Introduction * 201 



\ 



In hu tsiao ("pepper") the attribute hu distinctly refers to India. 1 

 Another example in which hu alludes to India is presented by the 

 term hu kan kian U\ $L ^ ("dried ginger of the Hu"), which is a 

 synonyme of T'ien-tu % *5 kan kian ("dried ginger of India"), "pro- 

 duced in the country of the Brahmans." 2 



In the term hufen tfi $r (a cosmetic or facial powder of white lead), 

 the element hu bears no relation to the Hu, although it is mentioned 

 as a product of Kuca 3 and subsequently as one of the city of Ili (Yi-li- 

 pa-li). 4 In fact, there is no Chinese tradition to the effect that this 

 substance ever came from the Hu. 6 F. P. Smith 8 observed with refer- 

 ence to this subject, "The word hu does not denote that the substance 

 was formerly obtained from some foreign source, but is the result of a 

 mistaken character." This evidently refers to the definition of the 

 dictionary $i min W & by Liu Hi of the Han, who explains this hu 

 by t$ hu ("gruel, congee"), which is mixed with grease to be rubbed 

 into the face. The process of making this powder from lead is a thor- 

 oughly Chinese affair. 



In the term hu yen ffl IS ("salt of the Hu") the word Hu refers to 

 barbarous, chiefly Tibetan, tribes bordering on China in the west; for 

 there are also the synonymes Hun -& yen and k x ian 3& yen, the former 

 already occurring in the Pie lu. Su Kun of the seventh century equalizes 

 the terms Hun yen and hu yen, and gives t'u-ten 35 $£ yen as the word 

 used in Sa-cbu & /H. Ta Mih ^C *5§, who wrote in a.d. 970, says that this 

 is the salt consumed by the Tibetans (Si-fan), and hence receives the 

 designation Hun or k'ian yen. Other texts, however, seem to make a 

 distinction between hu yen and Hun yen: thus it is said in the biography 

 of Li Hiao-po ^ # f 9 in the Wei Su, "The salt of the Hu cures pain 

 of the eye, the salt of the 2un heals ulcers." 



The preceding examples are sufficient to illustrate the fact that 

 the element hu in botanical terms demands caution, and that each case 

 must be judged on its own merits. No hard and fast rule, as deduced 

 by Bretschneider, can be laid down: the mere addition of hu proves 

 neither that a plant is foreign, nor that it is West-Asiatic or Iranian. 

 There are native plants equipped with this attribute, and there are 

 foreign plants thus characterized, which hail from Korea, India, or 



1 See below, p. 374. 



2 Cen lei pen ts'ao, Ch. 6, p. 67 b. 



* Cou $u, Ch. 50, p. 5; Sui Su, Ch. 83, p. 5 b. 



* Ta Min i t'un li, Ch. 89, p. 22; Kwan yii ki, Ch. 24, p. 6 b. 



' Pen ts'ao kan mu, Ch. 8, p. 6; Geerts (Produits, pp. 596-601), whose transla- 

 tion "poudre des pays barbares" is out of place. 



* Contributions towards the Materia Medica of China, p. 231. 



