Qiziwang

Qiziwang

Qiziwang is an agricultural product with a geographical indication.

　　Also known as Qingwan, Fanhuncao Root, Yeqianniu, or Ziwanrong. Produced in Anguo, Hebei. Harvested when withered in late autumn or before sprouting in early spring, with stems, leaves, and soil removed, then the fibrous roots are braided and dried in the sun. Characteristics: The dried rhizome is irregular and lumpish, with many fibrous roots clustered at the base. Its surface is pale purple or purplish-brown with longitudinal wrinkles. It is slightly soft in texture, with a grayish-white or brownish cross-section, faint aroma, sweet yet slightly bitter taste. The best quality has thick, long roots, dry body, purple color, cleanliness, soft texture, neatly braided and unbroken strands. It tastes bitter and acrid, with a warm nature. It has the effects of warming the lungs, regulating qi, resolving phlegm, and calming wheezing. It is mainly used to treat wind-cold coughs, wheezing, and consumptive diseases with coughing up pus and blood.

　　Characteristics: The color resembles coral, and the threads look like fine hair (also called little braids). The texture is soft and silky, with a fragrant aroma and sweet taste. The "Chinese Herbal Medicine Records" states that Ziwan is mainly produced in Anguo, Hebei, and is of premium quality. The "Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica" lists it as a top-grade herb.

　　Main uses: Moistens the lungs, regulates qi, eliminates phlegm, and calms coughing.

　　Anguo was historically known as Qizhou. The pharmaceutical industry in Anguo originated in the Northern Song Dynasty and has long been known as the “Capital of Medicine” and the “Number One Medicine Market in the World.” According to the "Qizhou Annals" from the late Ming Dynasty, there were already 28 types of medicinal herbs cultivated in Anguo at the time, and the scale of the medicine market was the largest in the country. Merchants from all over the country traveled great distances to Qizhou to purchase the “Eight Great Qizhou Medicines,” with Qiziwang being the foremost. Qiziwang is an authentic variety of Anguo, used medicinally for its roots. Its color resembles coral, its threads resemble fine hair (also called little braids), and its texture is soft like cotton, with a fragrant aroma and sweet taste. The "Chinese Herbal Medicine Records" state that Ziwan is mainly produced in Anguo, Hebei, and is of high quality. The "Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica" classifies it as a medium-grade herb. Qiziwang has long fibrous roots, thick strands, and a red color, and has been rated the best of its kind nationwide. Testing revealed it contains 0.32% of shionone, more than double the pharmacopoeia standard. After 1958, leaders such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yi, He Long, and Luo Ronghuan successively visited Anguo for inspection. Varieties like Qiziwang gradually became flagship products of Anguo, were branded with the “Qi” (Qizhou) prefix, and were included in the pharmacopoeia. In 1999, they were named a “Famous and High-quality Product” of Hebei Province, accounting for over 70% of the province’s total medicinal output.

　　Geographical Scope

　　Qiziwang is cultivated throughout Anguo City, mainly distributed across eight towns and subdistrict offices: Qizhou Town, Zhengzhang Town, Dawunü Town, Xifuluo Town, Xicheng Township, Mingguandian Township, Beiduancun Township, and Qizhou Medicine Market Subdistrict Office, involving 149 natural administrative villages. It spans 25 kilometers from east to west and 31.7 kilometers from north to south. The geographical coordinates of the production area are: longitude 115°10′ to 115°23′, latitude 38°18′ to 38°35′. The protected area covers 100,000 mu, with a cultivation area of 10,000 mu and an annual output of 8,000 tons.

　　Product Quality Characteristics

　　1. External Features: The rhizome is irregularly chunky, 2–5 cm in length and 1–3 cm in diameter. The surface is purplish-red or grayish-red, with residual stem bases and leaf stalk marks at the top, and numerous fine roots clustered in the middle and lower parts. The texture is hard, with a relatively flat cross-section showing oiliness. The roots are mostly slender, 6–15 cm long and 1–3 mm in diameter, often braided into braid-like strands. The surface is purplish-red or grayish-red with longitudinal wrinkles. The texture is relatively soft, easy to break, with a light brown cross-section, a purplish-red edge, and a small central woody core. Its color resembles coral, its threads look like fine hair (also called little braids), and its texture is soft like cotton. It has a faint fragrance, sweet taste, and slight bitterness. 2. Internal Quality: The roots of Qiziwang from Anguo contain friedelin, epifriedelanol, shionone, shionoside A, B, and C. They also include shionosides A, B, C, D, E, F, and G; shionopeptides A and B; and shionochlorocyclopentapeptide C. Additionally, they contain plant sterol glucosides and volatile oils. The components of the volatile oil include piliferol, piliferol acetate, anethole, hydrocarbons, fatty acids, and aromatic acids. Testing showed that Qiziwang contains 0.32% shionone, more than double the pharmacopoeia standard; the extract content is 63.3%, exceeding the pharmacopoeia standard of 45%; microscopic features and moisture content meet the requirements of the 2010 Pharmacopoeia edition.