Discover the legendary story of the 500-year-old brand at the Liubiju Museum

Many time-honored brands are now eagerly establishing their own museums to better promote their brand, enhance their brand image, introduce their products, and tell their brand stories. The Liubiju Museum, located at No. 3 Liangshidian Street in the Qianmen Dashilan area, is a museum that was newly established last year. The street-facing side features the quaint Liubiju Sauce Garden, and the museum entrance is in the back courtyard. Visitors can also pass through the shop to get there. Here, you can learn about the legendary story of this nearly 500-year-old time-honored brand. The Liubiju Sauce Garden was founded in the ninth year of the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1530 AD) and has a history of 494 years, making it one of the oldest and most prestigious time-honored brands in Beijing. The museum first introduces the origin and evolution of 'sauce' in Chinese history, then it tells the story of Liubiju's establishment and heritage, as well as its development through various historical periods, and analyzes the reasons why Liubiju has been able to pass down its legacy for over four hundred years. Liubiju's meticulous selection of ingredients, strict production, and orderly management, especially the rule of not employing 'three masters'—namely, young masters, sons-in-law, and nephews—have ensured the brand's positive development. The museum houses a large number of precious exhibits, such as account books and contracts from the Ming, Qing, and Republic of China periods, as well as ancient wells and bricks. Additionally, the exhibition hall uses a lot of realistic settings to recreate scenes from Liubiju's production and business operations. There are many legends about the name 'Liubiju.' One is that Liubiju was originally a small shop opened by the Zhao brothers from Xidu Village in Linfen, Shanxi, specializing in the sale of firewood, rice, oil, and salt. As the saying goes, 'There are seven necessities when opening a door: firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea.' These seven items are essential in people's daily lives, and the Zhao brothers' shop sold everything except tea, hence the name 'Liubiju.' Another legend is that when Liubiju first opened, six people invested in the business and asked the infamous Ming Dynasty official Yan Song to write the shop sign. Yan Song wrote 'Liuxinju' (Six Hearts Residence), but then thought that six hearts could not cooperate, so he added a stroke to 'heart,' turning it into 'Liubiju.' A third story is that the shop originated from brewing, and in brewing, it is said: 'The millet and rice must be balanced, the yeast must be solid, the storage must be clean, the pottery must be good, the temperature must be right, and the water must be fragrant.' Hence the name 'Liubiju.' Regardless of the veracity of these stories, they all add a legendary color to the brand. Moreover, it is said that the horizontal signboard of Liubiju was indeed inscribed by Yan Song. It is said that when Yan Song was not in office, he lived idly in the capital and liked to drink at the Liubiju shop. The shopkeeper wanted to ask Yan Song to write the signboard but was afraid he would refuse. So, he sought out Yan Song's wife, who knew Yan Song could not write a signboard for an ordinary shop. She practiced writing 'Liubiju' in front of Yan Song every day. Seeing that his wife could not write it well, Yan Song wrote it as an example for her to practice. Thus, the 'Liubiju' signboard written by Yan Song was created, and for this reason, there is only the three-character name on the signboard without the author's name, which is another legendary story. After visiting the museum, you can go directly back to the Liubiju Sauce Garden shop, where many customers are selecting products. I have also liked Liubiju's traditional product, the Eight-Treasure Pickled Vegetables, since I was young. Liubiju's pickled vegetables were once a royal delicacy during the Qing Dynasty, and the palace even awarded Liubiju with a red-tasseled hat and a yellow jacket.