`Author:` Franklin King `Availability:` ## Summary · Author: Franklin Hiram King (1848-1911), an American agricultural scientist from the University of Wisconsin. · Publication: Published posthumously in 1911. · Premise: The book is a detailed account of King's observations during his travels through [[China]], Korea, and Japan in 1909. He was astounded by how these civilizations had managed to feed dense populations for 4,000 years (forty centuries) without depleting their [[Soil]]'s fertility—a stark contrast to the soil degradation already being observed in the United States at the time. #### Key Principles Documented by King King identified the core practices that created this "permanent [[Agriculture]]," which we would now recognize as the principles of organic [[Farming]], closed-loop systems, and agroecology: 1. Intensive Recycling of Nutrients: The most striking feature was the complete lack of waste. All human and animal waste ("night soil"), food scraps, and organic matter were meticulously collected and composted to be returned to the fields. This was a perfect, localized nutrient cycle. 2. High Labor Input and Precision Farming: Small plots of land were farmed with incredible care and precision, using manual labor and simple tools to maximize yield per unit area. 3. Complex Polyculture and Crop Rotation: Farmers grew multiple crops together in intricate sequences and rotations to maintain soil health, suppress pests, and maximize output throughout the year. 4. Irrigation and Water Management: Sophisticated, centuries-old systems of canals and water wheels were used to irrigate fields, often integrating rice paddies with fish and ducks. #### How It Connects to La Via Campesina and the Critique of Global Capitalism While King wrote as an admiring scientist, not a political critic, his work provides a powerful historical and technical foundation for the movements we've discussed. · A Blueprint for Agroecology: Farmers of Forty Centuries is essentially a 4000-year-old, large-scale case study proving that agroecology works. [[La Via Campesina]]'s promotion of agroecology is a modern revival and political validation of these time-tested, peasant-driven practices that King so meticulously documented. · Contrast with Industrial Agriculture: The book serves as a silent but powerful critique of the unsustainable, input-heavy model that would come to dominate the 20th century. King showed a system that ran on renewable energy (human and animal labor) and recycled nutrients, whereas industrial agriculture runs on fossil fuels and imported fertilizers, leading to soil loss and pollution. · Validation of [[Indigenous]] Knowledge: King demonstrated that the sophisticated knowledge systems of Eastern peasants—often dismissed by the colonial and modernist mindset—were in fact scientifically sound and incredibly successful. This aligns with the decolonial perspective of postcolonial thinkers and La Via Campesina, who argue that the Global South holds vital knowledge for human survival. · The Concept of "Permanent Agriculture": This term was a direct inspiration for the later Organic Farming movement and the coining of the term [[Permaculture]] (a portmanteau of "permanent agriculture" and "permanent culture"). It represents the ultimate alternative to the extractive, short-term logic of capitalist agriculture. In essence, "Farmers of Forty Centuries" is the historical evidence for the viability of the world that La Via Campesina is trying to protect and rebuild. It proves that the alternative to the destructive model of global [[Capitalism]] is not a new, untested fantasy, but a return to principles that have sustained humanity for millennia. It connects the practical wisdom of the past with the [[Politics|political]] and ecological struggles of the present. ## Key Takeaways ## Quotes - ## Notes > [!info] > `Concepts:` `Knowledge Base:` ## Highlights