MATERIA MEDICA. OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 107 
52.—Ry  shao yo. P., X1Va, 18. T., CXV. 
Pen king :—Shao yo. The root is officinal. Taste bitter. 
Nature uniform. Non-poisonous. 
Pie lu:—Other names: $2 Be li shi, BRA yi yung, 
BE yen. The shao yo grows on the Chung yo mountain 
[in Ho nan, App. 33] in river valleys. The root is dug up 
in the 2nd and 8th months and dried in the sun. 
Other ancient names : Hf fff tsiang li, PE He Ud ts‘ao. 
T‘ao Hune-Kincg :—The best sorts are found on the 
Pai shan and Tsiang shan mountains [both unknown. App. 
238, 851] and on the Mao shan [in Kiang su, App. 218]. 
The root is white and about a foot long. The plant is also 
found in other localities, but that is for the greater part the 
red sort, which is of an inferior quality. 
Ma Cut [10th cent.]:—There is a white and a red sort 
(according to the colour of the root), The flowers are also 
white or red. 
Su Sone [11th cent.]:—It is a common plant. The 
best drug comes from Huai nan [An hui, Kiang su, App. 
90]. The young sprouts are of a red colour. Leaves on 
the top of the stem, three branches, five leaves (the author 
means biternate leaves) resembling the leaves of the mou tan 
[Peonia mou tan. See 53], but they are longer and 
narrower. The plant is from one to two feet high. Its 
flowers are white, red or purple. The fruit resembles that of 
the mow tan, but is smaller. “According to the Ku kin chu 
[4th cent.] there are two kinds of shao yo, the mm -vl 
ts‘ao (herbaceous) shao yo and the 7 [| | mu (tree) shao 
yo. The latter has large flowers of a deep (red) colour and 
1s commonly called HE: Ff mou tan [see 53]. According 
to other authors the mu shao yo is a name for the purple 
