Author Description

Diagram on Boiling Seawater, with another title of Diagram and Poem on Boiling Seawater, is an illustrated book about salt production. It was compiled in The Yongle Canon of Ming Dynasty, and then reproduced in Imperial Collection of Four of Qing Dynasty. The author, Chen Chun, was a salt officer of Xiasha Saltern in Yuan Dynasty. From the perspectives of engineering culture, this book uses both diagrams and comments to demonstrate the core technology presented in illustrations and explanations in Diagram on the Boiling Seawater with an order of saltern constructing process. The unique method “Sprinkling and Decocting” is focused on, which is an advanced baysalt making technique in ancient China. This book also shows the prosperous scenery of Xiasha Saltern in Yuan Dynasty and the living conditions of salt makers.