Traditional TCM Preparation Methods

01 · Historical Records

In the mid-Qing dynasty, the famous Wumen physician Lei Yunshang studied and absorbed the essence of the Wumen medical school, carried Wumen medical art to its utmost, and opened the Songfen Hall pharmacy at Changmen in Gusu (Suzhou).

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Traditional Chinese medicine preparation refers mainly to pills, powders, ointments, and elixirs (dan); in addition, there are wine preparations, lozenges (dingji), gelatins (jiaoji), and so on. Each dosage form has its own set of traditional preparation techniques, and in combination with certain products there are also some special methods of production. With the development of the times, the production of ready-made Chinese medicines (patent medicines) has undergone many reforms and innovations, greatly raising production efficiency; yet traditional preparation methods have not all been eliminated, and some of them remain the best choice in the production of patent medicines — especially famous-brand patent medicines, patent medicines with secret formulas, and patent medicines containing precious and rare medicinal ingredients, which are often still produced by traditional preparation methods in time-honored brand enterprises. Traditional Chinese medicine preparation methods retain certain features of ancient workshop production: materials are selected with precision, ingredients are fed in an orderly sequence, and the techniques are distinctive; the packaging and instruction slips are imbued with a traditional cultural atmosphere, and are deeply trusted by physicians and patients. Suzhou's Wu physicians gathered in profusion, and the pharmaceutical trade flourished. The era in which Lei Yunshang lived was precisely the era in which the warm-disease school of the Wumen medical tradition was steadily maturing; in their practice of treating warm-heat disorders, physicians devised prescriptions of very small dose yet high efficacy, the most representative of which is Liushen Wan (Six-Spirit Pill). Although medicine and pharmacy had by then largely separated, Lei Yunshang combined the two in himself, uniting the practice of medicine with the production of medicine. Particularly with regard to emergency medicines for epidemics and medicines for frequently occurring surgical conditions, he drew on his clinical experience and, following the principles of sovereign, minister, assistant, and courier, continually revised the combinations of precious aromatic ingredients and potent drugs — musk, rhinoceros horn, bovine bezoar (niuhuang), antelope horn, and pearl — producing such long-renowned medicines as Liushen Wan. Under the impact of modern Western medicine, people's understanding of traditional Chinese medicine formulas lacks scientific grounding, which led to the decline of Chinese medicine and directly affected the transmission of Lei Yunshang's Liushen Wan production technique.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The roots of Liushen Wan are planted in the land of Wu. Suzhou, a single corner of fine landscape with hills and waters, saw warm diseases prevail; in treating warm-heat disorders, the Wumen medical school worked out prescriptions of extremely small dose yet rapid effect, among which Liushen Wan was the most outstanding. In the mid-Qing dynasty, Lei Yunshang combined medical practice and pharmaceutical production in himself, opening the Songfen Hall at Changmen in Gusu, where he received patients and sold medicine at the same time, giving this formula a fixed place of origin and firm name. In the more than two hundred years since, the Songfen Hall was reorganized several times, yet the technique has always remained within a single pharmaceutical factory in Suzhou City, and has been transmitted in one line from the first-generation inheritor Li Gensheng to Li Yingjie. In the same period, the pharmaceutical trade of Suzhou flourished, with pharmacies of the Tongren type and medicine halls scattered through the streets and lanes, allowing Liushen Wan to circulate alongside the other famous medicines of Wu; today it is exported through foreign trade channels to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Nanyang region.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

In his long practice of receiving patients and selling medicine, Lei Yunshang mastered a large number of ancient formulas, accumulated many folk empirical remedies and single-ingredient remedies, and carried out profound research into them. Li Yingjie (recorded in the official archives of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in March 1960, from Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province. Representative inheritor of the third national-level batch of the intangible cultural heritage project 'Traditional Preparation Methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Lei Yunshang Liushen Wan Production Technique).' Son of Li Gensheng, the first-generation inheritor of the Lei Yunshang Liushen Wan production technique after the founding of the People's Republic of China. He has conducted deep research on the formula and process of Liushen Wan and mastered all the related techniques of its production. In 2007 he became assistant to the general manager and production department manager of Lei Yunshang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. In 1998 he was awarded the title of 'National Model Worker of the Chinese Medicine System.'

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

• Yan Zhenghua 01-0208
• Zhang Boli 01-0209
• Yang Jukui 03-1442
• Li Yingjie 03-1443
• Liu Huiwu 04-1941
• Laosanshen 04-1942
• Yang Fuan 04-1943
• Xia Xiaozhong 04-1944
• Guo Yufeng 05-2930
• Li Yanyu 05-2931
• Gao Qiang 05-2932
• Ma Weidong 05-2933
• Liu Wenwei 05-2934
• Wang Yanming 05-2936
• Liu Baisheng 05-2937
• Yu Baitang 05-2938
• Liao Zhizhong 05-2939
• Ke Shuquan 05-2940
• Yin Shurong 05-2941
• Zhang Yuankun 05-2942
• Ma Xubin 05-2943
• Ma Xianghai
• Song Shidun
• Wang Feng
• Gu Wanxia
• Du Xinlei

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

1. Traditional TCM Preparation Methods (Suzhou, Jiangsu) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Li Yingjie · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗