Chive, Onion, and Shallot 303 



{£ $£ of the tenth century. However, this text is now inserted in the 

 older Ku kin lu, x which teems with interpolations. 



Ta swan is mentioned also as the first among the five vegetables of 

 strong odor tabooed for the Buddhist clergy, the so-called wu hun 

 3l j|£. 2 This series occurs in the Brahmajala-sutra, translated in 

 a.d. 406 by Kumarajlva. 8 If the term ta swan was contained in the 

 original edition of this work, we should have good evidence for carry- 

 ing the date of the chive into the Eastern Tsin dynasty (a.d. 317-419). 



11. There is another cultivated species of Allium (probably A. 

 fistulosum) derived from the West. This is first mentioned by Sun Se- 

 miao M B j!!, 4 in his Ts'ien kin H U ^ %. "% 7n (written in the begin- 

 ning of the seventh century), under the name hu ts'un i§ ^, because 

 the root of this plant resembles the hu swan iPf |jf. It was usually styled 

 swan-ts'un m i§? or hu #1 ts'un (the latter designation in the K'ai poo 

 pen ts'ao of the Sung). In the Yin San Zen yao (p. 236), written in 1331 

 under the Yuan, it is called hui-hui ts'un 01 ("Mohammedan 

 onion"). 6 This does not mean, however, that it was only introduced 

 by Mohammedans; but this is simply one of the many favorite alter- 

 ations of ancient names, as they were in vogue during the Mongol 

 epoch. This Allium was cultivated in Se-£'wan under the T'ang, as 

 stated by Mon Sen j£ $9g in his Si liao pen ts'ao, written in the second 

 half of the seventh century. Particulars in regard to the introduction 

 are not on record. 



12. There is a third species of Allium, which reached China under 

 the T'ang, and which, on excellent evidence, may be attributed to 

 Persia. In a.d. 647 the Emperor T'ai Tsuri solicited from all his tribu- 

 tary nations their choicest vegetable products, 6 and their response to 

 the imperial call secured a number of vegetables hitherto unknown in 

 China. One of these is described as follows: "Hun-t'i onion $? $| ^ 

 resembles in appearance the onion (ts'un, Allium fistulosum), but is 

 whiter and more bitter. On account of its smell, it serves as a remedy. 



1 Ch. c, p. 3 b. 



2 This subject is treated in the Pen ts'ao kan mu (Ch. 26, p. 6 b) under the 

 article swan, and summed up by Stuart (Chinese Materia Medica, p. 28). See, 

 further, De Groot, Le Code du Mahayana en Chine, p. 42, where the five plant- 

 names are unfortunately translated wrongly (hin-k'u, "asafcetida" [see p. 361], is 

 given an alleged literal translation as "le lys d'eau montant"!), and Chavannes 

 and Pelliot, Traits manicheen, pp. 233-235. 



• Bunyiu Nanjio, Catalogue of the Buddhist Tripitaka, No. 1087. 



4 Cf. below, p. 306. 



6 Pen ts'ao kan mu, Ch. 26, p. 5. 



8 We shall come back to this important event in dealing with the history of the 

 spinach. 



