屠蘇酒 Tusu Wine & The New Year

Over two-thousand years ago during the 漢朝 Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), the Typhoid plague spread rampantly.  There was widespread starvation and grief.  曹植 Cao Zhi, a poet at the time, said the following:

“Every family is pained with a corpse, every room has anguished cries.”

It is said that on New Year’s Eve, a physician told his neighbors to dip a bag of herbs he had gathered into a well.  On the first day of the Chinese New Year, the water was taken out of the well and mixed with Rice Wine.  The entire village was then to face towards the East and drink it for three days.  They all then became immune to the plague.

The prescription for this wine, called 屠蘇酒 Tusu Wine, contains several Traditional Chinese Medicine ingredients and can be found in the Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies by 葛洪Ge Hong.  Each New Year to this day is celebrated by drinking 屠蘇酒 Tusu Wine.

The custom of drinking 屠蘇酒 Tusu Wine represents each family’s sorrow and joy, as well as a wish for longevity.  It also encompasses the Ancient Chinese concept of “curing the disease before it occurs.”

At 四金宝Si Jin Bao, where we use Ancient wisdom fused with modern technology, the philosophy is the same.  PREVENTION is the key to SUCCESS in any generation. 

May you have a Happy New Year! 恭喜發財 Gong Xi Fa Cai!