Wan Chunsheng

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Wan Chunsheng, Male, Han, from Judehuatiankongguyouxiangongsi, Beijing, is a fifth-batch national representative bearer of Niuyangroupengzhijiyi (Ⅷ-168). The tradition is documented in Judehuatiankongguyouxiangongsi, Beijing. Within the regional tradition and school record of Niuyangroupengzhijiyi in Judehuatiankongguyouxiangongsi, Beijing: The two branches of Beijing roast meat occupy the northern and southern ends respectively: the roasted-mutton branch around Shichahai, the roasted-beef branch around Xuanwumen. The two spots are several li apart and follow different paths, exactly suiting Beijing's temperament of 'each locale's people eat their own flavor': by the water at the Silver Ingot Bridge there is wind and the meat does not dry out; near the market at Xuanwumen the furnace fire is fierce, and only then does the oil-rich fragrance of the beef ribs come through. In the Qing dynasty, the Lotus Flower Market at Shichahai opened every year on the first day of the fifth lunar month; around mid-seventh month to the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Ji Decai would push his cart to the bank of the Silver Ingot Bridge and set up a stall selling roasted mutton. Thereafter Kaorou Ji never left Shichahai, and became a distinctive local delicacy of the area. The dividing line between stall and shop is the two forms in which this craft took root in the capital. Beijing roast meat originated in the Ming-dynasty imperial court, then called 'eating roasted mutton'; it later spread to the common people and became popular in the streets and markets. 'Kaorou Wan' (Wan's Roast Meat) opened in the twenty-fifth year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty (1686). The proprietor was a Hui man surnamed Wan from the Hui autonomous county of Dachang in eastern Beijing; his family began by pushing a cart selling charcoal fire and roasted beef, and after three generations of painstaking effort finally bought a property and set up a shop near Xuanwumen, under the name 'Kaorou Wan Ji,' later shortened to 'Kaorou Wan.' 'Kaorou Ji' (Ji's Roast Meat) was founded in the twenty-eighth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty (1848). In the Qing dynasty, the Lotus Flower Market at Shichahai opened every year on the first day of the fifth lunar month; around mid-seventh month to the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Ji Decai would push his cart to the bank of the Silver Ingot Bridge and set up a stall selling roasted mutton. After 1956, 'Kaorou Ji' developed even faster and its fame grew still greater.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

Male, Han ethnicity, born in February 1962 in Beijing. He is a representative bearer of the fifth batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects in beef and mutton cooking craftsmanship (Beijing Roast Meat Making Craftsmanship). He is a Chinese-style cooking technician. He entered Kaorou Wan Restaurant in 1986 and in 1988 studied Beijing roast meat making under Wan Huafu; he is the seventh-generation transmitter of Kaorou Wan and its first transmitter from outside the founding family. He has a comprehensive and proficient command of the techniques of roasting beef and mutton, developing his own characteristics in the proportion of the roasting sauce, the timing of adding seasonings and the control of heat, and organically combining traditional technique with modern tastes; the products he makes are cooked to just the right degree and authentic in flavour, making him a representative figure in the transmission and development of Beijing roast meat. He takes an active part in all kinds of exhibitions and promotional activities connected with the transmitted project. He has taken ten disciples, all of whom have become key technical staff in roast meat production. Within the documented technical tradition of Niuyangroupengzhijiyi in Judehuatiankongguyouxiangongsi, Beijing: Beijing roast meat mainly comprises the roasted mutton of 'Kaorou Ji' and the roasted beef of 'Kaorou Wan'; the roasting craft of these two houses represents the highest level of Beijing roast meat. Beijing roast meat has a long history, a distinctive flavor, strict selection of ingredients, and superb skill, holding a fairly high place in the culinary history of Beijing and of China as a whole. Roast meat is a distinctive local dish of Beijing: the sliced beef or mutton is first marinated, then placed on a specially made round iron griddle (also called a 'zhizi') for roasting. For over three hundred years, 'Kaorou Wan's' roasted beef has remained in constant favor, taking deep root among the Beijing people and binding closely with folk custom, handed down to the present day as an important representative of Beijing-flavored food culture and craft. The Ji family's roast meat glistens with oil and wafts its aroma, drawing many visitors to come and patronize it, and the business is exceedingly prosperous. From its founding to the present, 'Kaorou Ji' has never left Shichahai, and has become a distinctive local delicacy of the area; visitors eat the meat while taking in the scenery, to their great delight. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Marinating and grilling on the iron plate": Sliced beef or mutton is marinated, then grilled on a round iron plate whose centre gathers the heat and whose rim sheds it. "Marinade ratio and timing of seasonings": Wan Chunsheng built his own school in the ratio of the marinade, the timing of seasonings and the management of the heat. "The charcoal cart that became a shop": Kaorouwan began in 1686 as a cart selling charcoal and grilled beef, and only in the third generation bought a shopfront by the Xuanwumen gate. "The stall at the Shichahai lotus market": From a seasonal stall at the lotus market to a permanent shop by the Yinding bridge, the Ji family moved from cart to storefront over several generations.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2018, Wan Chunsheng was announced in the fifth batch of national representative bearers for Niuyangroupengzhijiyi, with Judehuatiankongguyouxiangongsi, Beijing as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Niuyangroupengzhijiyi in Judehuatiankongguyouxiangongsi, Beijing: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Judehuatiankongguyouxiangongsi, Beijing as its declared area, and Beijing Huatianyinshikonggu Group Co., Ltd. as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

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. Wan Chunsheng · National Representative Bearer Archive