MATERIA DIETICA OF THE MING DYNASTY

ZHENGJINSHENG

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.