Located in the original site of Liubiju Sauce Garden, No. 3 Qianmen Grain Store Street, liubiju museum has opened its doors to guests. Founded in the first year of the Ming Dynasty (1436 AD), liubiju, a time-honored Chinese brand, has a history of nearly 600 years, and the "liubiju pickle making technique" has been included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.
How does this pickle time-honored brand show a long history and heritage, follow the Beijing News reporter to find out!
Nearly 100 pieces from the collection showcase 600 years of culture
No. 3 Qianmen Grain Store Street is the original site of Liubiju Old Store. It has been more than a decade since the preparation and collection of cultural relics in 2007, to the groundbreaking on December 25, 2014, and then to the opening of the museum today. The museum covers an area of 1853 square meters, and is composed of four major units: "Food And Food General", "Long History", "Nirvana Rebirth" and "Advancing with the Times", as well as three experience parts: "Liubiju Laojing", "Inheritor Studio" and "Research and Practice Area".
The museum is an ancient Chinese wooden structure, which was rebuilt in 1994. The Beijing News reporter saw at the scene that the museum displayed nearly 100 collections of account books, photos, badges, seals, house deeds, abacuses, oil lamps, wine pots, plaques and production tools from Liubiju for hundreds of years. There are excavated Liubiju Ming Dynasty old wells, as well as restored old shops, the "Liubi Craft" using human sculptures and scenes into one, people can also see the signature pickles from the selection of ingredients, processing to the production of each step of the strict control.
The old plaque with golden characters has a lot to offer
Liubiju is best known for its pickles, and it is also the oldest and most famous sauce garden in Beijing. Liubiju has 12 kinds of traditional products, they are thin yellow sauce, spread soy sauce, sweet sauce radish, sweet sauce cucumber, sweet sauce snail, sweet sauce black vegetables, sweet sauce warehouse melon, sweet sauce ginger sprouts, sweet sauce Babaorong, sweet sauce Shi coriander, sweet sauce melon, white sugar garlic. In a restored Liubiju old store, the shelves are lined with 12 classic products and advertisements from the "Hong Xian" period that Liubiju has inherited to this day.
The old plaque of "Liu Bi Ju" hanging in the museum is atmospheric and solemn, and it is said that it came from the hand of Yan Song, the first assistant of the Ming Dynasty. The plaque has survived the disaster and is still well preserved and has become a rare treasure. According to historical records, during the Gengzi period, the Eight-Power Alliance attacked Beijing, the Boxer Rebellion burned the shops selling foreign goods, and the grain store street outside the front gate where the "Liu Bi ju" was located was full of fire, and the dude Zhang Zhuobiao risked his life to rescue the large plaque and hid it in the Linfen Guild Hall in the area outside chongwenmen. After liberation, the plaque was once regarded as the "four olds", and then it was sent to the Beijing Exhibition Center. It was not until 1972, when former Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka visited China, that the delegation proposed to visit Liubiju, and finally under the direct care of Premier Zhou, the Liubiju business name was restored and the old plaque was re-hung.
The name of "Six Must Live" has a great origin. Liu Bi Ju is derived from its "Six Must Ancestral Precepts" of "Rice Must Be Qi, Qu Tillers Must Be Time, Zhan Blazing Must Be Clean, Water Spring Must Be Fragrant, Pottery Must Be Good, and Fire Qi Must Get". According to the museum staff, the "six musts" can be interpreted in the production operation process as follows: the material must be superior, the material must be truthful, the production process must be clean, the heat must be properly mastered, the equipment must be excellent, and the spring water must be pure incense.
In ancient times, Liubiju has always been favored by the royal family, as evidenced by a red tassel hat and a yellow coat in the museum. According to reports, this is the sixth year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty, Liu Biju was transferred to the name of The Ministry of Internal Affairs ZhengbaiQi Deyuan, pickles were introduced into the palace, for the convenience of delivery, the imperial palace specially rewarded Liu Biju yellow coat, red tassel hat each, after the physical object was lost in the 60s of the last century, and now exhibited as a replica.
Immersive experience of "Six Must Crafts"
The museum has also opened up three major experience areas such as Liubiju Ming Dynasty Old Well, Inheritor Studio, and Research and Practice Area, so that visitors can experience the time-honored "Liubi Craft" culture while feeling the cultural history of Liubiju. It can be said that the museum does not take a boring way to introduce the brand, products and culture to the visitors, but conducts interesting and practical interaction with everyone, so that people can appreciate the long tradition of pickle making, innovation and technical patents of Liubiju.
The museum also sells Liubiju traditional sauce and pickle products, especially some special products that cannot be bought in supermarkets or general stores, as well as newly launched sauce and meat products, including the brands of Beijing Ershang Group and famous and special new products throughout the country, so that visitors can experience the convenience of one-stop service.
The Beijing News reporter noted that the old Beijing traditional culture concentrated display places, such as Nanluoguxiang, Beijing Fang, Sanlihe, Grain Museum, etc., have become Internet celebrity punch cards. The opening of the Liubiju Museum also heralds the clarion call for the development of the cultural and creative industry.
Beijing News reporter Ouyang Xiaojuan Picture source Courtesy of the enterprise
Edited by Li Yan, proofread by Wu Xingfa