Chen Baizhong

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Chen Baizhong, Male, Han, from Jiangmenshixinhui, Guangdong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Zhongyao Herbal Processing Craftsmanship (Ⅸ-3). The tradition is documented in Jiangmenshixinhui, Guangdong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Zhongyao Herbal Processing Craftsmanship in Jiangmenshixinhui, Guangdong: The process of the Xinhui Chenpi Processing Craft includes picking, peeling, turning the peel back, turning the peel, sun-drying, and aging, forming a processing craft with unique local characteristics summarized as 'three years of seedling raising, three years of fruit bearing, three batches of harvesting, three varieties, three-segment peeling, three years of sun-drying, three grades of peel sorting, three years of aging, and long-term storage.' It has been passed down to the present day through word of mouth and hands-on demonstration among chenpi-trading families and the populace. Xinhui chenpi culture has a long history and enjoys such accolades as 'a hundred years of chenpi, a thousand years of ginseng' and 'the soul of Cantonese cuisine.' Locally there are also folk songs about chenpi and mnemonic rhymes for its processing. Around 1912, Huicheng in the north of Xinhui District had 30 merchants specializing in making and selling chenpi (aged tangerine peel), most of them having inherited the trade for several generations; by 1980, it was uniformly carried on by the Xinhui District supply and marketing cooperative and medicinal materials companies.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Chen Baizhong is anchored in the documented technical standards of Zhongyao Herbal Processing Craftsmanship in Jiangmenshixinhui, Guangdong. Within the documented technical tradition of Zhongyao Herbal Processing Craftsmanship in Jiangmenshixinhui, Guangdong: The main area of distribution of the Xinhui Chenpi Processing Craft project is Xinhui District, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province. Its water and soil structure, combining sedimentary and alluvial soils, together with its humid-basin climate and landforms, makes the peel of Xinhui mandarin oranges relatively thick; during processing the peel undergoes 'humid aging,' and the resulting chenpi is of especially outstanding quality. Time-honored brands such as Beijing Tongrentang and Guangdong Chenliji have used it as a raw material to produce more than 50 varieties of prepared Chinese medicines. The Xinhui Chenpi Processing Craft has distinctive characteristics: first, the chenpi it produces serves both as medicine and as food. Xinhui chenpi has the effects of regulating qi, strengthening the spleen, drying dampness, and transforming phlegm; it has been highly regarded by Chinese physicians throughout history and written into ancient medical texts and ancient prescriptions. Xinhui chenpi is also a famous seasoning and condiment in Cantonese cuisine, removing gaminess and enhancing freshness. Second, its aging environment is unique: Xinhui's distinctive seasonal alternation of humidity and dryness, cold and heat, is the key to guaranteeing the quality of Xinhui chenpi. Third, the processing craft is exacting: the fruit is picked separately in three periods of its growth, and picking follows the rule of 'two snips per fruit'; peeling must divide the peel evenly into three regular segments, keeping the fruit stem attached; turning the peel back requires about six hours of shade drying and must be done quickly once the peel has softened; sun-drying requires moderate light; and storage and aging require strict control of temperature and humidity, with chenpi of different years differing in storage implements and in the timing and number of turnings and sun-dryings. The people of Xinhui have always used chenpi for health preservation, as gifts for relatives and friends, and as part of dowries and ceremonial gifts; Xinhui chenpi has become an important bond connecting Xinhui natives living away from home with their homeland, and a cultural witness to that connection. Overseas Chinese have also carried Xinhui chenpi abroad as souvenirs (shouxin), with far-reaching influence. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Two cuts to one fruit": One cut parts the stalk and the next divides the fruit, so the stem is never torn and the rind resists rot in drying. "Opening the peel in three even petals": The peel must open into three even petals still joined at the stem; uneven or broken ones count only as seconds. "Shade-drying before inverting the peel": About six hours of shade-drying make the peel pliable enough to invert at once; delay leaves it stiff and lets its oils evaporate. "Sun-drying and turning the peel": Sunlight must be measured and the peel turned so both faces dry alike; from then on the local alternation of damp and dry, cold and heat decides how deep the ageing goes.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Chen Baizhong was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Zhongyao Herbal Processing Craftsmanship, with Jiangmenshixinhui, Guangdong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Zhongyao Herbal Processing Craftsmanship in Jiangmenshixinhui, Guangdong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Jiangmenshixinhui, Guangdong as its declared area, and Jiangmen Xinhui District Xinhui Chen PiHangYe Association 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. Chenbaizhong (Jiangmenshixinhui, Guangdong) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Chenbaizhong · China ICH Official Archive