Painting of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. (chiyao) in the meticulous (gongbi) style, in colour on silk, from Bencao tupu (Illustrated Herbal). The painted illustrations in Bencao tupu were jointly executed by Zhou Hu and Zhou Xi in 1644 (the final year of the Ming period). The explanatory texts were provided by Zhou Rongqi. The book was not completed: each volume was to have contained 14-15 paintings, but only 29 are extant.
Zhou Rongqi writes: Paeonia lactiflora Pall. grows in Shizhou. It is a trailing plant with long, narrow leaves and climbing stems that grow up the sides of valleys. It has large, fleshy, orange-red root tubers. The tuber is used in medicine, and has the same thermostatic properties, sapor and therapeutic effects as dioscorea bulbifera (huangyaozi).
