SEAWEEDS AND OTHER ALGAE

There is no question, however, that, since antiquity, the Chinese have held seaweeds in high regard, which is suggested by the colloquial name hai-ts’ai, “sea vegetable,” commonly applied to them. By one ancient account, some algae were viewed as “a delicacy for the most honorable guest, even for the king himself’ (Porterfield, 1922: 299). The word for algae, in turn, was used metaphorically as a high compliment; and brightly-colored representations of algae on the roof beams of houses protected against fire because, as water plants, they could repel the fire spirit (Porterfield, 1922: 300).