Monochrome painting of sweet wormwood (qinghao, Artemisia annua)
from Diannan bencao tushuo (The Illustrated Yunnan
Pharmacopoeia).
Diannan bencao tushuo was compiled by the Ming (1368-1644)
writer Lan Mao in the 14th-15th century. The word 'Dian' in the
title refers to the Yunnan region, in the south-west of China. It
provides a record of the plants and other substances commonly used
for medicinal purposes in Yunnan in the Ming period. Most of the
entries are illustrated with ink and wash paintings. This
manuscript copy was executed in 1773 (38th year of the Qianlong
reign period of the Qing dynasty, Gui Si year) by Zhu Jingyang.
In the text, Lan Mao states: Sweet wormwood is similar in
appearance to common wormwood. It bears yellow flowers and small,
slender millet-like seeds. The entire plant is used in medicine. It
is bitter in sapor, cooling and non-poisonous. It is effective in
clearing heat, relieving dysentery, and eliminating 'steaming'. It
is used to treat conditions such as scabies (jielai), malign sores,
bone steaming (guzheng), exertion-heat, chronic ague (nüe) and
dysentery of long duration. The tender shoots, eaten in spring and
summer, has the medicinal properties of tonifying the centre,
replenishing Qi, making the body light and improving the
appearance.
In contemporary Western medicine, this plant is a source of
artemisinin, which may be used to treat chloroquine resistant
cerebral malaria.