Explore "The Shui-Mang Plant" by Pu Songling on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
The _shui-mang_[1] is a poisonous herb. It is a creeper, like the bean, and has a similar red flower. Those who eat of it die, and become _shui-mang_ devils, tradition asserting that such devils are unable to be born again unless they can find some one else who has also eaten of this poison to take their place.[2] These _shui-mang_ devils abound in the province of Hunan, where, by the way, the phrase "same-year man" is applied to those born in the same year, who exchange visits and call each other brother, their children addressing the father's "brother" as uncle. This has now become a regular custom there.[3]
[1]: Probably the _Illicium religiosum_ is meant.