Seed-drill（La semoir）

Van Braam and the other envoy made it to the capital in time to attend the celebration of the sixtieth year of Ch'ien-lung's reign.During their stay，they were treated hospitably and were invited to various festivities，some of which were presented by the emperor himself On January 29，1795，a state banquet was held for foreign envoys，during which the Dutch and the Korean ambassadors each received a cup of wine from the emperor's hands，the greatest honor that the Ch'ing emperor would accord to“barbarians.”They were also granted lavish gifts.Later the ambassadors had several other opportunities to pay their respects to the emperor and to visit the Manchu princes，who showed great interest in the small articles，such as a watch，used by foreigners.[19]

When the celebration was eventually over，the Ch'ing court wasted no time in sending the foreigners back to the remote southern province.Van Braam had to leave the capital where he had stayed only thirty-six days after his exhausting fifty-day journey.The return trip，however，was more comfortable and leisurely.An imperial edict to officials of all the provinces that the envoys were to pass through ensured a courteous reception in every city they stopped in.[20]

It was already early spring when the ambassadors entered Shantung Province.There farmers were busy“sur la terre qui doit être fécondée.”van Braam noted with admiration.On February 20，he was able to examine an instrument used by the farmers for sowing，which he called a semoir（illustration 7）and described in his diary as follows：

It consists of two sticks or pieces of wood about four feet long，the lower extremities of which are shod with a kind of iron wedge that serves to open the furrow.A little above is a square box placed between the two sticks，and tapering downwards in the shape of a funnel.Behind this is a plank put across for the purpose of covering up the furrow after the seed has fallen in.[21](https://www.daowen.com)

7.Sowing machine.From van Braam，Voyage.Rare Books Collection，Firestone Library，Princeton University.

According to van Braam，this instrument was operated by three men；two pulled it forward and the third directed it along the furrow.This machine，van Braam remarked，“J'avais déjà conçu，”because he had noticed that the quality of planting was high for the whole field.

This instrument is called“lou-li”in Chinese，and is known to have been in use as early as Emperor Han-wu's reign（140-86 B.C.）.[22]During the Sung dynasty，the lou-li was widely employed by Chinese farmers.Wang Anshih（1021-1086），a well-known Sung reformer in government administration and agriculture，highly praised its efficiency in his poems.[23]In a Yüan-dynasty work，Nung-shu，compiled in 1313，Wang Chen included a detailed description of the lou-li.According to Wang，this instrument was animal powered and capable of sowing thirty-five mu（about 5.34 acres）per day.[24]Wang also described different models of the lou-li employed in other areas of China.The model used in Shan-tung Province and the method of its operation were accurately confirmed by van Braam's work.For instance，both authors said that the instrument was operated by three men.As to its size，van Braam reported that the machine was“about four feet high，”whereas in Wang's book its height is said to have been“approximately three ch'ih，”which is about three feet，five inches.[25]The sowing machine functioned as a combination of plow and drill.Seeds were deposited in the seed box.There were channels and holes at the bottom of the box.When the machine jerked forward，the seeds were shaken down through the holes.As the distance between the holes was preset，the device would produce regular furrows without special attention from the farmer.Wang mentioned in his book that some“recent”models used two boxes，one for seeds and the other for manure pills.If the machine was operated properly，the right number of pills would drop with the seeds，no more and no less，to provide the necessary fertilizer.Van Braam was apparently amazed at this“extremely simple”machine.He said it was“très-agréable”to see it in operation.