Zhongyao Herbal Processing Craftsmanship

Ⅸ-3Traditional MedicineTonghua, JilinBatch 4 (2014)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

The related processing techniques derive from the traditional processing and production of wild mountain ginseng and can be traced back to the first year of the Kangxi reign (1662). In 1947, when ownership of the ginseng industry capital passed to the state, a state-run cultivated-ginseng manufacturing plant was established in Huadian Town, Ji'an County, and the ginseng-processing industry of Ji'an began to take shape. The period after the 1980s was the heyday of the development of the ginseng industry in Ji'an. Building on the inherited traditional ginseng-processing techniques, the Ji'an Xinkaihe bian-tiao ginseng processing technique has been developed into a range of modern ginseng preparations and products, forming a series of products centred on Xinkaihe red ginseng, together with various saponin products and modern Chinese medicinal preparations.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Xinkaihe, Ji'an, in Tonghua City, Jilin Province, lies on the southeastern frontier of Jilin, on the southern slopes of the Changbai Mountains. It has a pleasant climate, abundant natural resources, and a long history of ginseng cultivation, and is the principal place of production of "Xinkaihe ginseng", an internationally recognised high-quality bian-tiao (long, slender) ginseng; the traditional ginseng-processing technique has been passed down there for generations. Ji'an Xinkaihe bian-tiao ginseng has a beautiful external form — long rhizome, long body, long legs, aged skin, and deep striations — and fine internal qualities, including a high content of saponins and other active constituents. The "stone pillar ginseng" exported through Yingkou at that time included processed Ji'an bian-tiao ginseng. Today the bian-tiao ginseng-processing industry of Ji'an Xinkaihe has reached a still larger scale; its processed varieties include red ginseng, sun-dried ginseng, sugar ginseng, and gift ginseng, and it pioneered domestic processing of small gift packs of red ginseng. Overall, the technique follows the requirements of careful selection of raw material, fine processing, and exquisite packaging, and comprises ten process steps — selecting the ginseng, brushing the ginseng, trimming the tail, steaming the ginseng, drying, grading and sorting, matching into sets, pressing, second drying, and sealing — each linked to the next, with very strict requirements; the slightest error means the product will not be of fine quality.

Archival Record of Process Steps

Overall, the technique follows the requirements of careful selection of raw material, fine processing, and exquisite packaging, and comprises ten process steps — selecting the ginseng, brushing the ginseng, trimming the tail, steaming the ginseng, drying, grading and sorting, matching into sets, pressing, second drying, and sealing — each linked to the next, with very strict requirements; the slightest error means the product will not be of fine quality.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Ji'an Xinkaihe bian-tiao ginseng and its authentic processing technique are found only within Ji'an City, Tonghua City, Jilin Province; they have distinctly regional cultural characteristics, have been passed down locally for more than a hundred years, and have a documented transmission lineage spanning more than ten generations. The Ji'an Xinkaihe bian-tiao ginseng processing technique embodies the outstanding wisdom and creativity of the working people of Ji'an. It has also given rise to a large number of related historical poems, legends, and stories, has shaped distinctive local production and living customs, and possesses historical, artistic, social, cultural, and economic value; it continues to play a positive role in promoting the sustainable development of the local economy, society, and environment.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Wang Junliang (from the official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Manchu ethnicity, born in September 1969, from Tonghua City, Jilin Province. Representative inheritor of Processing Techniques of Chinese Medicinals (Ginseng Processing), a project in the fifth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. Building on the traditional technique, he has continually studied and drawn on new methods, starting from the processes of brushing the ginseng, tying the string, hanging the ginseng, smoothing the fibrous roots, gathering the tail, and forming the body, and drying the ginseng in air-sheds and ovens; his distinctive processing method gives the finished ginseng a distinctly regional quality. He has led mountain-ginseng specialty enterprises in Tonghua in establishing propagation bases for mountain-ginseng seeds and seedlings, perfected standardised operating procedures for ginseng processing, and built up the traditional brand of Changbai Mountain ginseng. For many years he has consistently run inheritance training classes and established training bases, cultivating a group of students highly skilled in ginseng processing techniques.

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)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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