Edible fungi is the general name for large fungi which can be consumed by humans: In pre-modern China they were referred to by the names jun (mushrooms) gu (shitake, straw and oyster mushrooms), er ('ear' fungi) and zhi (purple stalk fungi). Traditional Chinese textual sources provide abundant records about the history of the utilization of edible fungi and the circumstances of their consumption. This has left a rich body of sources, which retain their value in the present. This article examines the contours of the utilization of edible fungi in pre-modern China through a critical analysis of the historical records, which are still important for the modern culinary world.