MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 289 
App. 119]. This is very sour. Its seeds are kidney-shaped. 
There is also the drug from Kien p‘ing [in Hu pei, App. 139]. 
It has but little flesh, and the seeds are different. It is of a 
bitter taste. 
Su Kune [7th cent.] in explaining the name wu wei 
(five tasted) says :—The skin and the pulp [of the fruit] are 
sweet and sour, the kernels are pungent and bitter, and the 
whole drug has a salty taste. The wu wei ts:‘, which is also 
called @ J& hui ki, is a plant which climbs on trees. Leaves 
like apricot-leaves but larger. The fruit is a berry like the Jo 
Aut [Basella. See 258] or the ying tsz‘ (wild grape). It is 
produced in P‘u chou [in Shan si, App. 264] and Lan tien 
[in Shen si, App. 175]. It is sent as an annual tribute from 
Ho chung fu [in Shan si, App. 74]. 
Han Pao-suene [10th cent.]:—It is a climber. Yellowish 
white flowers. Fruit purple when ripe and of a sweet taste. 
Su Sune [11th cent.]:—It is very common in Ho tung 
and Shen si [i.e. in North China. See App. 80, 284] and is 
also found in Hang and Yiie [both in Che kiang, App. 58, 
418]. The young plant is of a red colour. It climbs on 
high trees and is 5 or 6 feet long. The leaves are round and 
pointed, resembling apricot-leaves. It blossoms in the 3rd or 
4th month. Flowers yellowish white, resembling in shape 
a Velumbium flower. The fruit ripens in the 7th month. 
Many of these berries are collected together at the end of a 
Common stalk. They are of a reddish purple colour and are 
used in medicine, for which purpose they are dried in the 
sun with the seeds. 
Li Sui-cuzn :—There are two sorts of wu wei tsz—the 
northern and the southern. The southern is red and the 
northern black. The plant is also cultivated. The sd 
Plant the root or raise it from seed. 
Ch. XXII, 5:—Wu wei tsz'. Rude drawing. It seems 
37 
