Concepts and practices of soil management in ancient China

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Abstract

From the perspective of global agricultural civilizations, traditional Chinese agriculture maintained high and stable yields for several thousand years without exhausting soil fertility. This achievement was supported by a long tradition of soil management. This paper traces the tradition through a circular process of “theory–practice–theory.” It first examines land suitability and soil veins within the framework of the Three Realms as the theoretical basis of ancient Chinese soil management. These ideas show that soil was understood as a living and dynamic system closely connected with climate, landforms, crops, and human activity. The paper then discusses treating manure as medicine, a principle first proposed by Chen Fu in the Southern Song Dynasty. The principle applied the view of soil as a living body to fertilization practice. It required farmers to select and apply fertilizers according to soil conditions, fertilizer properties, and farming seasons, thereby helping to systematize traditional fertilization techniques. Finally, the paper explains how long-term fertilization practice gave rise to the theory of renewed and sustained soil fertility. By recycling nutrients and returning organic matter to the soil, ancient Chinese practices sustained long-term soil fertility, contrasting with the classical Western doctrine of diminishing returns in agriculture. The study shows that ancient Chinese soil management linked ecological understanding, farming practice, and theoretical reflection, and offers useful historical experience for addressing soil degradation and developing sustainable agriculture today.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

soil management / Three Realms / treating manure as medicine / soil veins / fertilizers

Highlight

	● Ancient Chinese soil management was grounded in a holistic view of the relationship between Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, embodied in the theory of land suitability and soil veins.
	● In the Southern Song Dynasty, Chen Fu’s principle of treating manure as medicine translated the understanding into a practical rule for matching fertilizers to soil conditions, fertilizer properties, and farming seasons.
	● Long-term manuring and the recycling of organic matter supported the idea that soil fertility could be renewed and maintained rather than inevitably exhausted.
	● Together, these concepts and practices contrast with the classical Western doctrine of diminishing returns in agriculture and offer a distinctive historical model of sustainable soil use.

CHANGE HISTORY

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