The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-08-11
The Poppy In China.

The date of the Introduction Of opium
in China is moot point. Even Sir Rob-
ert Hart, the Inspect0r-General of
Chinese Customs, in his reports can say
nothing more definite about it than that
native opium was known, produced
and used long before any Europeans be-
gan the sale of the foreign drug along
The coast" Cinnamon themselves are
40 better informed; and it is only there
lore, by references to the poppy and to
opium in the literature of the country
that we can gain any positive informa-
ton on the subject The dictionaries
tell us that the poppy has at different
periods been known under the names of
Yu me hwa, "imperial grain flower"
Me nang hwa, "grain-bag flower" and
Wing sub hwa, pitcher-grain flower"
Both the last names refer to the shape of
the seed-capsules, and the other finds an
explanation in the History of the Later
Han Dynasty" "a. d. 25-22O, where
we read that at that period it was the
duty of two especially appointed court
officials to superintend the making of
Yu me (poppY-seed) cakes for the EN-
perors use. Of course the seeds of the
poppy do not contain opium; but it is
obvious that some glqtinous substance
must have been used In making up the
cakes, and it is not q rash conjecture
that the juice from the capsules was
that used for the purpose. This Is the
more probable since the juice has long
been employed in like manner in MAX
ing the cakes known as ''poppy-juice
fish," According to K'anghe's cele-
brated Encyclopedia published in
1726), these cakes are made of flour
formed into dough by the admixture of
the juice of the poppy, and are then
kneaded into cakes shaped in the like
ness of fish. Under the later Han Dy-
nasty just referred to, the capital was in
the province of SEE ch'uen, where the
poppy Is at the present date largely
grown; but we learn from the ''Shwuy
king choo," work referring to some
what later period, that the plant was
not confined to that district, since men,
ton is therein made of its fourishing
also in the province of Kwang-se.
The instructive admiration which the
Chinese have always felt for coloring,
especially in flowers, has gained for the
poppy high place in their estimation.
But, from the nature of the literature.
the expression of their admiration must
be looked for mainly in the works of the
poets. Their enthusiasm for the poppy
blossom, however, is vastly heightened
by an appreciation of the charms of the
juice and the strengthening qualities of
the seeds; at all events, these virtues of
the plant find prominent mention in
Chinese poetry. With Yung Taou, of
the Tang dynasty ca. d. 61S-9QO, the
pleasure of sight seems to have pre-
dominated. While ON a journey this
poet was so enchanted by a field of pop
pies, possibly because they reminded
him of similar scenes in his native pro-
vince of SEE ch'uen, that he forgot Che
says) all the griefs of ten thousand miles
of travel. The poet Soc Cheh (1O39-
1112) dwells, In an ode, on the curative
and invigorating effects of the poppy
seeds and juice; and 500 Sung, of about
the same period, native of Fuh-keen,
praises the beauty of the plant, which
he speaks of as being grown "every-
where (ch'oo ch'oo). The first medi-
cal man who speaks of the juice of the
poppy in professional point of view is
o certain Choo Chin-hang, a native of
Che-keang, who lived during the end of
the twelfth and the beginning of the
thirteenth century. "At the present
day." writes this author, "many peo-
pie suffering from cough and weakness
take the juice of the poppy as remedy.
It is also cure for fever arising from
damp, and for dysentery. But" he
adds, Though its value as a medicine
is great, it yet kills men like double
edged sword (Sha jim joo keen), and its
use should therefore be avoided at all
hazards. "-St. James Gazette.