In the early days, PSS conducted writing and fieldwork as our major approaches. Based on the archival research of plant history, we carried out the Plant South Newsletter, and the first issue A Nomadic History of Pineapple was intended to consider the pineapple as a colonial subject, and to outline the global cultural landscape of the pineapple in terms of material exchanges, dissemination of knowledge, and visual representations. After this, we have conducted fieldwork in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, Singapore, and other places.
In cooperation with different cultural groups and organizations, we have carried out writing projects such as Making Citrus, Planting a Town-city, The Past of Prunes in Xinjiang, Gardens of Plant Inhabitants, and Tofu in China: A Pre-Study for the Development of a Sino-German Tofu Network.
The publications of PSS address discussions about plants. Our approach attempts to exemplify that “some non-human beings evince this attribute in a more consequential manner than others; as a matter of fact, many of them have power of agency far superior to humans and in this sense are ‘more persons’ than the latter”. We all live on the same ground, we invite you to imagine a living as Rhizome, glimpsing the entanglements of Anthropence in the eyes of plants.
A Nomadic History of Pineapple is the first self-publishing zine of Plant South Salesroom's 2023 Plant Newsletter Initiative. It explores the pineapple plant as a colonial enterprise, alongside material exchange, scientific development, knowledge distribution, and visual representation. This zine attempts to delineate the cultural landscape of the pineapple around the world, to articulate how this exotic species has reshaped human cultures since its first appearance as a symbol of nobility and artistry. From then on, this tiny plant has permeated into every aspect of society, drawing together an integrated network. Accordingly, the symbolic meaning of the pineapple is becoming broader and denser.
Citrus genus lineage.
Information source: Genomics of the Origin and Evolution of Citrus.
Illustrator: Mingyu Zhuang.
Making Citrus is the second issue of the Plant Newsletter Initiative. As the name implies, it seeks to investigate the question, “Why have citrus fruits become increasingly sweet and juicy?” Rather than a direct answer, this issue initiates a discussion on how citrus fruits are cultivated- or more specifically, how they are “produced” as commodities- hoping to provide an alternative perspective, “Behind the sweetness may be a long-term production process .”
Due to the complex and ancient history of citrus fruits, the academic community has yet to map out the precise paths of its spread and reproduction. This issue follows these intricate traces, not seeking causality, but focusing on how we write about plants, how humans interact with these productive landscapes, and how everyday life is transformed by plants.
Self-Published Zine
Issue No.1: A Nomadic History of Pineapple
Author: Yao Jiang, Hangping Yang, Mingyu Zhuang
Design: Hangping Yang
Issue No.2: Making Citrus
Author: Yao Jiang, Hangping Yang, Mingyu Zhuang
Design: Zian Lu, Mingyu Zhuang
Commissioned Work: Planting a Town-City
Author: Yao Jiang, Hangping Yang, Mingyu Zhuang
Design: Hangping Yang, Mingyu Zhuang
Others
Plant South Salesroom ed., The Time and Space of Plants (special issue), THE THINKER, vol. 143, 2025
Jiang, Yang and Zhuang, Tofu in China: A Pre-Study for the Development of a Sino-German Tofu Network, Sino-German Agricultural Centre (DCZ), 2025
Jiang, Yang and Zhuang, Possibilities of Scripting about Plants, THE THINKER, vol. 128, 2024