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Iconic Chinese medicine store weathers the ages
July 15, 2013, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
YU Tiancheng, a centuries-old traditional Chinese medicine trademark, originated in the Songjiang District and was a pioneer in the advent of chain pharmacies that processed and sold herbal and animal remedies.
In 2009, Yu Tiancheng was listed as one of Shanghai's "intangible cultural relics." Today the brand is still popular in Songjiang.
The district was once a hub for wholesale and retail traditional Chinese medicine. As early as 1299, local authorities opened government-owned shops to make and sell the remedies.
In 1782, Yu Youyuan, a man from Zhejiang Province, established Yu Tiancheng Hall in Songjiang, the earliest pharmacy in Shanghai. In front of his shop, Yu prepared tea and simple snacks for beggars and offered free treatment to poor people.
The brand reached its heyday in the early 1900s, when the district was home to more than 50 traditional medicine pharmacies and more than 120 practitioners, many of whom opened private treatment clinics.
Of the big names of the era - Yu Tiancheng, Zhang Tongtai, Tong Shoukang and Cai Hongji - only Yu's trademark survived after 1949.
The pharmacy chain today has its own factories developing new remedies, producing medicines and making medicinal wines.
The most popular products include all-deer pills, ginseng powder, eight-treasure cakes - a medical snack to treat childhood malnutrition, medicinal wines to cure rheumatism and "donkey skin" paste.
In 1931, masters of traditional Chinese medicine compiled a three-volume set of books about their remedies. They included a rich collection of Yu family secret prescriptions.
"Ginseng powder was quite popular in the harvest season because it relieved joints pains and promoted blood circulation," recalled Yan Chuyu, 86, a retired Yu brand medicine maker. "I remember many farmers came to buy the powder."
In 1942, plague broke out in Shanghai. The Biwen brand pill made by Yu Tiancheng to treat plague was credited with saving almost 500 people.
"We worked day and night to produce the pills, but there were never enough," said Ying Renjie, 89, another retired worker.
Since 1994, Yu Tiancheng has used machines to mass produce traditional medicines.
Today more than 500 remedies are made and sold by the pharmacy.
In 2009, Yu Tiancheng was listed as one of Shanghai's "intangible cultural relics." Today the brand is still popular in Songjiang.
The district was once a hub for wholesale and retail traditional Chinese medicine. As early as 1299, local authorities opened government-owned shops to make and sell the remedies.
In 1782, Yu Youyuan, a man from Zhejiang Province, established Yu Tiancheng Hall in Songjiang, the earliest pharmacy in Shanghai. In front of his shop, Yu prepared tea and simple snacks for beggars and offered free treatment to poor people.
The brand reached its heyday in the early 1900s, when the district was home to more than 50 traditional medicine pharmacies and more than 120 practitioners, many of whom opened private treatment clinics.
Of the big names of the era - Yu Tiancheng, Zhang Tongtai, Tong Shoukang and Cai Hongji - only Yu's trademark survived after 1949.
The pharmacy chain today has its own factories developing new remedies, producing medicines and making medicinal wines.
The most popular products include all-deer pills, ginseng powder, eight-treasure cakes - a medical snack to treat childhood malnutrition, medicinal wines to cure rheumatism and "donkey skin" paste.
In 1931, masters of traditional Chinese medicine compiled a three-volume set of books about their remedies. They included a rich collection of Yu family secret prescriptions.
"Ginseng powder was quite popular in the harvest season because it relieved joints pains and promoted blood circulation," recalled Yan Chuyu, 86, a retired Yu brand medicine maker. "I remember many farmers came to buy the powder."
In 1942, plague broke out in Shanghai. The Biwen brand pill made by Yu Tiancheng to treat plague was credited with saving almost 500 people.
"We worked day and night to produce the pills, but there were never enough," said Ying Renjie, 89, another retired worker.
Since 1994, Yu Tiancheng has used machines to mass produce traditional medicines.
Today more than 500 remedies are made and sold by the pharmacy.
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