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Sino-Iranica : vol.1 |
SAFFLOWER 325
boards of the capital, the prefects of Sun-t`ien and Mukden, and all
provincial governors.' Under the name to k`wei it is mentioned
by Tao Hun-kin (A.D. 451-536), who refers to its cultivation, to the employment of the leaves as a condiment, and to the use of the berries as a cosmetic.' This probably came into use after the introduction of safflower. The Ku kin au,' written by Tsui Pao in the middle of the
fourth century, states, "The leaves of yen-ci x resemble those of
the thistle (ki i) and the p`u-kun (Taraxacum officinalis). Its
habitat is in the Western Countries , where the natives avail them-
selves of the plant for dyeing, and designate it yen-ei IN x, while the Chinese call it hun-lan (4E E `red indigo,' Carthamus tinctorius) ; and the powder obtained from it, and used for painting the face, is styled yen-ei fen *. [At present, because people value a deep-red color fiit, they speak of the yen-ei flower which dyes; the yen-ei flower, however, is not the dye-plant yen-a, but has its own name, hun-lan (Carthamus tinctorius) . Of old, the color intermediate between ei
and white is termed hun tf, and this is what is now styled hun-lan.j " 4 It would follow from this text that Basella was at an early date confounded with Carthamus, but that originally the term yen-ei related to Carthamus only.
The Pei hu lu5 contains the following information in regard to the yen-ei flower: "There is a wild flower growing abundantly in the
rugged mountains of Twan-6ou )1i.6 Its leaves resemble those of the
lan (Indigofera); its flowers, those of the liao (Polygonum, prob-
ably P. tinctorium). The blossoms ta, when pulled out, are from two to three inches long, and yield a green-white pigment. It blooms in the first month. The natives gather the bursting seeds while still in their shells, in order to sell them. They are utilized in the preparation of a cosmetic IN x , and particularly also for dyeing pongee and other silks. Its red is not inferior to that of the lan flower. Si Ts`o-61
P. HOANG, Mélanges sur l'administration, pp. 80-81. /RETSCHNEIDER, Bot. Sin., pt. II, No. 148; pt. III, No. 258.
Ch. c, p. 5 (ed. of Han Wei With su). In regard to the historicity of this work, the critical remarks of the Imperial Catalogue (cf. WYLIE, Notes on Chinese Literature, p. 159) must be kept in mind. Cf. also above, p. 242.
4 The passage enclosed in brackets, though now incorporated in the text of the Ku kin tu, is without any doubt later commentatorial wisdom. This is formally corroborated by the Pei hu lu (Ch. 3, p. 12), which omits all this in quoting the relevant text of the Ku kin 'Cu.
6 Ch. 3, p. II (see above, p. 268).
6 Name of the prefecture of Cao-k`in Ain Kwan-tun Province. This
wild flower is Basella rubra.
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