Haitangpu 海棠譜

Haitangpu 海棠譜 is a book on the cultivation of crab apples (Malus spectabilis) written during the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) by Chen Si 陳思 (1225-1264), courtesy name Xuyun 續芸, from Lin'an 臨安 (Hangzhou 杭州, Zhejiang).

The 3-juan-long book was finished in 1259. The author says in the preface that the haitang apples were, because of their colour and qualities, not inferior to plums or peonies. Chen quotes from numerous earlier sources to demonstrate how important the haitang apple was for consumption, and that many earlier persons. In the first chapter the author narrates histories around crab apples, but only provides a few quotations about the practical cultivation of the haitang apple. In the second and third chapters, he quotes from ancient poetry.

The Haitangpu is included in the series Baichuan xuehai 百川學海, Shuofu 說郛, Wulin wangzhe yizhu 武林往哲遺著, Shanju zazhi 山居雜志, Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Xiangyan congshu 香豔叢書, Guoxue zhenben wenku 國學珍本文庫 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編.