MATERIA MEDICA OF THE ANCIENT CHINESE. 325 
See 41]. The plant noticed by Tso Huna-k1ne is not the 
che kui but rather the +b 9) t‘w Iwan (ground testicle); which 
is also called ¥ FR} huang tu. It is seldom used in medicine, 
but the people of Liang Han [probably Sz ch‘uan, App. 188 | 
eat it (the root) steamed. 
Haw Pao-suene [10th cent.]:—It is a climbing plant. 
The leaves resemble those of the lo mo (Metaplezis) and the 
root is like the pa kia root [Smilax. See 179], with a purplish 
black skin and orange-coloured flesh. Larger specimens are 
contorted and as large as a sheng, the smaller are of the size 
of a fist. 
Li Sut-coen :—The name che k‘ui means “ brown wine 
vessel.” It refers to the shape of the root, which contains a 
brown juice. The people of Min (Fu kien) use the plant for 
giving the inner surface of jars a blue colour. *° ; 
Ch. XXII, 47 :—Che k‘ui. Figure of a plant unknown 
to me, 
_ 182.—FF BE ts‘ien ts‘ao. P., XVIIb, 19. T7., CIV. 
Comp. Rh ya, 22, Classics, 393. 
Pen king :—Ts‘ien ts‘ao, #§ Wi ts‘ien ken [root]. The 
root is officinal. Taste bitter. Nature cold. Non-poisonous. 
Pie lu:—Other name: 3 [if ti hie (earth blood). The 
ts‘ien ken grows in K‘iao shan [in Shen si, App. 134] in 
mountain-valleys. The root is taken up in the 2nd and 
3rd months and dried in the sun. The plant grows in shady 
mountain-valleys. It twines around herbaceous plants and 
trees. The stem is prickly. The fruit is like that of the 
tsiao (Zanthoaylon). , 
T‘ao Huna-Kine :—The és‘ien ts‘ao is used for dyeing 
a dark red colour. It is more common in the western 
3 PBA A 2055 Wi BE fe, Not quite intelligible, 
