), businessman Chen Ti returned to his hometown at the end of the year to collect the goods and then returned to Guangzhou by boat. After the ship arrived in Guangzhou, he hurried ashore and accidentally left his cargo and silver on the ship, which was picked up by a fellow ship passenger named Li Shengzuo. Li Shengzuo is well versed in medicine and owns a Chinese herbal medicine shop in Guangzhou.
Li Shengzuo was a loyal man and was not shy about picking up gold. After boarding the ship, he waited at the dock for the owner all day long. When Chen Tiquan returned home, he realized that he had lost his silver coins and quickly searched for them. When he arrived at the dock, Li Shengzuo returned the lost silver coins to him. Chen Tiquan was moved by Li Shengzuo's honest character and wanted to repay him with silver dollars, but Li Shengzuo politely declined. Seeing that Li Shengzuo was honest and reliable, Chen Tiquan sincerely proposed to invest half of his legacy money in the Chinese herbal medicine shop run by Li Shengzuo.
After repeated resignations, Li Shengzuo finally agreed, and immediately wrote the partnership document with red calligraphy: "Each party will contribute capital, and everyone will share the benefits. If we work together, we will live long." and named his store number. The name is Chen Liji, which means that Chen and Li have a chance to form a business partnership and work together to help the world. Since then, Chen Liji's store number has been hung at the bottom of the double gate in the south of Guangzhou (now Beijing Road).
Chen Liji has always been in the bustling center of Beijing Road, with thousands of people passing by his door every day. In the old society where there were many hungry people and refugees, pedestrians often fainted. Upon seeing this, the employees of Chenli Jipu would go out to rescue and administer medicine, and notify their families on their behalf. "Help those in need" has been written into the rules of the old shop and has lasted for hundreds of years.
Trademark given by Emperor Tongzhi
After the joint venture, Chen and Li set up the factory with the purpose of benefiting the world. They devoted themselves to collecting ancient unique prescriptions and prescriptions, selected superior medicinal raw materials, and carefully studied the processing technology. , and finally made a variety of unique ancient medicines with exquisite craftsmanship.
In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, Chen Liji's products were already well-known in the country. In order to expand his influence, Chen Liji takes advantage of the opportunity of students to take exams in Beijing every year and transports a large number of products to Beijing for exhibition and sales. The unique packaging of wax pills attracted people's attention, and its miraculous curative effects gradually earned it a reputation. After the exams, the students returned to various places and spread Chen Liji's wax pills with what they had seen in Kyoto, and regarded them as treasures as gifts to relatives and friends. From then on, Chenliji wax pills became famous far and wide and became synonymous with "Guangyao".
On one occasion, Emperor Tongzhi occasionally suffered from a cold and suffered from abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. The imperial doctors collectively recommended trying the "Zhuifeng Suhe Pill" produced by Chen Liji, and it worked. The emperor was overjoyed and granted the title "Xinghetang". At the same time, he approved the "old tangerine peel" stored in the factory as raw material as a tribute, and paid tribute to the court for many years. Therefore, during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, the factory was also called "Chenliji Xinghetang Pharmaceutical Factory".
In the early days of Chen Liji's business, the pharmaceutical factory only employed a few workers, with a front store and a back factory, and manual production, which was a typical small workshop format. Later, due to the increasing reputation of the products and his good management skills, in addition to going to Beijing for exhibition and sales, the products were also exported to border minority areas. According to historical records, in the Nujiang and Xishuangbanna areas of Yunnan Province, the "Zhuifeng Suhe Pill" produced by Chen Liji at that time was sold for one silver dollar per pill.
At that time, the domestic Chinese patent medicine industry had formed three major bases: Beijing, Guangdong, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Beijing was represented by Tong Ren Tang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang were represented by Hangzhou Hu Qingyutang, and Guangdong was the first to promote Chen Liji.
Advertising Song Revolution Code
In the 1820s, as Chinese people went abroad to make a living, Chen Liji’s products were introduced to Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and other places. . In the sixth year of Xianfeng's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1856), Chen Liji opened a wholesale office in Shisanhang, Guangzhou, which served as a port trade institution for product export and foreign medicine raw material import.
Chen Li Ji is speechless, and its history is written quietly:
In 1900, the British and French forces invaded, and the old shop in Guangzhou was destroyed by artillery fire; in 1937, the Japanese invasion of China broke out, Guangzhou fell in October, and the eight-year war of resistance disrupted production. In 1954, it entered the period of public-private partnership, with Chen Liji as the main factory, and it was successively merged into seven companies including Shennong, Wanchunyuan, Weishi, Feng Zhichang, Ho Hongren, Xiehetang, and Juxiangzhai. Two pharmaceutical factories formed the "Guangzhou Chenliji United Pharmaceutical Factory"; during the "Cultural Revolution" in 1967, the more than 300-year-old Chenliji signboard was changed to Guangzhou No. 2 Traditional Chinese Medicine Factory; in September 1980, it was approved to restore the factory name of "Guangzhou Chenliji Pharmaceutical Factory". "Xinghetang" trademark, in the same year, China Medicinal Materials Corporation designated Chenliji as a national key traditional Chinese medicine factory.
Chen Liji has a deep connection with the Chinese democratic revolution. During the democratic revolution, martyr Yang Yin, who was known as the "two giants of the workers' revolution" together with Peng Pai, was the son-in-law of the Li family. During the Great Revolution, he went to Chenliji to mobilize workers and organize trade unions, and used it as the rear area to lead the Guangzhou Uprising. "Chen Liji, Shenlong Tea, take it with you if you have a fever or cold!" An advertising song for Chenliji Shenlong Tea is not only a household name, but also one of the secret codes for the Guangzhou Uprising. To this day, many Cantonese people still feel very familiar and cordial when singing this song.
Fire combines civil and military affairs; medicine distinguishes kings and ministers
The profound accumulation of Lingnan urban culture has formed the distinctive southern medicine culture. In order to better promote the culture of traditional Chinese medicine, Chen Liji built a traditional Chinese medicine museum in the factory that integrates the history of medicine, traditional Chinese medicine technology and traditional Chinese medicine culture.
Push open the two heavy antique doors of the museum, and you will be greeted by the unique coolness of an old house, mixed with the bitter medicinal fragrance. This is the main hall of the museum, which reproduces the original appearance of Chen Liji's old shop in the early years of the Republic of China: high-hanging palace lanterns, carved beams and handrails, high walls of water-polished blue bricks, finely carved rosewood medicine cabinets, antique rosewood doors, and different colors. The porcelain bottles and the faintly glowing tin cans are dazzling. The medicines displayed on the medicine cabinet are Chen Liji's most popular and representative products at that time. In the rich atmosphere of Lingnan folk customs, the clerks who prescribe prescriptions and medicines have lifelike expressions; under the portraits of Chen and Li Ergong, the old Chinese doctor sitting in the hall to inquire about the disease feels the pulse with three fingers. The little girl wearing a pipa-collared suit standing next to him has a kind look and looks at the patient. Patients are considerate. Various characters are vivid and lifelike, igniting memories of the past.
"Fire is the hand that regulates the vitality of both civil and military forces, and medicine distinguishes the monarch and his ministers' heart in helping the world." A century-old couplet hanging high in the museum is particularly eye-catching. The so-called "fire and civil and military" refers to the importance of fire, where "wuhuo" means fierce fire and "wenhuo" means small fire. "Medicine distinguishing monarch and minister" emphasizes the accuracy of the compatibility of traditional Chinese medicines. "Monarch medicine" is a medicine that plays a major therapeutic role in targeting the cause or main symptoms. It is generally more effective and has a larger dosage; "minister medicine" refers to Drugs in prescriptions that can assist and enhance the effects of the main drug. The first couplet says that treating people is like governing a country, and a good doctor is like a good minister. The lower couplet connects the upper couplet, which means that a good doctor is like a good appearance, and medicine also distinguishes between the emperor and his ministers. The emperor and his ministers work together to help the world and rejuvenate the country. This is the core spirit of Chen Liji’s standing in Xinglin for 400 years!
"Chen Liji": a 408-year-old pharmaceutical company that does not emphasize family interests
Chen Yongjuan, the 11th generation descendant of Chen Tiquan, has a clear record in her family genealogy . She is currently working as a docent at the "Chen Li Ji" Museum of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Many people in the pharmaceutical factory call her "Sister Eleven." She told reporters that she hopes that her explanations will allow every visitor to the museum to experience traditional Chinese medicine. Profound and subtle.
The family has been based on "integrity" for generations.
Reporter: Have your parents told you the entrepreneurial story of the Chen family's ancestors?
Chen Yongjuan: Our ancestor Chen Tiquan went to Xiqiao Mountain to collect medicine to treat his mother's illness. I heard the story when he was a child. I think it was because he also had some knowledge of medicine that he later followed Li Shengzuo Gong. We have also heard stories about how they got to know each other through lost money. It can be said that "Chen Liji" was born from the word "sincerity" and he strictly followed the instructions of his ancestors in his future operations. Legacy.
Reporter: As a descendant of Chen Tiquan, do you think this family has any characteristics?
Chen Yongjuan: Since childhood, my father has taught us that we must be "sincere" in life, which includes sincerity in treating others and being honest in others. Every descendant of the family abides by the last wishes of their ancestors. In addition, in our family, perhaps because we have been exposed to it since childhood, although no one specifically explains pharmacological knowledge and pharmaceutical processes to us, we seem to be born with common sense about identifying Chinese medicines and the compatibility of medicinal materials.
"Chen Liji" once formed his own "fire brigade"
Reporter: During the "Cultural Revolution", it is said that many traditions of the "Chen Liji" pharmaceutical factory were destroyed. What is the specific situation? Like?
Chen Yongjuan: When our ancestors started their business, they made it a rule to work together to help the world and rescue people in emergencies. Later, both the managers of the Chen family and the Li family inherited this point. I remember that in the past, if people passing by the store happened to faint or get injured, "Chen Liji" would give medicine to save them. Emergency medicines such as Zhuifeng Suhe Pills, Xingjun Powder, Wanying Ruyi Oil, and Lidong Pills are often available in stores. Also, at that time, the Hanmin Road (now Beijing Road) area was full of wooden houses and bungalows. When the autumn wind was dry, there would be fires. On the one hand, for his own safety, and on the other hand, to rescue the citizens, "Chen Liji" organized a fire brigade of 20 men, and had three water trucks painted with "Xinghetang - Relief and Assistance". When there is a fire danger, the "fire brigade" will be dispatched.
The descendants of Chen and Li were strictly prohibited from intermarriage
Reporter: "Chen Liji" was originally a brand founded by the Chen and Li families, but later became a public-private partnership. As a descendant, would you rather it remain a family business that you have the right to inherit?
Chen Yongjuan: It should be said that at the beginning of its establishment, "Chen Li Ji" had a sense of helping the world, not just narrow family interests. In the Chen and Li families, there is an unwritten rule that the descendants of Chen Gong and Li Gong are never allowed to intermarry. Regardless of whether our surname is Chen or Li, in the eyes of our ancestors and our descendants, we are one family, brothers and sisters. Secondly, after intermarriage, there will be no distinction between the Chen and Li families, which may cause some confusion and management will become unclear. The ancestors were very clear-headed, and this indeed ensured that "Chen Li Ji" could be continued well. For more than three hundred years since then, the tradition of taking turns in power has been followed, with members of the two clans taking turns as managers, and the awareness of family interests has weakened.
The concept of "Chen Li Ji" is to benefit the public. The purpose of the medicines it produces is to treat diseases and save lives, and the prices should be positioned so that ordinary people can afford them. For hundreds of years, the quality and conduct of successors have taken precedence over family interests. If there is too much emphasis on personal or family interests, there will be no "Chen Li Ji", let alone the "Chen Li Ji" today.
In contemporary times, "there is Tong Ren Tang in the north and Qing Yu Tang in the south", spreading the story of the everlasting prosperity of the "King of Medicines in the South of the Yangtze River". Although there are countless large and small traditional Chinese medicine brands in China, some people say that the most famous ones are recognized by everyone as "two and a half" - Tongrentang in Beijing, Hu Qingyutang in Hangzhou, and Chenliji in Guangdong. Consider half a family.
The only person who seems to have been forgotten by the world is the "Shijitang" party family who is China's earliest medical heirloom. Only the huge stone cauldron that is as tall as a person and is half submerged in the pool at Hantai, a historical site in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province (it was originally placed on a stone cauldron base under the tangerine tree in the middle of the Dang family garden, used for cultivating ancient stones. In the early 1960s, in the name of building a city and preparing a park, a pig trough was replaced and dragged away from the original party house at No. 49 West Street, Hanzhong City) to inherit the bitterness of the unknown past of "Shiji Hall" and the glory it once had; while the ancient buildings of Tongrentang and Chen Liji, including the workshops, have all been demolished and replaced by newly built houses without traditional features. Only Hu Qingyu Hall, a mixture of old and new on the original site, has been preserved. There is a bit of mystery hidden in the simplicity, and there is cultural accumulation in the elegance.
In the thousands of years of splendid history of Chinese civilization, the astronomical calendar and traditional Chinese medicine have been the greatest contributions of the Chinese nation to the Chinese people and mankind around the world. Its significance far exceeds the four great inventions.
The name "Tongrentang", one of the four major pharmacies in the Ming and Qing dynasties, is now a symbol of national medicine; "Shijitang" Dang's traditional Chinese medicine is the oldest Chinese medicine that has been passed down from master to master and has been passed down to this day to benefit the living. Family; "Hu Qingyutang" has accumulated a rich and unique culture, and the concept of "Chen Liji" can be said to be the essence of traditional Chinese business culture.