310 Sino-Iranica 



that our genus Curcuma has nothing whatever to do with Crocus or 

 saffron. 



As regards Chinese knowledge of saffron, we must distinguish two 

 long periods, — first, from the third century to the T'ang dynasty 

 inclusive, in which the Chinese received some information about the 

 plant and its product, and occasionally tribute-gifts of it; and, second, 

 the Mongol period (1260-1367), when saffron as a product was actually 

 imported into China by Mohammedan peoples and commonly used. 

 This second period is here considered first. 



Of no foreign product are the notions of the Chinese vaguer than 

 of saffron. This is chiefly accounted for by the fact that Crocus sativus 

 was hardly ever transplanted into their country, 1 and that, although 

 the early Buddhist travellers to India caught a glimpse of the plant 

 in Kashmir, their knowledge of it always remained rather imperfect. 

 First of all, they confounded saffron with safflower (Carthamus tinctori- 

 us), as the products of both plants were colloquially styled "red 

 flower" {huh hwa %Ljfc). Li Si-cen 2 annotates, "The foreign (fan #) 

 or Tibetan red flower [saffron] comes from Tibet (Si-fan) , the places of 

 the Mohammedans, and from Arabia (T'ien-fan % 3f). It is the 

 huh-lan [Carthamus] of those localities. At the time of the Yuan 

 (1 260-1367) it was used as an ingredient in food-stuffs. According to 

 the Po wu ci of Can Hwa, Can K'ien obtained the seeds of the huh-lan 

 [Carthamus] in the Western Countries (Si yu) , which is the same species 

 as that in question [saffron], although, of course, there is some difference 

 caused by the different climatic conditions . " It is hence erroneous to state, 

 as asserted by F. P. Smith, 3 that "the story of Can K'ien is repeated for 

 the saffron as well as for the safflower;" and it is due to the utmost con- 

 fusion that Stuart 4 writes, "According to the Pen-ts'ao, Crocus was 

 brought from Arabia by Can K'ien at the same time that he brought the 

 safflower and other Western plants and drugs." Can K'ien in Arabia! 

 The Po wu ci speaks merely of safflower (Carthamus), not of saffron 

 (Crocus), — two absolutely distinct plants, which even belong to different 

 families; and there is no Chinese text whatever that would link the 

 saffron with Can K'ien. In fact, the Chinese have nothing to say re- 



1 It is curious that the Armenian historian Moses of Khorene, who wrote about 

 the middle of the fifth century, attributes to China musk, saffron, and cotton (Yule, 

 Cathay, Vol. I, p. 93). Cotton was then not manufactured in China; likewise is 

 saffron cultivation out of the question for the China of that period. 



2 Pen ts'ao kan mu, Ch. 15, p. 14 b. 



8 Contributions towards the Materia Medica of China, p. 189. 

 4 Chinese Materia Medica, p. 131. 



