Since its release in June this year, "Exploring Zhao Suoyin: A History of Naturalism" has been well received by the media and readers, and has been selected as one of the 30 good books in the second "Pingshan Natural History Book Award".
Sponsored by the Naturalistic Culture Professional Committee of the Chinese Society for the Study of Natural Dialectics, the "Naturalistic and Ecological Lecture Series No. 12" will be held on December 11, 2021 (this Saturday) from 19:30 to 21:00, the main book of this issue is "Naturalistic Culture Series" "Tan Zhao Suo Yin: History of Naturalism", when the translator Feng Qianli will share with you the history of naturalism composed of "human stories", the book is wonderful, sharing more vivid, invite you to share!
Related books
Tandem Sokyin: A History of Naturalism
[Beauty] John Translated by G.T. Anderson by Feng Qianli
Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press
Naturalism, which originates from the observation, cognition and use of things around oneself, is the oldest discipline in the world. Previously, it only served the actual needs of human feeding, but it has evolved to become a systematic understanding of plants, animals, minerals and the surrounding environment.
The author of the book, John M. G.T. Anderson is a naturalist and ecologist. He sketches the history of the rise, prosperity, decline, and revival of naturalism by telling the stories and contributions of a group of remarkable naturalists. From John Ray, Muir, Darwin to Carson, generations of naturalists have overcome hardships and hardships in order to improve people's understanding of the world. Anderson brings together a large number of little-known historical materials and writes about the naturalistic journey from prehistory to modern times in a fascinating narrative style. In today's world of rapidly changing ecological environments, this book aims to awaken the naturalistic spirit in people's hearts and rebuild the close connection between man and nature.
Wonderful book excerpts
Ray, Linnaeus and the Order of the World
For science, and naturalism in particular, the 17th and early 18th centuries were extraordinary years. In the first decade of the new century, the role of medieval scientists remained like prospero, the shaman in Shakespeare's play The Tempest. By the end of the century, Isaac Newton's magnum opus Principia had been published, John Ray and his colleagues had carved botany out of the field of herbalism, William Harvey had elucidated the principles of vertebrate blood circulation, and science and witchcraft had forever diverged. An important condition for the birth of modern science is the increasing convenience and popularity of travel and communication. Thus, even in the midst of wars, revolutions, and riots, naturalists can travel far and wide, see very different terroirs and creatures, make friends in growing academic circles, and write letters to share their insights and ideas.
Founded in 1660, the Royal Society of London began to vigorously support research in various branches of science, publishing a large number of research results to bring science into the public eye in an unprecedented way. The Royal Society, with its aim of "Nullius in verba", which means "not following the words of others", announced that they would bid farewell to the old paper piles and test all hypotheses with direct experiments, no longer superstitious about authority. Since then, science has stepped out of the isolated ivory towers and monasteries, opened its arms to recruit well-educated people, and "folk masters" with a long skill have joined this growing circle, colliding with the spark of inspiration in free talk and debate.
Old barriers began to fall apart. Increasingly sophisticated optical instruments allow scientists to achieve fruitful results in the study of both the largest macroscopic universe and the smallest microscopic world.
Galileo's telescope was undoubtedly one of the most famous achievements of the 16th century, and in contrast, the invention of the microscope was no less impressive, and the impact on naturalism was even greater. The first widely circulated work on the microscopic world was born in 1665, and it was Robert Hooke (1635-1703) Micrographia. Much of the success of this work, which was revised and reprinted, is largely due to the large copperplate engravings included in the book. Equally beautiful was a series of studies on plant physiology published in 1682 by Nehemiah Grew, such as Anatomy of Plants.
Like Hooke, Gru's writings are accompanied by a large number of intricately carved copperplate engravings that present the reader with unprecedentedly exquisite detail (see Figures 2 and 3).
Fig. 2 Cross-section of a gooseberry, from Gru's Plant Anatomy, 1682. Beautiful details are still visible when the image is enlarged. (Author's Collection)
Fig. 3 Leaf anatomy, from Gru's Plant Anatomy. (Author's Collection)
The wide variety of newly discovered species is urgently needed by the scientific community to name and organize such a wealth of research material, and taxonomy has emerged. From a traditional perspective, we think that Linnaeus proposed taxonomy, or systematic taxonomy, but he did not create it all, and many people have made indelible contributions to it, including the quiet theologian and naturalist John Ray.
Ray's life went through one of the most difficult and difficult periods in British history. When Ray received his Master of Arts degree from Cambridge University in 1649, the English Civil War had just ended, Charles I. was on the ground, and the ambitious Olive Cromwell was ready to invade Ireland. During the Commonwealth and Protectorate periods, Ray had been teaching Latin and Greek at Trinity College, Cambridge, and his reputation grew.
Ray's first biological work was an alphabetical Cambridgeshire Botanical List, and although the book was not published until 1660, he seems to have developed a keen interest in naturalism at an early age. Before writing the book, Ray worked tirelessly in England to study specimens of plants and other creatures. As a teacher, Ray was undoubtedly lucky, and his students were better than blue out of blue. Francis Willughby (1635-1672) was equally fortunate as a student, taught by ray, who was also a teacher and friend, and he also began to love naturalism, especially ornithology. The duo set out to travel around the British Isles, collecting plants and observing birds in Verumbi, exploring their respective fields.
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Source: Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press
Editor: Duan Pengcheng