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Traditional TCM Preparation Methods

Ⅸ-4Traditional MedicineChina Academy of Chinese Medical SciencesBatch 1 (2006)Newly Added Item

01 · Historical Records

Pill coating was invented in the Jin and Yuan dynasties, and in the Ming dynasty there was the new technique of "cinnabar coating." Li Shizhen of the Ming dynasty was the great synthesizer: he summarized the methods of medicinal preparation before the sixteenth century and recorded more than forty dosage forms.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Traditional Chinese medicine preparation is the processing of Chinese medicinals as raw materials, under the guidance of Chinese medicine theory, into medicines of specified standards that can be used directly to prevent and treat disease. The most representative traditional dosage forms are pills, powders, ointments, and elixirs (dan). For thousands of years, in the medical practice of physicians across successive dynasties, traditional Chinese medicine preparation has accumulated rich experience and developed distinctive preparation techniques; it is an important component of the treasure house of the motherland's traditional medicine. As far back as the era of Yu the Great of the Xia dynasty, the ancestors discovered the effects of wine through brewing and made medicinal wine, and at the same time discovered ferment preparations (quji). By the Shang dynasty, decoctions were already in wide use. By the Eastern Han dynasty there was already understanding of pharmaceutical theory and rules of preparation, as stated: "Some drugs by their nature suit pills, some suit powders, some suit water decoction, some suit wine steeping; some suit more than one form, and some should not enter decoction or wine - in all cases follow the nature of the drug and do not transgress it." This emphasizes choosing the dosage form according to the nature of the drug. On the basis of decoctions, pills, powders, ointments, and wines, Zhang Zhongjing additionally created more than ten dosage forms, including suppositories, purgative preparations, washes, ear drops, syrups, and organ preparations. Moreover, the preparation methods were relatively complete, with clear usage, dosage, and indications. Ge Hong of the Jin dynasty pioneered making pills using the drug's own binding force, as well as dosage forms such as lead plasters, wax pills, concentrated pills, lozenges, strips, and moxa cones. With advances in modern science and technology, new dosage forms, new processes, and new techniques for Chinese medicinals have continuously emerged, enriching the range of Chinese medicine preparations.

The four classic dosage forms

Pill, powder, paste and pill-and-powder form the backbone of traditional preparation, each with its own logic of release, dissolution, adhesion or sublimation.

Coating pills with vermilion

Coating was introduced in the Jin-Yuan period and refined in the Ming with vermilion, both to hold the drug in and to mark the pill, borrowing vermilion's calming action as well.

Suppository and enema preparations

Zhang Zhongjing added suppositories, enemas, washes, ear drops, syrups and organ preparations with stated dosages and indications, opening the idea of site-specific administration.

Lead plasters, wax pills and condensed pills

Ge Hong used the stickiness of the drugs themselves to form pills and added lead plasters, wax pills, condensed pills, ingots, sticks and moxa, giving one drug many shapes and release rates.

Matching dosage form to drug nature

A rule set out in the Eastern Han holds that each drug dictates pill, powder, decoction or wine; what suits a decoction may not be steeped, and what suits a pill may not be boiled.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Traditional Chinese medicine preparation has no single, isolated ancestral secret technique; it was transmitted in separate channels according to the geographic and human networks where physicians practiced. In the humid heat of the south, ointments, distillates (lu), and medicinal teas gradually flourished; in the severe cold of the north, pills, powders, and lozenges were convenient to seal, store, and carry; in Sichuan, pharmacies stood in great numbers, with prepared slices and ready-made medicines sold side by side; and as market towns rose in the Jiangnan region, pills, powders, ointments, and elixirs were brought onto pharmacy counters for same-day decoction and sale. Beijing was especially complete in this regard: Tongrentang's honey pills coated with gold and sealed wax pills, and Heniantang's ointment-boiling inspections, along with the fine-material grinding and color-matched even milling of the various pharmacies, though all belonging to one method, each had its own house rules. The China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences carried this lineage into modern research: preparation methods are no longer trade rules secretly transmitted by individual houses, but have become public teaching material for the disciplines of pharmaceutics and formulary science, with scholars such as Yan Zhenghua explaining them ingredient by ingredient from academic lecterns.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

However, traditional preparation techniques have faced unprecedented challenges and shocks. Apart from decoctions, which remain the preferred dosage form in Chinese medicine clinical practice, "pills, powders, and ointments" are still widely used, but some traditional dosage forms and techniques have already been lost or are being eliminated, among them no small number of traditional techniques. It is therefore necessary to protect them so as to achieve inheritance and development. Yan Zhenghua (from the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born 1920, from Danyang, Jiangsu. Yan Zhenghua is thoroughly familiar with the properties of materia medica, his pattern differentiation is meticulous, and he is skilled at treating disorders of the spleen and stomach, external contractions, and the heart and brain; his medical skill is consummate and his style distinctive, his prescriptions use small quantities of medicinals, his drug selection is refined and his manner gentle and moderate, he cleverly employs multi-effect drugs, emphasizes safety, and attaches importance to processing, decocting, and methods of administration. Yan Zhenghua's main research field is the theory and clinical application of Chinese medicinal properties; he is an exemplar of combining the academic school with the empirical school. He has practiced and taught medicine for nearly sixty years, participated in the building of Chinese materia medica as a discipline in the higher education of New China, and was among the first batch of professors of Chinese medicine and graduate supervisors in China. He has presided over three ministerial and bureau-level research projects, conducted special studies on Chinese medicinals for delaying aging and reducing fever, compiled and published books such as Clinically Practical Chinese Materia Medica and Chinese Materia Medica, published more than forty academic papers, and produced six collections of medical case records. Representative inheritor of the first national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage project Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparation Methods; tenured professor and doctoral supervisor at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine; recipient of the special government allowance of the State Council. He has successively taught courses including Chinese materia medica, formulary science, basic theory of Chinese medicine, diagnostics of Chinese medicine, and clinical Chinese medicine, training large numbers of Chinese medicine professionals for the country.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

  1. Traditional TCM Preparation Methods (China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences) · China ICH Official Project Archive
  2. Yan Zhenghua · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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