CHINESE LITERATURE OX THE LYCIIEE 21 



a Lychee Society, the purpose of which should be to consume the 

 delicious fruit and to write poems about it. He names twenty-two 

 varieties growing in Kwangtung as recorded by Cheng Hsiung (jj|$j| j . 



One of the most recent treatise on the lychee, and which 

 does not appear in the Chinese Encyclopedia, is that of \Vu Ying 

 K'uei (ftlKj^j l published in 1826. This treatise deals with the 

 lychee in the Ling Nan ($at$f) region of Kwangtung (jgtjfc) and has 

 been translated into English by Mr. Hoh Hung Ping (fnjftft^ 1 ) f tnc 

 Canton Christian College. % 



The Chih Wu Ming Shih T'u K'ao (tittf^Wlfi^ 2 , an 

 illustrated Chinese botany published in 1848, reprints a number of the 

 well-known lychee monographs and in connection with the illustration 

 of the lychee Wu CrTi Hsun (;&;-?$), the author, writes an interest- 

 ing essay. In this essay it is recorded that Yii Lo Nung (f^H) of 

 Fukien province had among his pupils one who later became an 

 official in Yuan Kiang (jtft) in Yunnan (itj$). Yu Lo Nung 

 (^?|g:f|/ later visited his friend in Yunnan and found recorded in the 

 annals of Yuan Kiang (jtiE) that the lychee had been produced 

 there. Upon inquiry why this section did not still produce lychee he 

 learned that it was because of the difficulties of communication and 

 the labor and trouble involved in sending lychee tribute to the 

 Emperor. Because of the hardships imposed upon them the people 

 had decided to cut down all the lychee trees. Yu Lo Nung (iflgJl) 

 again pointed out that Yuan Kiang (jctE) was well adapted for 

 lychee culture and he strongly urged the official to introduce them 

 from Nan Hai ($i$0 in Kwangtung province. The final answer of 

 his friend was that Yuan Kiang (TG&) was hot and damp and that 

 the lychee introduction was not worth the effort as he would not be 

 there for more than three years. He said that, moreover, as this 

 was the only place in Yunnan that could possibly produce the lychee, 

 its production would cause the people much hardship because of the 

 custom of tribute. He remarked, "For one taste of sweetness by 

 the officials, the people are caused much trouble. Ah! How sorry 

 I am! ' 



1 WU YING K'UEI (^m^) Ling Nan Li Chih P'u (2J||$ig) in 

 Ling Nan I Shu Uftffft : &), book 59 (^3-Hl/), and in six sections 



2 WU CH'l HSUN (:JC?&), Chih Wu Ming Shih Tu K'ao 



fruit division (%M\ section 31 (^H-T* %), pages 10 and 11 



