Traditional TCM Preparation Methods

01 · Historical Records

Dong'e County in Shandong Province is the place of origin and main producing area of ejiao (donkey-hide gelatin). Ejiao production there has a history of more than two thousand years, and in the mid-to-late Ming dynasty it reached its peak, when 'women and children alike knew how to boil gelatin.' The county has been named by the state the 'Hometown of Ejiao in China,' and is the protected area of origin and sole place of production of Fupai Ejiao.

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. Dong'e County has the A Well (Ajing), whose groundwater system is an underground flow formed at the confluence of the Mount Tai and Taihang mountain ranges. On the yin side of Mount Tai and the yang side of the Taihang Mountains, yin and yang complement each other; the water has a relative density of 1.0038, is rich in minerals and trace elements, and easily removes impurities from the ejiao, making the gelatin pure and readily absorbed by the human body. The traditional process of Dong'e Ejiao includes more than fifty process steps — preparing the hides, dissolving the hides, boiling the extract, and so on — all carried out by hand. Among them, boiling the gelatin and drying the gelatin are the most complex, and the stages in between — 'hanging the beads' (guazhu), 'breaking the oil' (zayou), and 'lifting the monkey' (diaohou) — most reveal the craftsman's skill; it takes six or seven years of practice before one begins to grasp the knack. The process regulations of Dong'e Ejiao were included in the first batch of scientific and technological secrecy projects of the National Pharmaceutical Administration. Ejiao culture integrates Chinese medicine and pharmacy, historiography, philosophy, health preservation, tonic supplementation, paste-formula culture, and classical literature; it is a representative of Chinese medical culture. It has won such honors as the gold medal at the Panama International Exposition, the international 'Great Wall' gold medal for traditional medicines, the designation 'China Time-Honored Brand,' and the 'China Well-Known Trademark.'

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Dong'e branch takes the A Well as its lifeline. Gelatin makers set great store by the well: the groundwater of this well in the county seat is replenished by the underground flow formed at the confluence of Mount Tai and the Taihang Mountains; with its relative density of 1.0038, its minerals and trace elements readily carry the impurities out of the gelatin, so gelatin produced in Dong'e is recognized within the trade as authentic. The same lineage of craft has continued along two separate branches in Dong'e and Pingyin: the Dong'e branch keeps to the old rules of the protected area of origin, while the Pingyin branch was taken up by the Pingyin Ejiao Factory. The two branches share the demanding skills of boiling and drying the gelatin — the 'hanging the beads,' 'breaking the oil,' and 'lifting the monkey' stages, which all depend on judging the heat — performed entirely by hand, and a person must practice six or seven years before gaining entry.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Under the impact of modern industrialization and Western medicine, compounded by industrial pollution and the increasing scarcity of water and donkey-hide resources, workers trained in the ancient method of boiling gelatin are in short supply, and some traditional processes and the application of ancient formulas in syndrome differentiation are on the verge of being lost; the traditional Chinese medicine culture of Dong'e Ejiao urgently needs protection.

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 (Donge, Shandong) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗