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Zhu'er Fen (Pearl Powder) and Zhu Mi (Bamboo Rice)

*Lingnan Zaji* (Records of Lingnan): Zhu'er Fen originates from the Western Countries in the West Sea. The authentic product is purple in color, soft and smooth, and does not disintegrate when boiled. Counterfeits are made from *Puerariae Lobatae Radix* (Kudzu Root Powder).

*Tongya*: Currently, in Southern Chu and the Liangguang regions, kudzu root is specifically harvested to make powder for consumption. This powder can be formed into pills, known as "Gefen Wan" (Kudzu Powder Pills). People in Guangdong use it to pass off as Western Country Rice, which has the effect of resolving alcohol intoxication.

Zhu Paishan's *Ganguo Xiaoshi* (Brief Records of the Orange State): Western Country Rice comes on ocean-going ships from Fujian and Guangdong. It is as large as a mung bean. The authentic variety is purple in color and does not disintegrate when boiled; its efficacy in strengthening the spleen and promoting stomach function is the most rapid. For those suffering from chronic illness and deficiency-fatigue, consuming it in porridge is most suitable.

It benefits the stomach and harmonizes the spleen, and is suitable for consumption when diseases first arise.

These goods are brought by foreign ships and are available in markets at treaty ports such as Macau, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Zhapu. Its shape is extremely fine, resembling *Perilla Frutescens Seed* (Su Zi), uniform, round, and white. It is said to be manufactured by foreigners harvesting kudzu root and *Pteris Multifida* root or *Araceae* starch. When preparing, it must be brewed with boiling water; the grains remain distinct like fish roe, and the texture is extremely smooth. It can be eaten mixed with sugar frost or consumed plain. Its aroma is fragrant, taste sweet and smooth, it brightens the eyes, promotes spleen function and opens the appetite, resolves alcohol intoxication and generates fluids, and long-term consumption particularly strengthens the kidneys.

*Dongxiyang Kao* (Examination of the Eastern and Western Oceans): Dalin, also known in ancient times as Ni, is now under the jurisdiction of Siam. The local specialty includes Western Country Rice, also called Shagu Rice. The tree is named Shagu; its trunk is hollow like a banana tree. The inner bark is scraped off, pounded with water, and ground into powder. The fine powder is called Wangmi (King Rice), which is the finest grade; the coarse powder is consumed by commoners as a substitute for grain. Nowadays, merchant ships worry about the powder getting wet during the voyage, so they only carry the powder back and form it into pills themselves. In October of the Gengshen year, I was at Chen Kuiyou's residence and saw something called "Huxi Shu" (Hu Western Soybean), stored in a small glass pen tube bottle. The beans were white and fine, indistinguishable from Zhu'er Fen. It was said to have been obtained from the Governor-General Wang's office and could be used in medicine; it has a strong phlegm-resolving effect. His niece suffered from a sudden onset of Lung Wind Phlegm Asthma, with critical severity. Most pediatricians stated she could not be saved. Using one qian of this substance mixed with ginger juice and administered orally, the effect was miraculous.

*Wuli Xiaoshi* (Small Knowledge of Physical Things): When bamboo produces fruit, the spotted patterns appear in pairs, which is called Zhu Mi (Bamboo Rice).

It is divine in eliminating internal accumulations.