Traditional TCM Culture
01 · Historical Records
The Tongjun traditional Chinese medicine culture takes the legend of Tongjun, the Founding Ancestor of Materia Medica, as its source. Legend has it that in high antiquity Tongjun, commanded by the Yellow Emperor, gathered the hundred herbs, discerned their medicinal flavors, classified them into three grades, established the principles of sovereign, minister, assistant, and courier, and authored the Tongjun Caiyao Lu (Record of Tongjun's Gathering of Medicines); he is venerated by later generations as the Founding Ancestor of Materia Medica, and his dwelling place is called Tongjun Mountain. To this day, Tongjun Mountain still preserves precious relics commemorating Tongjun, including shrine towers, stele pavilions, cliff carvings, and inscriptions by famous personages of successive dynasties, and there are many place names in the locality named after Tongjun.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Tongjun traditional Chinese medicine culture is an important component of China's traditional Chinese medicine culture. Rich in content, it takes the techniques of gathering and processing (paozhi) Chinese medicinal materials as its core, and also includes the historical legends of Tongjun, the literature of the Tongjun Caiyao Lu, the cultural sites of Tongjun Mountain, and the sacrificial activities for Tongjun, the Founding Ancestor of Materia Medica; it is a comprehensive traditional medical culture composed of medical techniques, folk beliefs and customs, and historical relics. Legend has it that in high antiquity Tongjun, commanded by the Yellow Emperor, gathered the hundred herbs, discerned their medicinal flavors, classified medicines into three grades, established the principles of sovereign, minister, assistant, and courier, and wrote the Tongjun Caiyao Lu; he is venerated by later generations as the 'Founding Ancestor of Materia Medica,' and his dwelling place is called 'Tongjun Mountain.' Medical texts of successive dynasties contain many records of Tongjun. The Tongjun Chinese Medicine Culture Festival, held to offer sacrifices to Tongjun, has attracted a growing number of people from home and abroad. The core area of this heritage project is Tonglu County, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, located in the west of Zhejiang Province and in the middle reaches of the Qiantang River. Its wild animal and plant resources are abundant, with a total of 157 families and 1,149 species of plants and complete vegetation type groups; it also produces many local medicinal materials such as Cornus officinalis (shanzhuyu) and Hangzhou white peony (Hang baishao). Because of its rich reserves and superior authentic terrain for medicinal quality, it is renowned in all directions, and Tonglu is thus known as a 'repository of Chinese medicinal resources.' Tonglu's history of gathering, cultivating, and processing Chinese medicinal materials is also very long. Upholding Tongjun's spirit of 'building a hut to gather medicines and preparing them to benefit the people,' the gathering and purchase of Chinese medicinal materials stress authentic provenance, and processing follows ancient methods; in particular, the fermentation process for Chinese medicines, controlled through specific differences in piling and in temperature and humidity and through changes in the activity of fermentation fungi, is highly distinctive. Medical institutions bearing the name Tongjun Tang are found everywhere, and as the influence of traditional Chinese medicine culture continues to grow, the influence of Tongjun's Chinese medicine culture is also gradually expanding.
Gathering drugs from the right places
Drugs are gathered from the right ground, in a county whose flora runs to some 1,149 species in 157 families, among them Chinese cornel and white peony root.
Processing by old usage
Processing follows old usage, above all in fermenting under controlled differences of piling, temperature and moisture and the activity of the mould.
Dwelling in the hills to gather and to relieve
The motto of dwelling in the hills to gather herbs and preparing them for the people has aged into a public ethic.
Shrines and stelae on Mount Tongjun
Shrines, stelae, cliff inscriptions and the words of famous visitors survive on the mountain—physical evidence for a lineage otherwise known only in texts.
Rites for the Drug Ancestor and the herbal culture festival
The festival held in honour of Tongjun draws growing numbers from abroad and home, keeping the ancestor's memory in practice as well as in texts.
Spreading from the Qiantang basin
Centred on Tonglu and radiating along the Qiantang, the culture spread from the south-east to the south and south-west and thence across the country.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
To this day, Tongjun Mountain still preserves precious relics commemorating Tongjun, including shrine towers, stele pavilions, cliff carvings, and inscriptions by famous personages of successive dynasties; there are many place names in the locality named 'Tongjun'; and folk legends about Tongjun continue to circulate. Tongjun, the Founding Ancestor of Materia Medica, has had a profound influence on Tonglu. Centered on Tonglu County and radiating from the Qiantang River basin, the Tongjun traditional Chinese medicine culture has spread from Jiangnan (the lower Yangtze region) to South China, Southwest China, and other regions, gradually reaching the whole country.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Tongjun traditional Chinese medicine culture has been transmitted without interruption and continues to this day. The Tongjun Chinese medicine culture's spirit of 'building a hut to gather medicines and preparing them to benefit the people' accords with the concepts of public virtue advocated in today's society and with the establishment of socialist core values. Its numerous historic sites, legends, and spirit are of great significance to the study of the history of Chinese medicine and of local culture. The ancient processing techniques also have important scientific research value for the inheritance and development of Chinese medicine today.
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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