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Traditional TCM Preparation Methods

Ⅸ-4Traditional MedicineNantong, JiangsuBatch 5 (2021)Extension Item

01 · Historical Records

Wang's Baochi Pills were originally called "Wang's Wanying Baochi Pills". During the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty, Wang Luqing, a famous physician of Wanzitou, Nantong, Jiangsu, produced this fine pediatric medicine on the basis of a family recipe handed down through nine generations, to treat common pediatric diseases such as abdominal ailments and asthma; it was later manufactured and sold by the Qinghechun Pharmacy, a medicine shop funded jointly by local gentry.

02 · Core Techniques & Process

The technique of making Wang's Baochi Pills is the traditional craft for producing this medicine, mainly comprising the secret formula, the processing of medicinal materials, and the ancient method of panning pills. Wang's Baochi Pills use authentic medicinal materials; through a series of ancient processing operations such as selection, washing, crushing, repeated rinsing, standing, separation of the sediment, and drying, the raw drug powder for panning pills is produced. In the panning of the pills, according to the different properties of the drugs, volatile, irritant, and unstable drugs are pan-fitted into the inner layer; and in accordance with the requirements for drug release, the disintegrating and dispersing effects of natural water-chestnut starch and other components are skillfully used to layer multiple raw drug powders in a special order, with powder added a total of 66 times. When processing the pills, senior technicians repeatedly hand-screen the steamed and boiled raw materials; once the material has formed into balls, it enters the next process step — the ancient pill-panning pot is rotated at an even speed while raw powder is added gradually, until each tiny rapeseed-sized pill falls through a specific sieve. With each addition of powder, the increment in each single pill is within 0.01 mm; from the mother pill to the finished product, the diameter increases by only 1 mm, and five days of polishing are required. The formulation of Wang's Baochi Pills is rigorous. It mainly treats gastrointestinal diseases such as spleen-stomach weakness and loss of appetite, and also has the effects of clearing heat and purging fire and of resolving phlegm and calming asthma; it is suitable not only for children but also effective for adults with gastric uncleanness, stagnation of phlegm and food, and irregular bowel movements. To fully bring out the medicinal effect, especially for infants and young children, Wang's Baochi Pills adopt a mini-pill dosage form with a small dose: each pill weighs only 0.0025 grams and is as fine as a rapeseed, making it the lightest medicine in the world; it can be fed on the nipple or mixed into food, breaking through the limitation that ordinary pills are unsuitable for children. Process steps such as ingredient mixing, grinding, and blending are insisted upon as manual operations, and the processing method is "unchanged layer by layer", ensuring that the pills are uniform in weight and can disintegrate rapidly and take effect within about 10 minutes. As a famous traditional Chinese patent medicine with a long history, Wang's Baochi Pills became the founding product and key product of the Nantong Pharmaceutical Factory; production has never been interrupted since the factory was established, and the product sells well throughout the country and even overseas, creating remarkable economic and social benefits.

Archival Record of Process Steps

When processing the pills, senior technicians repeatedly hand-screen the steamed and boiled raw materials; once the material has formed into balls, it enters the following process step — the ancient pill-panning pot is rotated at an even speed while raw powder is added gradually, until each tiny rapeseed-sized pill falls through a specific sieve.

Divided powder additions over sixty-six passes

Powders are layered in a fixed order over sixty-six passes so that volatile, irritating or unstable drugs stay in the inner layer.

Five days of polishing for one millimetre

From seed to finished pill the grain grows just one millimetre, no more than 0.01 millimetre per addition, over five days of turning.

Repeated washing and settling of the powder

Selected, cleaned, broken, repeatedly washed, settled, decanted and dried, the material becomes the powder used for panning pills.

03 · Regional Records & Related Items

The Wang lineage was based in Wanzitou, Nantong. During the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty, Wang Luqing, the famous physician of Wanzitou, supervised the production of Wang's Wanying Baochi Pills from a family recipe handed down through nine generations; the pills were manufactured and sold by the Qinghechun Pharmacy funded jointly by local gentry, and the formula, the pill-panning technique, and the pharmaceutical workers all remained in the city. After Jinghua Pharmaceutical took over, the same approach was passed on; the modes of transmission combine family inheritance with master-apprentice and group inheritance. When panning pills, powder is added in layers according to the properties of the drugs, 66 times in total; the pot rotates at an even speed for five days before the pills are polished down to rapeseed size; the disintegration and dispersion of water-chestnut starch are also used so that the medicine takes effect once children swallow it. The family secret recipe and the factory's group instruction have been layered in Nantong into a complete genealogy.

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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding

The technique of making Wang's Baochi Pills has a systematic transmission system, with the modes of transmission divided into family inheritance and master-apprentice inheritance (group inheritance).

05 · Associated Representative Bearers

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

06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography

  1. Traditional TCM Preparation Methods (Nantong, Jiangsu) · China ICH Official Project Archive

Sources

China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)

Read the official ihchina.cn record ↗

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