VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 419 



remedial action. It is used externalh^ in all sorts of sores, and 

 especially to harden the skin and protect it from chapping or 

 cracking. 



A kind of spirit prepared after a special process is called 

 "M. 'M M (Yii-nio-chiu), "curing ague spirit," because it has a 

 reputation in that disease. 



M ^ '^ (T'u-su-chiu) is made after the formula of the 

 famous physician Huato. It is considered an infallible remedy 

 in epidemics, especially those of a virulent character. It 

 therefore receives the name "killing-and-reviving-spirit," i.e. 

 killing the demon of disease and reviving the patient. It is 

 composed of red Atractylis, cinnamon heart, Siler divaricatuni, 

 Smilax china, Zanthoxylum piperitum, Platycodon grandi- 

 florum, rhubarb, aconite, and Abrus precatorius. These are 

 digested in spirits, both cold and hot. It is kept cool by 

 hanging in a vessel at the bottom of the well, and used as a 

 prophylactic at times of epidemics. 



A compound spirit, made in a very fanciful manner, is 

 called ^^ '^ M (Chiin-hsiiu-chiu). To it is attributed remark- 

 able virtues in the treatment of rheumatism and as a life 

 preserving and health promoting remedy. 



Honey spirit, called ^ jg (Mi-chiu), is made by mixing 

 glutinous rice congee and yeast with honey, and fermenting in 

 a sealed jar for seven days. It is used in the treatment of 

 eruptive fevers. 



Distilled Spirits, called -^ ?@ (Shao-chiu) and i^ fg 

 (Huo-chiu), was unknown in China until the Yuan dvnastv, 

 when the large contact with the Western world had by that 

 Tartar dynasty, which conquered so large a portion of Central 

 Asia and threatened to overrun Europe, served to convey 

 from the west a knowledge of the process of distillation. It 

 is a remarkable fact that this Tartar invasion of all parts of 

 the civilized world, which served to carry the germs of so 

 many useful inventions and industrial arts into Europe, 

 should have been the instrument of conveying to the Far East 

 the first knowledge of the triple curses of ardent spirits, opium, 

 and tobacco. Proof of the foreign origin of the process of 

 distillation is given in one of the names of its product, PnJ $|J "^ 

 (A-la-chi), which is a transliteration of the Arabic ara^. The 



