MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 287 
chi kang (red string). The larger (coarser) kind, which 
is of a light colour, is called 9 & tu le. The medical 
virtues in both are the same. 
In the Kuang ya [3rd cent.] this plant is termed 3 Fe 
tu ku. 
T‘ao Hune-xine:—This :plant grows abundantly in 
the fields. It twines about herbaceous plants as the lan 
[ Polygonum. See 123], the ch‘u ma [Behmeria. See 88] 
and the hao (Artemisia). Seeds used in medicine. 
Ta Mine [10th cent.]:—The plant looks like yellow 
floss-silk. It has neither leaves nor stem, twines about 
herbaceous plants of the fields, and continues growing even 
when these plants die. It flowers and bears fruit at the 
same time. The seeds are small like millet. 
Cuane Yi-n1 [11th cent.] quotes the Li shi ch‘un tsiu 
[8rd cent. B.C.], which states that the f‘w sz has no root. 
The Pao p‘o tsz‘ [13th cent.] states that where the t‘u sz‘ 
grows the fu tu [or fu ling, Pachyma cocos. See 350] is 
found in the ground, but it is not attached to the former. 
Su Suna [11th cent.] says that the statement of the 
Pao p‘o tse‘ has not been confirmed, and that the é‘w sz‘ has 
nothing to do with the fu ling. The t‘u se* grows in Mid 
China. The best is found in Yiian ki [in Shan tung, App. 
415]. The plant consists of fine filaments which twine 
about other plants. Its root soon abandons the ground and 
attaches itself to the pores of the foster plant. Some say 
that it has no root at all and lives upon the air. 
Li Sat-cuen :—The t‘u sz‘ is a common plant in neglected 
places, gardens, and on old roads. Its seeds germinate in the 
ground, but the plant thus sent up [after having reached 
the foster plant] becomes detached from the root. It has 
no leaves. Flowers white or of a delicate red colour and 
fragrant. The fruit, like a small bean and of a yellow 
