Tongrentang Lejia old pharmacy
Shen Hongxian
1. The historical evolution of Tong Ren Tang
Tong Ren Tang Pharmacy, located in Dashilar, Qianmen, Beijing, is the oldest pharmacy in Beijing, with a history of 283 years, and was the first of its kind by Roca. Lejia was originally from Cishui Town, Ningbo Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and moved to Beijing during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, where he practiced medicine with string bells.
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the fourth Zule Zunyu (1630-1688) of Lejia conferred the title of Deng Shilang, who was the official of the Tai Hospital, in charge of the cashier's documents; He liked to read prescription books, was proficient in medical skills, and was later promoted to Wen Linlang. He often said to his son: "Those who can maintain health and help others are the most important medicine." He also said: "The word 'colleague' can be the name of the hall, I love its public and elegant, and I must be ambitious." The fifth ancestor Wugang, the word Fengming (1661-1742) because of the township test to fall first, adhering to the will of the ancestors, gave up the business in 1702 (the 41st year of Kangxi) founded Tongrentang Pharmacy, pharmaceutical to help the world, engaged in the management of Chinese medicine.
Tong Ren Tang began to worship the imperial pharmacy in 1723 (the first year of Yongzheng), so its reputation has grown. In the following generations, Tong Ren Tang experienced the rise and fall of changes, in 1753 (the 18th year of Qianlong) Lejia suffered a fire and the sixth generation of Le Li died, Tong Ren Tang Pharmacy was difficult to maintain. Leli's wife applied for funding from the Yamen in charge, and because the royal family needed to set up a pharmacy, she presented the investment invitation and operated a joint venture by Lejia Shijiao Zhang Shiji. Since then, there have been more and more shares of Tong Ren Tang, and in 1818 (Jiaqing 23 years), Tong Ren Tang had 21 shareholders and 43,800 taels of shares and silver. In 1831 (Daoguang 11 years) Tong Ren Tang gave Zhu 60,000 taels of silver, Tong Ren Tang has undergone many changes, gone through vicissitudes, what remains unchanged is only the plaque of "Lejia Old Pharmacy Tong Ren Tang" hanging in front of the pharmacy, which will always belong to Tong Ren Tang. Sometimes only orphans and widows are left in the Lejia, but they hold on to this plaque to the death, and it is difficult to support it. Passed to the tenth generation of Lejia, Le Pingquan (Ziyinchuan), he is a person with strong activity ability, with his efforts, pay off debts, redeem the ancestral business, adhere to the business method of self-control, Tong Ren Tang and revitalize and rise. Due to the outstanding efficacy of the drug and the increasing reputation, it has laid a solid foundation for Roca Pharmacy.
Le Yinchuan has four sons, Meng Fan, Zhong Fan, Shu Fan, and Ji Fan. After his death, his wife, Hui, took charge of Tong Ren Tang. After Xu's death, it was jointly operated by his four sons, forming a co-management system of four major houses.
In 1937, the Japanese invaded and Beijing fell. The enemy and hypocrisy plundered, and Tong Ren Tang's business was in a difficult state of maintenance. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, inflation intensified under the rule of the Kuomintang, and in view of the difficult situation at that time, Tong Ren Tang adopted the contingency measures of "hoarding and borrowing without saving", and used the cash from the business income to buy medicinal materials and precious materials as much as possible in addition to daily expenses; Except for the preparation of pills and ointments and retail sales of the medicinal materials in the store, no matter how the market price of the medicinal materials skyrockets, they will not be sold; And borrow money from the bank to buy goods to avoid false profits and losses, so as to keep the funds. In addition, when there is no stock available, gold is purchased to avoid the loss of currency depreciation. However, the political situation at that time was unstable, and the development of pharmacies was restricted everywhere. In particular, when the fiat currency was withdrawn and the gold dollar coupons were issued, private individuals were not allowed to hold gold and silver foreign currencies, and they were forcibly exchanged for gold dollar coupons, which caused Tong Ren Tang to suffer heavy economic losses and formed a situation in which foreign countries were strong and middle-class.
The liberation of Beijing gave a new lease of life to the ancient enterprise of Tong Ren Tang, which became a public-private partnership in June 1954 and then a socialist enterprise.
Tong Ren Tang Pharmacy from the Manchu Qing Dynasty Kangxi period to the founding of the People's Republic of China and socialism today, after more than ten generations of continuation, Lejia old pharmacy Tong Ren Tang has a considerable scale, in all major cities in the country have Lejia pharmacies opened by various branches of Le's, forming a Lejia system, with the production and marketing of pills and plaster pills and Chinese patent medicine well-known at home and abroad. Tong Ren Tang has a complete set of pharmaceutical equipment in many years of operation; advanced technological process; Strong technical force; It has accumulated a large amount of funds and has become the oldest, largest and most reputable enterprise in Beijing Chinese Pharmaceutical Industry.
Second, the precious drugs are well-known at home and abroad
Because Tong Ren Tang adheres to the front store and back factory, self-production and self-sale, takes the road of both industry and business, and produces high-quality famous drugs in the ancient tradition, the enterprise is prosperous and has become a national pharmacy with a long reputation and fame at home and abroad, so it can be so because it has the following characteristics:
1. The ancient tradition of high-quality famous medicine has an outstanding reputation
Tong Ren Tang has always been well-known at home and abroad for its refined formulas, fine processing of medicines, and remarkable curative effects. After Cixi came to power, Tong Ren Tang was ordered to make imperial medicine for the imperial family, which actually replaced the imperial pharmacy for the imperial court. So far, the Forbidden City still retains the two black chicken and white phoenix pills left over from Cixi's eating, and there are still imprints made by Tongrentang in the Guangxu period, and the medicinal quality is intact.
Around 1975, Tong Ren Tang found 1,000 Huoluodan pills, more than 200 Suhexiang pills and 100 reconstituted pills made 150 years ago in the clearance. The color of these medicines is still very bright, the imprint is clear, and the medicinal fragrance is rich, which proves that Tong Ren Tang Pharmaceutical has exquisite craftsmanship and has won people's praise. Today's production of pill powder ointment Dan is mostly high-grade high-quality medicines, such as Qili San's bright red color, mellow medicinal taste, and the cool smell of mixed borneol, which has a peculiar curative effect on the treatment of fracture pain, soft tissue injury, ligament strain and other blood stasis pain, which can be called a panacea. The secret recipe left by a Guogong surnamed Shi in the Ming Dynasty, the descendants named "Shi Guogong Dipping Wine" in order to commemorate him, which was widely used among the court nobles and the people, and the "Zhengzhi Criterion" written by Wang Kentang of the Ming Dynasty contained this recipe. In the Qing Dynasty, the hospital sorted out and supplemented the prescription, and during the Daoguang period, it was transferred to the imperial pharmacy Tongrentang to prepare it and named it Guogong Liquor. The wine has a fragrant and rich smell, mellow and sweet taste, and can be enjoyed by drinking it often and prolongs life, and is known as a famous wine in China.
2. The selection of materials is pure, and the medicine is exquisite
Running a pharmacy is not an expert, Tong Ren Tang appoints capable and strong hands who are familiar with the performance of various medicinal materials, good at distinguishing between authenticity and disadvantage, and distinguishing between good and bad to buy medicinal materials. The principle of purchasing drugs is: to ensure that the goods are authentic and authentic, and do not hesitate to spend a lot of money.
Anguo County, Hebei Province is a relatively concentrated production and marketing area of medicinal materials. Tongrentang sends people to the Anguo temple fair every year to buy medicine. The medicinal herb market at the temple fair will not be open until the future of Tongrentang's purchasing personnel arrives. After the market opened, Tong Ren Tang took the lead in the pharmaceutical market, and often bought high-end goods at a slightly higher price. Small households with meager capital can only buy second-water medicinal materials. Deer antler ginseng to the northeast Liaoning Jilin Yingkou area to purchase, the store to the purchase staff leather jacket cotton hat and 100 silver dollars subsidy, in the care of the owner, the procurement staff to try to buy the price, high-quality ginseng. In addition, in order to purchase high-quality medicinal materials, they all go to the production area to buy. Such as Angelica sinensis from Minle in Gansu, rhubarb from Xining in Qinghai, Danpi from Wuhu in Anhui, raw land from Xinyang, Henan, tangerine peel from Xinhui in Guangdong, and white peony from Dongyang, Zhejiang. Not only that, even the honey used in medicine is also very particular, and people were sent to Xinglong County, Hebei Province to purchase, where the jujube nectar and vitex honey have high sugar content and positive taste, and the pills are not easy to dry out or resurge. When there are valuable medicinal materials that can be met but not sought, see the color of the goods, and immediately make a deal, such as a whole frame of tiger bones, it will cost 3,000 yuan in the ocean, although the price is high. Although the price of these high-quality raw materials is slightly higher than that of the market, the efficacy is better, and they are still welcomed by patients, who would rather buy the drugs made by Tong Ren Tang at a higher price than others.
3. The formula is exquisite, and the processing is fine
In addition to ancient prescriptions, folk prescriptions, and ancestral legendary prescriptions, a considerable part of Tongrentang's prescriptions are secret recipes from the Qing Palace. Most of these secret recipes are made by famous doctors and concentrate the essence of traditional Chinese medicine. In the 15th year of Guangxu (1889), there are a total of 495 kinds of medicines, half of which are palace secret recipes, such as tiger bone wine, black chicken and white phoenix pills, Guogong wine, and ginseng health pills......
Tong Ren Tang's business is divided into two parts: a store and a factory, and the store is to catch medicines according to prescriptions and sell prepared medicines. The backyard of the store is a factory for the processing of whole batches of medicinal materials.
The processing plant has a knife room, grinding room and other medicinal materials crushing and processing workshop, after careful processing of medicinal materials, classified storage in the iron cylinder, for the dispensing department to dispense according to the prescription, thousands of kinds of medicinal materials are stored in an orderly manner, can not have the slightest error, otherwise the formula is not accurate, easy to produce medical problems.
The work before the processing of medicinal materials is more delicate, and each process must be meticulously and carefully operated. Many herbs have to be manually selected one by one, one by one, and then remove the soil, impurities and parts that are not very medicinal and have low efficacy, and then be properly prepared such as steaming, stir-frying, broiling, calcining and storing them separately for later use.
Fine production is the only way to make a good medicine. Take the making of tiger bone wine as an example: the 147 flavored herbs are used to prepare finely, the ingredient content is accurate, and the raw materials are first subjected to more than a dozen processes such as hot soaking, cold brewing, reflux, filtration, etc., and then sealed for half a year; After soaking and storing the purchased tiger bones for two years to remove their anger, they are boiled for 88 hours to make tiger bone glue, and then put in together with other sealed medicinal materials, and then soaked for ten minutes to make tiger bone wine, and then sealed in a clay jar for one year before they can be sold.
Ginseng pill is ginseng, yellow deer antler velvet as the main raw material, with angelica, jujube, Guiyuan meat, amber, He Shou Wu and other medicines, to go through 60 or 70 processes to be concocted, for the yin nourishment, kidney, qi, add essence tonic. in the production of medicines. For more than 200 years, Tong Ren Tang has been following the proposition of Le Wugang: although the production is complicated, it does not dare to save labor; Although the flavor is expensive, I dare not reduce the medicinal ingredients. Meticulous and meticulous craftsmanship is required.
Tong Ren Tang has always paid great attention to the quality of medicines. There is a master who said: "When the 15th boss of Lejia, Le Dayi, took the homemade "Lingqiao Detoxification Pill", he found that there was dregs in the medicine, so he personally checked the sieve used for the medicinal powder, and found that the sieve was too large to exceed the regulations, and the dregs could not be cleaned, and the medicine made was not easy for patients to absorb and affect the efficacy. So he used a knife to cut through all the substandard Rodes, and instructed them to replace the Rodi that did not meet the regulations. And said: "There is slag in the medicine, customers don't buy our medicine, who will we eat."
The old drug engineering recalled: the boss of Tongrentang has strict requirements for the quality of drugs, and the pharmaceutical is fine, which is well known, and the dispensing requirements and materials are uniform, and the amount of each pill is equal, otherwise it must be reworked, such as the wax pill has small holes, drums, concaves and bubbles, the pill sealing butt is uneven, the ironing is not clear and the color is not bright, all are regarded as unqualified products, and they need to be reworked or made separately.
4. Refined famous drugs: ten famous brands, thirteen Taibao, and the first champion.
Tong Ren Tang produces a large number of medicines, with 477 kinds originally. After liberation, 205 species were screened and eliminated, 272 species were retained, and 202 species were later introduced, making a total of 474 species. Among them, the best ones are "Top Ten Famous Brands", "Thirteen Taibao" and "Top Champion" and other medicines.
The top ten famous brands have the most miraculous effect on the treatment of various difficult diseases, and the main treatment of Japanese encephalitis is the anticonvulsive and antipyretic Angong Niuhuang Pill; Suhexiang pills for the treatment of stroke and silent and crooked corners of the mouth; reconstructive pills for the treatment of hemiplegia; Ankun Zanyu pills for the treatment of postpartum disorders, excessive bleeding, and irregular menstruation; The treatment of coma is the local prescription to Baodan: the treatment of evil heat and high fever Zixuesan; Huoluodan, which treats numbness of the limbs; Tiger bone wine for the treatment of arthritis and relaxation of muscles and blood; Ginseng health pills for qi tonification and mental weakness and female Jindan for treating women's infertility for many years.
The Thirteen Taibao is one of the top ten famous medicines, plus the Oriental herbal tea, which is the main treatment of lack of heart qi, restlessness, panic delirium, and the rise of internal fire. It is used for gastrointestinal diseases caused by cold condensation, qi stagnation and blood imbalance; Gynecological famous medicine black chicken white phoenix pill.
The first champion is one of the top ten famous brands of "Angong Niuhuang Pill" that saves the dying in an instant and saves the emergency in an instant.
Angong Niuhuang Pill, from Wutang in the Qing Dynasty, in 1813 Wu according to the "Wanbao Niu Huang Pill" added musk, rhino horn, pearl, Ming Xionghuang and other precious medicinal materials to make it, with the functions of clearing heat, anticonvulsion, anti-inflammatory, etc., is one of the three treasures for the treatment of high fever, coma, convulsions, epilepsy, phoenix and other diseases. (The three treasures are: Angong Niuhuang Pill, Jufang Zhi Baodan, Zixuesan)
5. The curative effect is remarkable, well-known at home and abroad.
The above drugs are all treasures in the treasure house of medicine of the motherland.
The medicine made by selecting the best medicinal materials with the prescription of famous doctors and strictly operating with exquisite craftsmanship will have a significant curative effect. According to the medical records of two cases, there was a patient who was over the age of old, suffered from cerebral thrombosis, and his life was in danger, after taking the Angong Niuhuang Pill made by Tong Ren Tang, the old man turned the crisis into safety, and adopted other comprehensive methods of treatment, such as taking Dahuo Luodan, Niuhuang Qingxin Pill supplemented by acupuncture, etc., to save the life of the old man.
Another Nanyang woman suffered a soft tissue injury after a foot bent, which could not be cured for a long time, and was cured after applying the Qi Li San made by Tong Ren Tang, and the patient repeatedly praised Tong Ren Tang's medicine for its miraculous effects.
Tong Ren Tang's medicines are well-known at home and abroad for their high efficacy. Hua Yanru, a veteran actor of the famous Pingju, found that the Qingyin pills on display in the medicine cabinet had not been seen for many years when she was buying medicine in Tongrentang, and she wanted to buy a large number of them for storage and later use, and after several explanations, she still bought 300 pills and left happily. In the old society, when working people were sick, it was difficult to take medicine due to economic difficulties, but they would rather buy Tong Ren Tang's prescription medicine with a slightly higher price than other prescription medicines with a slightly lower price, because Tong Ren Tang's medicine has high efficacy, and taking one payment and two payments can not only cure the disease, but also save money.
Tong Ren Tang famous drugs are exported to Japan, Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, Mexico, Greece, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and India and other countries. Many overseas Chinese return to China for sightseeing and go to Tong Ren Tang to buy health care and treatment medicines. Compatriots living abroad also often ask people or letters to buy medicines. Precious famous medicines, floating across the ocean, so that the motherland's traditional, excellent medical achievements, famous all over the world.
3. Today of Tong Ren Tang
The historic Tong Ren Tang has undergone great changes after the liberation, and the old low-rise façade has been replaced by a new two-story ornate building, and the new building has added infinite vitality to this ancient enterprise. In the sales department, the salesman wears white overalls, shuttling and busting, concentrating on the customer's prescription and grasping the medicine, and delivering the prepared medicine package to the customer after review; The drugs sold at the counter of the patent medicine sales department greet the people who buy drugs from all over the world every day; In order to facilitate customers, a special service desk is set up, and veteran employees with rich medical knowledge are selected to answer the questions of patients in treatment and drug selection, and be a good consultant. In order to ensure the health of the middle-aged and elderly, Tongrentang has set up a sales and service department of health care drugs for the middle-aged and elderly in the basement downstairs. With the development of the situation, Tong Ren Tang wholeheartedly for the majority of patients to serve, they set up a Chinese medicine decoction department, three employees, no matter whether it is hot or cold, they all pay a pay for the decoction of Chinese medicine to the hands of customers, pay intense and hard labor, but the charge is low, only 5 cents per dose of medicine. In order to meet the needs of out-of-town patients, this pharmacy vigorously conducts mail-order business. In 1984 alone, more than 4,000 letters were received from the masses and 10,000 pieces of medicine were sent. It was a meticulous job, and there were only six people in charge of the mail, dealing with all kinds of letters, some of which explained their illness, but did not know what medicine to use, so they helped to choose the right medicine for the symptoms, and wrote letters to ask for the opinions of customers; Some of the required drugs are temporarily out of stock, they reply to explain the situation, sometimes for the customer to give ideas to introduce drugs with similar efficacy, ask the customer to choose, become the customer's intimate person, praised by the masses.
It is difficult to describe the development and changes of this ancient enterprise after liberation. As early as 1952, under the kind care and encouragement of Mayor Peng Zhen, Mr. Le Songsheng, the manager, fulfilled the will of his ancestors and realized the desire of the western system of traditional Chinese medicine and pharmaceutical industry to develop towards mechanization and semi-mechanization. Due to the improvement of operations and the improvement of the efficiency of pharmaceutical production, the production of finished drugs has increased exponentially; After research, under the premise of maintaining or improving the efficacy of the pills, the pills are made into tablets, granules, or tinctures, so that the volume is reduced, the weight is reduced, and it is easy to take and carry, so that the production of Chinese patent medicine in the ancient motherland will move towards the road of science.
In 1954, after the public-private partnership of Tong Ren Tang, the scale of production expanded day by day, and Tong Ren Tang Pharmaceutical Factory was established outside Chongwen Gate; Tongxian County established the largest pharmaceutical distillery in Beijing, Tongrentang Pharmaceutical Distillery; Tongrentang traditional Chinese medicine refinery was established in Xizhimen; Establish a deer farm in Changping. The number of employees increased from more than 200 in 1949 to more than 1,600 in 1983.
Especially after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the development of this enterprise was faster, and the output value in 1983 reached 66.76 million yuan, an increase of 1.2 times over 1978, and 417 times that of 1948 before liberation; In 1983, the export volume reached 17.53 million yuan, ranking first in the same industry in the country, and achieved great economic benefits.
Tong Ren Tang not only maintains and carries forward the traditional process characteristics, but also produces many high-quality medicines, and "Angong Niuhuang Pill" won the national gold medal in the pharmaceutical evaluation. "Black Chicken Baifeng Pill" won the National Silver Medal, and Tiger Bone Wine, Guogong Wine, Ginseng Deer Antler Pill and Yufeng Ning Heart Pill were rated as high-quality varieties by the State Administration of Medicine and the Municipal Medical Bureau respectively.
Traditional Chinese medicine is the quintessence of the Chinese nation. Tong Ren Tang is a corrector in the national traditional Chinese medicine industry, which is the advantage of Beijing and the country. In the great cause of building the four modernizations of the motherland, Tongrentang has given full play to its unique advantages and better served the health of Chinese and overseas Chinese. Tongrentang's tomorrow will be more brilliant.
附记
About the establishment of Tong Ren Tang Pharmacy year test
In the year of the establishment of Tong Ren Tang Pharmacy, there are two theories:
One is said to be: the fifth ancestor of Lejia Wugang was founded in 1702 (the 41st year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty. Renwu), 283 years ago (1985). Another theory is: Lejia 4th ancestor Zunyu (the father of Wugang) was founded in 1669 (8 years of Kangxi. 316 years ago.
After research, it was said that it was in line with historical facts.
According to Guangxu Jichou (1889) Zhongchun's republication of the Tongrentang Medicinal Catalogue, there is a Description of the Medicinal Catalogue written by Le Fengming Wugang in Kangxi Youxu (1706), which is excerpted as follows:
"The name of Tongrentang, the ancestor of the Su Zhi also, the ancestor of the number of respect, for the ...... of the officials of the Tai Hospital, after each court training, it is said: can nourish the body, can help people, but the doctor is the most." Youyun: "The word colleague can be the name of the hall, I love its public and elegant, and I must be ambitious." For more than 30 years, the training of the ancestors, almost forgotten, after the comparison of Renwu Township, idleness, recalling the old age's legacy, turned over and encouraged it, and then established the Tongrentang Pharmacy Yan ....... ”
The grandson of Yinchuan (unsigned) reformulated the drug list, and the excerpt is as follows: "The ancestor of the fourth ancestor respected the prince as the official ...... of the Tai Hospital, and the fifth ancestor Wugang Gong kept his testament, and set up the name of the main hall in the south of Dashilar outside the Zhengyang Gate in Kyoto at the age of Kangxi......."
It can be affirmed that the year of the establishment of Tongrentang Pharmacy should be 1702, that is, the year of Kangxi Renwu, which is 283 years ago.
Another theory is that because Lejia found a plaque of "Tong Ren Tang" in the old collection, the book has the words "Kangxi Ji You", and it is mistakenly believed that Tong Ren Tang Pharmacy was founded in 1669, 33 years in advance. As everyone knows, in the old days, the official eunuch family set a name for more than one hall, and made a plaque to hang in the hall, so as to make a clear will. The plaque found should be a plaque made during his lifetime, not a pharmacy signboard, and this plaque does not have the word "pharmacy", so the year of the plaque cannot be mistakenly determined as the year of the establishment of the pharmacy.