Chinese Medicine Half Monthly Talk | Loquat Leaf

Interesting stories

Cuckoo is the name of a bird and also the name of a flower; white-crowned cranesbill is both a kind of grass flower and the name of a bird; there are also the plant Caragana and the bird Golden Pheasant - this is a rather special phenomenon of animals and plants having the same names in Chinese culture.

This culture is also reflected in the loquat, which is both the name of a plant and the name of an instrument. That is because the characteristics of this plant are quite similar to the shape of a musical instrument. The golden fruit it produces is similar in appearance to the loquat instrument, especially the mature fruit and the belly of the instrument, so people call it "loquat". Later, different Chinese characters were used to distinguish them, and then "loquat" and "pipa" appeared, which have the same pronunciation but different characters.

In the seventh volume of "Explanation of Names" written by Liu Xi at the end of the Han Dynasty, "Explanation of Musical Instruments" specifically explains the name of "loquat", saying that it is a foreign instrument, and the name has its own origin: loquat, originally from the Hu land of the northwestern ethnic minority, is played on horseback. Pushing the hand to the left front is called "pi", and pulling the hand back to play is called "pa (pá)". This is originally a description of the action when playing the instrument, but it was taken as its name. Because it is a wooden instrument, the action words "pi" and "pa" were replaced with "loquat" and "pa" of the "wood" radical to emphasize. Later, this instrument had a special name "pipa", and the two words "loquat" gave this delicious southern fruit.

Photo: Bu Ruilan

Loquat once had two fingers, but pipa can obviously only be used on one finger. There is an interesting story in history about the misuse of its name.

Shen Zhou (1427-1509), the founder of the Wu School of Painting in the Ming Dynasty, was also known as Shitian. He was not only a famous painter and calligrapher, but also a writer and medical scientist. He was a versatile man who was good at both literature and medicine. Once, he received a box of gifts from a friend with a letter saying, "I respectfully present you with a pipa. I hope you will accept it." He opened it and found a box of fresh loquats.

Seeing this scene, Mr. Ishida couldn't help laughing. In his reply to his friend, he said: "I appreciate your kindness in giving me the pipa. I opened the box and looked at it: it is silent when I listen to it, and delicious when I eat it."

When the friend read the letter, he felt ashamed and amused, so he wrote a doggerel to mock himself: "The pipa is not this loquat, I only blame my poor literacy. If the pipa can bear fruit, all the flutes and pipes in the city will bloom." This means that if the musical instrument pipa can bear fruit, then all the flutes and pipes in the city should bloom. The doggerel saying "the flutes and pipes bloom" obviously implies that beautiful music can also make people feel happy like appreciating flowers. This self-ironic poem has its own aura and is very interesting!

Loquats are delicious. Elders always emphasize that loquat trees bloom in winter and bear fruit in spring, have good temperaments, and eating more loquats will not cause internal heat, and can moisten the lungs, etc. But what is strange is why Sikong Shu (about 720-790) of the Tang Dynasty received a basket full of loquat leaves from his friend Wei Xiang, the magistrate of Wenlin County, who was sent from Hubei? He was very grateful after receiving it and wrote a poem to thank him. This is his "Wei Mingfu sent loquat leaves in reply with a poem": "The basket is full of green leaves, and the overlapping colors are so bright. How can it be in the autumn wind, just like before the morning dew. The immortal prescription should be seen, and the disease should be cured. The gift of the whole victory sweet banana is thrown into the empty Xie family's article."

It turns out that loquat leaves from loquat trees are the best medicine for curing diseases. They are also valued in immortal prescriptions, and it is very convenient to use them to eliminate diseases. The reason behind sending loquat leaves is to send health, so Sikong Shu said that this is far more meaningful than sending me sweet bananas, and no matter how many words of thanks I say, it will not be enough.

"Loquat leaves are bitter, flat and non-toxic. They are mainly used to treat sudden vomiting and relieve gas." (Middle Grade in "Famous Doctors' Records")

The leaves are more effective for medicinal purposes. The use of loquat leaves to treat diseases, and the origin of its entry into the herbal classics, point to the Liang Dynasty Tao Hongjing's "Famous Doctors' Records" which was the first to record it. "Zuo啘 (yuē)" means sudden vomiting, because 啘 is the same as "哕" in ancient times, which means dry retching. The discovery of its "downward gas" effect discovered by our ancestors has been consistently affirmed by later generations. Li Shizhen even expanded on its downward gas effect in "Compendium of Materia Medica": "〔Shizhen said〕loquat leaves have a thin smell and a thick taste, and are the yin in the yang. To treat lung and stomach diseases, most of them take advantage of its downward gas effect. When the qi is down, the fire is reduced and the phlegm is smooth, and those who are in rebellion will not be in rebellion, those who vomit will not vomit, those who are thirsty will not be thirsty, and those who cough will not cough."