458 Sino-Iranica 



strongest evidence for the fact that the su-ho of the Chinese designates 

 the storax of the ancients. 1 



The Fan yi min yi tsi (I.e.) identifies Sanskrit p ift H" H> ffi tu-lu-se- 

 kien, *tu-lu-s6t-kiam, answering to Sanskrit turuskam, with su-ho. 

 In some works this identification is even ascribed to the Kwan ci of the 

 sixth century (or probably earlier). In the Pien tse lei pien, 2 where the 

 latter work is credited with this Sanskrit word, we find the character 

 M kie, *g'ia5, in lieu of the second character lu. The term turuska 

 refers to real incense (olibanum). 3 It is very unlikely that this aromatic 

 was ever understood by the word su-ho, and it rather seems that some 

 ill-advised adjustment has taken place here. 



T'ao Hun-kih (a.d. 451-536) relates a popular tradition that su-ho 

 should be lion's ordure, adding that this is merely talk coming from 

 abroad, and untrue. 4 C'en Ts'an-k'i of the eighth century states, 5 

 "Lion-ordure is red or black in color; when burnt, it will dissipate the 

 breath of devils; when administered, it will break stagnant blood 

 and kill worms. The perfume su-ho, however, is yellow or white in 

 color: thus, while the two substances are similar, they are not identical. 

 People say that lion-ordure is the sap from the bark of a plant in the 

 western countries brought over by the Hu. In order to make people 

 prize this article, this name has been invented." This tradition as yet 

 unexplained is capable of explanation. In Sanskrit, rasamala means 

 "excrement," and this word has been adopted by the Javanese and 

 Malayans for the designation of storax. 6 Thus this significance of the 

 word may have given the incentive for the formation of that trade- 

 trick, — examples of which are not lacking in our own times. 



Under the T'ang, su-ho was imported into China also from Malayan 

 regions, especially from K'un-lun (in the Malayan area), described as 



1 The most important pharmacological and historical investigation of the sub- 

 ject still remains the study of D. Hanbury (Science Papers, pp. 127-150), which 

 no one interested in this matter should fail to read. 



2 Ch. 195, p. 8 b. 



3 Cf. Language of the Yue-chi, p. 7. 



4 He certainly does not say, as Bretschneider (Bot. Sin., pt. Ill, p. 463) wrongly 

 translates, "but the foreigners assert that this is not true." Only the foreigners 

 could have brought this fiction to China, as is amply confirmed by C'en Ts'ah-k'i. 

 Moreover, the T'an pen lu |tf ^ ££ says straight, "This is a falsehood of the Hu." 



6 Cen lei pen ts'ao, Ch. 12, p. 52 (ed. of 1587). 



6 Bretschneider (/. c.) erroneously attributes to Garcia da Orta the statement 

 that Rocamalha should be the Chinese name for the storax, and Stuart (Chinese 

 Materia Medica, p. 243) naturally searched in vain for a confirmation of this name 

 in Chinese books. Garcia says in fact that liquid storax is here (that is, in India) 

 called Rocamalha (Markham, Colloquies, p. 63), and does not even mention China 

 in this connection. 



