“句践种兰渚山”之“兰”考

Rereading the "Lan" in "Gou Jian Plants Lan at Zhushan"

《越绝书》所载"句践种兰渚山"之"兰",近人多释为兰花,笔者认为更有可能是兰草,包括菊科泽兰属中的一些植物。至迟在宋代,渚山之兰已开始被误认为兰花。句践在渚山种兰,和在葛山、鸡山、豕山等地开辟种养殖基地一样,带有麻痹吴国、暗中积聚战备力量的目的。

The lan in'Gou Jian plants lan at Zhushan' in Yuejueshu, or the lost history of Yue, has long been taken as referring to lanhua, or orchid (Cymbidium), an opinion came about in no later than the Song dynasty. However, the author argues that the lan in question refers more likely to lancao, some branches of Eupatorium. The author further posits that Gou Jian's planting lan at Zhushan was the same stratagem as his large-scale farming and breeding at Geshan, Jishan, and Shishan, which was to prepare in secret for war against the state of Wu.