Pine Song

Pine resin is a top-grade medicinal substance in the Bencao. The flowers are known as Pine Yellow. The tree bark, known as Aina, and the seeds? Pine nuts, Pine joints, and Pine heart are all used in medicine. The pine of the Guandong region has branches and trunks that do not wither in winter; they bear fragrant, beautiful fruit with seeds like rare treats. These are also found in Liangping. Generally, pines in the northern lands are difficult to grow tall. They have many knots, a firm texture, and the wood is suitable for ridgepoles and beams. The entire body contains resin. When the pine is exhausted, the sap flows out. Southern pines are only suitable for firewood and are prone to white ants. Only the piles kept underwater do not rot for many years.

The Farmer of Yulou says: The Erya identifies the Cong a type of fir as having the leaves of a pine and the body of a cypress. The commentary refers to the timber used in the Great Temple. This refers to what the philosopher Shizi called the "rat of the pine and cypress." It is not known that the hall contains the beautiful Cong. The Cong is of the pine family but has a different quality. Today, craftsmen who examine wood identify two types: Grey Pine and Yellow Pine. Grey Pine grows easily, is light in weight, and rots quickly; it is used only as fuel. Yellow Pine, also called Oil Pine, is rich in resin and has a firm grain. It grows mostly among mountain rocks. In northern lands, large houses cannot be built without it.