A walking encyclopedia of natural history

The book Notes on an Illustrated Handbook of Marine Animals [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Inheritance through time and space

In his daily communication, Zhang manages to identify numerous species using images from netizens, not only in photos, but also in simple line drawings.

After seeing so many drawings, he has gradually developed his skill at drawing species, a skill that inspired him to publish his first book last year.

The book, Notes on an Illustrated Handbook of Marine Animals, was published on Nov 15.

In the book, Zhang identifies and analyzes 30 marine creatures. To ensure the accuracy of creature information, Zhang traveled across China's eastern coastal areas, Japan and Thailand to ensure the information's accuracy.

"The research and investigation process is an unforgettable experience for me as I can travel and study at the same time. It is worthwhile to notice that the local seafood market is worth hanging around. You can find lots of unexpected species there and talk with the local people about some creatures, which is really a big surprise for me," Zhang recalled.

Talking about his book, Zhang notes there is another guide to sea animals, written long ago. As a matter of fact, Zhang's book is based on an antique book, Illustrated Handbook of Marine Animals.

The book's author, Nie Huang, lived during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the early years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). As a passionate traveler, his journeys covered the distance between North China's Hebei province to the eastern coastal areas. He painted marine creatures he had never seen before and finally finished the book.

"As an introductary book, it is rich in content and vivid in pictures. However, I have noticed that many mistakes did exist in the book due to the limits of the era. Therefore, I decided to rewrite the book. On one hand, I can correct these mistakes and promote the true knowledge to the book-lovers. For another, it is my way to pay tribute to traditional culture," Zhang said.

For instance, at the end of introducing each creature, Zhang analyzes the best way to properly cook it and make it taste better, a similar element in Nie's book.

"It took me one and half years to finish the first part of the book series. And I am happy to see it sells well, which gives me more confidence to write sequels," he said.

"Two books from two natural history masters. When I read them, I feel like two walking encyclopedias of natural history have a dialogue that goes though time and space," a reader said online.