What are all the uses of gourds!

Cultivated throughout China, the fruits can be used as containers, such as wine jugs, after certain treatment after aging; living utensils, such as water scoops; toys for songbirds, such as caddisfly gourds; and ornamental items.

-Eating

There are many ways to eat gourd. Yuan dynasty Wang Zhen "book of agriculture" said: "Lagenaria for the use of a wide range of large can be boiled for vegetarian soup, and meat can be cooked for meat soup, can be honey before frying for fruit, can be peeled for dry ......" and said: "gourd for the thing also, tired and yet born, eat endless, cooking savory, the most good vegetables. Cooking savory, the most good vegetables." Visible to the ancients is the gourd as fruits and vegetables to eat, and eat a variety of ways, both soup, but also dishes, both pickled, but also dry sun. Burning soup fragrant four, its flavor is delicious. Unlike other fruits and gourds, both gourds and its leaves, should be eaten when young, otherwise it will lose its food value after maturity.

-Medicinal

Cucurbits can not only hold medicine, can also be medicine itself. Gourd taste sweet, smooth and non-toxic, its vines, beards, leaves, flowers, seeds, shells can be used as medicine to cure a variety of diseases. According to ancient medical records, gourd flower taste sweet, sexuality, non-toxic, can do detoxification medicine, especially effective for all kinds of fistula. Trail, beard medicinal properties and flowers the same, can cure hemp sores. Gourd flesh and seeds, bitter flavor, cold, toxic, can cure dental disease, gums or swollen or dew, loose teeth. And can cure face, eyes, limbs, swelling, urinary incontinence, nasal congestion, and all carbuncles and malignant sores. Especially the highest medicinal value of gourd shells, its taste sweet, neutral, non-toxic, used to eliminate heat and detoxification, moistening the lungs and laxatives. The more aged the gourd shell, the higher the efficacy.

-Musical Instruments

In ancient times, gourd is an important raw material for making musical instruments, its value is no less than silk, bamboo. In the Yao Dian, it is said that Lagenaria is one of the eight tones. Gourd sheng was first contained in the Han Dynasty's Rituals and Music Zhi: "There are gourd shengs." Later Jin Cui Bao "ancient and modern note" once again mentioned: "gourd has a handle of hanging gourd, can be for the sheng, QuWuWu especially good. Autumn is possible, and and then lacquer its inside." This sentence is to say that long-handled gourd can be processed into sheng, among which the gourd of Quwo is the best. In addition to reed instruments such as sheng and yu, gourds can also be made into stringed instruments or plucked instruments *** sound box. The gourd can also be made into pigeon whistles, which are divided into many kinds and made in different ways.

"Gourd silk" in the folk known as "gourd Xiao", also known elsewhere as "gourd pianos", the name of the reason for the change is said to be the early liberation, the intellectual youth went to the countryside. Intellectual youth to the countryside, the Dai not standard Chinese "Xiao" misheard as silk and got the name, it is said that in order to distinguish it from the Hani ethnic group's "Lusheng" and distinguish it from the "Xiao" (Xiao no spring), so Literary workers will be named "hulusi". The former is said to be the majority. The Dai name for hulusi is "Wicker Langdao", "Langdao" being the Dai name for "gourd", and "Wicker" being the Dai name for wind instruments. Wicker" is the general name of wind instruments in Dai language. It is called "Wicker Gerbao" in the Deang language and "Paille Weng" in the Achang language

-Daily Use

The gourd, as a daily utensil, is used in many ways. Gourd openings into a variety of shapes for the use of utensils, the most common is used to fill the water or wine kettle or wine pots, can also be used to scoop water, panning rice, scooping noodles, things such as things. In ancient times, gourd was also used to hold medicine, it is better than other containers such as iron boxes, clay pots, wooden boxes, etc., because it has a strong sealing properties, moisture is not easy to enter, easy to keep the drug dry, not to damage the deterioration. In addition, gourd can also be made into boats and agricultural tools, and even be made into firearms, used in war.