While, at the beginning of Song dynasty, court scholars incorporated opium poppy into official materia medica in order to treat disorders such as huángdǎn 黃疸 (jaundice?) and xiāokě 消渴 (diabetes?), as well as cinnabar poisoning, the later Song medical treatises show how opium poppy was repurposed to treat symptoms such as diarrhoea, coughing and spasms. Such a shift in the medical use of the poppy occurred after Chinese literati and doctors became acquainted with the role of the flower in the diet and medical practices of Buddhist monks