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Parent Category: Technical Articles from Journal Back Copies

Category: Technical Articles 2001

Maureen Carswell

On the previous visit we had all been impressed with the glue which they used to stick the wires in place. We had been told that it was made of hyacinth root, also used as a heart medicine. I had not obtained any of this, much to the disappointment of Guild members who practice cloisonné, so I decided to try to remedy this. I had kept in touch with Julia Guo, our guide on the previous visit. She came to see me at the hotel on one of her free afternoons. In the evening, over a meal with Dr. Shia, we discussed the matter of the glue and Julia was able to give Dr. Shia the name. After saying "Goodbye" to Julia, we went hot foot to the nearest pharmacy (Open all Hours!), but were disappointed. The following afternoon, however, Dr. Shia arrived at my room with a triumphant smile and presented me with a bag of dried root pieces (Bai Ji - Rhizoma Bletillae). I did say, rather ruefully that the glue which I had seen was in powdered form, to which he cheerfully replied - "Experiment".

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