Yaohui tukao (Illustrated Congregation of Drugs), published in 1935 (24th year of the Republic of China), presents the materia medica in dramatic form. It consists of ten scenes, in which various drugs appear as protagonists.
The illustration of 'The hunchbacked monk teasing the nun' (tuo seng xi gu) accompanies the second scene.
The characters in this scene are personifications of the mineral litharge (whose Chinese name, mituoseng, contains the graphs tuo seng meaning 'hunchbacked monk', and the edible tulip bulb -- Pseudobulbus Cemastrae seu Pleiones -- (whose Chinese name, shancigu, involves a homophone of gu = nun). Together, they present the sapors, potencies, and therapeutic uses of various drugs through the medium of spoken dialogue and song.
Litharge, made into a plaster, can reduce swelling, remove poisons and cure sores and boils. Dog meat and beef can supplement the spleen. Turtle shell nourishes Yin and also clears heat. Chicken's gizzard membrane (ji neijin) promotes digestion. Cowherb seed (wangbuliu, semen vaccariae) is a purgative and also promotes lactation. Toad venom clears heat, removes poisons and cures sores and ulcers. Madder root (qiancao gen) arrests bleeding. Myrrh alleviates pain… Altogether, this scene introduces about 90 drugs.
