人參一名土精，生上黨者佳，人形皆具，能作兒啼。昔有人掘之，始下鏵，便聞土中呻吟聲。尋音而取，果得人參。
Ginseng is also known as “earth-essence,” and that which grows in the Shangdang region is the most excellent. It is shaped like a fully-intact person and is capable of crying like a child. In the past when someone wanted to dig it up, they would begin by lowering their shovel, and then listen for the sounds of groaning in the earth. By tracing the sound and then digging, they could find the ginseng.
[now I’m curious if there is any connection between crying ginseng and screaming mandrake]