Library

(Shu Bencao)
[Correction] Merged into the Wood Section of "Supplementary Materials": Tao Zhu Sun (Bamboo Shoot of Tao Bamboo).
[Nomenclature] Zhu Meng (Bamboo Sprout, from Erya), Zhu Ya (Bamboo Bud, from Sun Pu), Zhu Tai (Bamboo Fetus, from Shuowen Jiezi), Zhu Zi (Bamboo Plant, from Shenyi Jing).
Li Shizhen said: The character "Sun" (Bamboo Shoot) is composed of "Zhu" (Bamboo) and "Xun" (Ten Days), forming a phonetic compound. Lu Dian said: Within ten days it is a shoot, after ten days it becomes bamboo; hence the character includes "Xun". Nowadays, bamboo is called "Jealous Mother Grass", saying that shoots grow for sixteen days to equal the mother plant. Zanning's "Sun Pu" states: A shoot is also called Meng, Ruo, Sun, Zhuo, Chu Huang. These are all ideograms. The common character "Sun" is incorrect.
[Collection and Explanation] Tao Hongjing said: There are many types of bamboo. The shoots of solid-center bamboo and Huang bamboo are the best. However, they have little medicinal use.
Su Song said: Various texts consider Ku Zhu Sun (Bitter Bamboo Shoot) the most precious. However, there are two types of bitter bamboo: one produced in Jiangxi and Fujian has very thick roots, and the shoots are extremely bitter and inedible; another produced in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and nearby areas has thick flesh and long broad leaves, with slightly bitter shoots, commonly called sweet-bitter shoots, suitable for food, but rarely used medicinally.
Li Shizhen said: Dai Kaizhi of Wuchang during the Jin Dynasty and Monk Zanning of the Song Dynasty both wrote "Zhu Pu" (Records of Bamboo), covering over sixty species. Their production areas and shooting times vary greatly. See details under the Bamboo entry in the Wood Section. Some shoots are edible, others are not. Generally, bamboo is rare in the north, abundant only south of Qin, Shu, Wu, and Chu. Bamboo has male and female varieties; if the first branch at the root grows in pairs, it is female and will produce shoots. Locals dig tender shoots when the rhizomes run, calling them Bian Sun (Whip Shoots). In Jiangnan and Hunan, people dig large bamboo roots underground in winter without emerging, called Dong Sun (Winter Shoots), or Bao Sun (Wrapped Shoots) as per "Dongguan Han Ji". These can be eaten fresh and are delicacies. Others include Yu Ban Sun, Ming Sun, Huo Sun (dried lightly by southerners), and Yan Sun (salted and sun-dried), all suitable as vegetables. According to Zanning: Eating shoots is like treating disease; proper methods benefit, improper ones harm. Harvesting should avoid wind and sun; exposure to wind hardens the base, water makes flesh tough, peeling before cooking loses flavor, cutting raw loses tenderness. Boiling should be prolonged; raw shoots damage the body. Bitter shoots require long boiling; dried shoots are best made into soup. Steaming is best, baking is good. Astringent shoots irritate the throat; boil first in ash water, then cook again. Adding mint leaves while boiling removes astringency. The Book of Songs says: "What are the vegetables? Only shoots and cattails." The Book of Rites says: "The contents of the added dishes are pickled shoots and fish paste." Thus, shoots have been used as vegetables for a long time.
Various Bamboo Shoots
[Flavor and Toxicity] Sweet, slightly cold, non-toxic.
Meng Shen said: All shoots induce cold blood and qi stagnation.
Rui said: Eating shoots with sheep liver causes blindness.
[Indications] Xiao Ke (Wasting and Thirsting Syndrome), promotes urination, tonifies Qi, suitable for long-term consumption (Bie Lu).
Promotes diaphragm flow and descends Qi, resolves heat, transforms phlegm, refreshes the stomach (Ning Yuan).
Ku Zhu Sun (Bitter Bamboo Shoot)
[Flavor and Toxicity] Bitter, sweet, cold.
[Indications] Insomnia, clears heat and yellow dampness from face/eyes and tongue, treats Xiao Ke, brightens eyes, resolves alcohol toxicity, clears hot pathogens, strengthens the body (Meng Shen). Relieves mental restlessness, tonifies Qi and strength, promotes urination, descends Qi and transforms phlegm, treats Wind-Heat Jiao Ni (Foot Soreness), best steamed or boiled (Xin Jing). Treats aphonia due to sweating and stroke (Wang Ying). Dried shoots burned to powder mixed with salt applied to teeth for gum disease (Li Shizhen).
[Elucidation] Li Shizhen said: Bitter shoots from Yibin and Changning in Xuzhou, Sichuan, are highly valued locally. Huang Shan Gu of the Song Dynasty wrote "Ode to Bitter Shoots": "Outstanding bitter shoots, crowning the two rivers. Sweet and crisp, satisfying; slightly bitter yet flavorful; warm and dense, eating much does not cause astringency. Inspires culinary arts, makes drinkers salivate." Such high praise.
Xiao Zhu Sun (Small Bamboo Shoot)
[Indications] Treats Xiao Ke and Wind-Heat, tonifies Qi and strength, reduces abdominal distension, suitable for steaming, boiling, or stir-frying (Ning Yuan).
Dan Zhu Sun (Light Bamboo Shoot)
[Flavor and Toxicity] Sweet, cold.
[Indications] Transforms phlegm, clears manic heat and severe fever, headache and wind-head, dizziness in pregnant women, falls and palpitations, epidemic confusion, pediatric convulsions and opisthotonos (Wang Ying).
Dong Sun (Winter Shoot), Xiao Sun
[Flavor and Toxicity] Sweet, cold.
[Indications] For pediatric smallpox not erupting, boiled in porridge, detoxifies, symbolizes emergence (Wang Ying).
[Elucidation] Shen said: Dan Zhu Sun and Zhong Mu Sun are delicious but induce back abscesses and Jiao Ni. New Jian Zhu Sun (Arrow Bamboo Shoot) is edible; old ones are not. Most bamboo shoots move Qi and induce cold syndromes if eaten in excess; only Ku Zhu Sun directs rebellious Qi and does not induce disease.
Ying said: Shoots are similar in function to Zhu Li (Bamboo Sap). Someone with chronic phlegm disease was cured by eating shoots.
Rui said: Dan Sun, Gan Sun, Ku Sun, Dong Sun, and Bian Sun can be eaten long-term. Other miscellaneous bamboo shoots have varying flavors and properties,不宜 excessive consumption.
Zong said: Shoots are hard to digest and do not benefit the person; those with Spleen disease should not eat them. A child choked on a three-inch dry shoot, developing high fever and rough breathing resembling convulsions. Convulsion medicines failed; the shoot was vomited out, and symptoms settled. Its indigestibility is such.
Li Shizhen said: Zanning's "Sun Pu" states: Though sweet and beautiful, shoots lubricate the Large Intestine and do not benefit the Spleen, hence called "Intestine-Scraping Comb". Only Ginger and Sesame Oil can neutralize their toxicity. Pouring sesame residue on bamboo clumps causes next-year thinning, verifying this. Shoots from Qizhou Cluster Bamboo, Mao Ban Bamboo, Kuanglu Flat Bamboo, Fengzhou Square Bamboo, Lingnan Le Bamboo, Ci Bamboo, and Yue Bamboo are bitter, tough, and inedible. I often see quack doctors treating smallpox advising shoot soup to "induce eruption". They do not know that smallpox lesions should not involve intestinal lubrication, and since shoots scrape the intestines, many suffer silently. Beware, beware.
Tao Zhu Sun (Bamboo Shoot of Tao Bamboo) (Supplementary Materials)
Cangqi said: Southerners call it Huang Sun (Yellow Shoot). Boiled with alkaline water, it is edible; otherwise, it irritates the throat. It grows in clusters, diverse in appearance.
Li Shizhen said: Tao Zhi Zhu (Peach Branch Bamboo) grows in Sichuan and Guangdong. Smooth and wide skin, sharp ribs and slender bones, four inches with nodes, can be made into mats.
[Flavor and Toxicity] Bitter, slightly toxic.
[Indications] Maggots in sores of livestock; crushed and inserted, maggots exit completely (Cangqi).
Ci Zhu Sun (Thorny Bamboo Shoot)
Li Shizhen said: Grows in Jiaozhi and Guangling. Clusters, up to two chi circumference, branches and joints thorn-covered. Barbarians plant as walls, cut for bows. Roots as thick as chariot spokes. Also named Ba Zhu.
[Flavor and Toxicity] Sweet, bitter, slightly toxic. Causes hair loss when eaten (Zhu Pu).
Suan Sun (Sour Bamboo Shoot) (Ben Cao Gang Mu)
[Collection and Explanation] Li Shizhen said: Suan Sun comes from Southern Guangdong. Gu's "Haicha Lu" says: Shoots as thick as arms. Picked, soaked in boiling water to remove bitterness, immersed in cold well water for 2-3 days, taken out, shredded like ropes, cooked in vinegar, edible. Enthusiasts brought it to Central Plains, making it a rarity.
[Flavor and Toxicity] Sour, cool, non-toxic.
[Indications] Made into soup, quenches thirst, resolves hangover, benefits the diaphragm (Li Shizhen).