The history of Yu Pei

In China, there is no information about when the prehistoric ancestors discovered and used beeswax. The earliest ancient book that recorded beeswax (called "Yu Pei") was Shan Hai Jing, but the author of the book is unknown and the age of the work is inconclusive. There are still different opinions in the whole book, so it is difficult to judge when beeswax was discovered and used in ancient China in Shan Hai Jing. In fact, "Shan Hai Jing Nan Shan Jing" also records: "There are many children among them, and there is no disease in them." That is to say, the ancient southern mountainous areas in China are rich in beeswax, and ancestors also like to wear it. From long-term wearing experience, we realize that beeswax has therapeutic effects. In the case of underdeveloped ancient medicine, it takes a long time to accumulate experience. Therefore, although there are few ancient materials, relying on the recent Classic of Mountains and Seas, we can preliminarily conclude that China ancestors discovered and used beeswax as early as the late Stone Age and the Bronze Age (Shang and Zhou Dynasties).