Suzhou is the birthplace of the School of Epidemic Febrile Disease or Wu School in traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Lei Yunshang (1696-1779), a TCM doctor of Wu School in the middle Qing Dynasty, rose to his fame as one of the outstanding doctors in the Wu Region. During the Reign of Emperor Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty, Lei Zifan, a descendent of Lei Yunshang, created a new drug called "Liushen Pill" (Pill of Six Ingredients with Magical Effects). Liu Shen Pill has remarkable curative effect on epidemic, plague, rotten throat, filthy disease, acute throat trouble, throat abscess, tonsillitis, furuncles, carbuncle, abscess and other inflammation and swellings. The pill can be taken orally or applied externally, with highly reliable effect. When Liu Shen Pills are produced, the pill size is put under stringent control. The pill starts on the mold as a small point and wrapped up layer upon layer to take its form, which is a process of precise control. The Pill is about 2 to 4mm in size, and every 850 wet grains before coating weigh about 1 Qian(about 3g), or every 1,000 dry grains after coating weigh about 1 Qian(about 3g). The weight difference is smaller than + / - 7%. By virtue of its unique hand polishing skill, the surface of the pill is shiny black and will remain as bright as it was new even after placed in storage for a very long time. Liushen pill belongs to original Chinese medicines. Its technology is unique and the pill making skill is ahead of the times. Instead of using plant-based ingredients, Liu Shen Pill relies heavily on a variety of animal and mineral medicinal materials, and contains several toxic ingredients. But due to its unique formula and the optimization process it takes, the treatment effect of the toxic ingredients is kept and the side effects on the human body reduced. This is the best example in traditional Chinese Medicine that takes use of the toxic medicine to improve the clinical effect. Therefore, Liushen Pill has a profound guiding value in today’s scientific research of the long-standing Chinese therapies and Traditional Chinese Medicines.
Inheritor of National Intangible Cultural Heritage Liushen Pill Production: Li Yingjie.
