Shen Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Grass (cǎo) Yuan Kangxi strokes: 10 Page 1020, Entry 12 Pronounced yuan (rising tone) In the Analytical Dictionary of Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), it is defined as a fish poison. Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhaijing): On the First Mountain (Shoushan), there is much grass of the yuan variety. Notes on the Quick Literacy Treatise (Jijiupian zhu): Yuan-hua is also known as fish poison. Fishermen boil it and cast it into the water; the fish then die and float to the surface, which is how it acquired its name. It is sometimes written in a variant form (yuan). Literary Expositor (Er-ya), Explanation of Trees: The yuan tree is a fish poison. Guo [Pu] note: It is a large tree that grows in the south; the bark is thick and the sap is red, and it can be used to preserve eggs and fruit. Note: The variety that grows in the south and is used to preserve eggs and fruit is a distinct type of yuan tree. It is the yuan mentioned in Zuo Si's Rhapsody on the Capital of Wu (Wu Du Fu), specifically the cotton-yuan, chun, and lu trees, and is not the fish-poisoning yuan tree. Guo's explanation is incorrect. Also, Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), Biography of Physician Cang: The woman Bo Wu from Linzi was ill, and she was given a pinch of yuan flower to drink.