Chinese Materia Dietetica, Ming: Black bean sauce

Illustration of black bean sauce (douchi) from Shiwu bencao (Materia dietetica), a dietetic herbal in four volumes dating from the Ming period (1368-1644). The identity of the author and artists is unknown. It contains entries on over 300 medicinal substances and is illustrated by almost 500 paintings in colour. The text states: Black bean sauce is bitter in sapor, cold in thermostatic character and non-poisonous. It is efficacious against conditions such as cold damage and headache, miasmas (zhang qi), malign poisons (edu) insufficiency-overexertion (xulao), ague/malaria (nüeji) and bone steaming (guzheng).