KOU-CHU, a Chinese shrub, which bears a great resemblance to the fig-tree both in the make of its branches and the form of its leaves. From its root several twigs or shoots generally spring up, which form a kind of bush; but sometimes it consists of only one shoot. The wood of the branches of the kou-chu is soft and spongy, and covered with bark like that of the fig-tree. Its leaves are deeply indented, and their colour and the texture of their fibres are exactly the same as those of the fig-tree; but they are larger and thicker, and much rougher to the touch.
This tree yields a kind of milky juice, which the Chinese use for laying on gold-leaf in gilding. They make one or more incisions in the trunk, into which they insert the edges of a shell, or something else of the same kind, to receive the sap. When they have extracted a sufficiency, they use it with a small brush, and delineate whatever figures they intend for the decoration of their work. They then lay on the gold-leaf, which is so strongly attracted by this liquor, that it never comes off.