Agricultural Tools

...rged with care. Generally, rakes used for tilling the fields are divided into wide-toothed and narrow-toothed varieties. For tilling the soil, use only the narrow-toothed type. It does not need to be excessively heavy; provided the "shoulder" The top horizontal bar of the rake head where the handle is attached. is thick and the teeth are sturdy, it will be durable for long-term use.

Weeding Hoe

The weeding hoe is a tool for removing weeds. In ancient times, it was called a chu original: 鉏 or a zhuo original: 鐯. Today, it is commonly known as a "weeder head" (yuntou). According to the Collected Rimes original: Ji Yun (集韻), a dictionary compiled in 1037 AD., the term yun refers to the act of removing weeds. Thus, the "hoe" is the physical object, while "weeding" is its function; naming the hoe a "weeder" is an example of naming an object after its use. It is an essential tool for clearing wasteland and removing filth. Its shape is not uniform: some resemble ritual tablets The hu (笏), a long, narrow slate held by officials at court., while others resemble axes or halberds. Generally, a wide and large blade is considered the most practical. The handle is made of bamboo or wood and is five feet long. The blade's edge must be hard and sharp to facilitate the mowing and clearing of vegetation.

Mud-Dredging Basket

In the Expanded Rimes original: Guangyun (廣韻), an 11th-century rime dictionary., the character lan original: 罱 is defined as a net. In the Jade Chapters original: Yupian (玉篇), a 6th-century dictionary., it is described as a tool for catching fish. Today, the local custom of using bamboo tongs to scoop up mud from the bottom of the river is called "dredging mud" (lanni); the pronunciation follows the Jade Chapters.
In the Collected Rimes, the character fan original: 籓 refers to a basket or a small bamboo net. Today, the tool for dredging mud is colloquially pronounced like the word for "bulrush" (pu), but since there is no written character for that specific sound, this character is used instead.

The dredging basket is a tool used for collecting river mud River mud was a primary fertilizer for mulberry trees in the Yangtze Delta, rich in organic matter and nutrients.. It is woven from bamboo splints, standing one and a half feet high and approximately one foot six or seven inches wide. In shape, it resembles two...