Illustration of spring water from a dark source' (yindi liu quanshui) 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.
In this illustration, the painter depicts water flowing along a deep, winding channel, to suggest that the source of the water is underground, in a place that can never see the light of day.
The text states: Spring water from a dark source should not be drunk; drinking it causes miasmic malaria (nüezheng) and weakness of the limbs. According to another theory, drinking water that has collected in a marsh causes lumps in the abdomen (jia).
