Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s2.t6: Pepper
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s2.t6
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Pepper
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Pepper is a kind of liana vine that originated in India. The term generally refers to the dried or ripe fruit *piper nigrum*. The Sanskrit term for pepper is *marica* or *maraca* and it is known as black pepper in English. Another Sanskrit term for pepper is ūṣaṇa meaning hot. Together with long pepper and dried ginger, they are known as the “three pungent medicines”, “three pungent spices”, “three hot drugs” or “three pungent drugs”. Pepper has traditionally been a major commodity in the overseas land and sea trade of India and has also been commonly used in the traditional Chinese medicine and food.
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Pepper is one of the favourite condiments and also one of the main spices carried in the maritime trade between Asia and Europe. Pepper’s major medicinal value, according to traditional Chinese medicine, lies in its stimulation function, which can reduce *qi* and remove cold and stimulate secretion in the stomach to help digestion. Pepper has played an important role in the history of Indian drugs for several centuries. It has long been considered and used as aromatic stimulant and carminative to expel gas from the gastro-intestinal tract. It works well in treating dyspepsia, flatulence and hemorrhoids and sometimes, it can be used as an anti-malarial drug. Pepper can be also used as external medicine.
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The *History of the Later Han Dynasty (juan 78)* first recorded that pepper originated in India. The *Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang* by the famous monk Xuanzang recorded that *schinus molle* originated in A Zha Li kingdom and that *schinus molle* looked very much like the pepper of Shu. The *You Yang Essays* by Duan Chengshi recorded that pepper originated in Magadha and was called marica. It said that it looked like the Han pepper and tasted pungent and was usually used as seasoning.
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In medieval Buddhist literature, marica is written as Mo Li Zhe (摩梨遮), Mo Li Zhe (么哩者), Mo Li Zhe (末栗者), Mo Li Zhe (摩唎遮) and Mo Lian Zhe (摩练遮). There was a close relationship between pepper and the Magadha kingdom. Pepper was an expensive imported commodity in the Tang period. For instance, when the household of the wealthy prime minister Yuan Zai under the Emperor Daizong of the Tang dynasty (762-779 CE) was raided after he relinquished office, countless precious objects were found including 800 *hu* of pepper.
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*Pepper*
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The nature and usage of pepper was recorded in the *Materia Medica* of the Tang Dynasty in *Overseas Medicinal Plants* by Li Xun of the five dynasties, the Ri Huazi Medicinal Plants, Augmented Materia Medica and Classified Materia Medica of the Song Dynasty, and in the Compendium of Materia Medica of the Ming Dynasty and other traditional Chinese writing on herbs. The third volume of *The Account of Buddhism Sent from the South Seas* by the Chinese monk Yi Jing also pointed out that ginger, pepper and long pepper had the function of dispelling cold. In the Buddhist medical system, there are five medicines that can be taken freely for general well-being namely pepper, Haritaki, āmalaka, Bingxile and long pepper. Among the esoteric Buddhist documents translated in Chinese namely the Saptabuddha aṣṭabodhisattva mahādhāraṇī sūtra (the mahādhāraṇī sūtra chanted by the seven Buddhas and the eight Bodhisattvas) and the ‘Bodhisattva Avalokiteṣvara Cintāmaṇi dhāraṇī sūtra’ (the Cintāmaṇi dhāraṇī sūtra of the Boddhisattva Avalokiteṣvara), pepper is mentioned as serving as an important ingredient for eye drops. In several esoteric rituals, pepper was also seen as bringing rain, the rule of joy and happiness, good luck and respect when used. In the medical manuscripts unearthed in Dunhuang written by Chinese and non-Chinese (Sanskrit, Uighur, Khotanese, etc.), prescriptions containing pepper were relatively common which reflected the specific impact of Indian pharmacology. In the Song Dynasty, the sixth chapter of *Eyes of Humans and Gods* by Huiyan and Zhizhao, and the eighth chapter of the Jingde *Transmission of the Lamp* recorded that “Persians eat pepper” which indicated that in the Tang and Song periods the image of Persians, Indians and people of the southern seas in the eyes of the Chinese was deeply influenced by social factors. It is also a simple and clear manifestation of cultural exchange.
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The pepper trade between ancient India and China was mainly documented in Chinese literature, especially in those works of literature about the traffic between China and foreign countries as well as literature about the southern regions. In the Siming (now Ningbo) port of the Southern Song Dynasty, the pepper imported from South Asia was considered as one of the most valuable goods.
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The *Daoyi zhilue*, written by Wang Dayuan of the Yuan period, said that pepper, mostly stored in warehouses, was produced in Calicut (Kerala), India but the quality was worse than that in Shimosato (another place in Kerala). Two-tenths of the value of the pepper trade went as tax. *Shuyuzhouzilu*, a record of the countries around China, written by Yan Congjian of the Ming Dynasty, recorded that Bengal was the source of pepper. Bengal paid tribute including pepper to the Ming Dynasty on many occasions. *A Study of the Eastern and Western Oceans* by Zhang Xie of the Ming period that pepper in Calicut was valued at 200 fen per 400 catty. The *Statutes of the Ming Dynasty* in its special regulations on trade, mentioned pepper, pomade, herbs and other objects. Pepper from South Asia and other places were purchased based on the price fixed by the imperial storehouse, namely, three strings per catty. Prices varied according to the different origins of the product. The Ming dynasty imported a great quantity of pepper. According to the record, in March of the first year of the Zhengtong period (1436), the imperial court imported 300 kg of pepper which showed the large amount of pepper imported from South Asia. Pepper was also closely related with people’s daily life. In the 22nd year of the Yongle period (1424), the government stipulated that the salaries of civil and military officials in Beijing would be converted into and paid in the form of pepper and hematoxylin, of which pepper was valued at 16 strings per catty.
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(*Chen Ming*)