THE GRAPE-VINE 229 



In Han-Sou yellow and bright white grapes were styled Zu-tse & -3P 

 ("beads, pearls"); another kind, styled " rock-crystal" (swi-tsin), ex- 

 celled in sweetness; those of purple and agate color ripened at a little 

 later date. 1 



To Turkistan a special variety is attributed under the name so-so 

 S IB grape, as large as wu-wei-tse 3t !$c ? ("five flavors," Schizandra 

 chinensis) and without kernels $& $%. A lengthy dissertation on this 

 fruit is inserted in the Pen ts'ao kan mu si i. 2 The essential points are 

 the following. It is produced in Turf an and traded to Peking; in appear- 

 ance it is like a pepper-corn, and represents a distinct variety of grape. 

 Its color is purple. According to the Wu tsa tsu 3t J| fi., written in 

 1610, when eaten by infants, it is capable of neutralizing the poison of 

 small-pox. The name so-so is not the reproduction of a foreign word, 

 but simply means "small." This is expressly stated in the Pen kin fun 

 yuan ^ f ^ JM, which says that the so-so grapes resemble ordinary 

 grapes, but are smaller and finer, and hence are so called (IfO Hi %$ 

 C ). The Pi Pen ^ H of Yu-wen Tin =? annotates, however, 

 that so-so is an error for sa-so ISI, without giving reasons for this 

 opinion. Sa-so was the name of a palace of the Han emperors, and this 

 substitution is surely fantastic. Whether so-so really is a vine-grape 

 seems doubtful. It is said that so-so are planted everywhere in China 

 to be dried and marketed, being called in Kian-nan/aw p*u-?ao ("foreign 

 grape"). 8 



The Emperor K'an-hi (1662-1722), who knew very well that grapes 

 had come to China from the west, tells that he caused three new varie- 

 ties to be introduced into his country from Hami and adjoining terri- 

 tories, one red or greenish, and long like mare-nipples; one not very 

 large, but of agreeable taste and aroma; and another not larger than a 

 pea, the most delicate, aromatic, and sweetest kind. These three varie- 

 ties of grape degenerate in the southern provinces, where they lose 

 their aroma. They persist fairly well in the north, provided they are 

 planted in a dry and stony soil. "I would procure for my subjects," 

 the Emperor concludes, "a novel kind of fruit or grain, rather than 

 build a hundred porcelain kilns." 4 



Turkistan is well known to the Chinese as producing many varieties 



1 Man lian lu^^^, by WujTse-mu ^ g $C of the Sung (Ch. 18, p. 5 b; 

 ed. of Ci pu tsu lai ts'un $u). 



2 Ch. 7, p. 69. This valuable supplement to the Pen ts'ao kan mu was first 

 published in 1650 (reprinted 1765 and appended to several modern editions of the 

 Pen ts*ao) by Cao Hio-min J ^ |fc (hao Su-hien JJg ff ) of Han-Sou. 



3 Mun ts'uan tsa yen H JSft $| H , cited in T'u $u tsi e'en, XX, Ch. 130. 



4 M&noires concernant les Chinois, Vol. IV, 1779, pp. 471-472. 



