Founder of Tongrentang Pharmacy

The Bai family’s residence in Beijing rose to national fame through “The Grand Mansion”， a blockbuster television drama presumably based on the stories of the Tongrentang Pharmacy. In fact， however， the leading TCM pharmacy in Beijing has nothing to do with either the formerly prince residence or the Bai family.

The pharmacy was founded by Yue Zunyu (岳尊育). A native of Shaoxing， Zhejiang Province， he came to Beijing in the last years of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as traveling doctor who also sold medications. Every time he visited Beijing he stayed at a small hotel operated by a family surnamed Yue (樂) (岳 and 樂 are homophones when used as surnames). A friendship formed and developed between the doctor and the family over a period of more than 20 years. One year， the couple who ran the hotel entrusted the doctor to take care of the hotel business when they went back to visit their home village in Shanxi Province. Unexpectedly， the couple did not come back. The doctor later adopted the surname 樂 and inherited the hotel. He named the hotel Tongrentang and began to sell medications in 1669. That’s why the year is recognized as the inception of Tongrentang.

In 1753， the pharmacy was damaged in a fire. It also happened that during this period of time the family members died until there was only a daughter-in-law and a baby grandson left. So in-law Zhang Shiji funded the restoration and the Tongrentang became the property of the Zhang family. However， as a doctor working in the royal palace， Zhang did not have time to operate the pharmacy and his descendents sold their shares over years. In 1834， the pharmacy suffered another fire. By this time， the Zhang family had only 50% of the equity rights. The Yue family at that time had some equity rights. Gradually， the family bought back the shares.

The Daughter Declined to be Queen

Emperor Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty married the daughter of Xu Da， a general who had helped Zhu Yuanzhang found the Ming Dynasty.When the queen passed away， Emperor Zhu Di heard of the beauty of the queen’s younger sister named Xu Miaojin. The emperor wanted to marry the young sister. However， Xu Miaojin said no to envoys on several occasions. Then the emperor came to visit Xu Miaojin in person.The emperor found girl charming though she was dressed simply. Zhu asked why she refused the proposal repeatedly. Miaojin replied that she worried that she was not worthy being the queen of China because of her poor health and she then beseeched the emperor to allow her to practice Buddhism at home. Seeing the girl adamant in her decision， the emperor sighed and left. He sent a lot of gifts to Xu Miaojin on various occasions， in the hope that the girl would change her mind.

One year later， the emperor sent another envoy to make a new proposal. Seeing no good excuse to turn down the proposal again， Xu Miaojin replied that she was grateful to the emperor for his affection， that she believed his majesty understood her， and that she would give her lifelong happiness in return for his affection. She cut her hair and handed it to the envoy， saying that she had cut her hair and committed herself to Buddhism. Zhu Di did not marry again.When Xu Miaojin died， the emperor instructed to have her buried at a mausoleum.

The Emperor Economized

Emperor Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty was very frugal. One day he found his trousers had a hole in the knee. He had the trousers patched at the Imperial Silk Manufactory under the Imperial Household Department. For the sake of appearance， the trousers had a moon-shaped patch on either knee. The bill was 50 liang of silver. As the emperor practiced frugality， his ministers followed suit. One day， Pan Shi’en， a grand secretary， came to the court wearing moon-shaped patches on his trousers. The emperor became curious and asked about the cost of the patching. Knowing that the Imperial Household Department might be offended if he gave a wrong answer， Pan was very cautious. To be safe， he exaggerated the cost greatly: the patching work cost him 20 liang of silver. Surprised and annoyed， the emperor said that he had been taken in by these guys and overcharged for 50 liang of silver.

Copyright Royalties in China

The first Chinese record on the fee paid to a writer dates back to Sima Xiangru (179BC-117BC) in the Western Han Dynasty (207BC-25AD). After falling into disfavor of Emperor Wudi and exiled to the Changmen Palace， the queen sent 50 kilo of gold to the wife of Sima Xiangru and commissioned the famed poet to write a poetic appeal. The writer composed the “Ode to the Changmen” which described the queen’s melancholy. Touched by the rhymed writing， the emperor reinstalled the queen.

In addition to cash， precious things such as bolts of silks， garments and horses， toys were also given as writer’s payment. Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty wrote “A General Reflection for Political Administration” under the order of the emperor and got paid with a huge amount of precious gifts. Sun Bian was ordered to compose a memoir on the queen mother of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty. The emperor found the writing so moving and touching that he read it over and over again for a month. In addition to standard payment， the emperor also gave the writer some previous ornaments of the palace.

The bestsellers that ancient writers could produce were lengthy inscriptions for monuments and temples as well as epitaphs. Han Yu， a great essayist of the Tang Dynasty， composed 75 important inscriptions and epitaphs in his lifetime and got paid handsomely. A 545-character inscription he wrote for a monument erected in commemoration of a military victory over a rebellion earned him 500 bolts of silk， which an ordinary government official needed to work 30 years to earn. Huangfu Shi， a student of Han Yu， was paid 9，762 bolts of silk by writing a 3，254-character inscription for a temple.

In the early 20th century， Lu Xun was a well known earner of writer’s royalties. What he earned in his lifetime is about 3.92 million yuan today. During the 24 years after Lu Xun turned 30， he worked as a government employee and earned 9，000 yuan per month averagely if calculated on the basis of today’s money value. He worked as a professor in Guangzhou and Xiamen for a monthly salary of 14，000 yuan if converted to today’s cash value. During the nine years in Shanghai， he worked as a freelance writer and what he earned amounts to 2.1 million yuan today. The writer’s fee system adopted during this period of 20th century enabled Lu Xun to live on writing and think and speak independently. Many people believe the financial freedom was the big factor of his freedom of expression.

In the early 1950s， China copied the writer royalties system from the Soviet Union and paid writers handsomely. Writers of bestsellers during that time could easily buy houses in Beijing with the pay. After 1957， writers were paid only a meager fee. The fee system was restored after the reform and opening up started in 1978.The flourishing flat media market has provided opportunities for writers to publish. In the 1980s， the standard fee was 6-15 yuan per 1，000 characters. In the 1990s， it was 10 to 30 yuan and in the first few years of the 21st century， it was 20 to 40 yuan. Today， some leading publishing houses and newspapers pay more than 100 yuan per 1，000 characters.#8194;□