Guilinggaopeizhijiyi
01 · Historical Records
The craft of preparing Guiling gao has a long history of more than two thousand years and is much loved by the people of Guangdong and Guangxi as well as of Southeast Asia.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The craft of preparing Guiling gao is a traditional technique in which home-raised turtles and Smilax glabra (tufuling) are used as the main ingredients, combined with a number of Chinese medicinal herbs in a certain proportion and processed through more than 20 process steps into Guiling gao. The core distribution area of this craft is Wuzhou City in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, from which it radiates to many provinces and cities across the country. Guiling gao is a traditional medicinal food of long standing in the Lingnan region; it has the effects of clearing heat and removing toxins, eliminating dampness and freeing the collaterals, nourishing yin and tonifying the kidney, beautifying the complexion and promoting metabolism, and it is a typical representative of "medicine and food from the same source". It uses the big-headed turtle and Smilax glabra as its main ingredients, together with a number of Chinese medicinal herbs such as rehmannia, Mesona chinensis (liangfen grass), monk fruit, glossy ganoderma, notoginseng, sophora flower buds, dandelion, gardenia, honeysuckle, liquorice and chrysanthemum, and is made through 21 processes including selecting the materials, treating them, washing the herbs, grinding, extracting, concentrating, filtering, blending, boiling the jelly and cooling it. The turtle has the effects of nourishing yin and tonifying the kidney and of strengthening the spleen and eliminating dampness, and it is the essence of Guiling gao. To guarantee the medicinal effect, each turtle should weigh no less than 250 grams. Some of the herbs among the ingredients need to be cut short or crushed so that their active components can be drawn out by simmering. The Mesona chinensis is washed and then simmered, dissolved plant-ash alkali is added, and the liquid is filtered to obtain a Mesona chinensis extract. The Mesona chinensis liquid and the medicinal liquid of Guiling gao are then blended in proportion and rice slurry is added, so that the mixture sets into a black, slightly translucent jelly with a faintly sweet taste and the aroma of Chinese medicinal herbs. Wuzhou Guiling gao is precise in its choice of materials, particular in its formula and authentic in its use of herbs; it is translucent in colour with a distinctive mouthfeel, can be eaten as soon as it is made and keeps well, and comes in more than ten flavours that meet the needs of people of different ages. According to the Gazetteer of Wuzhou City, in the late Ming and early Qing there were already shops selling Guiling gao on the market. After several hundred years of development it has moved on from hawking along the streets and producing in a workshop behind the shop to today's specialized production and sales.
Archival Records of Process Steps
The craft of preparing Guiling gao is a traditional technique in which home-raised turtles and Smilax glabra are used as the main ingredients, combined with a number of Chinese medicinal herbs in a certain proportion and processed through more than 20 process steps into Guiling gao.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Wuzhou City lies in eastern Guangxi, where the climate is warm and damp; people who have long lived there are very liable to contract heat toxins and damp toxins, and through repeated experimentation the early inhabitants of the area gradually formed the custom of using Guiling gao as a dietary therapy to nourish yin and beautify the complexion, clear heat and remove toxins. The craft of preparing Guiling gao has a distinct regional character and is an important component of local culture; it is of considerable historical value for the study of Lingnan culture and food culture.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Wuzhou has ample sunshine and abundant rainfall, which suits the breeding of turtles and the growth of raw materials such as Smilax glabra, honeysuckle, monk fruit and Mesona chinensis, and this fostered the emergence and transmission of the craft of preparing Guiling gao. At present the craft of preparing Guiling gao is transmitted mainly by masters taking on apprentices, and the community of transmitters is steadily expanding. Wuzhou Guiling gao now sells well throughout the country, with sales growing by more than 20 per cent each year. The transmission and diffusion of this craft is of positive significance for improving public health, driving local economic development and advancing cultural exchange.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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