be one of the earliest divine plants, so it gradually became a plant used in many religious ceremonies, but also used to ward off evil spirits and pray for auspiciousness and medicinal use. For another example, the vine is also an agricultural plant plant planted by some mountain peoples relatively early, in the ancient "Genesis" of the Naxi people, the origin of the language of the Tibetan, Naxi and Bai tribes is associated with the vine, and in many blessing and auspicious sacrifice ceremonies, the vine is an indispensable sacrifice item. At the same time, it is also one of the most commonly used crops by mountain peoples. In the rituals of burning incense and purifying of various ethnic groups, there are also many exquisite plants used, which are closely related to the specific symbolic significance of this plant. The practical application of plants, as mentioned above, is also a rich mine of biodiversity, and more scholars need to investigate and sort out from the perspectives of ethnology, anthropology, folklore, ethnobotany, ethnozoology, and ethnopharmaceuticals. The advent of the book "Biodiversity Yunnan Historical Materials School" also gives us a good inspiration: how to further carry out multi-ethnic biodiversity research in Yunnan from a multidisciplinary perspective, promote better protection of biodiversity, and show the world a wonderful world full of social and cultural implications behind the biological diversity of "Colorful Yunnan".
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Author Affilications:Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences
Producer 丨 Na Mengyue Editor 丨 Wang Bo, Wang Yifan