Text | Fan Hongxiang Ge Qiongjie
In 2014, Yuehe Street in Jiaxing City reopened the "Jiaxing Zhang Cuifeng Food Commercial Company", which allowed many old Jiaxing people to continue their childhood wishes.
Citron Hama old factory
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > historical origin</h1>
Zhang Cuifeng candied fruit originates from the "Su-style candied fruit", one of the four major factions of Chinese candied fruit with a long history and Guangdong, Chaozhou and Fujian.
From Gujiang, Zhejiang and Shanghai, it is rich in plums, peaches, loquats, bayberry, kumquat and other fruits, providing rich raw materials for the production of candied fruit. During the Three Kingdoms period, Suzhou made candied fruit, which reached its peak in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and many preserves were tributes, and there were many candied businesses in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, among which the number one signboard of Su-style candied fruit was "Zhang Xiangfeng".
Zhang Qiansan, the founder of Zhang Xiangfeng, was born in the early years of Daoguang (1821), and his father opened a traditional Chinese medicine clinic in Zhangxiang Town, Wuxi, and practiced medicine with his father at the age of 16. As an adult, he was forced to practice medicine in Suzhou and Shanghai to earn a living. He was generous and charitable, and when he had a little savings, with the help of Shen Bokang, a man in the money bank, he spent 200 taels of silver to plate a small workshop of candied fruit and sold it himself in Lu'anli, Wangjia Wharf, Shanghai.
After the Opium War, the Shanghai Concession arose, and the business opportunities in the Ten Mile Ocean Field were unlimited. In the twenty-second year of Daoguang (1842), Zhang Xiangfeng obtained huge profits with this preserve, and was known in Jiangnan for its fine processing and high quality, becoming the representative of Su-style preserves in Shanghai. Later, Zhang Xiangfeng Qingyan Candy Was established outside the Gate of Suzhou, covering an area of more than six acres, with hundreds of workers in the peak season, and large and small cargo ships moored with lotus pockets, and the scene was very lively.
Zhang Xiangfeng succeeded in using Zhang Qiansan properly. When the Shanghai Zhang Xiangfeng was first founded, Zhang Qiansan hired Shen Bokang, a former middleman in the money industry, as the manager, and with his strength of being good at planning funds, Zhang Xiangfeng became stronger and stronger, becoming the best in the industry. In the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873), Zhang Xiangfeng was set up in the west of Tongguiqiao, Shantang, Suzhou, operated by his grandson Zhang Yunqiao (founder of Zhang Cuifeng), and in the twenty-second year of Guangxu (1896), he renamed the Shanghai "Zhang Xiangfeng Candied Fruit Headquarters", which almost became synonymous with Jiangnan candied fruit.
Zhang Yunqiao also hired Zhang Zhonghua (Mei Chun), a member of the clan, as a deacon. Zhang Meichun is not only familiar with the processing technology of Su-style preserves, but also a shrewd businessman. Before the opening of Suzhou Zhang Xiangfeng, Suzhou already had two large producers and sellers of candied fruit, "Zhu Xiangtai" and "Yichang Yao", but Zhang Xiangfeng came to the top and successively ordered these two shops.
When taking over the "Zhu Xiangtai", Zhang Meichun hired Xie Mou, who was familiar with the business of the original store, thus retaining all the original customers. Under the auspices of Zhang Meichun, Zhang Xiangfeng set up the semicolon Zhang Changfeng in Xumen, Suzhou in 1900.
In order to further expand the market, Zhang Yunqiao, who has passed the age of flower armor, has set his sights on Jiaxing. In the third year of the Republic of China (1914), the family moved south, the family moved to Jiaxing, and at No. 23 Tangwan Street (now Beijing Road) in Jiaxing, Zhang Cuifeng Agricultural Fruit Number (this is Suzhou Zhang Xiangfeng Su-style candied fruit joint number), in 1915 renamed Zhang Cuifeng Candied Fruit Village, at the same time in Luxihui and Yuxing Street between the establishment of Zhang Cuifeng candied fruit processing plant, mainly producing olives, plums, orange peel, green salt fruit, plum making, etc., its production process is divided into six ways: finishing, initial production, bleaching, tank, boiling goods, drying.
At that time, Zhang Cuifeng was the first candied fruit professional business in Jiaxing and even the province. Zhang Cuifeng's business name has a deep meaning, "Cui" means "outstanding", and "Feng" means "five grains and abundance". At this time, Zhang Xiangfeng formed a chain operation group advantage in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai areas, monopolized the sales of candied fruit in this area, and "Zhang Cuifeng" also officially appeared on the historical stage.
The production of candied fruit requires a large number of fresh fruits, and Jiaxing does not produce much locally, especially the most used plum fruit Jiaxing does not produce. In December 1920, while purchasing from Wuxian Dongting Dongxishan, Guangfu, Zhejiang Hangxian and other flower and fruit producing areas, Jiaxing semicolon Zhang Cuifeng established a plum garden in Xiaolin Town, Yuhang, produced his own fruits, and also set up a processing plant to process the purchased fresh fruits into semi-finished products, and then transported them back to Jiaxing for processing of finished products.
In 1921, he also set up more than 70 acres of land by the small river outside the Suzhou Opera Gate (now the South Barracks of Yongfu Bridge, Shilu), planted plum trees, peach trees and other flowers and fruit trees, and gradually formed a garden, commonly known as the Zhangjia Garden, which not only beautified the local environment, but also provided raw materials for candied fruit production. In July 1923, Zhang Cuifeng Joined the Tangwan Street Business Association and became the first in the candied fruit industry.
In 1929, Zhang Yunqiao returned to Shanghai to retire, and then the head office sent You Shaoqing, the second treasurer of Zhang Yunqiao, to Jiaxing to coordinate with each other to buy land, and the processing plant was moved to No. 84 Xiangyanbang, Jiaxing. Invested 30,000 oceans, built more than 100 houses, expanded the workshop dozens of times, increased the number of seven-stone cylinders from 90 to 500, increased the number of honey frying stoves from three to seven, increased the number of products from more than 50 to more than 70, and the annual output reached 150 tons.
At this time, the well-known products are sugar water plum, white sugar lotus flakes, kumquat cakes, nine-made tangerine peel, rose olives, etc., and plum and white sugar lotus flakes are also exported to Singapore, Japan and so on. Xiangyanhama has a kind of citron tree, which bears a yellow fruit, and its fruit is processed into "honey citron", which not only has the effect of calming asthma, harmony, phlegm, pain relief, etc., but also delicious.
Zhang Yunqiao is happy to do good deeds, and every year when the citron is ripe, he lets the workshop pickle a large pot of citron fruit, and then process it into "honey citron", which is only sent and not sold. Over time, XiangYanbang became Xiangyanbang, and many old Jiaxing people will still praise Zhang Cuifeng's charity of giving honey citron.
In 1937, when the Japanese invaded Jiaxing, the factory of The Zhang Cuifeng Base of Kaoruhama was destroyed and looted. In June of the following year, zhang Cuifeng was able to resume business by borrowing a boat of candied fruit from Zhang Xiangfeng in Suzhou. At the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the management of Zhang Cuifeng in Jiaxing was not received, and the Shanghai headquarters designated Zhu Zhongkang (the second generation of Zhang Cuifeng's head) to take over, and he practiced it and maintained normal operation, so that Zhang Cuifeng Candied Fruit Zhuang continued to become a leader in the candied fruit, candy and pastry workshops throughout the city and countryside.
Zhang Cuifeng candied fruit factory workshop
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the ups and downs of the commercial sea</h1>
In the early days of the people's republic of China, local governments supported the development of private enterprises, and Zhang Cuifeng's candied fruit operation was led by Zhang Shixing(the third generation of Zhang Cuifeng), a member of the Zhang clan, and the annual output of candied fruit increased from 25 tons in 1949 to 76 tons in 1955.
In 1956, the state carried out the socialist transformation of industry and commerce and abolished private titles. Zhang Cuifeng candied fruit was changed to a public-private partnership "Jiaxing Zhang Cuifeng Candied Candy Factory" and launched the "Feng" brand trademark.
In 1959, Zhang Cuifeng Candied Confectionery Factory carried out technological innovation, with an annual output value of 792,800 yuan, a record high. In 1961, Zhang Cuifeng newly developed brown candy, pine nut sugar, olives, dried peaches and other fruits, and the business was booming. In 1966, the public-private partnership was transformed into a state-owned enterprise, named "State-owned Jiaxing Candied Fruit Factory", and "Zhang Cuifeng" was gradually forgotten in people's minds.
At this time, Bian Wanxiang (the fourth generation of Zhang Cuifeng's head) was introduced by the Zhang clan to Zhang Cuifeng Company as an apprentice, from ordinary workers to workshop directors, infrastructure section chiefs, production section chiefs, deputy factory directors, factory directors, and factory directors, which played a great role in the inheritance of "Zhang Cuifeng" candied fruit technology.
In 1972, Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visited China, and the white sugar lotus chips produced by jiaxing candied fruit factory were designated by Premier Zhou Enlai as hospitality food, which was well received by the foreign affairs department. In the same year, the famous mathematical master Chen Shengsheng, together with his wife and daughter, visited the motherland and hometown after 23 years of absence, and also entertained them with winter melon candy and green plums produced by Jiaxing Candied Fruit Factory. In 1980, Jiaxing Candied Fruit Factory produced 2673 tons of candied fruit, with an output value of 2.49 million yuan, a profit of 210,000 yuan and 221 employees, which is one of the better enterprises in the municipality.
In the 1980s, Jiaxing candied fruit factory people always adhere to the quality first, in 1984 the "honey" word golden silk jujube was rated as a high-quality product in Jiangsu Province, in 1988 "Feng" brand cream word Li was rated as a high-quality product in Zhejiang Province. However, Guangdong as the pioneer of reform and opening up, advanced marketing concepts, Cantonese candied fruit quickly occupied the national market. In the increasingly fierce market competition, Jiaxing Candied Fruit Factory has gradually experienced operational difficulties, and production is almost in a semi-paralyzed state.
In 1989, when Jiaxing Candied Fruit Factory was the most difficult, Shi Qixiang, who had served as the director of Jiaxing Soybean Products Factory, was assigned to Jiaxing Candied Fruit Factory as the director of the factory, becoming the fifth generation of Zhang Cuifeng. After he took office, he inspected the market situation, implemented internal reforms, re-activated the old brand of Zhang Cuifeng, introduced foreign capital, and changed it into a joint venture.
In a short period of time, the director of the stone factory innovated and launched the pearlescent pillow mechanical particle small packaging, so that Zhang Cuifeng showed its glory, not only regained the traditional Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai markets, but also gained a foothold in the country, with more than 200 stores nationwide, and set up Zhang Cuifeng Food Company in Shanghai, with annual sales of more than 40 million yuan.
In 1990, the Food Company of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China led the establishment of the National Preserved Fruit Joint Group, and Zhang Cuifeng was elected as the chairman of the board of directors with good reputation and performance, thus determining the leading position in the national candied fruit industry. Zhang Cuifeng became a national brand, originally known as "China Zhang Cuifeng".
In November 1990, "Zhang Cuifeng Candied Fruit Village" was opened in Jianguo Road, Jiaxing. In September 1992, Zhang Cuifeng's trademark was officially registered, so that this very vital Su-style candied fruit brand finally met with the world. In 1994, Zhang Cuifeng Factory invested 900,000 yuan to build Zhang Cuifeng Park, plastic Zhang Yunqiao bronze statue, and sent free scented tea to tourists.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. In the late 1990s, Zhang Cuifeng was incorporated into Jiaxing Brewery due to enterprise restructuring, and together with the brewery, Xincheng, Wangdian Brewing Factory, etc. to form Jiaxing Brewing Corporation, people who made wine came to make preserves, and within a few years, Zhang Cuifeng gradually declined, and since then it has been in a slump and the flag has stopped.
Zhang Cuifeng candied fruit sixth generation head, the company's general manager Zhang Aifang photo
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > reborn</h1>
In 2000, after Zhang Cuifeng faded out of the jianghu for a few years, Zhang Aifang, a female entrepreneur who had been in the hardware industry for 20 years, bravely stood up to take over the defeated Zhang Cuifeng out of love for her hometown's long-established brand.
Zhang Aifang loved Zhang Cuifeng's preserves very much when she was young, especially Zhong'ai sauce mango and winter melon candy, which has always been her beautiful childhood memory. It was very uncomfortable to see that there was once a rich cultural connotation, the reputation of the reputation resounded throughout Jiangnan, and the famous brand of Jiaxing that he loved deeply withdrew from the market. She wanted to do something for the old brand and let the old tree blossom. At that time, Zhang Cuifeng was facing being merged into the brewery, she decided to take over the trademark first, waiting for the opportunity to reshape the brand image of Zhang Cuifeng Candied Fruit, so she deeply understood the development history and current situation of Zhang Cuifeng Candied Fruit.
In 2007, she found Shi Qixiang, the former director of Zhang Cuifeng's candied fruit factory, and talked about her idea, planning to hire the old factory director as a consultant. The old factory director agreed very much and expressed his full support.
Zhang Aifang has visited old customers many times, looking for partners, many old customers who have been processing Zhang Cuifeng for several generations, when they heard Zhang Cuifeng's name is very affectionate, they praised Zhang Aifang for taking over Zhang Cuifeng and expressed positive cooperation. It is precisely because of the support and encouragement of the majority of customers that Zhang Aifang plucked up courage, and at the same time felt that the burden on her body was heavier.
In 2009, Zhang Aifang successfully acquired and newly registered the brand trademark of Zhang Cuifeng. In December 2012, the company was established, and the production base of the original hardware company was expanded to 12 acres, investing more than 17 million yuan, building a food plant of 8,700 square meters, introducing cutting-edge equipment and advanced production lines, renovating the Zhang Cuifeng candied store on Yuehe Street, and holding a new store opening ceremony on the occasion of the centenary of The birth of Zhang Cuifeng in Jiaxing on May 18, 2014.
The marriage of private capital and time-honored brands once again broke the silence of Zhang Cuifeng in the past century, zhang Aifang became the sixth generation of Zhang Cuifeng's head, and Zhang Cuifeng candied fruit was rated as the fourth batch of time-honored foods in Zhejiang Province.
Intangible cultural heritage
In order to revitalize Zhang Cuifeng's candied fruit, Zhang Aifang has done a lot of market research, constantly learned from the old factory director, invited more than 30 teachers to inherit the classics, and visited more than 20 large-scale candied factories across the country to learn experience. In the face of fierce market competition, Zhang Cuifeng adheres to development and innovation, gradually expands the company's marketing team and cooperative manufacturers, excavates Zhang Cuifeng's product production technology, and improves according to the production requirements of modern candied fruit, forming more than 10 varieties of production process standards such as sauce mango, kumquat cake, and candied citron. For example, the product packaging of improved sauce mango has soared to more than 800 tons per year.
Zhang Cuifeng candied fruit attaches great importance to fine processing and taste optimization, innovates the old, and scientifically matches it, so as to achieve good taste and high nutritional value. Make full efforts in the selection of raw materials, and strive to achieve source control of dozens of fruit tree production bases in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Yunnan and Fujian, never ignore every link, and carefully select raw materials from different origins according to different product requirements. In order to meet the needs of customers, according to different products, taste characteristics, elaborate design of retro popular combination and unique style of packaging modeling, the majority of consumers are very popular, Yanjin peach meat, tangerine peel plum, sauce mango and other Jiaxing image series gift boxes are painted on the red boat, smoke and rain building, luofan pavilion and other scenic spots, very hot sales.
After 2014, on the basis of opening a direct store in Yuehe, Zhang Cuifeng Candied Fruit entered various supermarkets, opened up more than 10 franchise stores in Jiaxing, Haining, Pinghu, Jiashan, Wuxi, Yixing and other places, and carried out online circulation based on social e-commerce, so that products can be directly used from manufacturers to users. Explore and build a "sweet factory", plan the China Candied Fruit Museum, and develop tourism products that integrate production display, sightseeing experience, education and science popularization, so that Zhang Cuifeng's candied fruit is more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In 2016, Zhang Cuifeng won the title of the most influential traditional top ten national brands in China's baking industry.
In 2017, the company established two-way cooperative relations with the Food Research Institute of the Food College of Zhejiang Gongshang University, the century-old store Hu Qingyutang, and the Shanghai First Food Store. According to the health needs of modern people, combined with the nutritional components and health effects of candied fruits and dried fruits, we will do a good job in the homologous formula of medicine and food, and develop innovative products. In the same year, Zhang Cuifeng's preserves won the Gold Award of the China Baking And Food Festival. In 2018, Zhang Cuifeng's preserves were awarded the title of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Zhejiang Province.
As the leader of the new generation, Zhang Aifang is determined to inherit the cultural genes of this century-old brand, tell a good story, and carry it forward. It can be believed that Zhang Cuifeng's candied fruit will become an incorruptible Chinese brand and golden business card through the wind, frost, rain and snow of the past hundred years, and the persistence, inheritance and innovation of generations, and her tomorrow will be more brilliant.
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The author Fan Hongxiang is a researcher of literature and history of the Fourth CPPCC Committee of Xiuzhou District, Jiaxing City, and the editor of the General Chamber of Commerce of Xiuzhou District, Jiaxing City.
Ge Qiongjie is a researcher of literature and history of the Fourth CPPCC National Committee in Xiuzhou District, Jiaxing City, and the deputy director of the Party and Government Office of Xiuzhou National High-tech Zone.