74 CHINESE MATERIA MEDICA. 



effects. Its medicinal use is recommended in fevers and to 

 quench the craving for wine. It is also considered to be 

 laxative and diuretic. The seeds are used to arouse a "dead 

 drunk/* and the oil expressed from them, when rubbed on the 

 scalp, is thought to promote the growth of hair. 



^ ^ (Yiiu-t'ai), otherwise called ^ ^ (Yu-ts'ai), is 

 undoubtedly Brassica ?-apa^ which produces the ^"^ -^ (Yu- 

 ts'ai-tzii, "rape seed"), from which the |^ \^ (Ts'ai-yu, 

 "rape-seed oil") is manufactured. It also is called Brassica 

 chinensis., possibly on account of its economic prominence in 

 this country. The plant is thought to have originally been 

 brought from Mongolia, and for this reason is also called ■^ '%, 

 (Hu-ts'ai). The oil and its manufacture are of great com- 

 mercial importance to those portions of China in which this 

 plant is cultivated. Until the introduction of kerosene, this 

 oil was the cheapest and best illuminant known to the Chinese. 

 Its culinary use was very great, being considered inferior, 

 however, to sesamura oil for this purpose. The vegetable, 

 eaten in the spring, was regarded as acrid and cooling. Under 

 certain conditions its use was said to be slightly deleterious. 

 In some cases it produced stiffness of the knees, and those 

 already afflicted with difficulties of the back or feet were made 

 worse by its use. The Taoists count it as first among the five 

 ^ (Hun). The expressed juice of the stalk and leaves is the 

 form in which it is used medicinally. In this way, and also 

 sometimes as a decoction, it is applied to foul sores, caked 

 breast, cancer, and such like. The expressed juice is also 

 administered in dysentery and bloody stools. 



^ W (Wu-ching), otherwise known as g ^ (Man-ching), 

 is Brassica rapa-depressa^ the rape-turnip. In the classics this 

 is called ^ (Feng\ The root, leaves, and seed of this plant 

 are all eaten. The Chinese have not improved this turnip 

 much by cultivation, as both root and leaves remain bitter and 

 pungent. The continued use of this vegetable is considered to 

 be less deleterious than the yim-t'ai^ and many of its medicinal 

 uses are identical with those of the latter plant. Its properties 

 are cooling and anti-vinous. The seeds are considered to be 

 diuretic and constructive. Women are especially recommended 

 to use them. The oil expressed from them is added to cosmetic 



