Yecanlu 野蠶錄

Yecanlu 野蠶錄 is a book on wild silk written during the late Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Wang Yuanting 王元綎, courtesy name Wenfu 文甫, from Ninghai 寧海 (today's Mouping 牟平, Shandong). Wang obtained the jinshi degree in 1898.

In his 4-juan-long book, Wang analyses the designations for various kinds of wild silkworms as well as that of the many types of trees (the most important being Quercus dentata, zuo 柞) whose leaves the silkworms live on. In the next step, the author expounds on methods of tree cultivation and care for the worms. He then goes on to describe the methods to gain yarn from the cocoons and explains the tools and implements used in this process. The last fascicle also touches on the matter of marketing and export. The text is closed by a table with production figures and some illustrations showing moths and larvae of Antheraea pernyi (zuocan 柞蠶), the oak tree, as well as situations of silkworm feeding. The text focuses on wild silk production in the province of Shandong. Wang's sources include rare or even lost texts like Zhang Zhongfeng's 張鍾峰 Shancanpu 山蠶譜 or Han Gongfu's 韓公復 Yangcan chengfa 養蠶成法.

Figures 1-2. Larva and imago of Antheraea pernyi

Source: 1902 edition.

The book was printed in 1902 and reprinted in 1905 by the Commercial Press (Shangwu Yinshuguan 商務印書館). The Tongwen Office 同文官 in Anqing 安慶 published a lead-character edition in 1909, and the public Guanshu Baoju 官書報局 in Hunan reproduced the text as a lithographical print. The text is part of the series Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書. A modern edition with annotations by Zheng Biqiang 鄭辟疆 was published in 1962 by the Nongye Press 農業出版社.