Wu Collection, Lower Volume
Radical: Stone (shí)
Character: Meng
Kangxi Stroke Count: 19
Page 838, Entry 05
According to Compendium of Materia Medica (Bencao Gangmu), Stone Section, there is the green meng stone, said to originate from the Materia Medica (Bencao) as supplemented with annotations during the Jiayou era of the Song dynasty. Many mountains north of the Yangtze River contain this stone, with those from Gan Mountain being the best. Its flavor is sweet and salty, it is non-toxic, its medicinal properties act downwards, it aids digestion, and it treats convulsions and epilepsy. Wang Yinjun and Tang Heng once used it. Pronounced meng. Additionally, in the third piece of the Eighteen Songs of the Cymbals (Naoge Shiba Qu) from the Han dynasty, titled Ai Ruzhang, the end contains the line, for this purpose I rely on whom, who is willing to enter the meng chamber, thus this character did not first appear in the Materia Medica. Old editions omitted it, so it is now specifically added.