續一切經音義 6.109

6.109

樺皮（上胡罵反文字集略云山木名也堪為燭者其中有赤白麤細彼五天竺國元無紙素或裁以貝多葉或多羅或白細樺皮用書梵夾如中國古人用竹簡之類也字從木華聲也）。

Birch bark (樺皮: the upper character has the fanqie *hú* + *mà* [huà]; the *Wen zi jilüe* says, "The name of a mountain tree suitable for making torches; it comes in red and white, coarse and fine varieties." In the Five Regions of India there was originally neither paper nor silk; they cut either patra leaves, tāla leaves, or fine white birch bark to write Sanskrit volumes (*pustaka*), just as ancient people in China used bamboo slips and the like. The character is categorized under "wood" with *huá* phonetic).