[Source: Hangzhou Daily] Business Card Ding Guangming: The 17th Hangzhou City Moral Model (Civilian Hero), Hu Qingyutang National Intangible Cultural Heritage Inheritor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He joined Hu Qing Yu Tang in 1966 and has been engaged in handmade pan pill pr

Business card

Ding Guangming: The 17th Hangzhou City Moral Model (Civilian Hero), the national intangible inheritor of Hu Qingyutang Traditional Chinese Medicine. He joined Hu Qing Yu Tang in 1966 and has been engaged in handmade pan pill production for more than 50 years.

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Entering from the main entrance of Dajing Lane, passing through the winding corridor and crossing the small fish pond, the medicinal fragrance in the air becomes stronger and stronger. This is the Hu Qingyutang Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum, where Ding Guangming works daily.

Ding Guangming led me inside, muttering: "This used to be the first workshop, as well as the packaging group and warehouse. The crushing group where I first joined was opposite... It wasn't so hot in summer before. I worked from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. "In a daze, more than fifty years ago, the scene of people in the front hall seeing doctors and getting medicine, and pharmacists in the back hall busy making medicines appeared before my eyes.

The inscription "Abstain from Bullying" contains the fragrance of pills. Ding Guangming has been making handmade pills all his life, and has transformed from a fledgling to a pharmaceutical master with unique skills. He abides by Hu Qingyutang's ancestral motto of "preventing bullying", never shoddy quality, never cut corners, and always regards precise use of materials and exquisite craftsmanship as his duty.

In 2022, 72-year-old Ding Guangming won the honorary title of the 17th Hangzhou Moral Model (Civilian Hero). In February 2024, he received another honor - the national intangible inheritor of Hu Qingyutang Traditional Chinese Medicine.

01

Integrity has God’s knowledge

Making medicine is a matter of conscience

On June 21, 1966, 17-year-old Ding Guangming entered Hu Qingyutang, which was renamed Hangzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Factory, and became an apprentice.

Three of the four siblings of the Ding family embarked on the road of hanging pots to help the world. "I have been a pharmacist all my life, my eldest sister has been working in the obstetrics and gynecology department, and my third brother is a gastroenterologist."

Hu Qingyutang's old rule is to start as an apprentice when learning a craft. Ding Guangming was assigned to the crushing workshop. In addition to powdering and extraction, I also do various chores, such as cleaning, tidying up, and delivering pills. The masters saw how these apprentices treated others and took it to heart.

A year later, Zhang Yonghao, the leader of the pill group, took a fancy to this down-to-earth young man. "The leader of our crushing team is still reluctant to leave me. But he also hopes that I can learn the real technology of making traditional Chinese medicine."

Hu Qingyutang Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum has a special plaque: not facing the outside, but facing the store, for its own employees Look. This is the "prevent bullying" plaque written by founder Hu Xueyan at the beginning of the business.

Niuhuang Qingxin Pills (prescription) contains donkey hide gelatin. Ding Guangming still remembers that once when his master was boiling donkey-hide gelatin, he ran away temporarily and asked him to help keep an eye on it.

"The glue needs to be stirred constantly, and the heat is also very important. The master is from Ningbo, and he speaks with a certain accent. I didn't hear it clearly." When the master came back, the medicine was already scorched. "Master spent his own money to remix the medicine and boil it. It wasn't ready until 8 o'clock in the evening."

Ding Guangming didn't understand. It was just a bit mushy, but it didn't affect the efficacy of the medicine. "Master said as he was going through it, Guangming, you have to do things according to your conscience and seek truth from facts, so that you can be worthy of others." Seeing Master's clothes soaked and his hands full of blisters, Ding Guangming was shocked for the first time.

"From then on, I have kept the word 'abstain from bullying' firmly in my heart. Especially when it comes to life, there is no room for any mistakes."

As the master teaches, so the disciple inherits. This story was later made into a short film and became the first lesson for new employees of Hu Qingyutang.

02

Accurate to the millimeter

The most difficult "Liushen Pill" was only passed to him

One day in 1968, Zhang Yonghao called Ding Guangming: "Starting today, you can learn Panwan." Two years later, finally At this moment, Ding Guangming officially entered the teacher under the plaque of "Prevent Bullying".

The honest and hard-working Ding Guangming won praise from all sides. Not only Zhang Yonghao, but also two other senior masters of Hu Qingyutang's pills, Wang Lichuan from the fine ingredients group and Shen Guangyan from the aniseed ingredients group, were all vying to teach him how to make Pandan pills.

“Actually, before I officially learned Pan Wan, I couldn’t help myself and started to ‘steal from my master’.Whenever I had free time during the day, I would watch the masters making Pan Wan and observe their steps and techniques. After work was done in the evening, I would think about it myself and practice these movements several times. "

There is a big world in small pills. Hand-made pills, from powder to small granules, and then made into pills, need to go through five processes including molding, pan-making, screening, covering and shaping. "The most difficult part' "Liu Shen Wan", Master passed it on to me alone. "There is a smile that cannot be hidden in the corners of Ding Guangming's eyes.

Liushen Pills are a treasure of Chinese medicine. Among the pan-pill techniques, Liushen Pills have the smallest particles and are the most difficult to make. They contain musk, borneol, bezoar and other 6 medicinal materials. The diameter of the pills is about 1.5 mm. 1 kilogram of raw material can make 400,000 pills. The pills must be uniform and the weight deviation of 100 pills cannot exceed two pills.

"When I first started, a senior brother made the 'Liu Shen Pills' bigger. It was also criticized by the Technology Section and the Drug Supervision Section. "Ding Guangming practiced hard day and night, trying to make the "Liu Shen Pill" just like his master. "Every day when I get home, my back hurts, and my hands get blisters. The next day I open my eyes, get up early, and go to the unit to continue practicing. "

Small things are complicated, and big things are difficult. The "Ginseng Reconstituted Pills" with a diameter of more than 1 centimeter are a large recipe, consisting of more than 50 herbs. 1 kilogram can make more than 300 pills. "Each pill is made of more than 300 pills. The amount of medicine should be the same, the honey water should be taken equally evenly, and the force used should be the same. "Ding Guangming said that he was the only one among many apprentices to inherit the skill of "ginseng reconstituted pills".

"At that time, Hu Qingyutang's business was good and he was making dozens of pills every month. I filled up the small blackboard, finished one and crossed out another. "Ding Guangming also kept a stack of yellowed notebooks, recording professional knowledge such as medication ratios. He took out one casually, and one page read: "Cizhu Pills: On July 11, 1995, this time there was The cracking phenomenon... I always thought there was no problem in advance, but the result was underestimated. It was old experience encountering new problems! ”

03

Innovation in inheritance

Patients’ health always comes first

In 2009, Ding Guangming retired from the production line and sat in the museum of Hu Qingyutang in Dajing Lane. A patio and white walls Daiwa, as well as peony, ginkgo, and osmanthus.

Today, he is the oldest master of Hu Qingyutang, and he is also the first to arrive at the business at 8 a.m., and he is in the workshop of handmade pan pills after 7 o'clock. On the day of the interview, Ding Guangming happened to come across an exhibition of handmade pan pills. He put on a white coat and went into action in high spirits.

For ordinary masters, the first step is to walk on thin ice. , Precocious and mature in handling it. The broom dipped in water evenly moistened the bamboo plaque, and the medicinal powder on the other end rotated and jumped in the plaque with the movement of his arm.

"My body now cannot be compared with that of when I was young. At that time, it was a day." You can do it for seven or eight hours. "But in the eyes of others, every movement of Ding Guangming's hands is as fast as the wind, not like a 75-year-old man at all. Mold making, pan-making, screening, covering, shaping... step by step, to make it perfectly round. To make uniform pills, you need to continue adding water, adding powder, and rotating and rolling for a while before the initial powder turns into pills of the same weight and uniform size. Like rain hitting banana trees, one drop after another fell into the hearts of onlookers.

Ding Guangming pulled out an inconspicuous transparent jar from the wooden cabinet, which contained "Liu Shen Pills"

"These are my three pills." It was done more than ten years ago, but it can no longer be done. "The small "Liu Shen Pill" was shaking in his hand. It had lost its luster, but it was the most precious treasure of the old man.

In addition to pan pills, Ding Guangming also made fried pills, powders, and ointment pills. , powder, ointment, and elixir, the masters of each group are willing to leave the work to him

Ding Guangming has a quick mind and is willing to spend time and energy in the process of preparing "Liushen Pills". During the process, he explored a new process - grinding the six medicinal herbs separately and making pills, with three medicinal herbs as the inner layer, which makes it less sticky and easier to make.He also innovated the needle crystal crushing operation method and optimized and reformed the Zhanyisan crushing process so that the particle size of the finished product could meet the national testing requirements. This operation method was named "Ding Guangming needle crystal crushing method" by the Hangzhou Federation of Trade Unions. He also came up with the method of wet-crushing ball-milled pearls using low-level ethanol to inhibit bacteria at room temperature, which solved the disadvantages of seasonal crushing of pearl powder.

Once, a Shanghai pharmacist came to Hu Qingyutang to ask why the Niuhuang Qingxin Pills he made always cracked. After asking about the production process in detail, Ding Guangming gave instructions - no matter how late it is, the pills must be made on the same day and not overnight. Otherwise, the degree of dryness on the inside and outside will be different and it will easily crack.

The disciples were puzzled as to why the master taught so much to outsiders. The master told the disciples, "'Big Shopkeeper' Hu Xueyan once said that if colleagues are not jealous, anything can be done. The patient's health is always the first priority, why should there be a distinction between winners and losers? Traditional Chinese medicine skills should not be divided into Hangzhou The pharmaceutical factory in Shanghai is the only one that truly considers customers and serves patients by allowing more pharmacists to make pills with better quality and better effects.”

With the advent of machine medicine, handmade medicine has grown rapidly. shrink. Ding Guangming believes that "machines are always tools, and handwork is the foundation."

"Extra small pills and medicinal materials that are difficult to mold must still be made by hand. The temperature of the hands is still different from that of the machine."

04

There is a newcomer in this generation

Three generations of apprentices can now stand alone

" My wish is to take on more apprentices until I can’t do anything anymore.”

Ding Guangming started taking on apprentices in the 1990s. He used the methods his master taught him on his own disciples. "When making medicine, you must first be a good person. I accept apprentices, and character is the most important thing. Then you must be practical and willing to learn. No one's superb skills are achieved overnight, and practice makes perfect."

Zhou Xinbiao and Ding Guangming learned hand-made pan pills for five years. "Once I needed to make a batch of concentrated pills by hand. When I was extracting the concentrated liquid, I didn't control the heat properly and the bottom of the pot became scorched. The master immediately dumped the entire pot and prepared a new batch of pills at his own expense. ”

Apprentice Mao Manfeng has just finished making a batch of handmade pills for two or three-year-old children. "Has it been concentrated? The child does not eat much. If it is not concentrated, it may not be able to achieve the medicinal effect. This should be noted." The master made a point and the apprentice suddenly realized.

"Usually, when medicine is made by machine, the loss is more than by hand. We think this is not a big deal. But the master doesn't allow it. He teaches us to bake the medicinal powder at a certain temperature, then dehydrate it and then beat it. Keep baking and beating, and reduce the loss to Almost zero." Zhou Xinbiao said that the master is old, but he always has a strong balance in his heart. He often says, "No one can see the cultivation, but God knows the intention." He always requires his disciples to use precise materials and improve their craftsmanship.

Ge Ding, a young Chinese medicine practitioner from Tianjin, has been learning Pan Wan from Master Ding for several years. "Every time Xiaoge comes to Hu Qingyutang for consultation, he will ask me for advice on techniques and techniques. For example, how to make black tin pills and three yellow treasure wax pills. These are pills that are on the verge of being lost."

As long as someone humbly asks for advice, Ding Guangming will give him his advice. The bags are taught to each other. To help the world and save people, he is willing to teach no matter how difficult it is.

In November last year, the team of Hu Qingyutang’s hand-made pan pills was strengthened again. Three young herbalists became apprentices to Ding Guangming at the Chinese Medicine Culture Festival. Two of them are post-2000s graduates who have just graduated, and are as young as Ding Guangming when he entered Hu Qingyu Hall. Every weekend or lunch break, they would learn skills from their master.

"Sometimes after practicing with the master for a long time, I can't straighten my waist, and there are blisters on the tiger's mouth." Xu Jiabin, a Chinese herbalist, spreads his hands, and there are calluses of different shades on his hands. However, after work, the old man would also browse short videos on his mobile phone. "There are still people who use this method to shake medicine plaques!" Ding Guangming discussed the pros and cons of the two methods of shaking plaques with his post-2000 apprentice.

In the annual National Traditional Chinese Medicine Skills Adjustment Competition, most of the top ten are disciples of Hu Qingyutang. Hu Qingyutang accounts for half of the number of senior technicians of traditional Chinese medicine in Zhejiang Province."All my apprentices are more promising than me. My earliest apprentice, Zhu Yijun, has a skill master studio and was rated as an industrial craftsman in Hangzhou." When talking about his beloved apprentice, Ding Guangming's eyes are brighter than "Liu Shen Pill" .

Slowly, Ding Guangming’s working hours turned into two days off. Every working day, after lunch at the workplace, Ding Guangming goes to the nursing home to visit his wife. When the heat was at its peak, he took slow steps and his shiny head gradually disappeared into the bustling Hefang Street.

After his death, Hu Qingyutang’s pharmaceutical workshop is still flourishing, and the inheritance of the quintessence of traditional Chinese medicine is becoming more and more profound.