Lei Dingcheng
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Later he took Li Shaoting as his teacher to study the starter making and fermentation of broad-bean paste, and in 1979 he studied under Zhang Yueming, a leading master of seasoned food production in China. Within the regional tradition and school record of Douban Paste Making Craftsmanship in Pi, Sichuan: The craft core of Pixian douban lies in the area of the county seat of Pixian County, Sichuan Province; Shuntianhao was on West Street and Yifenghe on South Street, and these two sauce gardens upheld the sauce trade of the street. Pixian sits in the middle of the Chengdu Plain and abounds in broad beans and chilies, so the raw materials for douban need not be sought elsewhere. During the Republic of China period, Pixian douban was widely sold in Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou, Tibet, as well as Shaanxi and Gansu; together with Sichuan salt and Sichuan tea it left Sichuan along the Yangtze and the northwest routes, so the name of Pixian douban belongs both to Sichuan cuisine and to the kitchens of the provinces along the way. In the eighth year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty (1803), Chen Yixian, a grandson of the Chen family, opened the Shuntianhao sauce garden on West Street in the county seat. In the third year of the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty (1853), Chen Shouxin, grandson of Chen Yixian, merged Shuntianhao with another shop on South Street and opened the Yifenghe sauce garden. After the thirty-first year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing dynasty (1905), Chen Zhuan (son of Chen Shouxin) carefully studied the proportioning of chili, broad beans, and salt; through repeated practice he improved the original douban-making craft and developed varieties such as black douban, golden-hook douban, and sesame-oil douban. In 1956, under public-private joint operation, the Pixian Douban Factory was established with Yifenghe sauce garden as its main body. During the Republic of China period, Pixian douban was widely sold in Hunan, Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou, Tibet, as well as Shaanxi and Gansu; in 1916 it was awarded an excellence prize by the Sichuan Provincial Industrial Promotion Association.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
Male, of Han ethnicity, born in July 1953 in Pixian County, Sichuan Province. National representative bearer of the Traditional Douban Making Technique (the Pixian Douban Traditional Making Technique), a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. In 1977 he entered the Pixian Douban Factory and studied brewing under the Pixian douban masters Qin Ziyun and Zhou Haiqing in turn. He acquired a fairly comprehensive command of the traditional Pixian douban making technique. In 1979 he was transferred to the production section of the Pixian Douban Factory and took charge of production scheduling for the whole plant. In 1980 he served as a judge in the quality evaluation of brewed condiments for the Sichuan Provincial Food Association. In 1983 and again in 1985 he was appointed by the Ministry of Light Industry as a national judge for brewed condiments, taking part in the national appraisal of high-quality condiment products in Taiyuan and Xiamen respectively. Within the documented technical tradition of Douban Paste Making Craftsmanship in Pi, Sichuan: Pixian douban is an important cooking condiment in Sichuan cuisine, known as 'the soul of Sichuan cuisine.' Pixian is located in the middle of the Chengdu Plain in Sichuan Province, and produces abundant broad beans (fava beans) and chilies. In the late Ming and early Qing, a man surnamed Chen drifted to Sichuan and, under unusual circumstances, mixed moldy broad-bean mash with chili and ate it, only to find it remarkably delicious. After the Chen family settled in Pixian, they began operating a brewing business. Chen Shouxin devoted himself to studying the douban-making craft and summed up the twelve-character formula 'sun-dry on clear days, cover on rainy days, turn over by day, dew by night,' bringing the traditional handmade Pixian douban craft to completeness. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Sunny days spread, rainy days covered": The twelve-character rule governs sunning: spread on fine days, cover in rain, turn by day, dew by night. "The balance of chilli, broad bean and salt": Chilli sets aroma, broad bean sets body and salt sets taste; shifting the ratio creates the dark and gold-oil varieties. "Turning the beans on the drying floor": Once turned out of the jar, the beans must be spread thin; the size of the drying floor caps output. "From Shuntian to Yifenghe": Two generations moved the craft from the west street to the south street, and the workshop later became the county bean paste factory.
Sunny days spread, rainy days covered
The twelve-character rule governs sunning: spread on fine days, cover in rain, turn by day, dew by night.
The balance of chilli, broad bean and salt
Chilli sets aroma, broad bean sets body and salt sets taste; shifting the ratio creates the dark and gold-oil varieties.
Turning the beans on the drying floor
Once turned out of the jar, the beans must be spread thin; the size of the drying floor caps output.
From Shuntian to Yifenghe
Two generations moved the craft from the west street to the south street, and the workshop later became the county bean paste factory.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 1983 he took part in the national appraisal of high-quality products organised by the State Economic and Trade Commission, at which Pixian douban was awarded the title of high-quality product by the Ministry of Light Industry.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
In the eighth year of the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty (1803), Chen Yixian, a grandson of the Chen family, opened the Shuntianhao sauce garden on West Street in the county seat. In the third year of the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty (1853), Chen Shouxin, grandson of Chen Yixian, merged Shuntianhao with another shop on South Street and opened the Yifenghe sauce garden.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lei Dingcheng | Pi, Sichuan | 03-1424 | This page |
| Zhang Anqiu | Pi, Sichuan | — | Same declared area |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。