Zhongyao Herbal Processing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
In 1928, Peng Yinting entered Liuyouyu Hall to study the craft of processing Chinese medicinals. After completing his apprenticeship, he went to numerous pharmacies in Hankou to work and gain experience, widely absorbing the strengths of various schools, diligently thinking and skilled at summarizing, so that his processing craft steadily improved. Later, this craft spread from Hankou town throughout the province, and during the Tongzhi reign it spread further to Yuzhou in Henan and to the north; in 1938, when Liuyouyu Hall relocated to Chongqing, the craft was carried to the southwest as well.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Han-school Peng Yinting Chinese Medicinal Processing Craft is a distinctive pharmaceutical craft of the Hankou school (Han school) that arose in the Jiajing reign of the Ming dynasty. It is a craft that processes Chinese medicinal materials into prepared decoction pieces (yinpian) usable for clinical dispensing and for feeding into prepared medicines, through processes such as cleaning, cutting, stir-frying, steaming, and replication. Through practices such as processing angelica sinensis with white liquor, stir-frying frankincense with grain husks, processing stiff silkworms (jiangchan) with licorice, cutting ophiopogon into boat-shaped pieces, and processing Liu Shen Qu (six miraculous leaven) on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, the Han-school Peng Yinting Chinese Medicinal Processing Craft has refined and promoted processing rules such as 'whatever is medicinal is not discarded, and what is not medicinal is not used; process in accordance with the season, reduce toxicity and increase efficacy,' upholding a philosophy of conserving resources, pure medication, accordance with nature, and safe and effective pharmaceutical production. It has the main characteristics of distinctive tools that make full use of each material's strengths; the selection of authentic regional medicinals and carefully chosen auxiliary materials; exquisite craftsmanship with measured compounding; accordance with nature and processing according to the season; and beautiful form, bright color, correct qi, and pure flavor. Peng Yinting pioneered the union of Chinese medicine practitioners and followed a path of integrating medicine and pharmacy, establishing joint Chinese medicine clinics, a Chinese medicine society, and a processing (paozhi) study group. The Han-school Peng Yinting Chinese Medicinal Processing Craft is a distinctive Han-school pharmaceutical craft formed by the Hankou school's inheritance of the traditional processing craft of Li Shizhen's Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), drawing on and integrating the experience of the various schools. This craft observes the seasons and climate in the harvesting and processing of authentic regional medicinals; its processing follows the Dao of nature and values hitting the mean. It embodies rich cultural connotations of Chinese medicinal processing along with theoretical and technical depth, and is of important value for understanding the history of the development of Chinese medicinals in China and for promoting Chinese medicine culture.
Preparing angelica with white liquor
Angelica prepared with white liquor borrows the upward movement of wine to carry its blood-invigorating action towards the head, and is much used in gynaecological formulas.
Frying frankincense over rice husk
Frankincense is fried with rice husk until its surface yellows, taming its pungency and making the brittle gum easy to grind.
Preparing stiff silkworm with licorice
Stiff silkworm is steeped in licorice water, the slow sweetness restraining the dryness of an insect drug so that it does not irritate the stomach.
Ophiopogon cut as boat-shaped slices
Ophiopogon is not cut round but into boat-shaped slivers, a shape of its own, chosen differently for decoction and for pill-making.
Preparing Liushen Qu on the sixth day of the sixth month
Liushen Qu is made on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, wheat flour and drug powder mixed and fermented into a cake; it is the most seasonal craft of the Hankou school.
Never discard what is medicinal, never use what is not
The ten-character rule governs selection: nothing usable is thrown away, nothing useless slips in; every decision on every drug is reasoned.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
During the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty, Hankou town was a national commercial center, with several hundred medicinal warehouses distributed along the banks of its two rivers, making it a veritable capital of medicine. The Hankou school exchanged goods and knowledge with the various schools and developed in fusion with them, giving rise to the Han-school processing craft tradition with its distinct regional characteristics and unique processing methods, of which the Peng Yinting Chinese Medicinal Processing Craft is an outstanding representative.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Today its influence extends throughout central China and radiates across the whole country. The principle upheld by the transmission community of this craft — 'though no one sees the compounding, Heaven knows the intent of the heart' — transmits the philosophy and culture of Chinese medicinal processing. The Han-school Peng Yinting Chinese Medicinal Processing Craft has been transmitted through five generations and has continually developed in practice. Successive inheritors have not only participated in setting industry standards and promoted the standardization and normalization of Chinese medicinal processing throughout the province; they have also established transmission bases and processing centers, carrying out skills training and holding seminars year-round.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Wang Xiaotao 01-0206
- Jin Shiyuan 01-0207
- Sun Shuwu 03-1440
- Li Chengjie 03-1441
- Wang Junliang 05-2925
- Li Mingyan 05-2927
- Yuan Xiaoping 05-2928
- Hu Changjiang 05-2929
- Chen Baizhong
- Kang Mingxuan
- Xiao Yongqing
- Zhang Yisheng
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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