Traditional TCM Culture
01 · Historical Records
In the seventh year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing dynasty (1650), Lao Cheng founded Jiuzhitang on Pozi Street in Changsha, Hunan.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Traditional Chinese medicine is the study of human life and of human health that took shape in ancient Chinese society; it is not a simple accumulation of prescriptions, drugs, individual techniques, and tricks, but a body of knowledge concerning human life and health. This body of knowledge has a profound traditional cultural background. With its distinctive philosophical thinking, systematic foundational theories, rich scientific content, and distinct humanistic character, it stands tall in the forest of world medicine. It is both one of the living forms of traditional Chinese culture and a vast space for the further development of that culture. For example, the way of nourishing life through tranquility and authenticity, the therapeutic principles of harmony, balance, and the golden mean, the conception of life grounded in inner serenity, the criterion of the medical way that puts people first, and the professional norm of honesty and good faith — all of these run through every aspect of the theory and practice of Chinese medicine. They have become the soul of all its figures, writings, artifacts, and undertakings, and also the fine tradition and professional dedication that today's Chinese medicine enterprises and institutions are proud to carry forward. Lao Cheng personally tested medicines in emulation of Shennong from the very founding of the business, establishing the rule that "whatever medicine I compound, I must first taste it myself," which laid the earliest model for the culture of Chinese medicine at Jiuzhitang. Handed down through the generations, this ancestral precept became the code of conduct of the Jiuzhitang people and a part of the culture of traditional Chinese medicine. Jiuzhitang refined and elevated the traditional processing techniques of Chinese materia medica and the traditional preparation techniques of Chinese medicine (including proprietary formulas and distinctive drug-processing methods), representing a relatively high standard and level of the traditional pharmaceutical techniques and methods of Huxiang (Hunan). Jiuzhitang's business philosophy of "sharing the hardships of the poor and aiding one's peers," "rescuing those in peril," "valuing quality and honoring good faith," and "nine parts goodwill, one part profit" has played an important role in promoting the development of the pharmaceutical industry.
I must taste my own medicine first
The founder tasted his own preparations as the divine farmer did, and the rule became the first model of the house's culture and a lasting standard of conduct.
Traditional processing of Chinese drugs
The house refined traditional processing and compounding, including its own formulas, and set a standard for Hunan pharmacy at its best.
Adapting drugs to Hunan's land
Hunan's spirit of enterprise and practical learning was carried into the pharmacy, tying the craft of drugs to the land they were gathered from.
Relieving distress and benefiting the trade
Relieving the suffering of the poor, favouring fellow practitioners, rescuing those in danger and taking only a thin margin—principles that shaped the trade as much as the medicine did.
House formulas and traditional preparations
Beyond inherited formulas and processing lay a house style of preparation, suited to Hunan's preference for pungent, damp-dispelling remedies.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
In the course of its subsequent growth and expansion, Jiuzhitang carried forward the Huxiang cultural spirit of "daring to be the first" and "practical statecraft," inherited the essence of the Huxiang tradition of Chinese medicine — "hanging the gourd to heal the world and bringing benefit to the people" — and combined traditional pharmaceutical techniques with the local land, water, and environment of Hunan, forming Jiuzhitang's distinctive humanistic spirit: "the pharmacist must give his all, and the physician must consult his conscience."
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
In recent years, the development of Chinese medicine has come under pressure from Western medicine and pharmaceuticals; carrying forward Jiuzhitang's traditional culture of Chinese medicine is an important force for promoting the fine culture of Chinese medicine of the motherland.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Quyuxiang 03-1461
- Lei Yulin 04-1948
- Shentuyinhong
- Lu Qifu
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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