Ordering the Myriad Things

"This is a well-researched and well-written study of an important part of the history of botany, and of the resourcefulness and determination of Chinese botanists. It belongs in botanical and horticultural libraries everywhere, and as a story, it is recommended to anyone with an interest in plants and how they are studied."—The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries

"An amazing and unique work. This story of botany is the story of the development of modern China writ large."—Michael Dove, Yale University

"A pioneering work whose audience includes historians of science, technology, and medicine, and environmental historians and anthropologists."—Minghui Hu, University of California, Santa Cruz

"Traditional Latin binomials of global applicability have been applied to plants over less than three centuries. Here Nick Menzies describes in detail their relationship to traditional Chinese names and their application to Chinese plants. This is a fascinating study from biological, linguistic, and philosophical points of view, and in relation to human views of the natural world."—Peter H. Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis