Traditional TCM Preparation Methods

01 · Historical Records

Liu Baoyi was a famous physician of the late Qing dynasty; in 1890 he founded the Liu Zhihetang pharmacy, which has a history of more than one hundred years to the present day. In 1980 the original name Zhihetang was restored.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

Zhihetang gaozi paste (gaozi medicine) is a traditional Chinese medicinal product of the Liu Zhihetang pharmacy of Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province, used mainly for winter tonic supplementation. The distinctive character of Zhihetang gaozi paste lies in treatment based on syndrome differentiation, varying from person to person, with a great variety of preparations. First, classical formulas of antiquity and the empirically proven formulas of Liu Baoyi are selected, with appropriate adjustments made. Second, the great majority are prescriptions written, after diagnosis, by famous contemporary practitioners of Chinese medicine; the ingredients and dosages of the paste formula are reasonably compounded in strict accordance with the differing circumstances of the person taking the tonic — region, age, constitution and condition. The medicinal materials used in the paste formulas are authentic (daodi) and of top grade, and passing off inferior goods as good is strictly ruled out. Many of the medicinal materials are purchased directly from their places of origin. In the quantities used, full weight and full measure are given. Third, the traditional technical process is strictly followed: the making of the paste passes through specific procedures and strict operations of soaking the medicinal materials, decocting, concentrating, collecting the paste (shougao) and storage; the raw materials are processed by traditional craft, and no chemical medicinal ingredients whatsoever are added. The operations rely entirely on experience. Every stage of production is strictly checked and supervised by veteran pharmacists of rich experience. Since its founding, the Liu Zhihetang pharmacy, though renamed several times, has never ceased to use the traditional craft in making gaozi paste. Over the years, through master-apprentice transmission, a group of highly skilled workers fully mastering the craft of simmering gaozi paste has emerged; more than fifty pharmacies of Jiangsu Dazhong Pharmaceutical Chain Co., Ltd. have consistently persisted in making gaozi paste by the traditional craft.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The roots of gaozi paste lie in Jiangyin. The late-Qing famous physician Liu Baoyi founded the Liu Zhihetang pharmacy here in 1890; in the century since, the pharmacy has been renamed several times, yet its simmering of paste has never been interrupted; after the original name Zhihetang was restored in 1980, the craft was passed on word of mouth from master to apprentice down to the sixth-generation inheritor, Liu Baisheng. The paste formulas of the Jiangyin area emphasise treatment by syndrome differentiation, varying from person to person: when the age, constitution and condition of the person taking the tonic differ, the ingredients and dosages change accordingly; the paste formulas also demand authentic medicinal materials, and many materials are purchased directly from their places of origin. In 2015 the craft spread beyond the province and developed across provincial lines; today more than fifty pharmacies under the Jiangsu Dazhong Pharmaceutical Chain still simmer paste according to the traditional craft, and this single lineage of paste formulas has spread from one old shop in a single city to storefronts in several provinces.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Liu Baisheng (official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in June 1969, native of Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province. Representative inheritor of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparation Method (Zhihetang Gaozi Paste Production Technique), a national-level intangible cultural heritage project in the fifth national-level batch. Sixth-generation inheritor of the Zhihetang gaozi paste production technique. He has given good expression to the "thirty-two-character secret formula" of Zhihetang gaozi paste: "a fragrant aroma that permeates the spleen, a gleaming brightness that mirrors the shadow, an oily smoothness like jade, a supple tenderness like fat; it ripples not when shaken, and stains not the finger when pressed; on entering the mouth it is like malt syrup, and sipping it sends a sensation through the whole body". He has excavated, organised, improved and raised the level of the techniques passed down orally by his predecessors, forming a comparatively complete technical system. In 2015 he achieved the cross-provincial development of the Zhihetang gaozi paste production technique, and was named a "three-leadership" famous local talent of Jiangsu Province (leading the transmission of the craft, strengthening industrial development, and driving the people to prosperity), as designated by the Leading Group for Talent Work of Jiangsu Province.

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 (Jiangyin, Jiangsu) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Liu Baisheng · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗