Mulberry fields

In China, at least since the middle of Tang dynasty, the phrase mulberry fields is a metonymy for the land which was or will be covered by oceans.[1][note 1] This term is often used in Chinese literature and poetry, for example in Zuo Zhuan, which is about the death of Duke Jing of Jin and mentions the "Shaman of Mulberry Fields" (Chinese: 桑田巫; pinyin: sāngtián wū).[note 2][2][3] Along with the "blue seas" phrase, since the Han dynasty, these two phrases were combined into an idiom that has meaning about changes and changing.[4][5]

Mulberry fields
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese滄海桑田
桑田滄海
滄桑
Simplified Chinese沧海桑田
桑田沧海
沧桑
Literal meaningthe vast sea (turned into) mulberry fields
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyincānghǎisāngtián
sāngtiáncānghǎi
cāngsāng
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingcong1 hoi2 song1 tin4
song1 tin4 cong1 hoi2
cong1 song1
Vietnamese name
Vietnamesebãi bể nương dâu
bể dâu
thương hải tang điền
tang thương
tang hải
Hán-Nôm𡓁𣷭埌橷
𣷭橷
Chữ Hán滄海桑田
桑滄
桑海
Korean name
Hangul창해상전
상전벽해
Hanja滄海桑田
桑田碧海
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationchanghaesangjeon
sangjeonbyeokhae
Japanese name
Kanji滄海桑田
桑田滄海
桑田碧海
Transcriptions
Romanizationsōkaisōden
sōdensōkai
sōdenhekikai

The mathematics book shushù jìyí 数术记遗 (shushù jìyí) by Xu Yue, from the Han dynasty,[6] mentioned an idea about the turning of blue seas into mulberry fields.[5] Yan Zhenqing, in his literature Magu Shan Xiantan Ji (痲姑山仙墰記), wrote that on the high tops of Mount Magu there could still be found clam and oyster shells, and he also mentioned the gardens and fields which once were under the water.[1][5]

  1. ^ a b Robert F. Campany (2002). To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth: A Translation and Study of Ge Hong's Traditions of Divine Transcendents. California: University of California Press. pp. 261–263. ISBN 978-0-520-92760-5.
  2. ^ Minford, John; Lau, Joseph S. M. (2000). Classical Chinese Literature: An Anthology of Translations. Vol. 1. Chinese University Press. pp. 171–172. ISBN 978-962-996-048-3.
  3. ^ May, Brian; Tomoda, Takako (2002). "The Story of Dr Huan, Duke Jing and the Shaman from Mulberry Fields". Journal of the Australian Chinese Medicine Education and Research Council. 7 (3).
  4. ^ "mulberry field". MDBG Chindic. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Lu Yongxiang (14 October 2014). A History of Chinese Science and Technology, Volume 1. Shanghai: Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press. pp. 125–126. ISBN 978-3-662-44257-9.
  6. ^ Helaine Selin (2013). Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 1041. ISBN 978-94-017-1416-7.


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).