Anyang Dog Skin Plaster

Anyang Dog Skin Plaster

　　Also known as Yao Family Dog Skin Plaster. Created in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, its founder was Yao Benren, originally from Nancheng County, Jianchang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province. From a young age, he devoted himself to the study of medicine and practiced medicine while traveling in his early years. Once, when he was in Anyang, he revived a young woman who had already been placed in a coffin for burial, earning him the reputation of "Yao the Immortal." In the seventh year of the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty (1634), Zhao Jianwang, who was enfeoffed in Anyang, heard of his exceptional medical skills and summoned him to serve as the Chief Physician at the Zhao Family’s Medical Institute. Later, Yao Benren left the Zhao household and, together with Monk Xiaoshan at Shaolin Temple, developed a plaster primarily used to treat bruises and injuries. The main ingredients included more than 20 kinds of precious medicinal materials such as musk, frankincense, myrrh, dragon’s blood, angelica, and papaya. Yao Benren widely distributed the plaster south of the Yellow River, where it proved consistently effective and earned him considerable fame. In the first year of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1644), due to Yao Benren’s widespread renown, he was granted the title of Imperial Physician by the Qing government. In the fifth year of Shunzhi (1648), Yao Benren retired to Ye (present-day Anyang), living in a large locust tree courtyard at the east end of Gulou Back Street in downtown Anyang. There, he opened the Yao Family Plaster Shop, named Zonghuangtang. A large plaque inscribed with "Transmission from Imperial Physician" hung prominently in front of the shop, and the business was passed down through generations. The plaster’s formula was strictly inherited according to family tradition—passed to daughters-in-law but not to daughters—and this practice continued for over 300 years. After 1949, the Yao family made the plaster’s formula and production method public. In 1956, most branches of the Yao family joined the publicly-private partnership Anyang Yao Family Longmen Zonghuangtang Plaster Factory. In 1967, it was converted into the state-owned Anyang Plaster Factory. Yao Family Dog Skin Plaster features an exquisite formula, delicate texture, shiny black color, and moderate hardness, with remarkable therapeutic effects. Since 1978, the Anyang Plaster Factory has conducted scientific analysis of the Yao Family plaster formula, refined and purified the medicinal ingredients, and adopted new techniques and methods to produce a high-quality plaster. Its efficacy matches that of the original Dog Skin Plaster and has been well received by many patients. It is exported to 13 countries and regions, including Southeast Asia and Europe.