Illustrated Investigation of Plant Names and Realities

Licorice

The Illustrated Classic original: 圖經, Tujing; referring to the Bencao Tujing of 1061 states that licorice grows in Puban of Hedong Modern-day Yongji, Shanxi province. Former Confucian scholars, in their commentaries on the classic poem "Gathering Ling Herbs on Mount Shouyang," described seedlings and leaves that are entirely different from the plant we know today. Perhaps the species are not the same, or perhaps the descriptions vary; such old theories have been passed down for so long that scholars do not dare to openly contradict them.

Shen Cunzhong The Song Dynasty scientist Shen Kuo refuted? Guo Pu's commentary, which claimed the plant spreads like a lotus, arguing instead that such a description referred to "Yellow Medicine" Huangyao; likely Dioscorea bulbifera. Yet, how could the "Yellow Medicine" of today ever resemble a lotus? The Erya Yi "Wings to the Erya," a 12th-century botanical and zoological expansion claims that not only do the leaves resemble a lotus, but that in ancient times the character for "lotus" was interchangeable with lou A type of artemisia or wild celery. Thus, they rely solely on phonetic similarities between words, no longer caring that the physical forms and actual plants are worlds apart.

The Guangya Shuzheng A Qing Dynasty philological work by Wang Niansun denounces Shen Kuo’s theory as erroneous, yet it also claims that the various descriptions in the Illustrated Classic are entirely untrustworthy. These desk-bound scholars stubbornly cling to ancient definitions; their path is truly different from those of us who actually distinguish colors, taste flavors, and use these plants to cure the sick or "bring flesh to old bones" A metaphor for healing the near-dead.

In the fifth month, while I was commanding troops beyond the border passes, I found licorice growing everywhere along the roadsides and in the wheel ruts of the tracks. I carefully observed the leaves and examined the calyxes of the flowers, and saw neighboring carts being loaded with it. I have heard that in the prefectures of Gan and Liang Regions in modern Gansu province, the licorice is especially thick and robust; some people even use the roots as walking sticks. Because the soil in those regions is sandy and loose, the roots can grow straight down for several feet, becoming quite massive over the years. The poet Mei Shengyu Mei Yaochen has a poem regarding a "Licorice Staff" sent to him by Sima Junshi The great historian Sima Guang, which serves as evidence of—

Mountain Herbs: Volume 7