466 BOTANICON SINICUM. 
kingdom of the Parthians in W. Asia. An si properly 
means “tranquility,” and, as this perfume is reputed for : 
expelling evil spirits, Lr Sur-cHen tries to explain the — 
name in this way. He adds that the Sanscrit name of the 
drug is i El #2 7 cho (ku) pei lo hiang. It seems that — 
in the accounts of foreign countries, as found in the Histories — 
of the Chinese Dynasties, the An si hiang is not mentioned . 
before the 7th century. It is frequently noticed as a product — 
of Western Asia and Arabia, as well as of Siam, Sumatra — 
and Cochinchina, in the Ming period [15th cent.]. See my — 
article on the Arabs, pp. 19, 20. on 
Su Kune [7th cent.]:—The An si hiang comes from the 
country of the western barbarians. It resembles the sung chi : 
(common resin), is of a yellowish black colour and appears — : 
in lumps. The fresh resin is soft. a 
Lr Siw [8th cent.]:—It is produced in the countries of 
the Southern Sea and in Po sz‘ [Persia]. It is the resin 
of.a tree, resembles the gum of the peach tree and is collected e 
at the end of autumn. os 
Coane Yii-u1 [11th cent.]:—The Yu yang tsa male 
[8th cent.] states:—The tree which yields the An st Muang” 
grows in Po sz‘ [Persia]. It is also called BE FB Bf pt 
shu (tree which drives away evil). It grows from twenty 
to thirty feet high. Its bark is yellowish black. The leaves 
spread out into four corners and do not fall off in the cold. 
It blossoms.in the 2nd. month. Yellow flowers. The heart 
of the flower is green. It does not produce fruit.’ When : 
the bark of the tree is scraped off the resin appears, like 
sugar. It is called An si hiang. In the 6th or 7th month, — 
when it has become hard, it is fit for being burned ae 
incense. It has the property of expelling all sorts of evil . 
things. : 
Li Sui-cuey :—This drug is found in An nap, San 0 : 
tsi (Eastern Sumatra), and other foreign countries, and 
