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Dai Chun Lin 400 Years Chinese Makeup Manufacturer

1. 400 years of inheritance

Shi Lian -- the 16th generation of Dai Chun Lin, Mu Hongjun -- the 17th generation of Dai Chun Lin, Mu Qing -- the 18th generation of Dai Chun Lin.
More than 400 years ago, Mr. Dai Chunlin, a Yangzhou native of a family of traditional Chinese medicine, married the daughters of the Shi family, who were also from a family of traditional Chinese medicine. The four daughters had no children, and all members of the Dai and Shi families were engaged in the production of Dai Chunlin products. Therefore, the inheritance of skills and the continuation of the bloodline start from the matriarchal line. Carrying forward such a representative, historical and inherited cultural enterprise is a matter of great pride and honour, as well as a sense of mission.

After the liberation, the brand of Dai Chun Lin, which owned Xiangfeng for more than three hundred years, also ended with the decline of the Qing Dynasty royal family. The descendants of the Dai and Shi families are scattered all over the place, and they have all devoted themselves to revolutionary work. However, Shi Lian, the 16th generation descendant of Dai Chun Lin, never told her descendants the story of Dai Chun Lin during the feudal era. However, she still retains some of the old traditions of her family of Chinese medicine practitioners when it comes to her living habits, such as eating ginger, soaking her feet and bathing with medicinal foam. She is very particular about foot soaking. In the cold and wet season, she soaks her feet in mugwort leaves, ginger and saffron; in the dry season, she soaks her feet in salt water, soda water and white vinegar. Chinese culture seems to have made an invisible mark on her, permeating her whole life.

Mu Hongjun - son of Shi Lian, after returning from liberation at the age of sixteen, who successfully entered a thriving state-owned enterprise with the professional knowledge he learned in school and under the care of his mother. For more than forty years, he has been engaged in production technology and new product research and development most of the time. Until the company went bankrupt in 2002, Mu Hongjun resigned from his last position as the legal person of the enterprise and returned home.

At that time, Mu Hongjun was almost 50 years old, but he felt empty at home after being idle in the busy work pace. The political and economic environment began to promote the revival of traditional culture, and the protection of intangible time-honored brands emerged. Until now, from his own past, his frail old mother found a few iron boxes packed by old Dai Chunlin in the old wardrobe, "Don't underestimate these rusty stains on this iron box, they are also treasures passed down by our ancestors from the mountains." These were just idle words, but a seed was deeply planted in Mu Hongjun's heart.

In the following four years, Mu Hongjun traveled around to collect historical materials. He visited the Yangzhou Archives and Library, read a large number of ancient books online and offline, collected ancient books and cultural relics, and consulted experts in literature and history when he did not understand. For four whole years, he was immersed in Dai Chunlin's cultural atmosphere. He deeply felt that these three words, which had been baptized for four hundred years, seemed to have a karmic connection with him in his past and present lives.

In 2006, Mu Hongjun formally submitted a trademark registration application to the State Trademark Office. After three years of waiting, he finally received an official reply in 2009. Holding these three words, he seemed to see that the long-forgotten Dai Chunlin signboard had finally seen the light of day.

Mu Qing -- Mu Hongjun's daughter, who grew up with my father's strict selection of cosmetic ingredients and learned by osmosis, to repeat the same experiment day and night in pursuit of skin feel. A product in the hands of consumers may be the final product after thousands of experiments. The "craftsman spirit" is inseparable from the formula, production, packaging material selection, design and management of the product.

Dai's family motto: "Strictly follow ancestral teachings. Delicate and subtle. No deception towards children or the elderly and the sale should be fair. Integrity wins the world. Pass down these teachings through generations. Never become complacent."

2. The ancient history of development

Dai Chunlin was born in Yangzhou in the Ming Dynasty. He was from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. As the grandson of the family, his grandfather loved him very much. His grandfather was a court physician and a good friend of the famous calligrapher and painter Dong Qichang. So, in the first year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty (1628), Dai Chunlin opened the world's first shop producing fragrant powder on Yangzhou's Gangzi Street. The famous contemporary calligrapher Dong Qichang wrote the sign for Dai Chun Lin. On the opening day, many relatives and friends came to congratulate him, and princes, nobles, and dignitaries gathered. In the local political, economic and cultural circles at that time, it can be said to be extremely popular.

The one who really brought Dai Chun Lin to the palace was Tian Xiuying, the beloved consort of Emperor Chongzhen at that time, who was born in an alley on Dongguan Street in Yangzhou City. In order to commemorate this talented woman, Yangzhou folk named the alley where she was born ‘Tianjia Alley’. It is said that Tian Xiuying was multi-talented since her childhood, and was good at both literature and martial arts. She was excellent in playing music, chess, painting and calligraphy, and was omnipowerful in Cuju riding and shooting. Particularly noteworthy is her natural beauty and exotic fragrance, also known as ‘Fragrant Princess’. It was all thanks to Dai Chunlin. Tian Xiuying's mother Tian Xin has always loved using Dai Chun Lin from her mother's family. After becoming a concubine, Dai Chunlin made a special fragrant powder for her, which was shaped like a duck egg so that it could be carried easily. Thus, there was 'World's First Royal Fragrant Pearl Face Powder' (why it was called a duck egg? Because at that time, women's faces were considered beautiful if they were oval). The description of Tian Xiuying in historical materials records: "Her clothes, makeup, and hair accessories were all popular at first, imitated in the palace, and then spread to the market." Dai Chun Lin's fragrant powder from her hometown was summoned to the palace and became "tribute powder." Tian Xiuying used Dai Chun Lin's fragrant powder to fumigate her body, which gave her a natural fragrance. The powder was applied evenly and naturally, and she looked like she was not wearing any makeup.

Since then, Dai Chun Lin fragrant flakes, fragrant powder in the Ming and Qing dynasties was identified as the palace tribute, and thus were known as ‘Palace Powder’, ‘Tribute Powder’, ‘Yangzhou Fragrant powder’.They were popular all over the country and even covered the capital. Yangzhou Dai Chun Lin Fragrant Powder Yangzhou Dai Chun Lin Fragrant Vermicelli Shop, along with Suzhou Sun Chunyang, Jiashan Wu Dingsheng, Beijing Wang Ma Zi, Hangzhou Zhang Xiaoquan, is a nationally renowned shop, and is included in the history of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

In ‘Petal Notes in a Jade-Tiled Retreat’, Sun Zhaoqi of the Qing Dynasty recorded that "Dai Chun Lin Fragrant Powder Shop is said to have been established during the previous Ming Dynasty, with a long history, and its products are of high quality." Dai Chun Lin's fragrant powder shop originated in the Ming Dynasty. After so much time, its products are still very good. When he wrote this sentence, Dai Chun Lin had already become a century-old shop.

History: During the six southern tours of Emperor Kangxi (1684-1707) and Emperor Qianlong (1751-1784), local officials in Yangzhou often used Dai Chun Lin incense powder and incense slices as tribute. After the servants brought Dai Chun Lin fragrant products into the palace, they were deeply loved by the concubines in the palace.

Many classical novels in the Qing Dynasty have described and recorded Dai Chunlin fragrant goods. In ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’, which was completed in 1784, Cao Xueqin vividly described Dai Chun Lin's perfumes many times: "It's a fragrance from the purple jasmine.", and to use Ping'er's words as a pretext to praise Dai Chun Lin's powder: "Ping'er put it in her palm, it was light pink, white, red and fragrant. It spreads evenly and moisturizes the face easily, unlike other powdery and dull products." "The eighteen Ruyi lotus fragrance beads on the wrist of Prince Beijing", "Baochai's jade shirt fragrance string", "the two plum blossom cakes in Xiren's purse", and even the goose egg powder secret made by Dai Chunlin were used for hairpins... In the chapter title of the book ‘Supplement to the Dream of the Red Chamber’ in the 22nd year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty, it is clearly written: "At this time, Yangzhou's playboy Xue Xiaodao went to Wangyou Street to buy many sweets from Dai Chunlin and brought them back to exchange..."

When 'Dream of the Red Chamber' was written, Dai Chunlin was already a century-old shop. It was the leader in the beauty industry at that time, and no other brand in the same industry could compare with it before and after a hundred years.

3. The decline of the Republic of China

Dai Chun Lin started from a small shop in Yangzhou city and became a tribute to the imperial palace. Then, his disciples began to open Dai Chun Lin fragrance shops in other cities across the country (mainly Beijing and Shanghai), making it the first cosmetics brand in China to have a chain industry.

In the third year of Guangxu (1877 AD), ‘Whispers of Spring by Water Window' written by Ouyang Zhaoxiong and Jin Angling in the Qing Dynasty recorded, “The famous large stores throughout the country, such as Dai Chun Lin from Yangzhou, Sun Chunyang from Suzhou, ……are all well-known in the world, offering genuine goods at fair prices without cheating - even young or old. Excellent product quality, good corporate culture, and orderly management system have supported the Dai Chun Lin brand for more than 200 years. This is also the reason why Dai Chun Lin products became popular in the Ming and Qing dynasties and became veritable luxury goods. The mainstream consumer groups are imperial concubines, dignitaries, wealthy families, and folk singers. There is even a saying that ‘actors are unwilling to go on stage without Dai Chun Lin‘.

‘Beijing Chronicles’ recorded: ‘The famous big shops in the country, such as the Dai Chun Lin Fragrant Powder Shop in Yangzhou …’ The prosperity of the street was marked by whether Dai Chunlin was stationed there. According to ‘Shanghai Chronicles’, At its peak, Dai Chun Lin had 30 - 40 branches on Zhujinli, Shanghai. (now known as Shanxi Middle Road) Such as: Shanghai's Old Dai Chun Lin Vermicelli Bureau, Huaji Dai Chun Lin, Shen's Old Dai Chun Lin, ‘Jiu Ji’, ‘Yao Ji’, ‘Jin Grade’, ‘Listening to the record’, ‘Woji’, ‘Zhengji’, ‘Pingji’, ‘Xinji’, ‘Zhongji’, ‘Jiangji’, and ‘Gongji’… At this time, Dai Chunlin had reached the peak of its development.

In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, with the decline and withdrawal of the imperial palace, the market dominated by Dai Chun Lin products collapsed, and counterfeit and shoddy products followed. In 1936, the New Jiangsu Daily Supplement used the author's Yangzhou Bamboo Twigs Ballad as basic information to give a straightforward revelation of the counterfeiting phenomenon of Dai Chun Lin in Wang Youqing's writing: "The strong fragrance blows on the face and clothes, the ice musk and ambergris intoxicate the hearts of the guests, the real and fake dishes are difficult to distinguish, and countless Dai Chun Lins are in circulation." "The strong fragrance blows on the face and clothes, the ice musk and ambergris intoxicate the hearts of the guests, the real and fake dishes are difficult to distinguish, and countless Dai Chunlins are in circulation." It means that the strong fragrance permeates the whole street, and countless Dai Chunlin stores are difficult to distinguish between the real and fake.

We don't have the exact date of Dai Chunlin's withdrawal from the market, and the most recent record we have of Dai Chun Lin is a photograph taken in 1949 by American photographer Jack Birns, titled ‘The Last Glimpse of the Republic of China’. In the photograph, Dai Chun Lin's old shop was located at No. 245 at the junction of Fang Bing Middle Road and Cheng Huang Miao in old Shanghai, adjacent to Yisheng Tang. This proves that it was still a famous and long-established shop in the incense and powder industry in old Shanghai at that time.

4. A hundred years of inheritance of Chinese crafts

Dai Chun Lin has pioneered the manufacturing of historic fragrant face powder by refining ancestral craftsmanship and with the best herbal ingredients. The brand soon gained the admiration of “Five Fragrances Worth Thousands of Taels of Gold : Beautifying the World” means Dai Chun Lin’s 5 fragrant products are as precious and luxury as thousands taels of gold and beautify all noble ladies under Heaven.

The five fragrances refer to ‘Fragrant Powder, Fragrant Makeup Cream, Fragrant Oils (for hair and body), Fragrant Cream, Fragrant Accessories. Whereas, “Five Fragrances Worth Thousands of Taels of Gold” means artisans spare no expense, using the most precious materials and the finest craftsmanship to create the best products. ‘Thousands of Taels of Gold’ pronounced in Chinese as “Qiangjin” carries two meanings: “noble ladies” and “precious” at the same time. Hence, there is an idiom saying that “The beauty’s scent envelopes her all over, costing a poor man’s half a month’s wage.”

5. Modern technology and development

Yangzhou Daichunlin Cosmetics Co., Ltd. was established in 2009, more than 10 years.

(For the customer, do you still use the ancient recipe for production?) Under the management of modern laws and regulations, sanitary conditions are a hundred times more stringent than in ancient times. Whether in product ingredients or production processes, we must take the essence of the ancients and get rid of the backward dregs of the ancients. To give two examples: In ancient times, Dai Chun Lin's fragrance were picked and extracted based on local seasonal flowers, and the time limit was very large. In modern times, seasonal flower essential oils can be bought anytime and anywhere. Of course, the price of synthetic essential oils and natural essential oils differs by more than ten times, so we must choose natural flower essential oils that have been strictly screened by us. Our partner owns 100 acres of flower fields.

The second example is preservatives. Products without preservatives may not be able to be preserved in today's era, but we can ensure that the natural preservatives we use are within the statutory minimum usage range permitted by the country. Even some of the products we sell, such as (Ruby Cream, Baked Snow Flakes), must be refrigerated during the high temperatures in summer, otherwise the instability of the product will cause certain troubles to our sales market.

The company is developing and operating. After our first physical store opened on Dongguan Street in Yangzhou on March 15, 2012, it attracted attention from governments, media, and cultural and historical experts. Wei Minghua, a famous historian in Yangzhou and director of Yangzhou History and Culture Research Institute, praised it highly: "Yangzhou's old famous makeup has been brought to Shanghai with its stunning beauty. Only to see Dai Chun Lin again after a hundred years of incense."

At the same time, our continuously improving product quality and classic packaging design have quickly been recognized by the market. Tourists from all over the country buy our products from the packaging just for fun, but after trying them, they all praise that "the quality is really not inferior to international brands." Including Cong Shangzhe, repeat customers with pure hobbies have expressed confidence in our brand and have opened our brand stores all over the country.

So far, Yangzhou Daichunlin Cosmetics Co., Ltd. has opened more than 50 stores in tourist attractions such as the mainland and Hong Kong. Our pace is very steady. We are glad that in the initial stage, we did not have a sales team, but many classical culture lovers and Chinese admirers loved and supported us. We are glad that today, when imported brands monopolize the international beauty market, we, Dai Chun Lin, have been recognized by the domestic and foreign markets while opening up a difficult road of Chinese Renaissance.

In the spring of 2016, a European tourist accidentally saw the antique Dai Chun Lin while traveling in Beijing's Nanluoguxiang. Out of interest, he bought some samples and took them home. After trying them, she was surprised to find that the quality of cosmetics made in China was so good that it was not worse than the international brand cosmetics she used daily. She sent the products to a local professional organization for testing and obtained the EU-certified SGS test report, which proved the excellent quality of our products. By chance, this European tourist decided to open the European market for us.

6. Corporate culture

We are not large in scale, but Dai Chun Lin has been a force to be reckoned with in the industry in recent years. In 2015, the Huzhou Municipal Government of Zhejiang Province invited Dai Chunlin to relocate to Huzhou while building a "beauty town" with Chinese characteristics, and gave us the most generous policies, the most powerful support, and the most advantageous location. Mu Hongjun politely declined and then thought twice, "Dai Chun Lin is a brand of Yangzhou," he said. "It was born in Yangzhou and grew up in Yangzhou. Without Yangzhou, it would lose a lot of historical significance."
Mu Xiaodong said that in recent years, venture capital companies and industry giants seeking to cooperate with us have been rejected: "Dai Chun Lin is a classic handed down from ancient times. We should not be weak or too strong. We should learn from European classical watch shops and Japanese craftsmen to learn the best. Find your own position and don't take the work route of running around in the capital market. I don't want Dai Chun Lin to suffer the fate of the second. Our goal is that many years later, when people mention Dai Chun Lin, they will know that it exists in Yangzhou, Jiangsu. It is not big, but unique. We must, like our ancestors, use the lives of several generations to protect this inherited culture and permanently establish the essence of Chinese beauty on the world stage."