TCM Health Cultivation
01 · Historical Records
Wanying Tea Cake of the Caishantang pharmacy began in the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty. It was compounded by Lu Zengxiong, a famous veteran physician of traditional Chinese medicine of Yongding, Fujian, using the high-mountain tea unique to Zhangzhou and more than thirty kinds of precious, authentic medicinal materials, prepared through a unique Chinese medicinal processing technique. In the ninth year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing dynasty (1829), as Wu Yifu — a jinshi from Yongding and compiler of the Hanlin Academy — returned to his hometown and then went back to the capital, Lu Honghan, the son of Lu Zengxiong, presented him with Wanying tea cakes.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Traditional Chinese medicine holds that human life and health are a process of adaptation between the human being and nature, and a process of change in the body through birth, growth, maturity, aging, and decline. Disease is the result of imbalance between the internal and external environments, and it has three causes: first, external causes, referring to the influence of climatic and natural changes; second, internal causes, referring to disorders of the body's own regulation; and third, causes neither internal nor external, referring to the invasion of accidental injuries, with internal causes playing the principal role. Therefore, traditional Chinese medicine attaches great importance to the body's active maintenance, regulation, and prevention; this is TCM health preservation, also called 'nourishing life' (she sheng). The idea of health preservation should run through a person's whole life, but care and maintenance before the onset of disease are especially important. The content of TCM health preservation covers the living environment, diet and daily routine, mental hygiene, and prevention before disease. The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon holds: 'In high antiquity, those who knew the Way followed the patterns of yin and yang, harmonized with the arts of calculation, ate and drank with moderation, kept regular hours in daily life, did not overexert themselves, and therefore could keep body and spirit together and enjoy their full natural lifespan.' This means that life should accord with the way of heaven and earth and adapt to changes of climate; diet should be temperate and meals should be nourishing; life should be regular and sexual activity not excessive; work and rest should be combined, with body and mind kept healthy. In later ages, through practice in daily life, people created many methods and experiences of health care, dietary regulation, and 'treating disease before it arises', continually enriching the content of TCM health preservation. This medicine can treat many kinds of externally contracted and digestive tract diseases, with marked efficacy, and it sells widely. Once a wandering old monk fell ill; after taking it he immediately recovered, and so he presented the couplet 'Gathering medicinal herbs from famous mountains, skillfully healing the people of the world', from which the pharmacy changed its name to 'Caishantang' (Hall of Gathering Goodness). At a time when an epidemic was raging in the capital, Wu Yifu gave the Wanying tea cakes to patients and cured many people; from then on the fame of Wanying tea cake spread far and wide. As demand for Wanying tea cake continually increased, in 1988 Caishantang Pharmaceutical Factory combined modern advanced process technology with the traditional craft and successfully developed a tea-bag formulation of Wanying Tea. It both retains the original medicinal efficacy of Wanying tea cake and has the advantages of convenient brewing and rapid effect; with its novel and practical packaging, it has been deeply popular with consumers since its launch and has become a fine gift for the people of Yongding to present to relatives, friends, and overseas compatriots. Yongding Wanying Tea is mainly suited to symptoms caused by mild diarrhea, indigestion, irregular diet, unaccustomed climate and water, spleen and stomach weakness, externally contracted wind-cold, and heatstroke — headache, dizziness, nausea, abdominal distension, and vomiting — as well as symptoms arising from food allergy and drunkenness.
Preparing the Wanying tea cake
The elder physician Lu Zengxiong combined high-mountain tea with more than thirty fine medicinal materials, prepared by his own processing methods and pressed into cakes.
The Caishantang name and couplet
A wandering monk recovered after taking the tea and gave the shop a couplet—gather herbs from famous mountains, heal people everywhere—and the shop took his couplet as its name.
Distribution in the capital
In 1829 the scholar Wu Yifu carried the cake back to Beijing on his journey home and distributed it during an epidemic, curing many and carrying the remedy's fame far.
Developing the bagged infusion
In 1988 modern process technology was joined to the old craft to produce a bagged infusion, keeping the effect of the cake while making it quicker and easier to take.
Indications and limits
It is indicated for mild diarrhoea, poor digestion, upset stomach, unacclimatised water and heat complaints such as headache, dizziness, nausea and vomiting.
A regimen in tea form
Nourishing life is framed as living through the stages of growth and decline; this tea is one of the everyday ways that principle has been made concrete.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Yongding Wanying Tea trades under the name Caishantang, embodying the hall's motto of gathering from famous mountains and healing the people of the world. Located in the mountainous region of western Fujian, both its tea base and its medicinal flavors come from local production: the high-mountain tea of the Zhangzhou area and more than thirty kinds of precious, authentic medicinal materials are compounded into tea cakes through a unique processing technique, suited to being carried by travelers and convenient to keep as a standing remedy in the mountain regions where doctors were scarce.
Other submitting regions for the same item: TCM Health Cultivation · TCM Health Cultivation · TCM Health Cultivation · TCM Health Cultivation.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Wanying tea cake began in the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty; it won widespread fame through the episode of distributing medicine during an epidemic. In 1988, Caishantang Pharmaceutical Factory combined modern advanced process technology with the traditional craft to successfully develop the tea-bag formulation, which both retains the original medicinal efficacy and offers convenient brewing and rapid effect; it has become a fine gift for the people of Yongding to present to relatives, friends, and overseas compatriots. Under the impact of Western medicine and pharmaceuticals, this tea still holds its ground among the people of western Fujian through its practical value.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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