[Editor's Note] In the past, the big and small things in Chinese people's daily lives seemed to be inseparable from traditional Chinese medicine shops. The medicinal posts are not only memorandums of a traditional Chinese medicine shop experiencing social changes, but also memoirs of an era of lack of materials but full of neighborhood warmth. Nowadays, like other old traditions and old things, the figure of traditional Chinese medicine shops has gradually faded out of the young people's vision.
Fengshan Shun'an Chinese Pharmacy in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan was founded in 1936 and has served neighbors silently for more than 80 years. From Qitie Shenghua Soup after giving birth, rhino horn water for a child who had a fever in the middle of the night, to the exclusive medicinal formula of the chief shop next door, health-preserving medicinal wine made for neighbors, and medicinal repentance after the patient passed away... As the third generation successor of the medicine shop, the author Lu Junqin grew up in a pile of Chinese medicines since childhood, and learned the story of the Chinese medicine shop in the turbulence of the times through his eyes. In the book "The Year of Medicine Shop", he used words to relive the old days full of fireworks, allowing us to see the wonderful hands and kindness of the neighbors in the past and the practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine shops. At the same time, he also regained the traditional things that were gradually forgotten, and used the cultural wisdom of the same origin of medicine and food to turn the Chinese medicinal materials lying in the medicine cabinet into medicinal recipes and Chinese spices in the kitchen, making the old medicine shop rejuvenate.
With the authorization of the publishing house, this article excerpts several chapters. In that era of scarce medical resources, a bowl of magical "rhino horn water" is said to allow children with high fever to relieve fever. The Chinese medicine shop is also proud of having a "rhino horn". In what era, it withdrew from the historical stage?
"The Year of Pharmacy", written by Lu Junqin, Guangxi Normal University Press, March 2022
Rhino Horn Water in the middle of the night
In the past, there would always be people knocking on the door of the old medicine shop at night, whether it was knocking on the front door or the back door, or shouting loudly in front of the window, and someone would always get up and open the door.
Before the 1980s, there were no large hospitals in small places, and there were no night emergency rooms. If you had a high fever in the middle of the night, it would be fine for adults to go to the doctor or go to the pharmacy to get medicine. If a child had a high fever in the middle of the night, he would be panicked, afraid that the high fever would not subside and the fever would break down his head, it would be troublesome. Although it was proven to be nonsense in the future, it was really scary in the time, especially in the era of underdeveloped medical care.
Therefore, even in the middle of the night, people have to try their best to make the child's high fever subside first. If there is no place to go to the hospital, they have to knock on the door of the pharmacy. In the past, people were very humane, and even if they came to knock on the door in the middle of the night, someone would get up to answer the door. After knowing the purpose of coming, most of them immediately grind a bowl of rhino horn water. Although it is expensive, most of the people who come to the middle of the night are neighbors or acquaintances. In short, let the person who comes knocking home for emergency treatment first.
Shun'an Chinese Pharmacy, founded by the author's grandfather, was established in 1936. Guangxi Normal University Press Picture
grinding rhino horn powder is a big project
On weekdays, rhino horns usually only grind into powder, and then carefully pack them into small packets. At that time, the pharmacy shop did not have empty bottles, so they could only use small papers for packing powder, so that the people who came to the pharmacy shop could take them back for storage.
Grinding rhino horns into powder is a big project. There is no special grinding tool for a whole rhino horn. Even if there was a small electric grinder back then, it was not suitable. No one would buy a whole rhino horn at a time and then ask the pharmacy to grind it, because the price is too expensive. At most, it would be bought at a "something" and not "one price per money".
Rhino horns are ground into powder. You need to use file , and use a fine file to slowly "file" the powder of the rhino horns. You cannot turn on the electric fan. If the powder is blown away by the wind, the loss will be great. In summer, only a little powder will be ground, and you will often sweat a lot.
When I was a child, I was deeply impressed by the adults at home grinding rhino horns, but I couldn’t figure it out until I was old. How did the ancients grind rhino horns into powder? The medical book " Bencao Preparation " records the treatment method for rhino horns: wrap it in cotton paper, put it in your arms, and then crush it after it is dried.I still can't understand it. The rhino horn is dry and extremely hard. I really don't know how the "Smash" in the book is crushed. To me, I came to
, this is still a mystery until now.
However, it is much easier to grind rhino horns with rhino horns. Take a bowl with marks inside, which is a bit similar to the bowl used by Japanese restaurants to grind yam paste now. Pour a cup of water and slowly grind the rhino horn into the bowl to powder. During the process, you will smell a unique smell, and the taste will slowly become heavier. The color of the water in the bowl will turn from clear to grayish white, and then you will be done. As for how long it takes to grind, how to distinguish the concentration, and whether the expected efficacy will be determined by experience.
For those who knock on the door in the middle of the night, this method is usually used by the pharmacy shop.
The old medicine shop will put a little water in the bowl, slowly grind the rhino horns up and down, and chat with the guests while grinding them. The ground powder is put into water, and the water gradually turns to be beige. The longer the chat, the more concentrated the concentration is. Guangxi Normal University Press Photo
Visiting a medicine shop is like visiting an animal museum
For the past seven or eight hundred years, rhino horns have occupied a "noble" position in the traditional Chinese medicine industry. Since the number of wild rhinos in China is not large, foreign rhino horns appear to be precious. Traditional Chinese medicine incorporates rhino horns into precious medicinal materials, which have been recorded in history books, but it was officially introduced to China when Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty. It is said that it was brought back by Zheng He when he went to the West when he went to to . At that time, Zheng He was ordered by Emperor Chengzu of Ming Dynasty to go to the West to promote his national prestige, and brought rare treasures and medicinal materials tributed by foreign countries back to China. Although the rhino horn brought back at that time was not as famous as the living "Qilin", the historical status of this rhino horn in the traditional Chinese medicine industry is far more important than that of the living "Qilin".
In the 1990s, Taiwan had already issued a clear order to list rhino horns as a prohibited product, and the drugstore had to cooperate. There should be no shops selling rhino horns at present. Even if there are rhino horns, they are only for viewing and are regarded as a family heirloom.
Before, rhino horn was one of the essential medicinal materials for medicinal shops to show their strength. When opening a business on weekdays, in addition to commonly used medicinal materials, the pharmacy shop will also have some precious medicinal materials to attract customers to show their strength. Ginseng, glutinous, swallows and cinnamon are basic, not unusual at all. Pearl, Cordyceps sinensis , saffron are also necessary, and it is also known that authentic medicinal materials are always special, rhino horns, tiger bones, tiger whip, antelope horns, bear galls, and sea dog whip. This is enough to see. Even elephant skins are among the precious medicinal materials. When I went to the medicine shop, it felt a bit like I was visiting an animal museum, and this way I had the smell of a medicine shop.
. Most people actually have few opportunities to use these medicinal materials, and most of them have substitute medicinal materials. However, many high-ranking officials, wealthy businessmen and tycoons are crazy about it, thinking that this will truly have the effect of the medicine, and they also make special collections. It is even legend that if you make a cup of rhino horn, just pour water into the cup and let it slowly dissolve the ingredients. Drinking the water in the cup will have the effect. However, my family does not have a noble rhino horn cup, and I don’t have the chance to try it, so I don’t know if it is really effective.
In Chinese and Chinese settlements around the world, people have believed that this type of animal medicinal herb has some magical and special effect.
However, because rare animals were caught and killed indiscriminately, the number of them was decreasing. After the 1990s, people's environmental awareness gradually strengthened, and animal protection groups around the world pointed their finger at countries and regions that love to use these animal medicinal materials. Under the pressure of international public opinion, the ancestors' medication habits for thousands of years have ultimately failed to resist the wailings of animals. In order to adapt to the international trend, such endangered animals have gradually been listed as banned drugs, with rhino horns banned, and "noble" medicinal materials such as elephant skin, tiger whip, tiger bone, bear gallbladder, etc. have been banned.
However, these animal medicinal materials were one of the essential "firepower" of the pharmacies at that time.
In the past, these were all necessary "firepower" for traditional Chinese medicine shops. But with the increase in people's awareness of animal protection, some medicinal materials have been banned. Guangxi Normal University Press Picture
The rhino horn in memory seems to never be used
The rhino horn in the drugstore back then was divided into two types: "fire rhino" and "water rhino".They are of different origin and have different appearances. The color of "Fire Rhino" is gray-black, while the "Water Rhino" is a little whiter. The rhino horns of the black rhino and the white rhino in Africa are called "fire rhino"; the rhino horns of the and Indonesian in India are called "water rhino". It is actually not difficult to distinguish them. The appearance of the two is quite different and the prices are very different. Usually, the price of fire rhinoceros is several times more expensive than water rhinoceros.
Before, there was a fire rhino horn in my pharmacy shop. The short one was not big. Compared with the water rhino horn, it could only be considered small in size. It was about twelve centimeters in length, gray-black, and the base was round and heavy when picked up, which felt very heavy. The front end of the rhino horn has been rounded after a long time of use and is no longer sharp, and the traces of time can be seen.
In my memory, when I knew what rhino horn was, the fire rhino horn existed. At that time, the drug dealer did not have a finished product of ground rhino horn powder, so whether someone knocked on the door in the middle of the night or prepared the stock, the pharmacy shop used which piece. Every time, it took a fine file for a long time to grind a little powder. If it was ground into rhino horn water, there was no trace of its destruction, and it seemed that it would never be used up.
At that time, most of the rhino horns seen in the medicine market were water rhino horns, that is, rhino horns from India or Indonesia. The number of fire rhino horns is small, probably because of the relatively distant relationship in Africa! However, according to legend, the medicinal effect of fire rhino horn is better than that of water rhino horn, and the quantity is small, so the price is naturally high, which is also a top-quality product that is difficult to find. Regarding this rare fire rhino horn, my pharmacy naturally regarded it as the treasure of the store. During this period, some people hoped that the pharmacy would give up their love, but the elders refused. This fire rhino horn has been stored in the medicine cabinet and is properly stored, doing its due duty for neighbors in the middle of the night.
The gray-black one is fire rhino horn, and the brown one is water rhino horn. Nowadays, rhino horns have been disabled. Guangxi Normal University Press Photo
Fire Rhino Horn officially changed ownership
Until one time, a regular customer came to the pharmacy shop. I saw him appear in the pharmacy shop since I was a child, and occasionally asked the pharmacy shop to help him take care of some "fine medicines" (some more expensive tonic medicinal materials). He is the family of a local official. This time he came to the door and designated to buy this treasure of the store - Fire Rhino Horn.
He said he had been looking for it for a long time and also searched for the nearby medicine shops. Only my house has fire rhino horns. Although this rhinoceros horn in the medicine shop is not a non-sale product, it has been in the medicine shop for many years and has been acting as a "fire-fighting team" in the middle of the night; adults also know that if this fire rhinoceros horn is really sold, it will be difficult to find another top-quality product.
at first declined, but this man was not discouraged. He went to the medicine shop every few days to ask if the fire rhino horn is still there. After a long time of tossing, he finally satisfied. This fire rhino horn, which has been with the medicine shop for decades and served the neighbors for decades, officially changed ownership.
What impressed me most was that the small rhino horn was finally sold for NT$6 NT$6 in the late 1970s and early 1980s. This was a considerable transaction in the pharmacy shop. It was dozens of times more expensive than the best Korean ginseng at that time, but it was not enough to buy a house, and it would be OK to buy a car.
Later, the pharmacy also once again owned a rhino horn, but it was just a water rhino horn. Although it also serves neighbors, it feels different. After all, it is still a bit old and has a bit of affection. A few years later, the drug shop moved to the new site due to road widening and family factors, and the new rhino horns were also followed by the new drug shop. A few years later, rhino horns and tiger bones were banned.
Now that medical treatment is developed, there are fewer such "noble" medicinal materials to serve the villagers, and no one will knock on the door of the medicine shop in the middle of the night. After banning these medicinal materials, people did not become weak and sick, and their lives were as usual. On the contrary, they invisibly accumulated a lot of good deeds.
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