196 Sino-Iranica 



by the people of Kian-si ffl J£ ^ hu-sun-kian, a purely local name 

 which does not hint at any relation to the Hu. 



6. Another botanical name in which the word hu appears without 

 reference to the Hu is Vui-hu-ken ^1 #3 J8, unidentified, a wild plant 

 diffused all over China, and first mentioned by C'en Ts'an-k'i as grow- 

 ing in the river-valleys of Kian-nan. 1 



7-8. The same remark holds good for ts'e-hu j£ (^) #l 2 (Bupleurum 

 falcatum), a wild plant of all northern provinces and already described 

 in the Pie lu, and for ts x ien-hu Hf fifl 3 {Angelica decursiva), growing in 

 damp soil in central and northern China. 



9. Su-hu-lan 13 #} fl& is an unidentified plant, first and solely men- 

 tioned by C'en Ts'ah-k'i, 4 the seeds of which, resembling those of 

 Pimpinella anisum, are eatable and medicinally employed. It grows 

 in Annam. One might be tempted to take the term as hu-lan of Su 

 (Se-2'wan), but lu-hu-lan may be the transcription of a foreign word. 



10. The ma-k'in E$ jfjf or niu *r k'in (Viola pinnata), a wild violet, 

 is termed hu k'in #J 7r in the T'un li 3® iS by Ceh Tsiao % Wl (1 108-62) 

 and in the T'u kin pen ts'ao of Su Sufi. 6 No explanation as to the mean- 

 ing of this hu is on record. 



11. The hu-man (wan) S3 s is a poisonous plant, identified with 

 Gelsemium elegans.* It is mentioned in the Pei hu lu 1 with the synonyme 

 ye-ko Jn H, 8 the vegetable yun ^g (Ipomoea aquatica) being regarded as 

 an antidote for poisoning by hu-man. C'en Ts'ah-k'i is cited as au- 

 thority for this statement. The Lin piao lu i 9 writes the name I? 35, 

 and defines it as a poisonous grass; hu-man grass is the common col- 

 loquial name. The same work further says, "When one has eaten of 

 this plant by mistake, one should use a broth made from sheep's blood 

 which will neutralize the poison. According to some, this plant grows 

 as a creeper. Its leaves are like those of the Ian hian S3 #, bright and 

 thick. Its poison largely penetrates into the leaves, and is not employed 



1 Pen ts'ao kan tnu, Ch. 16, p. 7 b. 

 • *Op. cit., Ch. 13, p. 6 b. 



* Op. cit., Ch. 13, p. 7 b. 



* Op. cit., Ch. 26, p. 22 b. 



* Op. cit., Ch. 26, p. 21 ; Ci wu min Si t'u k'ao, Ch. 14, p. 76. 



•Cf. C. Ford, China Review, Vol. XV, 1887, pp. 215-220. Stuart (Chinese 

 Materia Medica, p. 220) says that the plant is unidentified, nevertheless he describes 

 it on p. 185. 



7 Ch. 2, p. 18 b (ed. of Lu Sin-yoan). 



8 According to Matsumura (Shokubutsu mei-i, No. 2689), Rhus toxicodendron 

 (Japanese tsuta-uruii). 



9 Ch. B, p. 2 (ed. of Wu yin Hen). 



