The China Institute for the History of Medicine and Medical Literature Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China In the area of dietary hygiene, what is food and what is medicine? this seems a simple enough question. But it is not easy to make a clear distinction between what was considered food and what material medical in ancient China. As the ancient Chinese proverb goes, "Both food and drugs come from the same source."

Shennong, the Divine Peasant, is believed to be an originator of traditional Chinese pharmaceutics. He is said to have tried the taster of hundreds of kinds of herbs and examined springs to find out whether they were sweet or bitter. Thus he taught the people what harmful plants they ought to avoid and where they could find help.1) His work, then, was not only in trying to search out drugs, but also to find out about the quality of food and drink.

Still, there is one ancient argument about distinguishing between food and drugs which may helpful: "That which is used to allay one's hunger is called food, and that which is used to treat disease is called a drug."2) In this light, it is interesting to see that almost all edibles and drinkable were recorded in the Chinese herbal books, and a special type of Chinese material medical system was thus constituted.

Hygiene: Hygiene means weisheng in Chinese, Literally, the full connotation of weisheng can be summarized in the following two concepts: on the one hand, quli,trying to follow those ways which are beneficial to one's health; and on the other hand, bihai,i.e. avoiding harms or detriments to the body. That is to say, try to adopt various kinds of means to promote health, such as taking certain kinds of food or drugs, and practising qigong or daoyin exercises, or other physical exercises. Then, avoid harms or detriments, by which we mean to stay away from causes of ill health, which may include certain types of food, drink, environment, psychology, labour, sport, and so on.

The two aspects of Chinese dietary hygiene, as mentioned above, are interrelated: in other words, one must follow ways that are benefit-same as modern nutritional science, because the dietary hygiene of Traditional Chinese Medicine pays attention not only to diet, but also to things it considers related to food and drink. What is more, one must note the highly important fact that the principle of dietary hygiene is based on the fundamental theories of Chinese medicine.

As for the literature of dietary hygiene, we can find a great deal of material concerning dietetics not only in medical literature, but also in other various literature of ancient China. Three categories of the available literature are most closely related to dietary hygiene, as follows:

a. Cookbooks: Cookbooks always deal with food, whose motive for writing the book is to tell people how to eat well. Cooking methods are the primary content of such books, and of course, con-tent dealing with medicine are occasionally included, though this is not the main gist of such works.

b. Bencao(herbal literature): The subject discussed in such books is drugs, and this includes foods which are believed to be of medical or hygienic value. The properties, tastes, flavours, functions, indications and other related contents are usually described in detail in such works.

c. Dietetic Bencao Works: Although the objects of discussion in such works are foods and drinks, their purposes are medicinal. In such works, all the other contents and the general style are the same as that of the regular Bencao except that the materials are strictly limited to food and drink. There are no absolute lines of demarcation between the three kinds of books mentioned above. Their connections can be shown in the folloing simple diagram:

This chapter will focus on the dietetic Bencao works, which are the most important among the literatures of dietetic hygiene. However other literature will be referred to as necessary, so as not to artificially limit the range of our discussion.

a. The pre-Qin Periods: The institution of the shiyi (a medical specialist in dietetics), as one among the four classes of physicians, was first recorded in the Zhou Li0 (Zhou Rituals)which was written no later than the Period of Warring States(475-221 B.C.). The word, shiyi,1dietetic physician, makes clear the fact that food had already been used for hygienic purposes an that time. A dietetic physician's task was to supervise, mainly for the Emperor, the balance of food-stuffs, drinks, dishes, provisions, soups, and precious dainties consumed.3)

b. Some of the main tenets of dietary hygiene can be found in the Huangdi Neijing2(Yellow Emperor's Internal Classics) and other books written by exponents of various schools of thought appearing during pre-Qin times. The healing properties, tastes, and nutritional functions of grain, meat, fruits and vegetables are often dealt with in the Nei Jing.3 The Confucian opinions and instructions regarding a clean diet and the correct manners and ways of eating are expressed in the Lun Yu.4 Guan-zi5 states:" If one is moderate in eating and drinking, he will be in good health and have a long life."4) Wen-zi6 states: (One should) eat according to (the condition of) the stom-ach."5) Su-wen7 states:" Grain, meat, fruits and vegetables are do harm to the body's vital energy,"6) All of those exhortations emphasize the importance of the right amount of food for health.

In addition, Su-wen states:" Fat meat and rich flavour in food will be sufficient to cause terrible boils."7) This view is indicative of an important theoretical basis for dietetic hygiene, that light and vegetarian food should be put first. However, our knowledge of dietetic hygiene had not yet been systematically summarized, so we can only find some general or rough principles and a few dietary substances that have been recorded in allied literature.

b. The Qin-Han8 Periods: The first book dealing with dietetic hygiene appearing in the Hanshu Yiwenzhi9(Arts and Literature of the Han Annals) was Shennong Huangdi Shijin0 (Shennong Huangdi's Dietetic Prohibitions), which was earlier than the Shennong Bencaojing.1 Although this books such as Qianjin Fang2(Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold) and Ishinpo,3 in which entries about dietetic restrictions under the name of Huangdi were included. From such recordings, we can get a glimpse of the style used for such books at that time. From the two monographs, entitled" Restrictions for Birds, Animals, Fishes, Insects and Their Treatment" and " Restrictions of Fruits, Vegetables, Grains and Their Treatment" attached to the Jingui Yaolue4 (Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber), we can more clearly see the types of dietary restrictions used during the Han Dynasty. Other works in this period, such as Huangdi Zayinshiji5 (Huangdi's Restrictions for Miscellaneous Food) in the Sui Shu8 (Annals) are all books dealing with dietetic restrictions of this earlier period.

An obvious characteristic of dietetic hygiene in the Qin-Han Periods was the concern over restricted foods. During these periods, monogrphs relevant to the subject summarized experiences accumulated over a long period of trying to prevent harms that might be brought forth by food.. Food restrictions at that time had many facets. For instance, people knew from experiences that some naturally poisonous products, such as houyi9 fish (globefish), poisonous mush-rooms, wide-taro, and so on, were not edible. People also knew that animals shot with a poisonous arrow, or animals that died from certain diseases, and rotten food which had been contaminated by insects or improper storage, would all be poisonous if eaten by mistake. Hence, various methods of identifying the quality of food or differentiating between rotten food and normal food had been developed: mostly, these involved direct perception with the senses.

it seems that ancient people knew from experience that a certain properties of particular foods made them suitable(or unsuitable) for specific uses. For instance, it was said that" mutton is not suitable for people who have protracted heat in the body"8); or" Eating too many plums will damage the teeth."9)

The days when dietetic restrictions arose were so distant that the contents of the restrictions often bore the traces of primitive views. For instance, people feared animals or plants with unusual colors or odd appearances, and felt that they dare not eat them. Other restrictions came from crude analogies to shape, form, or appearance. For example, it was said that if a pregnant woman ate ginger, her baby would have deformed fingers or toes.10) Such a notion was probably due to the shape of the ginger rhizome looking like a palm with more than five gnarled fingers. The hearts of animals were also believed to be unsuitable for eating, for it was said that the heart was the seat of the spirit. If one ate it, he would be judged badly in the next life.11) The custom of the so-called Twelve Shengxiao, the twelve animals representing the twelve Earthly Branches, used to symbolize the year in which a person was born, which appeared probably in the Eastern Han Dynasty, was also soon used as the basis for dietetic restrictions. Thus we can find where the Jinggui Yaolue0 states:" If a person eats the meat of the animal symbolizing the year in which his parents or himself were born, he will suffer by losing consciousness and will experience spiritual disturbances."

In addition, time was an important aspect of the earlier dietetic taboos. People believed that some internal organs of animals were not suitable for eating in certain seasons because of seasons were connected with the five viscera: for instance," Not to eat the liver in spring, not to eat the heart in summer, not to eat the lung in autumn, not to eat the kidney in winter and not to eat the spleen throughout the four seasons."11) Some explanations of these prohibitions were recorded in Zhang Zhong-jing's1 book. Different diet taboos existed for every month, from January to December. Most of the taboos involved animals and vegetables with a sharp flavour or an irritant smell. Dietary taboos which losted only a day were mostly on March 3rd or on May 5th, in addition to a few other days. For example, it was said," It will be fortunate for people not to eat the five viscera of birds and animals, any kinds of vegetables, and the five pungent foods on March 3rd."12)

The various dietetic taboos mentioned above were handed down, and augmented from generation to generation, and were recorded in the dietetic books. The contents of such books thus became richer and richer, although in seems that notions of "right" and "wrong" notions got mixed up over time. Perhaps we can say that although knowledge of dietetic taboos finds its earliest origin in the history of dietary hygiene in China, subsequent progress was slow. After the Middle Ages, not many people would follow the primitive views of the earlier dietetic taboos.

The "opposite" side of dietetic taboos was dietetic therapy, meaning to choose suitable diets to improve people's health and prevent illnesses. There are many kinds of food taken as drugs recorded in the Shengnong Bencaojing, written in the Han Dynasty, for the foods were believed to have medicinal properties, tastes, functions, and indications. Note that dietetic taboos were generally not being listed in this

book, thus indicating that books dealing with dietetic taboos and those dealing with bencao(medicinal herbs) were considered to be two distinct types of literature.

c. The Wei, Jing, Northern and Southern Dynasties: The Sui-su jingjizhi records about 40books related to food, and some of the titles of those books originally appeared in the Qi Lu(Seven Records) of the Liang Dynasty. All of these books had long been lost. However, the titles suggest that they dealt with such topics as food, dietetic therapy, dietetic taboo, cooking methods, and so on. Books on the subject of food seemed very much in vogue at that time, perhaps partly because of the life-style of the literati and class of officialdom who were keen in pursuit of various interests. In these periods, there were several books on dietetic therapy bearing the authors' names, such as Shi-shu2 written by He-zeng3 in the Jing Dynasty, Shi Fang4 written by liu-xiu8 around the Six Dynasties. From Ishinpo9 we can find fragments of the contents of such woks which dealt with dietary hygiene, of which most entries were from Chui Yuxi's8 Shi-jing,6 which includes not only dietetic taboos and cooking methods, but also not a few descriptions of dietetic therapy. It is thus clear that almost all contents related to food were recorded or reprinted in the works of dietetic therapy. Judging from the title of the book ShanxiuYangliao0(Food for Cure and Nutrition), we know that books specifically dealing with dietetic therapy had already appeared in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.

The new experiences which entered dietary hygiene during these periods were the richest, surpassing those of other dynasties. For example, beriberi was a common disease at that time, and many doctors became famous for their treatment of it during that period, and not a few monographs on the subject appeared.

Although great progress in dietetic hygiene was made during this period, we must point out that its development also become mixed up with certain notions from Taoist hygiene. Indulging in taking mineral powder for longevity became so popular, especially among the upper classes, that a great deal of harm was caused, and the practice came to be considered a new problem in medical circles. When people took the so-called Wushisan2 who was a Taoist, said:" people who take the powder should not eat venison. Otherwise the powder will not be effective. This is because deer often eat detoxicant grass, and from this, the venison can detoxify the powder."13) Of course, such notions should not be the content of dietary hygiene.

People paid such attention to dietetic hygiene from very early times not only because of certain curative effects but also because of safety. It is common knowledge that food can be eaten quite often, but no drug can be employed recklessly. That point, however, was often neglected in the Taoist views of dietary hygiene. Some Taoists suggested that if one took herbs first, then mineral drugs, one could reach a state in which no grain was needed in life, a state which was called bi-gu3(literally" to stop eating grain," i.e. to stop eating even vegetarian foods as a way of becoming a Taoist immortal).14) This means actually replacing food with drugs. Drugs frequently used for longevity at that time were the following:lingzhi4( the entire trunk of the ganoderma japonicum), huang-jing5(the rhizome of polygonatum sibiricum), zhu6( the rhizome of atractylodes macrocephala),dihuang7( the rhizome of rehmania glutinosa),pine nuts or pine resin, baishi8( seed of the oriental arborvitae), fuling9( poris cocos) mica, stalactite, and so on. All these were also called yao-er0(literally" drugs used as diet"). However, the method of bi-gu3 went down to its doom step-by-step after the Middle Ages. The impact of bi-gu1 was so great that materials on it were still reprinted in some books on dietary hygiene during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Although dietetic hygiene in the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties was influenced by some of the unhealthy ways of dietetic hygiene advocated by the Taoists, its main stream was good. In the field of dietary therapy, there was more rapid progress in these periods compared with what went on prior to these periods. A great deal of experience with dietary therapy were accumulated during these periods, and people paid much more attention to the quality of food and water in different places. All these factors laid a foundation upon which more progress was made in later periods.

d.Sui-Tang2 and the Five Dynasties: During the Sui and the early part of the Tang Dynasty, a great deal of material on dietary hygiene was summed up. There was a book entitled Huai-nan Yushi-jing315) of 165 volumes written in the sui Dynasty, which might be the most comprehensive one on dietetics prior to the Sui Dynasty.

Unfortunately, the book has long been lost. Some popular works on dietetic hygiene also appeared, only the numbers of such works seemed relevantly less. We know the titles of some of such works, including Wei Juyuan's4 Shipu,5 Yan Gui's6 Shifa,7 Yang Ye's8 Shanfu Jingshoulu,9 and so forth.

One of the most conspicuous characteristics of the works on dietary hygiene in the Tang Dynasty was that the number of monographs of such kind were increased. There was a treatise entitled Shizhi0(Dietetic Therapy) in the Qianjin Fan,1 written by Sun simiao2(581-682 A.D.), the well-known medical practitioner and author. In this treatise, Sun 'simiao2 quotes materials from earlier authorities, and voices his own opinions on the advantages of dietary treatment of illness. The treatise Shizhi3 states:" Now, those who practice medicine must, first of all, recognize the origin of an illness; they must know the violations(that have caused the suffering). Then they must treat it with dietary means. Only when dietary therapy does not work can they employ drugs. The nature of drugs is violent, and to use drugs is just like commanding an army. Because the army is so vigorous, how can anybody deploy it recklessly?"16) Here, he clearly pointed out the difference between dietetic therapy and drug treatment. In the Qianjin.Shizhi,4 dietetic taboos and dietary therapy are combined into one, and few actual cooking methods are recorded. This is an earlier representative treatise on dietetics based on materials extracted from the literature on bencao5 and the knowledge of dietetic taboo prior to the Tang Dynasty.

In addition, the Shiyi Xinjian7(Heart Mirror of Dieticians) written by Zhan ying8 in the Tang Dynasty, is an album of prescriptions for dietetic therapy. Another work of dietetic therapy, Shixing Bencao9 (Dietetic Materia Medica), written by Cheng Shiliang 0 during the Five Dynasties, is actually a monograph characterized by its combination of food and prescriptions, for it collected and recorded materials on dietary drugs and methods of nourishing the internal organs in accordance with the changes of the four seasons, taking its materials from various herbal books.

d. The Song3 Dynasty: The Song Dynasty is an important period in the history of Chinese pharmaceutics. However, in this period, there were no outstanding achievements in dietary hygiene. Although more than 20 books related to food are recorded in various bibliographies of this time, most of them were cookbooks. A book

entitled Shanjia Qinggong,4 written by Lin Hong,5 describes some vegetables and other vegetarian food. This book is of some help in dietetic hygiene, but on the whole, it is only a book written by some literati and members of officialdom for its play of words.

We know that there are at least two better books on dietetic therapy from the Southern Song Dynasty. One is the Shi-jian6( A Mirror of Food) written by Zheng Qiao,7 another is the Shizhi Tongshuo8(General Dietary Therapy) written by Lou Juzhong.9 Unfortunately, both of them have long been lost, only some fragments remaining in other books. Zheng Qiao7 made some remarks on suitable varieties of food, necessary amounts of consumption, quality of food, and methods of cooking.18) Lou Juzhong,9 a famous pediatrician in the Ling An( Hang Zhou),0 paid special attention to the treatment of children's diseases by dietetic means. He put forward the saying that" when food is in order, the body is also in order."19) And he believed that most of children's illnesses were caused by an improper eating. Fragments of his book, Shizhi Tongshuo,1 can be found in a book entitled Shiwu Jiyao2( A Summary of food) compiled by Mu Shixi3 of the Ming Dynasty. These fragments deal with food taboos, dietetic hygiene, and some points on cooking.

e. The Yuan04 Dynasty: In the Yuan Dynasty, China communicated closely with other countries, including Arabia and Europe. A new book representing dietary hygiene was much valued by the imperial court in the Yuan period: the Yinshan Zhengyao05 (Correct and Important Principles of Diet), written by Hu Sihui,06 an official of the medical department and a doctor whose nationality was Mongolian. In this book, various aspects of dietary hygiene such as the preparation of food, the ways of eating food as a means of promoting health, of fighting against illnesses, and of achieving a long life are discussed. Many kinds of daily foods from the nomadic nationalities in Northern China, and some foods and drugs from foreign areas are included in this book. However, most of the theories of dietetic hygiene in it were adopted from the traditional Chinese medicine of the Han nationality. It is thus clear that in this book many experiences on dietetic hygiene, coming from various nationalities of China, were mixed together.

It is worth mentioning that some well-known works on hygiene appeared in the Yuan Dynasty. The Sanyan Yansoushu,07 written by Li Pengfei,08 is the most outstanding of them. He believed that food and drink should be one of the three principle resources through which one could enjoy a long life. He said that the ways of trying to have a long life adopted by the upper class, such as making pills of immortality, were not suitable for the common people, for whom the best way of preserving life and keeping fit should be taking proper care of one's daily life. Finally, it is also worth our time to mention the Riyong Bencao09 (Materia Medica for Daily Use), written by Wu Rui10 during the reign of Tianli11 (1328-1329),21) The descriptions of food in this book are brief, and to each monograph a prescription is usually attached. Many materials from this book are quoted in the well-known herbal book Bencao Gangmu.12

So much for the brief introduction to the development of dietary hygiene prior to the Ming Dynasty. It goes without saying that some materials dealing with dietetic hygiene accumulated in the past can be included in the literature of the Ming Dynasty. But new materials which appeared during the Ming Dynasty itself will surely be most beneficial to our study on the dietary hygiene of that period. Since the development of dietary hygiene in the Ming Dynasty is bound to be reflected primarily in the dietetic works, it is necessary to discuss them first.

The Ming Dynasty was one of the period in Chinese history noted for its achievements in cultural and scientific developments in not a few respects. During the Ming Dynasty, on the foundation of the achievements in medical developments of the past, dietary hygiene also showed great development. Now, the great number of medical books which appeared in the Ming Dynasty are widely read. It is of significance to study the dietary hygiene of the Ming Dynasty by doing a survey of related literature.

There are many topics or problems concerning dietary hygiene in the Ming Dynasty which are worth studying, such as what the differences are between the dietary hygiene of this period and other periods, how many kinds of related books appeared during this period, and so forth. First of all, the literature of dietetic bencao or dietetic herbals which appeared in this period should be discussed. The famous Japanese scholar Professor Shinoda,13 in this book A Study on the Books of Food after the Middle Ages discussed 41 works related to food.22) But, in his book among the books that were considered to deal with dietetic hygiene, only the Bencao Gangmu14 was included, which obviously does not coincide with the actual circumstances at that time. In this paper, I would like to introduce more than 10 kinds of books on dietary hygiene which appeared in the Ming Dynasty, hoping to make clear their origin and development. Several popular family encyclopaedia and cookbooks were published in the Ming Dynasty. Most of them recorded, more or less, some of the concepts of dietetic hygiene. But as dietary hygiene was not the major subject of such works, my discussion will not include them.

A special body of literature, specially for famines, developed rapidly in the Ming Dynasty. These books offered information on the simple foodstuffs found in nature that are necessary for survival during famines. This body of literature includes Zhu Xiao's15 Jiuhuang Bencao,16 Zhou Lujing's17 Rucao Bian,18 Wang Pan's19 Yecai Pu,20 and others. There is little information on dietary hygiene in them. But some materials from these works were often reprinted or quoted in the dietetic bencao works of the Ming Dynasty, even the Guanying Tu21 (a kind of white clay) which could be eaten by famine victims to appease their hunger having been so recorded. The bigushu22 (method of stopping to eat grains) which was used as a means of longevity was adopted as a means of saving on food during famines. The permeation of the materials for survival in famines among the works of dietetic hygiene does not indicate truly new development in this field. But perhaps such a phenomenon can be considered a print left on the works of dietetic hygiene by the particular historical background of the Ming Dynasty.

Since the chronology of and cross-relationships between the works on dietary hygiene in the Ming Dynasty was not known clearly in the past, this paper will discuss each one of such works chronologically.

a. The Shiwu Bencao,23 2 Vols., by Xue Ji24 : This book is the 3rd and 4th volume of the Bencao Yueyan25 (A Brief Introduction to Bencao). The other volumes, vols. 1 and 2, are the Yaoxing Bencao26 (An Outline of Medicinal Bencao). In the preface of his book, Xue Ji says: "I was born late, but fortunately there are many rare books. So I am happy for having studied them for several years. Now I have collected the materials (drug and food) that are indispensable for daily use, and have divided them into two parts with classifications for consciousness. The book was rewritten and recompiled over and over again so that the manuscript was in a mess from revisions."23) There is an edition of this book kept in the Library of the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing, which was published in the Ming Dynasty, proofread and corrected by Yan Zhiling.27

The 392 kinds of food in this book were arranged into eight categories as follows: waters(36), grains(35), vegetables(87), fruits (57), fowls(57), quadrupeds(38), fished(60), spices(23). A brief discussion was added at the end of each of the above-mentioned categories. For each entry of food, the taste and flavor, indications, properties, contraindications, and so on were introduced, and quoted passages from other works were occasionally added, most of the quoted passages being from Jiang28 or Danxi.29 The contents of each entry, no matter its length, are practical. Some new food such as luohuasheng30 (groundnut), sigua31 (towel gourd) and so on were recorded for the first time in this book. Part of the materials of this book came from other bencao words of predecessors, but new contents were also supplied by the author himself. The characteristics of many foods are reflected in this book.

The author Xue Ji32(1487-1559) was a famous doctor in the Ming Dynasty. He became a member of the Imperial Department of Medicine, and was later promoted to Imperical physician in 1514, finally being appointed the Chief of the Imperial Department of Medicine in Nanjing.33 Hereafter, when he wrote a medical book, he always signed his name together with his official title, but in this book, he signed only his name and his native place. From this, we may infer that this book might have been written before he became an official in the Imperial Department of Medicine. Furthermore, Xue Ji quoted some data from the Bencao Jiyao,34 which was written in 1496 and published in 1505. So we may infer that the Bencao Yueyan35 was probably written between 1505 and 1519.24) The book was not included in another work of the author, Xue's Yian.36 The book spread so narrowly that even Li Shizhen37 had never seen it. However, other dietetic bencao works compiled on the basis of or written in the name of this book were common. One of the big problems is the relationship of this book with the Shiwu Bencao38 written by Lu He.39

b.The Shiwu Bencao38 under the name of Lu He39 as the writer and Wang Ying40 as the editor has contents which coincide mostly with Xue's Shiwu Bencao, and there is in fact little difference between the two works. Li Shizhen37 read it and made some com ments on it by saying as follows: "This book was written by Wang Ying,40 in the subprefect of the Prefecture of Jiujiang41 in the year of Zhengde42 (1503-1521). Lu He of Dongyang43 who was also called Lu Lianfu,44 made a revision of this book with some supplements on herbs related to food. He obtained the manuscript of Lu's book, and divided it into two volumes with subdivisions for waters, grains, vegetables, fruits, fowls, quadrupeds, fish and spices."25) According to Li Shizhen, Lu He's book was originally an unpublished manuscript, and Wang Ying was but a plagiarizer. The extant version of this book was printed in 1570 (by Wang Gui,45 who was also called Wang Zijin46) under the name of Lu He. This is the earliest edition of the work, as far as I know.26)

Now, the problem is that the same book was signed by two authors and both of the men were living in the same period. Who was the actual plagiarizer? It seems that some scholars agree with Li Shizhen,27,28) but perhaps the fact is just the opposite. After having made a comparison between these two works, I found that there are only some small differences between them, and evidence just the opposite of that held by Li Shizhen47 and other scholars was obtained.

There are still many other data to prove that the Shiwu Bencao is the genuine work of Xue Ji. For instance, in the Yaoxing Bencao, there are also categories of fruits, vegetables, grains, fowls, quadrupeds, worms, fishes, etc., but only 64 drugs are recorded, while in the Shiwu Bencao,56 there are 328 entries for such categories. Such a fact tells us that Xue Ji57 as the compiler of the Shiwu Bencao was obviously trying to avoid unnecessary repetition. Although there are in both of these two books entries of food, their contents are not the same, and each one has its particular emphasis. Furthermore, after checking one entry after another, I have found that the entries do not show any obvious contradictions, and the entire work has impressed me as an organic whole. In other words, Xue Ji wrote not only the Yaoxing Bencao,58 but also the shiwu Bencao. There is no evidence to suggest that Xue Ji plagiarized Lu's59 book.

c. The Shiwu Bencao (with color pictures): The painter of this book is unknown. The book is now kept in the Beijing Library.29) The contents of the text are fundamentally similar to that of Lu's Shiwu Bencao. There are 467 color pictures in it. The style of the painting is analogous to that of the Bencao Pinghui Jingyao.60 The pictures of the houyu61 (tachypleus tridentatus) in the two books are so similar that it seems that they were painted by similar painter who served in the Imperial Art Academy of the Ming Dynasty. There are many pictures like this, for instance, lujiaocai62 (siliquose pelvetia), shuimu63 (jellyfish), sha64 (shard), and so on. The pictures of this book were painted at about the beginning of the 16th century.

One of the important characteristics of this book is that its color pictures reflect a rich variety of plants and animals. For example, there are 21 pictures of plums in this book. There are not only pictures showing the shapes of plants and animals, but also pictures illustrating methods of preparation or processing of certain kinds of food. Under the entry of wine, there are 16 pictures, showing systematically the processes of wine-making in the Ming Dynasty, which may be of some value for the study of the history of wine-making in China. The painting of those foods commonly seen are very skillful, and the pictures of fishes and fruits are especially vivid and accurate. But sometimes the painter drew some rare plants based on his own imagination. For example, yinxing65 (ginkgo) was drawn as a plant which has not only a palmate leaf but also with the odd-pinnate leaf. The same situation can also be seen in the picture of luohuasheng66 (groundnut). Being a book of old age, its paper is fragile and broken, with a yellowish color. However, the paintings are still very bright and beautiful. Since not many people have known about this book, I am pleased to have been able to make a few remarks about it.

b. The Shiping Ji67 (Collection of Food), 7 vols., edited by Wu Lu,68 with three prefaces by Xu Yingyuan,69 Su Zhigao,70 and Sheng Cha71: According to these prefaces, the book was edited by Wu Lu in 1537 and published by an official named Su Zhigao in 1556.30)

A total of 249 kinds, which are divided into seven categories, are recorded in this book. My study has confirmed that the book was compiled on the basis of Lu's Shiwu Bencao72 with some additions and deletions. For instance, food belonging to the spice category were included separately from the categories of grains and vegetables; additional foods were added; the order of some kind of food was changed; the names of some foods were changed to their poplar ones; and in the appendix, a list of food taboos, various kinds of poisonous plants and animals, as well as methods of detoxication were included. So the book is essentially a rearranged version of the Shiwu Bencao,73 and the are only a few new points in it.

g. The Shiwu Bencao, 7 vols., annotated by Qian Yunzhi95: This book was printed together with the Riyong Bencao,96 (3 volumes) written by wu Rui97 in the Yuan Dynasty.34) There are two prefaces written by Qian Yunzhi98 and Gu Zhongxu,99 respectively. Qian's preface was written in 1620, while the date of Gu's preface is unknown. Gu Zhongxu reprinted the Zhenghe Bencao00 in 1570. He died before 1582,35) so it was impossible for him to reprint the book together with Qian Yunzhi. It seems possible that he reprinted it before his death, but it is more probable that Gu's preface was a fake by the publisher.

Qian Yunzhi was a man with a literary reputation toward the end of the Ming Dynasty. He was fond of annotating and rearranging medical works in the name of ancient scholars. Here, in the name of Li Gao,01 the celebrated physician of the Yuan Dynasty, he changed the appearance of Lu He's02 Shiwu Bencao,03 which was spread far and wide at that time with some supplementary sections and deletions. There are 373 kinds of food in it, and brief notes were added to some entries, along with materials dealing with commands and prohibitions concerning the five tastes, poison antidotes, and so on.Finally, it must be mentioned that there is a book with the same title under the same name of Li Gao, but of 22 volumes, which has always been mixed up with the book edited by Qian Yuanzhi. As a matter of fact, they are two completely different works.

h. Wu's Shiwu Bencao,04 4 vols., by Wu Wenbing05: The book's titls is very long and Wu's Shiwu Bencao is its abbreviation.36) In this book, there are about 500 kinds of food which are rearranged as follows: water, grains, vegetables, fruits, quadrupeds, fowls, insects, fishes, spices, etc. The book is different from other works of its kind, for it has recorded in Volume 4 abut 170 dietary prescriptions, including soups, congees, wines, etc. Although the contents of the work are rich, it is too miscellaneous. According to its quotations, the author did not seem to have seen Li Shizhen's06 Bencao Gangmu,07 and yet he quoted information from Mu Shixi's08 Shiwu Jiyao.09 So the book might have been written between 1614 to 1644. In addition, some discussions on dietetic injunctions and prohibitions are attached the text.Before continuing the discussion on other dietetic works, Li Shi-zhan's Bencao Gangmu should be mentioned first. Although it is not a special dietetic work, there is still a vast amount of knowledge on dietary hygiene in it. Li Shizhen quotes widely from various other literature, especially those treatises dealing with dietary in the Ming Dynasty, such as Lu He's10 Shiwu Bencao,11 Ning Yuan's12 Shi-jian Bencao,13 and so forth. Furthermore, he expresses new observations on dietary hygiene, which is why Bencao Gangmu has been considered a source book for dietetic hygiene, and much other dietetic literature has drawn materials from it. The following instances are Proof of this point.

i. Shangyi Bencao14(bancao for the High-Ranking Doctoe), 4 vols.,edited and compiled by Zhao Nanxing15 : Zhao Nanxing(1550-1627), who styled himself Menba,16 and whose assumed name was Chaihe Jushi,17 was a native of Gaoyi18 county, Hebei province. He was an on Official and did not know medicine .It was only because of protracted illness that he took the nutriments recorded in the Bencao Gangmu and took good care of himself by following the instructions given in the book with good results.37 Zhao Nanxing19 was very fond of dietary hygiene, and collected more than 230 dietetic entries from the Bencao Gangmu,20 dividing them into nine categories as follows: waters, spices, fruits, vegetables, fowls, quadrupeds, crustaceans, scaly animals, and wormsm thus compiling the Shangyi Bencao.21 The book was entitled Shangyi after a maxim which goes "The superior doctor cures the disease before it comes on."

j. Yangshen Yaokuo22(essentials on Hygiene), compiled by Meng Ben.23 Meng Ben, also styled Boshan,24 was a native of Shaoxing25 city in the Zhejian province. He was from a family of medicine which stretched for generations, and a great deal of mediccal literature were collected in his home. Dr. Meng was well known around Zhejiang province as an outstanding physician. He collected 250 dietetic entries from the Bencao Gangmu, and quoted opinions of Li Shizhen26 in his Yangshen Yangkuo. Still, the author's own observations are found in the book, under entries headed with the words "Ben Yue"27(Meng Ben Said). The vers on published in the Ming Dynasty is with two prefaces by Zhu Zhaobo28 and Li Bangliang29 In 1634, now kept in the Library of the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

k. Shangong Yizhi.Shiwulei30(Medical Purport of Shanggong.Category of Food), 5 vol., compiled by Shi Yongtu31: This book was mistaken by some scholars as a work of the Qing Dynasty,391 but in fact, it appeared in the Ming Dynasty, 40) because Shi Yongtu was a native of Jiaxing 32 and flourished in the later past of the Ming Dynasty. He styled himself Ming-tai 33 or Shangong. 34 After he retired from the office of a local government, he wrote many works, 41) this book among them. Sheng Lilong 35 of the Qing Dynasty held that Shi's work reflected very well the purport of the Bencao Gangmu. 36 He pointed out that since no category of fire was included in it, and that since some substances were missing in the categories of fruits and shells, he published the book entitled Shiwu Bencao Huichuan 37 on the basis of Shi's book , with some supplementary sections, in 1691. 42) Thus , although the original text of ShiYongtu 38 was rarely seen, the total contents of it have been spread widely through Sheng's book. 43,44)

In Shi's book, more than 600 kinds of food are recorded, which were divided into eight classed. Two addenda , one consists of the dietetic prescriptions and food prohibitions, and the other consisting of pictures and verses of various types of pulse as well as verses about the properties of medicine and the mefchanisms of disease are attached to the text. 369 illustrations are included and put before the text. Most of the materials of this book came from the Bencao Gangmu.

1. The Shiwu Bencao, 39 22 vols., supplemented by Yao Kecheng 40: This is the last and also the largest dietetic work from the Ming Dynasty. The book is divided into 22 volumes, and there are 1675 dietetic substances recorded into it. It is the most voluminous and comprehensive work of its kind and can be considered a kind of agglomeration. However, the authorship is still unknown. All the editions of this book were inscribed with Li Gao's 41 name as the compiler in the Yuan Dynasty, and Li Shizhen's 42 name as the revisor in the Ming Dynasty. 45) Nevertheless , the authenticity of the author is obviously doubtful. First of all, the four prefaces written by "Li Shizhen" are fakery, for many events recorded in it happened after the death of Li Shizhen, i.e. after the year 1593. for example, a poem written by Cao Xuequan 43 (1574-1647) is quoted under the Zhenzhuchuan 44 in Volume 2, which is impossible. Similarly, the preface ascribed to Gu preface, which was originally in another work with the same title but of seven volumes, was later moved to the Shiwu Bencao 46 of 22 volumes as its preface. In addition, Qian Yunzhi's 47 preface dated 1621 may also be a fakery, 46) because there are some events which actually happened after 1621 date recorded in this book. For example, just under the entry of Guanyintu 48 in Volume 21, the natural calamities cited occurred in 1636, 1640, and 1641.

Now, a few words about the last preface written by Chen Jiru, 49 dated 1638, which can only be found in the edition of this book kept in the Library of the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In his preface, Chen says:" I have seen the book Shiwu Bencao compiled by Mr. Mu Yungu 50 of Loujiang, 51 which (I think) is the most brief and concise one (among others), and is beneficial to the people. And now, I have got Li Dongyuan's 52 book, Shiwu Bencao, revised by Li Shizhen, 42 which (I think) is all the more brief and exact." 47) if what he has said is true, then this book must have been completed before 1638. besides, there are not any events recorded in the whole book which happened after 1638. but the problem is that there are two prefaces, ascribed to the same author, appearing in two different books: one in the Shiwu Jiyao 53 by Mu Shixi, 54 the other in this book, the Shiwu Bencao. 55 what is more, the prefaces are similar to each other not only in their compositional structures, but also in some sentences. So, the authenticity of the preface in the Shiwu Bencao is still soubtful.

Chen Jiru 56 (1558-1639), also names Zhongchun 57 or Mei Gong, 58 was a native of Huating 59 (Shanghai city). He was an well known writer,well versed in poetry and literature. He lived as a hermit in Kunshan, 60 engaged in writing. He occasionally collected information on various trivial matters and rare things and compiled them into books, which were purchased or copied in a mad rush by people who lived far and near. His biography was included in the Ming History. 48) so it is difficult to judge whether Chen Jiru did in fact write this book in Li Gao 60 or Li Shizhen's name, or if the publisher printed the book in Chen Jiru's name with a fake preface.

Finally, the problem of whether Yao Kecheng 62 could be the author bears consideration. The Japanese scholar Mr. Matsudaira 63 believed that the book was written by Yao Kecheng, 49) and Wang Chongmin, 64 a Chinese scholar, agreed with him. 50) of course, they had good reason to think so. One reason is Yao Kecheng's Jiuhuang Yepu Buyi 65 ahead of the text, and a second is the comments by Yao Kecheng in the last two volumes, Volumes 21 and 22. it is in these two volumes that the disaster which occurred at the end of the Chongzheng 66 period (1628-1644) is mentioned. So there is no problem with asserting that the work was at least revised or supplemented by Yao Kecheng. 67

But did Yao Kecheng write of the entire book? The answer is, "perhaps not." From Vol. 1 to Vol. 20, no notes or explanations written by Yao echeng can be seen (the exceptions being Vols.21 and 22). The materials on food taboo can be found, ranging from Volume 1 to 20, but it is strange to see the same content appear again in Volume 22. of the entire book was from the hand of Yao Kecheng, then it is hard to understand such a duplication.

The last, but not necessarily the least, argument is that if Yao Kecheng really intended to write the book under the name of Li Shizhen, 68 then it was obviously unnecessary for him to put his own name in Volume 21 and before the maun text. Who, then, could the Author of the 20-volume main text be?

This matter still needs further study. One believable explanation could be that the 20-volume main test was written by an unknown learned scholar before 1638, while Yao Kecheng only made some supplemental additions to the beginning and end of the book. As is generally known, authors of ancient China always tried to have the number of the volumes be 5 or 10, or a multiple of 5 to 10. books consisting of 22 volumes are extremely rare.

This book can be considered the most comprehensive of those on dietary hygiene. Its material came from various books on food and drink, with the relevant contents of Bencao Gangmu 69 comprising the basis of Volumes 5-21. this book in general adopted the style of Bencao Gangmu with some changes in order. The entries in this work, 1675 in all , were classified as follows: waters (740 entried), grains (67), vegetables (138), fruits (120), scaly animals (113), crustaceans (45), snakes/worms (21),fowls (77), quadrupeds (61), spices (62), herbs and soils(5). The book's contents are so comprehensive that is seems to have gone beyond the scope of dietetics. Included are virtually all the dietetic materials recorded in books prior to the middle of the 17th century, so this book has become an important source of literature on dietary hygiene in the history of Chinese medicine.

Preliminary summary: Based upon our discussion of the dietetic works, the following table, showing the relationships between them, is presented.

From this table, it can be seen that quite a few dietetic works appeared during the Ming Dynasty. Some of the key works are stressed here. These books are of two types, with differing gists. The first type consists of the popular dietetic books: the contents of these books are popular and easy to practise; the dietetic materials contained in them are somewhat scanty and mostly deal with daily foods; the length of these books is generally not long, and most of their entries are devoted to practical information, not theories. In a word, The most outstanding characteristics of this type book is their popularity and practicability.

The second type of book is comprised of only one or two representative works, the Shiwu Bencao 70 (22 volumes), and the Bencao Gangmu, 71 in thich a wide range of foods connected to dietetic hygiene in past periods, and even some substances that can hardly be called food, included. These comprehensive books became the main source from which other dietetic works after the Ming Dynasty drew their materials. Therefore, we can say that works on dietetic hygiene Which appeared during the Ming Dynasty have played an important role as a link between the past and the future.

Much of the material dietica recorded in the works of the distant past were reprinted in the dietetic works of the Ming Dynasty, but some of the wild animals and plants, such as the mandarin duck, woodpecker, crane, orangutan, and so on, had already lost their real value as material dietica. So in measuring the development of dietary hygiene in a given period, the sheer number of material dietica recorded should not be the only criterion used, and increase in the varieties of daily foods should also be taken into account, and perhaps even considered more important. One of the outstanding characteristics of dietary hygiene during the Ming Dynasty is that the material dietica in common use increased rapidly. The various kinds of foreign fooks introduced, especially from the American continent discovered by Columbus in 1492, account for much of the increase. Unfortunately, tobacco and the technique for preparing opium were also introduced to China during that time.

Now let us turn to a discussion of some of the important foods which first appeared during the Ming Dynasty. Note first that the study of water made greater progress during the Ming as opposed to earlier dynasties, which can be viewed as one of the basic characteristics of dietary hygiene during that period.

a. waters: People paid much more attention to various kinds of water than during preceding periods. In most of dietetic works of this period, water comes first. Li Shizhen 72 said :" the property and flavor of water should be studied with great concentration by people who hope to prevent disease and have better health." 51) Wu Wenbing 73 said :" Water is of the greatest amount among other things on earth." 52) The Shiwu Bencao 74 states:" The reason why waters must Be put in the first place (in a book) is that although waters as one substance always come from one source, their properties and flavours vary. That is why some of them are good and some are poisonous, some beneficial and some harmful." 53) Therefore, in the Shiwu Bencao (22 vols.), 740 kinds of water are discussed in the first 4 volumes. They are divided into five categories:" waters of Heaven,""waters of Earth," "famous Waters," "poisonous Waters" and "Famous Springs." Under the fifth category , the author describes the location, property, flavour, function, and curative effrcts of mineral waters from 656 places in China. Some of them have been proved to be high-quality mineral waters still today. It is amazing to see in this book that more than 400 years ago a wide survey of mineral waters throughout China had already been made, and the curative effects of the various waters examined one by one. We cannot but agree that this was a great achievement of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, in some dietetic herbals, problem of water pollution and methods for cleaning drinking water as well as detoxifying polluted water are discussed. The relationship between different sources of water and their healthfulness is also described in detail by Li Shizhen.75

B. Staple foods:As only a few staple foods were in common use during this period, the import of corn into China was an important development. According to Luo Ergang, 76 corn was introduced into China around the time of Longqing 77 (1567-1572). 54) He based this assertion on the Bencao Gangmu, 78 which states: "the seeds (of corn) come from the West and the planters are rare. Its young plant and leaf are similar to shushu 79 (Chinese sorghum) and yiyi 80 (Job's tears ) but thicker and shorter." Even now, corn is called yu shushu 81 or yimibao 82 by reason of its shape.

Because there is a picture of Indian corn attached to an entry by yiyi 80 in the Bencao Pinghui Jinyao, 83 we may conclude that Indian corn was looked upon as a new variety of yiyi after its import into China. 55) this fact clearly indicated that the actual date of Indian corn's import into China might have been much earlier than once thought, probably in 1505, when Bencao Pinghui Jingyao was compiled. However, Indian corn was not used as a principle food at that time, but just for making puffed corn, as a material dietica , or as a material for making wine. After the end of the Ming Dynasty, records of corn use appeared more and more. Nowadays, Indian corn has become not only a very important crop, but also a useful material dietica in China. As Li Shizhen 84 said:"(Corn) is swreet , mild, and has no poison. It can regulate the function of the spleen and stomach, and improve appetite." 56) its usages are getting wider and wider in modern times.

Another new material dietica was the ganshu 85 (sweet potato). When did the ganshu begin to grow in China? This is still disputed. Li Shizhen believed that ganshu were first planted during the Jin 86 Dynasty (3rd century), but a more popular opinion is that ganshu were originally grown on the Amerian continent, and then introduced into Fujian province during the Wanli period (1513-1620) of the Ming Dynasty along the route from the New World via Luzon 87 and finally the coast area of Southern China. Although there are differing opinions on the matter, ganshu was doubtless a new nutritional material which gradually became common as a daily food during the Ming Dynasty. Li Shizhen described its flavour, other properties and curative effects for the first time.

C. Vegetables: More than 20 kinds of vegetables appeared for the first time during the Ming Dynasty. Swveral of them are worth mentioning here.

Nangua 88 (Cucurbita spp.), or pumpkin: Pumpkin originally grew in South America. Was there pumpkin in China before the New World had been discovered? There are the differing opinions on this matter. Li Shizhen doubted if the yingua 89 recorded in Wang Zheng's Nong Shu 90 (1313 A.D.) was pumpkin. Lately, Hu Daojing, 91 a historian of agronomy, has pointed out that the so-called yingua 92 is actually a variety of cucumis. He holds that pumpkin had already been grown in the areas south of the lower reaches of the Changjiang river by the early part of 14th century, because pumpkin was recorded in the Yinshi Xuzhi 93 written by Jia Ming 94 in the Yuan Dynasty. 58) However, this turns out to be a poor argument, because the Yinshi Xuzhi is only a fake book compiled on the basis of Mu Shixi's 95 Shiwu Jiyao. 96 The Shiwu Jiyao was written between 1607 and 1614, so pumpkin had not appeared in the literature of the 14th centur. Of course, pumpkin is found in the Diannan Bencao 97 written by Lan Mao 98 (1397-1476), but since the versions of this book are so easily confused, it is difficult to know if the data in it on pumpkin is believable.

According to the study of the Japanese scholar Watanabe, 99 pumpkin might have been imported into China and Japan simultaneously, nd then later exchanged between the two countries. 59) it is said in the Bencao Gangmu 300 that pumpkin has the effect of nourishing the middle burner and replenishing Qi. 301 It has been taken as a vegetable of nutrition and even as a staple food in China by more and more people since the 15th century.

Sigua, 02 or towel gourd (luffa accutangula ): this is a common vegetable, often used as an antipyretic during the height of summer in China. It originally grew in the tropics, and was recorded int the Shiwu Bencao 03 (1505-1519) and other works, with its curative effects given in detail in the Bencao Gangmu. According to Hu Daojing, 04 towel gourd had been planted earlier in China , at least in the Song Dynasty, as evidenced by a poem about it by Du Beishan. 05 60)

Kugua, 06 i.e. balsam pear (momordica charantica): Kugua originally grew in the tropics. It was noted by Li Shizhen 07 as a product From nan-fan 08 (some countries in South Asia).61) It was first recorded in Zhu Xiao's Jiuhuang Bencao 09 (1406), but at that time, it was generally only the size of an egg and was used only as a substitute for food in famine. As a result of more than two hundred years of artificial cultivation after first being recorded in the Jiuhuang Bencao (the longest balsam pear recorded there was only 10-15 centimetres long and the shortest was just 6 to 9 centimetres), the balsam pear has now reached lengths of more than 30 ceftimetres. In some provinces of Southern China, it is considered a delicious food which clears up heat and brightens the eyes in summer. It can also be used to prepare cold-tea, which is believed effective in preventing boils and sores. In recent years, it has been used in the treatment of diabetes and other illnesses.

Fanjiao, 10 or hot pepper 9capsium frutescents): Hot pepper is used as a vegetable or herb not only in China, but in many other countries. It originally grew on the Amerian continent . the history of its introduction into China is not long . Generally, it is believed that it was introduced after the 16th century. Some scholars infer that it was introduced after the 16th century. Some scholars infer that it was imported into China in the early of the Ming Dynasty, 62)but according to available information this argument is untenable. Initially, it was regarded as a decorative plant after being imported into China. It was recorded for the first time in the Zhunsheng Bajian Yanxian Qingshang 311 (1541). It says: "(Fanjiao312) grow thickly with a white flower. The size of its fruit looks just like the tip of a bald writing brush. It has a peppery taste with a red color, and is very beautiful." 63) it is no wonder to see that it was recorded in some books dealing with decorative plants, such as Qunfangpu 13 (1621), Huajing 14 (1688), and so on. As a material dietica, it was first recorded in the Shiwu Bencao 15 (22 vols.), which states: " (It) grows in the Shu 16 (Sichuan provinee).. it can be found here and there. It is xylophyta, and short. People cultivate it in flowerpots for enjoyment. Its fruit looks like a bell with very small seeds in it. When it is ground into powder and mixed with food, it has a very sharp flavour. Fanjiao, with sudorifics pungent in flavour and warm in property, has the function of promoting digestion and removing stagnancy in food,improving the appetite, exorcising evil factors, fishy smell and other poisons. " 64) from this we know that the introduction of the hot pepper into China was in the later part of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, several other vegetables with curative effects were recorded in the literature of the Ming Dynasty. For example, zhegucai 71 (cologlossa leprieurii), an anthelmintic, was recorded for the first time in the Xinghua Fuzhi 18 (1503 A.D.).65) The data about edible fungus became much more extensive in the Ming Dynasty.

d. Fruits: There are 33 kinds of fruits that Li Shizhen himself described for the first time in the "fruits class " of the Brncao Gangmu, 19 but they are not foreign fruits and most of them had already been recorded in the non-medical literature before Bencao Gangmu. Here, among the fruits , the problem of the peanut is worth discussing.

Peanuts originally grew in Sonth America. It is still a matter of endless debate when the peanut was imported into China . some archaeologists believe peanut had been planted by the end of the New Stone Age; but many botanists and other scholars do not agree with this. 65) No matter what the arguments, the fact is that the peanut had never been recorded in any literature earlier than that of the Ming Dynasty.

According to Luo Ergang, 20 the peanut was introduced into China before 1608. 66) It is said in the Zhong yao Dacidian 21 (Dictionary of Chinese Materia Medica ) that the peanut was recorded in the Diannan Bencao 22 and Diannan Bencao Tushuo, 23 but as has been mentioned , the Diannan Bencao is not a reliable source due to confusion between its various editions, Diannan Bencao Tushuo, compiled By Fan Hing 24 in 1556, described the peanut as having the function of nourishing the Middle Burner and replenishing Qi, 25 and says that when it is decocted with salty water, it will reinforce the lung. If there are no problems with the edition of this book, then the peanut seems to have been introduced into Yunnan province of China before the year of 1556.

A more exact and believable record of the peanut is seen in Xue Ji's Shiwu Bencao. 26 Xue Ji described for the first time the Luohuasheng 27 (peanut). He says:" its trailing stems and leaves are similar to the hyacinth bean. Its blossom falls down on the ground after flowering , and one flower will bear one fruit as big as a peach in the ground. It can be dug out in the late autumn for eating. It has a good taste and people like it very much." 67) as is mentioned above, Xue Ji's 328 book was written between 1505 and 1519, so we may infer that the peanut was introduced into China around that period. Of course, the morphological description of the peanut, especially regarding its fruit, as recorded in Xue Ji's work is not completely correct. However, such a description in Xue Ji's work is not completely correct. However, such a description of the peanut tells us that there was not enough time for people to have made a thorough study of it during the short period after it was introduced into China. It is interesting to see in this work a colour picture of the peanut drawn on the basis of the description recorded in the Shiwu Bencao.329 Although the picture is not entirely correct, it is , after all,the first picture of a peanut to appear in a herbal book.

After this, the curative effect of the peanut became more and more well known. Apart from the Diannan Bencao Tushuo, 30 we have found a further description of the peanut in the Shiwu Jiyao 31 (1621) by Mu Shixi. 32 It says:"The flavour (of peanut) is sweet and mild with no poison, it is delicious when cooked and eaten after the frost season. It can regulate the spleen and stomach, but it is digested with difficulty and will lead to stagnancy of the stomach Qi if it is eaten too Much by children."68) One puzzling question is that since Li ShiZhen3 had seen Lu He's Shiiwu Bencao,34 why didn't he quote the Description of the peanut recorded in Lu's 35 work ?

As everybody knows, the peanut is not only an important oilBearing crop regarded as having much favour, but it is also a useful material dietica. Its red seed vessel has been used experimentally to treat several kinds of blood diseases in recent years, and the use of the peanut has become wider and wider in medicine.

e. Other miscellaneous: Much knowledge on the properties of marine animals and plants was developed with the growth of fisheries during the Ming Dynasty. The increase in the use of various kinds of sea animals as material dietica was one of the achievements of dietary in his Bencao Gangmu37 for the first time, while in Shiwu Bencao38

(22 vols) ,69 kinds of fish were newly recorded.

Another well-known dietary material in traditional Chinese medicine is the yanwo42(edible bird's nest). Of course it does not belong under the category of fish , but Wang Ji43(1463-1539) believed that yanwo was formed by small of the sea. Mu Shixi's Shiwu Jiyao44 states:"The yanwo dish is of sweet and mild taste and poisonless. It has the function of regulating the Middle Burner, nourishing the stomach, clearing up evil heat, and resolving phlegm. It is especially delicious when cooked with fresh chicken and pork."70) From the above descriptions, we know that yanwo had been adopted as a dietetic material before 1539.