Man Yunlai

01 · Lineage & Regional School

In his youth he joined Yueshengzhai, where he studied under the fifth-generation transmitters Ma Lin and Ma Wei, fully inheriting the technique of braising and roasting beef and mutton and gaining a comprehensive command of the ingredient blends and recipes. Within the regional tradition and school record of Niuyangroupengzhijiyi in Beijingyueshengzhaiqingzhenshipinyouxiangongsi: The Yueshengzhai braised-and-roasted beef and mutton craft belongs to the old-city food belt around Qianmen in Beijing; the shop's location south of the moon-shaped wall west of the archery tower was shaped by the flow of cooked-meat buyers and the daily needs of the Hui religious community. Cooked meat is divided into braised and roasted types: braising stresses soaking and boiling for flavor, while roasting stresses heat for crisp-outside-tender-inside. The old stock broth is the house foundation; blending broth must follow the seasons—renew the broth and clear old sediment. Beijing Yueshengzhai was founded in the thirtieth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty (1765), by founder Ma Qingrui. Yueshengzhai's cooked meats were historically famed as court food, recorded repeatedly in Qing-dynasty histories, and many notable figures wrote inscriptions for it.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, of Hui ethnicity, born in June 1946, a native of Beijing. He is a national representative bearer of beef and mutton cooking technique (the Yueshengzhai braised and roasted beef and mutton making technique), a third-batch national intangible cultural heritage project. He is a beef and mutton cooking technician at Beijing Yueshengzhai Halal Food Co., Ltd. He has taken on more than ten apprentices, including Ma Qiang and Li Guangrui, to whom he teaches the craft systematically. Within the documented technical tradition of Niuyangroupengzhijiyi in Beijingyueshengzhaiqingzhenshipinyouxiangongsi: Because the shop was located south of the moon-shaped wall west of the Qianmen archery tower in Beijing, and opened during the Hui month of fasting (Ramadan), it was named "Yueshengzhai," meaning "flourishing month after month." Yueshengzhai was once famous for its braised mutton and roasted mutton, holding a high position in Beijing's halal food industry. The Yueshengzhai cooked-meat craft is divided into two categories—braising and roasting. Building on palace braised-meat techniques and folk traditions, it also incorporates traditional Chinese medicine's health-preservation theory and related pharmaceutical knowledge; more than twenty spices that both season and have medicinal value are used, so the meat is not only more delicious but also nourishing and health-promoting. The Yueshengzhai braised-and-roasted mutton craft is fairly complex and especially particular about heat control; beyond material selection, formulas, and the unique technique of blending old stock broth, it involves some twenty process steps including inspecting materials, choosing materials, adjusting the broth, and boiling. Throughout production, Yueshengzhai has always adhered to the principle: "Choose fine materials, with both fat and lean, never cutting corners on effort; use refined formulas for excellent color and taste, never sparing cost; work meticulously, braising and roasting alike, never sparing labor." The finished dishes are rich but not greasy, lean but not dry, crisp outside and tender inside, fragrant and crisp and refreshing, without gaminess or greasiness, with balanced saltiness, a rich aroma that pleases the palate, and a long aftertaste, blending meat, sauce, medicinal, and oily aromas. With social change, Yueshengzhai encountered many problems in its operations; factors such as unhealthy market competition brought this time-honored brand into difficulty. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archived Records of Process Steps": The Yueshengzhai braised-and-roasted mutton craft is fairly complex and especially particular about heat control; beyond material selection, formulas, and the unique technique of blending old stock broth, it involves some twenty process steps including inspecting materials, choosing materials, adjusting the broth, and boiling.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

With the support of the company he researched and revived a number of products, including five-spice braised beef tongue and five-spice braised sheep's trotters, and, drawing on the characteristics and strengths of beef and mutton, developed more than thirty new products, among them multi-flavour beef cubes, southern-style beef shank, cumin beef, bay-leaf beef shank and light-fragrance beef. These products have won awards repeatedly and sell well on the market.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

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.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Man Yunlai · National Representative Bearer Archive