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Traditional TCM Preparation Methods

Ⅸ-4Traditional MedicineNankai, TianjinBatch 4 (2014)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

It originated at the Longshunrong Pharmacy in Tianjin (later renamed the Longshunrong Drugstore), and afterwards spread to many places through its branch shops in the important commercial ports of Yingkou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Taiwan. In the thirteenth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty (1833), on the birthday of the Medicine King, the Longshunrong Pharmacy was founded in Tianjin. With its operating philosophy of "aiding the world and prolonging life, with beneficence reaching in all directions" and its business model of "a complete stock of fine goods, genuine wares at honest prices", it won wide recognition in society. In 1953, drawing on the Yinqiao San (Lonicera and Forsythia Powder) recorded by Wu Jutong of the Qing dynasty in his Wenbing Tiaobian (Systematic Differentiation of Warm Diseases), Longshunrong successfully developed Yinqiao Jiedu Pian, making the medicine more convenient to take; in 1954, drawing on the Zhengqi San in the Song-dynasty Taiping Huimin Hejiju Fang (Formulary of the Pharmacy Service for Benefiting the People), it added a medicinal wine as a guide drug and successfully developed Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The Longshunrong Wei medicine preparation technique is a traditional Chinese medicine preparation method formed on the basis of inheriting the theories of traditional Chinese medicine and drawing upon folk experience; it is distinguished by its special concepts and rich practice. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wei medicines were sold throughout the country and exported to more than thirty countries and regions, including Japan, the United States, and Southeast Asia. The essence of the Longshunrong Wei medicine preparation technique lies in the four words "bold (meng, i.e. jun), rapid, convenient, and inexpensive". "Bold (meng, i.e. jun)" means daring to load the formula generously and use full doses of medicinal materials; "rapid" means the medicine takes effect quickly; "convenient" means it is easy to take and to carry; and "inexpensive" means it is aimed at the general public and priced low. Wei medicine processing adheres to the principle of production according to the seasons. Through pharmaceutical craft techniques such as cutting (daogong), calcining (duangong), stir-frying (chaogong), and warehouse storage (kuyang), genuine regional medicinal materials are made even more authentic, achieving the effect of the same formula with different strengths. Simulating the principles of the traditional decoction, percolation is carried out in a relatively constant low-temperature environment through five steps — mixing, stewing, pressing, percolating, and dripping — using gradients of composition to achieve dynamic extraction. In different seasons, the colour and taste of the filtrate are used to adjust the percolation speed manually, so that the active ingredients of the medicinal materials are extracted more fully. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Longshunrong was successively renamed the Tianjin Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical Factory and the Tianjin No. 1 Chinese Medicine Factory; it later restored the "Longshunrong" trade name and accomplished historic breakthroughs in the traditional Wei medicine preparation process. In the production of Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui, the mixture must be adjusted in a prescribed order using visual inspection, tasting, smelling, and touch, so that the finished product is fragrant and slightly bitter in aroma, smooth and slippery to the touch, deep in colour yet clear, pungent in taste but not fiery, and potent in medicinal effect but not harsh; its alcohol content can be controlled within plus or minus one degree of the standard. Today the Longshunrong Wei medicine preparation technique is transmitted mainly through the master-apprentice relationship. Following classical formulas of traditional Chinese medicine, the Longshunrong Wei medicine preparation technique develops and produces traditional Chinese medicine preparations represented by Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui and Yinqiao Jiedu Pian; through the special Wei medicine processing techniques, these medicines take effect more quickly. The technique embodies the rich experience, skills, concepts, and wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine, and carries economic, social, and cultural value.

Bold, fast, convenient, cheap

The essence of the Wei medicines lies in four words: bold — dare to use full dosage; fast — act promptly; convenient — easy to carry and take; cheap — priced for the general public.

Processing by the season

Processing follows the seasons: cutting, calcining, frying and storage each keep their own timing, so that one formula yields different force in different months.

The five steps of percolation

Modelling the decoction, percolation proceeds at a steady low temperature through blending, soaking, pressing, seeping and dripping, using a concentration gradient for dynamic extraction closer to a decoction.

Adjusting percolation speed by colour and taste

The colour and taste of the filtrate serve as the measure; across the seasons the eye and the tongue adjust how fast percolation runs so that more of the active material comes out.

Blending Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui by the five senses

Blending follows eye, tongue, nose and hand in turn, aiming for a fragrant yet slightly bitter smell, a smooth greasy feel, a deep clear colour, a pungent but non-burning taste and force without violence, with the alcohol kept within one degree of standard.

Yin Qiao San cut into tablets

In 1953 Yin Qiao Jiedu Pian was developed from the Yin Qiao San of Wen Bing Tiao Bian, turning a decoction into a portable tablet and carrying Wei medicine into modern dosage forms.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

Longshunrong is a time-honoured brand of Tianjin. It was founded on the birthday of the Medicine King in the thirteenth year of the Daoguang reign (1833), and its very name shares the same source as the Medicine King. It first dispensed medicine in Nankai, Tianjin, and then spread with its branch shops to Yingkou, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Taiwan; wherever these commercial ports were established, they imitated its methods. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Longshunrong was for a time renamed the Tianjin Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical Factory and the Tianjin No. 1 Chinese Medicine Factory. When the trade name was restored, it also produced several of the fastest-acting Wei medicine preparations: Yinqiao Jiedu Pian derives from the famous warm-disease formula Yinqiao San, and Huoxiang Zhengqi Shui is based on the Zhengqi San in the Song-dynasty Taiping Huimin Hejiju Fang with the addition of a medicinal wine as a guide drug; both medicines have remained in use to this day because their dosage forms are so convenient. The old Wei medicine rules of rapid efficacy and seasonal processing have thus been passed down from generation to generation in a handful of pharmacies within the city of Tianjin, and are handed on through the master-apprentice method — once transmitted, they are carried forward.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

Li Yanyu (recorded in the official archives of the associated inheritor): Female, Han ethnicity, born in February 1964; a native of Tianjin. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the national intangible cultural heritage project Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparation Methods (Angong Niuhuang Pill Preparation Technique). Graduated from the Tianjin School of Chinese Medicine, and later worked in the Technical Department of Darentang on research into the large honeyed pill process. She has profound attainments in the preparation techniques and processes of honeyed pills, as represented by the Angong Niuhuang Pill Preparation Technique. She has successively served as director of the Technical Department, director of the Quality Department, and factory director in charge of production at Darentang; she is a representative inheritor of traditional pharmaceutical technique who grew up from the front line of production. She has participated comprehensively in the excavation, protection, and transmission of intangible cultural heritage projects, established a transmission team for Darentang's honeyed pill preparation techniques as represented by the Angong Niuhuang Pill Preparation Technique, and perfectly combined the transmission of traditional preparation skills with quality management. Gao Qiang (recorded in the official archives of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in October 1955; a native of Tianjin. Representative inheritor of the fifth national-level batch of the national intangible cultural heritage project Traditional Chinese Medicine Preparation Methods (Longshunrong Wei Medicine Preparation Technique). In March 1979 he joined the tablet-making workshop of the Tianjin Longshunrong Pharmaceutical Factory as an ordinary tablet-pressing operator in the tableting process, learning the Longshunrong Wei medicine technique from veteran pharmaceutical workers. In 2010 he became technical consultant to the preparation workshop and to the Technical Quality Department of the Longshunrong Pharmaceutical Factory, positions he has held ever since. He has combined traditional techniques with modern equipment, improved numerous Wei medicine preparation processes, and mastered the process standards and workflows of Wei medicine preparations as well as the operational methods for the pre-treatment, extraction, and concentration of medicinal materials; he is familiar with the key technical essentials of the products and well versed in solutions to difficult problems arising in preparation production. He has successively guided more than a dozen pharmaceutical apprentices in learning the Wei medicine preparation technique, organized preparation skills competitions, and effectively transmitted the Longshunrong Wei medicine technique.

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

  1. Traditional TCM Preparation Methods (Nankai, Tianjin) · China ICH Official Project Archive
  2. Li Yanyu · National Representative Bearer Archive
  3. Gao Qiang · National Representative Bearer Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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