【摘要】 <正> 中国是世界文明发达最早的国家之一,中国已有了将近四千年的有文字可考的历史。我国古代科学技术的发展,长时期里居于世界的前列,对世界文化有着深远的影响。在动物分类学这一基础学科方面,也同样是如此。远在我国原始社会,有关神农氏尝百草的传说,就概括了当时人们在生活中的一种鉴别方式,通过口尝身受来辨识各种生物,并决定更多还原

【Abstract】 Our country has a long standing cultural history. Laboring people had gathered rich experiences in the production practice of rearing domestic animals, such as silkworms, pigs and deer. The famous Legalist Xun Kuang (313-238 B.C.) summarized Ms theory in his work "Zheng-ming" (Accurate Definitions of Concepts). The theory included the principle of taxonomy, the distinguishing of variations of living objects as well as the significance and regulations of nomenclature. The political implications as well as the theoretical significance were also under discussion.The book "Er-ya", which was completed in Qin-Han dynasties, inherited and further developed the knowledge of animal species in "Shi-jing" (Book of Odes). There are five chapters, each containing nearly a hundred different names of aaimal species, i.e., insects, fishes, birds, mammals and domestic animals. It is the earliest systematic record in history discovered so far. Owing to the influences of Confucia-nists, further progress was arrested or halted. But books on medicinal herbs often have important bearings on animal taxonomy. In Li Shi-zhen’s (1518-1593 A.D.) "Ben-cao-gang-mu", animal species were classified in six divisions, i. e., insects, fishes, reptiles, birds, mammals and human beings. Altogether 409 different species of animals were recorded. This monographic study raised the taxonomic work to a new level.更多还原