A short biography of human excrement and its value | Aeon Essays
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In 1737, an emperor of the Qing dynasty in China issued a decree prescribing all his subjects to diligently gather their excrement and put it to good use. Dubbed the ‘night soil’ because it was usually collected in the wee hours of the morning when people put their chamber pots out the door, faecal matter was a booming business in Jiangnan province in southern China. Meanwhile, people in northern China weren’t as keen on it. And the difference was really striking, which is what prompted the emperor to write his treatise to begin with. ‘The streets in the north are not clean. The land is filthy,’ the document read. ‘The northerners should follow Jiangnan’s example. Every household should collect night soil.’ The final verdict, which became the decree’s title, was as plain as it was poetic: ‘Treasure Night Soil As If It Were Gold’.
