Li Qinghong
▲The "Zhoucun Baked Cake Museum" located at the south end of Zhoucun Street
Yesterday (January 31st) evening, I received a WeChat message from Teacher Shao Qichang, asking the creator of Zhoucun Baked Cake, "Guo Haiting, the eldest son of Guo Yunlong (1889---1976 AD), and the second son Guo Junchuan (1898---1976 AD), right?" "I was out of the house, I had no information on hand, so I forwarded it to Li Aizong, director of the Zhoucun Baked Cake Museum, who said that he needed to check it tomorrow and then inform me."
Today, when I opened the computer, I first found a copy of the information, which was the first draft of "Shandong Time-honored Enterprise History - Zhoucun Baked Cake", written by Li Aizong and sent to me last year, I just proposed some revision suggestions. This manuscript is the same except for Guo Haiting's death year of 1981. I sent it to Teacher Shao, who had some doubts about Guo Haiting's 92-year-old.
I also looked at the years of the fourth generation of Guo's birth and death, and I felt that there were more questions: Guo Yunlong (1853-1935) only had an eldest son at the age of 36? The eldest son is 9 years older than the second son? Two brothers with different generations? Guo Junchuan also had a son Guo Fanglin (1934-2009) at the age of 36?
▲The original site of the "Convergence House" located on the main street
According to the available information, the inheritance of The four generations of Guo's cake-making skills is as follows:
Guo Yunlong (1853-1935) was born in Yulongwan, Huantai County, Shandong Province. At the age of 14, he came to Zhoucun alone and was introduced by relatives to an apprenticeship in a bakery on Yudian Street in Zhoucun. In 1880, Guo Yunlong bought an old house in the west of The South Shou Road on the street of Zhoucun, and officially opened the "Convergence Zhai" bakery. And tried to push the baked cake into the thin, baked baked cake crisp and refreshing, becoming a new food in Zhoucun City. Because of the thin periphery of the burnt cake, it is called "wooden ear burnt cake".
Guo Haiting (1889-1981) was the eldest son of Guo Yunlong. Since childhood, he has been operating a traditional hanging oven baked cake with his father in Zhou village. After Guo Haiting inherited his father's business, he saw that the sugar crispy dim sum in Zhoucun Fushun Shop was very popular, so he learned to learn from its processing technology, and after countless experiments, he and qing Guangxu made thin, crisp, fragrant and crispy big shortbread cakes.
Guo Junchuan (1898-1976) was the second son of Guo Yunlong. At the age of 14, he was cooking baked cakes at The Convergence School. In 1935, he went to Weijiazhuang in Jinan to open a 90% baked cake shop as a semicolon for Zhoucun Juzhai . In 1947, he returned to Zhoucun to inherit the brand name of Juzhai and produced large shortbread cakes. In 1956, he joined the public-private partnership.
Guo Fanglin (1934-2009) son of Guo Junchuan. At the age of 16, he learned to make large shortbread and joined a public-private partnership in 1956.
▲In 2006, he took a group photo with Guo Fanglin (middle), the third generation of the old restaurant of The Gathering Of Jai Baked Cakes
I contacted Director Li Aizong, who said that the source of this information was calculated from the dictation of Guo Fanglin's investigation when Zhoucun Baked Cake was declared on the national intangible cultural heritage protection list in 2007.
Li Aizong also told one thing: A few years ago, the Guo clan of Yulongwan in Huantai County wanted to repair the family tree, came to Zhou Village, visited the Museum of Baked Cakes, and raised several mistakes, one is that Guo Yunlong should be "Guo Yunlong", the other is that Guo Haiting's birthday is in 1905, and the third is that Guo Fanglin is not his original name and was later changed. If this is the case, Guo Haiting cannot make a "big shortbread" at the age of 3 (the last year of the Qing Dynasty guangxu is 1908 AD).
How to solve doubts? I thought of my classmate Guo Yong, who is the son of Guo Fanglin. In 2006, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China implemented the "Revitalization of Time-honored Brands Project" and issued the "Specifications for the Identification of "Chinese Time-honored Brands" (Trial Implementation). Zhoucun Baked Cake declared the first batch of "Chinese time-honored brand", I was in charge of this work in the city at that time, I accompanied the leaders of the relevant provincial departments to Zhoucun Baked Cake Co., Ltd. to investigate, met the 73-year-old Guo Fanglin, met again after 30 years, and could still vaguely recognize him.
▲ In 2006, he wrote an inscription for Zhoucun Baked Cake
I only met guo yong once after graduating from high school in 1975, and I was not in the same city, and I had no contact for many years. It took a lot of trouble to find him through other classmates. Start our conversation:
Q: What was your grandfather's name?
A: Guo Yunlong.
Q: Who is Guo Junchuan?
A: It's another name for my grandfather.
Q: That means Guo Yunlong, the word Junchuan?
A: It should be.
Q: What are the two words of the name?
Answer: Clouds of clouds, dragons of great dragons.
Q: People in your hometown say that it is allowed "allowed" and "long" of Xinglong?
A: That's not clear.
Q: In what year did he die?
A: One year with Chairman Mao.
Q: 1976?
A: It is.
Q: How old are you?
A: Seventy-six or seven.
Q: Who is Guo Haiting?
A: My grandfather.
Q: There's information that your grandfather died in 1981 at the age of 92, right?
A: Definitely not.
Q: In what year did he die?
A: It's early, I don't remember.
Q: Did it happen sooner or later than your grandfather died?
A: Early.
Q: What do you mean by 9 years between your grandfather and your grandfather?
A: Not so much, I often saw him when I was a child, a difference of four or five years.
Q: How many of their brothers and sisters are there? Is there anyone else in the middle of the two?
A: Just two brothers, no one else.
Q: How old was your father when he died?
A: 76 years old.
Q: 2009?
A: Yes, yes.
Q: Does your father have any other names? I heard that the name was changed.
A: No, I didn't say that.
Q: How many of your fathers and brothers are there?
A: Three brothers, he's the boss.
Q: What's your grandfather's name?
A: I don't know.
▲In 2006, "Zhoucun Baked Cake" was identified as the first batch of "Chinese time-honored brands"
From the above answers, it can be clearly understood that Guo Yunlong and Guo Junchuan are the same person, the relationship between names and words; Guo Haiting and Guo Yunlong are brothers, not father and son; Guo Haiting died earlier than Guo Yunlong, perhaps in 1971, and the pen was mistaken for 1981. As for who started the Zhoucun baked cake from the Guo family? The brothers' father's name and other circumstances, perhaps a look at the Guo family tree can find the answer. I informed Director Li Aizong of this result, and he said that the next step would be to contact the Guo clan and get a solution.
The inheritance of Zhoucun baked cake may still have secrets waiting to be revealed, look forward to it!
February 1, 2021