蛭 appears in 《
说文解字》 as 'a worm with a sucker'. Famously in 《
吴越春秋》, King Hui of Chu (
楚惠王) accidentally ate a leech in his cold soup; he swallowed it rather than punish the cooks, and afterwards (legend says) was cured of an old illness — recorded as
楚惠王食寒菹得蛭. The character also names
蛭石 (vermiculite), so called because the mineral expands and curls when heated, like a writhing leech.
