Outline

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2014-05-06

"Outline": The “Shennong Jing” states: “The essence of mountains and rivers, clouds and rain, the four seasons and the five elements, as well as yin and yang and the cycles of day and night—these give rise to the five-colored divine mushrooms, which are auspicious omens for sage kings.” The “Ruiying Tu” says: “Mushrooms typically emerge in June; in spring they are green, in summer purple, in autumn white, and in winter black.” Ge Hong’s “Pao Pu Zi” notes: “There are six types of mushrooms—stone mushrooms, wood mushrooms, grass mushrooms, flesh mushrooms, and fungus mushrooms—altogether numbering hundreds of varieties. Stone mushrooms resemble stones and grow on the edges of rocky islands at the sea’s periphery. Flesh mushrooms look like flesh, attached to large rocks with distinct heads and tails; they are living organisms. Red ones resemble coral, white ones like sliced fat, black ones like lacquer, green ones like emerald feathers, and yellow ones like purple gold—all glowing brightly and transparently, as clear as solid ice. The larger ones weigh over ten jin, while the smaller ones weigh three or four jin. Whenever one seeks these mushroom herbs, entering the famous mountains, it must be either in March or September—the months when the mountains bloom with divine medicinal herbs... Shi Zhen once doubted: ‘Mushrooms arise from the residual vapors of decay, much like tumors in humans. Yet throughout history, people have regarded them as auspicious herbs, claiming that consuming them can grant immortality—a notion truly absurd.’ Only recently, after reading Cheng Shi’s words, did I realize that he had already expressed precisely what I had been trying to say; our views fundamentally agree. Moreover, alchemists discovered that if wood is piled in damp places and treated with certain medicinal substances, five-colored mushrooms will spontaneously grow there. During the Jiajing era, Wang Jin even cultivated such mushrooms and presented them to Emperor Shizong. This was something that previous generations had never mentioned—and it is crucial that we come to know it.”

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