| 英文摘要: |
While giving a brief description of the major books with plant illustrations in ancient China, this paper analyzes the aims, contents and characteristics of these illustrations, as well as the relation between pictorial and literal expression, based on several important books such as Er Ya Yin Tu, Ben Cao Tu Jing and Jiu Huang Ben Cao. It further discusses related intellectual records of these drawings, and their function in knowledge transmission. Though the quality of plant illustrations in ancient Chinese books improved continuously, considering the amount of books with illustrations, their effectiveness in delivering botanical knowledge, and the relationship between illustrations and writings in books, it is argued that the weakness of plant illustrations, compared with text, may have had a somewhat negative influence on the deepening of traditional botanical knowledge |
