Botanicon Sinicum: notes on Chinese botany from native and Western sources. Part 3, Botanical investigations into the materia medica of the ancient Chinese / [E. Bretschneider].

Emil Bretschneider

Date:: 1895

Credit: Botanicon Sinicum: notes on Chinese botany from native and Western sources. Part 3, Botanical investigations into the materia medica of the ancient Chinese / [E. Bretschneider]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

32/638 (page 22)

$foot deep in the earth and often divides itself into ten branches. It is sold for near its weight in silver and is obtainable with difficulty. Li Shi-chen :—Ancient Shang tang is what is now called Lu chon [in S.E. Shan si, App. 204]. The people look upon the Ginseng as a calamity for the country where it grows (for the drug must be delivered to the emperor without compensation). That which is made use of at present comes from Liao tung (Manchuria). The three kingdoms Kao li, Po tsi and Sin lo (mentioned by the ancient authors as producing Ginseng) now constitute the kingdom of Chao sien [Corea, App. 9]. Coreau Ginseng is much carried to China. The people there cultivate it also like a vegetable. The seeds are sown in the 10th month. That (root) which is dug up in autumn and in winter is firm and full of juice ; on the contrary that taken in the spring and summer seasons is soft and devoid of juice, which difference does not proceed from the good or bad quality of the ground where it grows. The Ginseng root of Liao tung when it o o o has its rind on is of a smooth yellow colour like the fang feng [i\ supra], but when the rind is taken off it is firm and white like starch. Other roots are frequently substituted for the true Ginseng, namely the sha slien \_Adenophora, see the next], the tsi ni [Adenophora, see 5] and the hie heng \_Platycodon, see 6], The sha shen and the tsi ni are entirely devoid of juice, have no heart (Jee )|^\ without energy?) and are of an insipid taste. The root of the hie heng is hard, has a heart (/^* has active properties?) and is of a bitter taste. But the root of the true Ginseng is of a juicy substance, has a heart and an agreeable sweet taste with a spice of bitterness. It is commonly called 3? fill k'n tsing yii Ian. That which is in the shape of a man is called VA iai hai rh shen (infant’s Ginseng). It is fre- quently adulterated. Su Sung [in the Tlu king Pen lslao$