Introducing the Junpu《菌譜》("Mushroom Manual"), an unprecedented Chinese mycological treatise authored in the year 1245 by Southern Song scholar-official Chen Renyu: 
 
All but forgotten in the present era, Chen Renyu's Junpu is nevertheless a historic text of singular significance, recognized for its unique status as not only as the earliest guide to edible mushrooms known from China, but also the earliest practical treatise on fungi known from anywhere in the world. Despite the Junpu’s limited informational scope – comprising fewer than a thousand characters in total, devoid of illustrations, featuring only a brief synoptic preface followed by miscellaneous entries for a small assortment of mushrooms found in the montane forests of the author’s native Xianju county – Chen's pioneering work on fungal biodiversity and ethnomycological tradition is remarkable for its profound influence on the subsequent development of mushroom-related literatures and cultures throughout East Asia, a legacy that flourished for centuries after its initial publication. 
 
Having recently produced the first-ever complete annotated English-language translation of the Junpu in 2023, modern-day mycophile Dylan Goldfine-Middleton now shares his novel research with fungal enthusiasts of all backgrounds, offering key insights into the content and context of the world's earliest mushroom manual, as well as an inside perspective on the continued relevance of the text in the present era, far removed from its original place and time. Though the accuracy and robustness of scientific knowledge afforded by many mushroom guidebooks today undeniably supersedes much of the fragmentary technical information recorded in the nearly eight-century-old Junpu, other aspects, such as Chen Renyu’s lifetime of personal experience as a mushroomer, his deep fascination with the many mysteries of mycelia, and his poetic praise for the wondrous sensory delights of the fungal world, are perhaps more pertinent than ever in the here and now. Thus, as lofty Mount Shasta and its forested surrounds continue to develop as a celebrated destination for mushroom lovers both near and far, the Junpu provides for all of us, amateurs and experts alike, a timeless guide to the appreciation of fungi, wherever and whenever they might be found.