Fèngxīn

Fengxin, near Nanchang in Jiangxi, was the home county of Song Yingxing, whose work gave an unusually detailed account of Chinese production in the late Ming. He belonged to the world of provincial scholars and minor officials, but directed his attention toward the labour of farmers and craftspeople. After serving as an instructor at the county school in Fenyi, he resigned and returned home near the end of the dynasty.

His Tiangong kaiwu appeared in Nanchang in 1637 with the support of Tu Shaokui. Its eighteen sections described agriculture, silk production, weaving, dyes, sugar, salt, ceramics, metallurgy, paper and other crafts. Many descriptions drew on direct observation, and illustrations showed people at work alongside their tools. Through this native scholar, Fengxin became connected with a record of practical knowledge that travelled well beyond Jiangxi: a Japanese edition appeared around 1771, while seventeenth-century Chinese editions also reached the French royal library.