IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
| |||||||||
|
| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Sino-Iranica : vol.1 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Citation Information
400 SINO-IRANICA
Caspian Sea and Persia. According to DE CANDOLLE,' its cultivation does not date from more than three or four centuries before our era.
The Egyptian illustration brought forward by F. WOENIG2 in favor of the assumption of an early cultivation in Egypt is not convincing to me.
It is therefore probable, although we have no record referring to the introduction, that Beta vulgaris was introduced into China in the Tang
period, perhaps by the Arabs, who themselves brought many Persian words and products to China. For this reason Chinese records sometimes credit Persian words to the Ta-si (Arabs); for instance, the numbers on dice, which go as Ta-Si, but in fact are Persian.3
The real Chinese name of the plant is tien ts'ai , V, the first character being explained in sound and meaning by Wit tien (" sweet ") .
Li Si-ben identifies tien ts'ai with kün-t`a. The earliest description
of tien ts'ai comes from Su Kun of the Tang, who compares its leaves to
those of . en ma Ii (Actea spicata, a ranunculaceous plant), adding
that the southerners steam the sprouts and eat them, the dish being very fragrant and fine.4 It is not stated, however, that tien ts`ai is an imported article.
38. Reference was made above to the memorable text of the Tait hui yao, in which are enumerated the vegetable products of foreign
countries sent to the Emperor Tai Tsuh of the Tang dynasty at his special request in A.D. 647. After mentioning the spinach of Nepal, the text continues thus :—
" Further, there was the ts`o tstai firf Nine vegetable') with
broad and long leaves.5 It has a taste like a good wine and k`u tstai
4k (` bitter vegetable,' lettuce, Lactuca), and in its appearance is like
kü ,6 but its leaves are longer and broader. Although it is somewhat
bitter of taste, eating it for a long time is beneficial. Hu k`in ~r
1 Origin of Cultivated Plants, p. 59; see also his Géographie botanique, p. 831
2 Pflanzen im alten Aegypten, p. 218. See T'oung Pao, Vol. I, 1890, p. 95.
4 A tien ts'ai mentioned by T`ao Hun-kin, as quoted in the Pen ts'ao kan mu, and made into a condiment ta „V for cooking-purposes, is apparently a different vegetable.
5 The corresponding text of the Ts`e fu yuan kwei (Ch. 970, p. 12) has the addition, "resembling the leaves of the . en-hwo 1 .." The text of the Pei hu lu (Ch. 2, p. 19 b) has, "resembling in its appearance the . en-hwo, but with leaves
broader and longer." This tree, also called kin tien X (see Yu yan tsa tsu,
Ch. 19, p. 6), is believed to protect houses from fire; it is identified with Sedum erythrostictum or Sempervivum tectorum (BRETSCHNEIDER, Bot. Sin., pt. III, No. 205; STUART, Chinese Materia Medica, p. 401).
6 A general term for plants like Lactuca, Cichorium, Sonchus.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright (C) 2003-2019 National Institute of Informatics and The Toyo Bunko. All Rights Reserved.