How did Father Mary David discover the giant panda?

In ancient China, people used to call "Giant Panda" brave, brave, greedy and iron eater, which can be found in Erya, The Book of Songs, Shan Hai Jing and Baoxing County Records. The giant panda has really attracted the attention of the whole world, and its scientific naming should be attributed to the French missionary and naturalist Father jean pierre armand David. Father David was dressed as an official of the Qing Dynasty (data picture). David was born in the 21st year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty (18 16). His Chinese name is Tan Weidao, and his hometown is Espellet in the Basque Country. David's father is a doctor and manor owner, who likes to study botany and has a strong interest in natural history. David likes to be close to nature and explore, especially all kinds of animals and plants. At the age of 22, David joined the Catholic Lazarus Church in Paris and entered the missionary monastery of the Presbyterian Church. The church found the young man's talent in studying natural science, so it sent him to savona Theological Seminary in Guria to study and teach natural science. In the past ten years, he learned to make specimens, practiced marksmanship and unique skills of trapping birds and mammals with whistles, and became a knowledgeable biologist. Statue of David in Dengchigou, Baoxing County (photo by Zhou Jie) In February of the first year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1862), David, 46, came to China from Marseille, France as a missionary sent to China by the Paris Catholic Missionary Society and a correspondent of the Paris Museum of Natural History and the French Academy of Sciences. At that time, European scientists thought that China was a country that was not affected by glacial action, and the animals and plants preserved in China were full of temptations to the European scientific community. After David arrived in Beijing, in addition to preaching, he also focused on natural history investigation. During his stay in Beijing, David lived in the Catholic North Church on Xishiku Street. This year, he visited the forests and plains around Beijing, Mongolia, Shanxi and Hebei. In the first package he sent to Paris, there were more than 65,438+000 birds and 6 kinds of mammals. Statue of Father armand David, a French naturalist in Dengchigou, Baoxing County (image from the Internet). After receiving these specimens, European zoologists and botanists went crazy. They have a hunch that David is opening a door to a treasure house of animals and plants that has been closed for thousands of years. In February (1866), David heard that there was an animal called "Four Elephants" in Nanhaizi Royal Hunting Park in Beijing, so he bribed the Eight Banners who guarded the Royal Hunting Park with 20 taels of silver and got a pair of skins and bones of this animal. On the note attached to the specimen sent to Paris, he wrote: No.2467: Elk. This discovery made David the first scientist in the western world to discover and name the elk. Therefore, elk is also called "David Deer". David's diary (data picture) When the whole European scientific community was crazy about elk, they didn't expect David to find more amazing species in the deep mountains of Sichuan. In April of the sixth year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1867), David entered China for the second time. He first preached in the Catholic penance society in Beijing, and was soon sent to work in the Catholic church in Huaxi Dam, Chengdu, Sichuan. In January of the eighth year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1869), David arrived in Chengdu. His arrival was warmly welcomed by Sichuan believers. At the home of Maunier, the manager in charge of the church fund in western provinces, a believer told him about all kinds of strange animals and plants in western Sichuan. David first heard the name Mu Ping, and the church there became the holy land of his trip to China. The Giant Panda from Baoxing to the World (Zhou Jie was photographed in Dengchigou, Baoxing County) He first visited Bishop Xiong Ping of western Sichuan who had been preaching in Mu Ping for many years. He introduced to David some creatures that Mupinte has, especially an animal called "White Bear". According to David's diary, this "white bear" is probably a giant panda. It may be that Bishop Pingwei is too obsessed with daily educational affairs and missionary work, unlike David, so God left David the opportunity to discover giant pandas scientifically. Later, he applied to the church to preach in Mu Ping, and asked the Chengdu Catholic Church to help hire a guide. After some understanding and preparation, he found Three Lai Ye (Catholic), the owner of Chengdu Gulou North Street antique shop, because Three Lai Ye has a distant relative named Bao Ruo, who is the leader of the Tibetan toast in Mu Ping. The giant panda goes from Baoxing to the world (photo taken by Zhou Jie in Dengchigou, Baoxing County). Ye and David packed their bags and went over the mountains to the foot of the mountain. Three Lai first went to the chieftain village to find Baoruo, and talked about the mission of the French priest David. Bao Ruo said, "I can't make decisions yet. I will negotiate with you after I report to Mu Ping Toast Jian Shen Saint Langduoji. " "Because Qiangcan gave birth to Lang Duoji (the ninth generation of Mu Ping toast, hereditary general Wei Zhen, also known as Heng Zhen) and Three Lai's father are sworn brothers, so things are going very smoothly. The next day, Mu Ping Toast Jian Shen Saint Rondogy led his wife Song Ge Deng Cheng (also known as Zhuo Zhanchu), the eldest daughter Gezong Tibetan King (also known as Yu Rong), the second daughter Rong Janham and other family members to hold a family dinner and warmly treat David and Father Three Lai and his party. Tong Qu (2065438+April 2006, Zhou Mengqi was photographed in Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base, source: Sichuan Daily) On February 22nd, the eighth year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1869), led by Bao Ruo, David and young missionary Cooper, set out from Chengdu, arrived in Qionglai along the edge of Sichuan Basin, passed Mahu and Huojing in Xihe River, and arrived in Lushan. Under the leadership of the local people, he passed Taichangping Creek and Dahe Village, climbed over a rock wall of more than 3,000 meters, and after eight days' trekking, he came to Dengchigou Church (also known as Lingbao Theological Seminary) in Qingping Village, Shanxi, Jin Jia, and became the fourth generation priest here. This magnificent wooden church belongs to the bishop's office in Daizong pastoral area in western Sichuan. At that time, the priest M.Dugrité of this church warmly received them and specially arranged a laboratory for David in the church. Dengchigou Catholic Church in Baoxing County (picture from the Internet) was built in the 19th year of Qing Daoguang (1839), and it is one of the earliest churches secretly built by French Catholic Far East Church in Sichuan. Seen from a distance, it is a big wooden house with China charm. Stepping into the main church, it shows the style of Gothic architecture, with huge flower windows on the front and vaults crossed, which is simply the perfect integration of European churches and China temples. Dengchigou Catholic Church (picture from the Internet) is surrounded by green hills. David wrote, "I hope this strange and mysterious land can surprise me." ..... Although it is not far from Chengdu, it is still a closed tribe because of the barrier of mountains. ..... The mountains and valleys here are covered by virgin forests, which enables the local wildlife to survive and continue. In his diary, David recorded his first sight of giant panda skin: March 1869, 1 1. On the way back to the museum, a man named Li, the main landlord of this valley, invited us to his house for tea. In this pagan ambassador's home, I saw a famous black and white bearskin spread out. This skin is strange. My hunter told me that I would see this animal soon. It is said that the hunter will leave for the wild tomorrow to kill this carnivore, which may become an interesting new species in science. Other animals recorded today are medium-sized eagles, common deer and birds. Even at night, you can continue to listen to the high-pitched calls of cranes. It must stay on the broad top of the mountain. It can be seen that when David first discovered this animal skin in Dengchigou, Baoxing, he called it black and white bear skin, while local villagers called it bamboo bear or white bear for a long time. In the next few days, David went into what a landlord named Li called a possessed mountain forest, but all he got was some local squirrels and star crows. He also lost his way in the dense forest three times and almost died. In desperation, David turned to the local people for help. He hired more than a dozen excellent local hunters and offered a reward for the capture of "White Bear". There must be brave people under the four rewards! David's move soon worked. David wrote in his diary: "1On March 23rd, 869, the Christian hunter came back today after leaving for ten days. He brought me a young white bear, which was alive when he was caught, and he killed it for convenience. They sold this white bear to me at a high price. It is white all over except its limbs, ears and eyes. Its body color is the same as that of an adult I have seen before. This must be a new kind of bear. Its uniqueness lies not only in its color, but also in its furry sole and other features. According to the rules of animal taxonomy, seeing fur or even bones is not enough to identify this species. Thanks to David's unremitting efforts, he finally saw the living giant panda on April Fool's Day. He recorded: April 1. They brought back a fully grown black and white bear with the same coat color as the cubs I got, but not so black and white. This animal has a big head and a short and round kiss, which is not as long as a bear's mouth. Since then, zoologists have designated April 1 day as the anniversary of the scientific discovery of giant pandas. April 7th. They brought me a lively little panda. It doesn't look fierce and acts like a bear. Its claws and head are very similar to my black and white bear, and its stomach is full of bamboo leaves. "On May 4th, the hunter captured another white bear alive. David wrote excitedly in his diary: "1On May 4th, 869, my hunters waited for two weeks in the east of Mu Ping and brought me a black and white bear and six golden monkeys. This black and white bear is very cute. "This is an adult wild giant panda, full of energy, vigorous and elegant! Black hair like paint and white hair like silver are really fascinating. That evening, David hurriedly wrote a report under the lamp and gave it to Milne Edwards, curator of the Paris Museum of Natural History. The report said: "Black and white bear, according to my hunter, is very big, with short ears, short tail, short body hair and hairy soles of four feet." "color: white, ears, eyes, tail and limbs are brown and black; The black of the forelimb crosses the back into a longitudinal strip. I just got a larva of this bear the day before yesterday. I have seen many damaged skin of adults, all of which are the same color and the same color distribution. I have never seen this species in the European specimen collection. It is undoubtedly the most beautiful and lovely animal species I know. Probably a new species in science! Alphonse Miller Edwards, a scientist at the Paris Museum of Natural History, drew a picture of a giant panda (from the Internet) based on the specimen brought back by Father Armand David in 1869. At that time, David sent the living black and white bear back to Paris, France. Due to the hardships of long-distance transportation, the black and white bear could not stand the bumps and climate change on the way and died unfortunately. David had to make a specimen of it sadly. David also encountered unexpected difficulties when making specimens. He mentioned many times in his diary that "humidity is a big problem". Due to Muping's wet weather and the negligence of his assistant, the collected animal furs could not be dried, some rotted and some were eaten by insects, but he could do nothing. The prepared specimens, including his most precious "black and white bear", also began to stink because of the humidity. He had to make a fire in the herbarium. It's incredible. He was surprised and wrote: Especially considering that it is summer and it is 30 degrees north latitude, I have to make a fire. " After all kinds of efforts, when David's black and white bear specimen arrived in Paris, it immediately caused a sensation. There is a rule in zoology that the first specimen found in each species, called "type specimen", is the most precious. This specimen brought by David is the "Giant Panda Model Specimen". The panda "model specimen" collected by the Paris Museum of Natural History (Source: Sichuan Provincial Records? When this skin was exhibited in the museum, no one knew it at that time. People can see from the skin that it has a white face of Zhang greatly in Zhang Yuanyuan, and there are two circles of deep black spots around its eyes, like wearing a pair of sunglasses. So some people concluded that there is no such animal in the world, and the skin is fake! Some people say it's a strange bear. In the ninth year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1870), Miller Edwards' research results were published in the fifth volume of Annual Report of Natural Science. According to the fur and bones of the panda and David's report, he concluded that this is a rare new animal species in the world, which was initially named "black and white bear", but it is not a bear, and a new classification should be established separately. Miller Edwards, a giant panda (from the Internet) painted in his early years, did not give a clear name to this new classification at that time. Later, after more in-depth research, the Museum of Natural History published his new paper "The Discovery of Natural History of Mammals" (1868- 1874), which made an authoritative statement on the giant panda: "In terms of appearance, it is indeed similar to a bear, but its skeletal characteristics and teeth are obviously different, but it is similar to kittens, bears and raccoons. This must be true. The kittens and bears mentioned in Miller Edwards' paper were discovered in the foothills of the Himalayas in the first year of Qing Daoguang (182 1), and they also ate bamboo. Later, it was classified as a bear with a cat-like face, hence the name panda. After the discovery of "black and white bear", biologists believe that these two animals have many similarities and can be classified as one. In order to distinguish them, the first one is called kitten bear. Accordingly, the original literal translation name of the giant panda should be "Giant Panda". From then on, the term "giant panda" was born! David therefore became an academician of the French Academy of Sciences. In the ninth year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1870), David sent the skin of the giant panda back to the Paris Museum of Natural History, and also collected the golden monkey, the green-tailed pheasant (hen), the red panda (bobcat crouched, which David called "Shan Tong") and the living fossil of the plant Davidia involucrata (commonly known as "Davidia involucrata" in Baoxing). After years of hard work, David discovered more than 200 kinds of animals in China (63 of which were discovered for the first time). In addition, there are 807 species of birds (63 of which were discovered for the first time). At least 52 species of rhododendrons collected by him belong to new species. There are more than 40 unrecorded primrose specimens in the western world, most of which were donated to the Paris Botanical Garden. In the 26th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1900), 10/0/0 month, 74-year-old David closed his eyes peacefully and was buried in Mont panas cemetery. Today, Baoxing County and David's hometown of Espellet have become twin cities. Although David has been away from us for more than one hundred years, his outstanding contribution will be remembered forever. His spirit of exploring the unknown world will not be forgotten by us because of his death, but will live in people's hearts forever. (Originally published in History of Bashu, Volume 2, No.222, 20 19)