Iris there with humid bow, Waters the odorous banks, that blow Flowers of more mingled hue Than her purfled scarf can shew, 1005 seng signifies either to kill or cure, according as it is pronounced; that it is so called, because this root is sometimes shaped like a man, and causes good or bad effects according as it is administered. In the embassy of the Dutch to China, where mention is made of the gin-seng, it is also observed that the Japoneze call it nisi; that it was named gin-seng, from its being shaped like a man who straddles out his legs, termed by the Chinese gin, &c. Lastly, Father Le Compte, in his Memoirs of China, writes it gin-sem; gin, says he, signifies man, and sem a plant or simple as though we should say, the human simple, or the simple which resembles man. Travellers who interpret these words differently should be excused, as they were not acquainted with the force and power of the Chinese characters, which alone denote the true signification of words."] About the end of July 1709, we arrived at a village distant but four short leagues from the kingdom of Corea, and inhabited by Tartars called Calca-tatze; one of those Tartars went and fetched from the neighbouring mountains four plants of gin-seng, and brought them to us, And drenches with Elysian dew (List, mortals, if your ears be true) Beds of hyacinth and roses, Where young Adonis oft reposes, unbroken, in a basket. I took one of them at random, and drew the figure of it in its whole dimensions as well as I could; a copy whereof I now send you, which will be explained at the close of this letter. "The most skilful physicians in China have writ whole volumes concerning the properties of this plant; it is introduced into most of the medicines administered by them to persons of distinction, it being of too high a price for the common people. The Chinese declare it to be a sovereign remedy where persons are brought very low by excessive fatigue either of mind or body: they add, that it dissolves phlegm; cures the pleurisy, and any weakness upon the lungs; stops vomitings; strengthens the orifice of the stomach, and creates an appetite; it likewise dispels the spleen and vapours; relieves in shortness of breath, by strengthening the stomach; gives vigour to the animal spirits, and produces lympha in the blood: lastly, it is of use in vertigos and dizziness of sight, and prolongs the life of old men, "We may naturally suppose that the Chinese and Tar Waxing well of his deep wound In slumbers soft, and on the ground But far above in spangled sheen 1010 tars would not esteem this root so prodigiously, if it did not constantly produce the happiest effects: even persons in good health often take it to invigorate their strength. I am persuaded that this plant, in the hands of Europeans well skilled in pharmacy, would be an excellent medicine, if they had but enough of it to make the proper experiments; to examine its nature chemically; and to administer the due quantities, agreeably to the species of disorder or disease it might help to cure." [Père Jartoux then proceeds to state several cases in which the beneficial effects of the gin-seng root were proved by himself, and that within an hour after eating it, raw and unprepared; and then, shortly noticing how it is usually prepared and administered, he adds:] "The places where the gin-seng grows are totally separated from the province of Quan-tong, called Leatong in our ancient maps, by a barrier of wooden stakes encompassing all that province, and round which soldiers are patrolling perpetually, to keep the Chinese from going out and gathering this root. Nevertherless, though the utmost vigilance is Celestial Cupid her fam'd son, advanc'd, After her wand'ring labors long, Till free consent the gods among, 1015 used on this occasion, yet a thirst of gain prompts the Chinese (sometimes to the number of two or three thousand) to enter these deserts secretly, though they run the hazard of being enslaved, and consequently of losing the fruit of their labour, in case they happen to be discovered either coming out of that province or going into it. The Emperor desiring that the Tartars should reap the profit, preferably to the Chinese, had ordered (in 1709) ten thousand of the former to go and gather all the gin-seng they could find, upon condition that each of them should give his Majesty two ounces of the best." [Père Jartoux then states the order which is observed by this army of botanists, in the course of which the translator, Mr. Lockman, gives a note of his own, viz.: “A very particular account is given of the nature and qualities of this plant, and the several distempers it cures, in Father Du Halde's large Account of China. It is there observed, that this root bears a resemblance to the human figure, and is of a spirituous nature; and another author, quoted in Father Du Halde's Description, says, that this root has the hands, feet, face, and eyes of a man, and abounds very Make her his eternal bride, And from her fair unspotted side Two blissful twins are to be born,. Youth and Joy; so Jove hath sworn. 1020 much in spirits." Among the diseases enumerated by the translator in which the gin-seng is beneficial, he observes that it is of great service against melancholy and sinking of the spirits; palpitation of the heart, attended with sweating; fevers caused by a decay of the spirits; consumptions attended with spitting of blood; and, finally, in malignant fevers. The gin-seng, according to the Chinese botanists, seems to be the much-sought-for panacea: it pays a high duty to the Emperor, and the defrauding him of any part of it is made death; it comes to Pekin from several places, as Leotong, Corea, Northern Tartary, and Japan]. Père Jartoux after describing some varieties of the plant, further says, I do not know why, the Chinese call it gin seng, i. e. the resemblance of a man; not having seen any one resembling ever so little the human figure; and those whose duty it is to search for it, assured me that they never met with any more (among the plants in question) of such as resemble the human shape, than among the other roots, which chance sometimes throws into fantastical forms. The Tartars call it more justly Orhota, i. e. the first of plants. |