328 SlNO-lRANICA 



make abundant use of tse-kun cosmetic, which is commonly called 

 tse-kun. In general, all these substances may be used as remedies in 

 blood diseases. 1 Also the juice from the seeds of lo k'wei $ $ (Basella 

 rubra) may be taken, and, mixed evenly with powder, may be applied 

 to the face. Also this is styled hu yen-ti" Now it becomes clear why 

 Basella rubra, a plant indigenous to China, is termed hu yen-li in the 

 T'un ti of Ceil Tsiao and by Ma Ci of the tenth century: this name 

 originally referred to the cosmetic furnished by Butea frondosa or other 

 trees on which the lac-insect lives, 2 trees growing in Indo-China, the 

 Archipelago, and India. This product, accordingly, was foreign, and 

 hence styled "foreign cosmetic" or "cosmetic of the barbarians" 

 (hu yen-Zi). Since Basella was used in the same manner, that name 

 was ultimately transferred also to the cosmetic furnished by this 

 indigenous plant. 



What is not stated by Li Si-6en is that yen-ti is also used with 

 reference to Mirabilis jalapa, because from the flowers of this plant is 

 derived a red coloring-matter often substituted for carthamine. 3 It 

 is obvious that the term yen-ti has no botanical value, and for many 

 centuries has simply had the meaning "cosmetic." 



Fan C'eii-ta (1126-93), in his Kwei hai yii hen ft, 4 mentions &yen-ti 

 K BH tree, strong and fine, with a color like yen-ci (that is, red), good 

 for making arrowheads, and growing in Yuri ou, also in the caves of 

 this department, and in the districts of Kwei-lin, in Kwan-si Province. 

 A. HENRY 5 gives for Yi-'aii in Se-S'wan a plant-name yen-li ma $1 SB 

 fit ("cosmetic hemp"), identified with Patrinia villosa. 



1 On account of the red color of the berries. 



3 See p. 478. 



8 STUART, Chinese Materia Medica, p. 264; MATSUMURA, No. 2040; PERROT and 

 HURRIER, Matiere me"dicale et pharmacope'e sino-annamites, p. 116, where lo-k*wei 

 is erroneously given as Chinese name of the plant. 



4 Ed. of Ci pu tsu lai ts*un $u, p. 28 b. 



5 Chinese Names of Plants, p. 239 (Journal China Branch Roy. As. Soc., 

 Vol. XXII, 1887). 



