藥材、自製與代理藥品：東亞藥業網絡下的乾元藥行（1896-1936）

Medicinal Materials, Self-Manufactured, and Agency Drugs: Qianyuan Pharmacy within the East Asian Pharmaceutical Network (1896-1936)

本文以臺北大稻埕的乾元藥行為核心，探討其在1896年設立，到1936年經營者陳茂通逝世的期間，如何以中藥材貿易、自製與代理藥品，奠定其在東亞藥業網絡的位置？首先，在張清河執掌下，乾元藥行以薄利多銷的策略，贏得消費者的青睞，更親自到香港和上海等地採購藥材，引進中國製藥品，擴大其營業規模。其次，陳茂通接手經營後，趁著歐洲西藥短缺的契機，研製新藥，並透過靜態和動態的宣傳，及特約店的合作關係，漸次打響知名度，甚至登錄商標，建立品牌，進而輸出中國，擴張其銷售網絡，成為全島知名的漢藥店。再者，透過乾元藥行和長崎泰益號的商業往來，顯現人際關係所建構的商業網絡，串聯臺灣、日本、香港、上海及新加坡等地，並在中藥材和藥品的貿易上，形成東亞藥業網絡。最後，可見臺灣藥商是東亞藥業網絡形成的重要推手，因為中藥材貿易的需求，在規避關稅和航線等因素下，使藥商透過長崎泰益號協助中國進口藥材的報關，尋求減免關稅，無形中這些商業往來的商號和區域亦成為臺灣藥材和代理藥品引進和出口的來源。

This study centers on the Qianyuan Pharmacy in Dadaocheng, Taipei, examining how it established its position within the East Asian pharmaceutical network from its founding in 1896 to the death of its proprietor, Chen Maotong, in 1936. Under its first manager, Zhang Qinghe, Qianyuan adopted a low-margin, high-turnover strategy that quickly attracted consumers. Zhang’s procurement trips to Hong Kong and Shanghai enabled Qianyuan to secure medicinal materials and import Chinese-manufactured pharmaceutical products, thereby expanding both its scale and product range.
After Chen Maotong took over, Qianyuan capitalized on the shortage of Western medicines in Europe to develop new proprietary drugs. Through coordinated static and dynamic marketing strategies and partnerships with authorized retailers, Qianyuan gradually won public recognition. Chen’s efforts to register trademarks and cultivate a distinct brand identity further facilitated the export of Qianyuan products to China, allowing the firm to expand its distribution network and become one of Taiwan’s most renowned Chinese pharmaceutical companies.
The business ties between Qianyuan and the Taiichi Trading Company in Nagasaki also highlight how interpersonal relationships shaped commercial network. These connections linked Taiwan with Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore, forming a transregional pharmaceutical trade network focusing on Chinese medicinal materials and remedies.
Finally, this study underscores the pivotal role Taiwanese medicinal companies played in the development of the East Asian pharmaceutical network. Driven by demand for Chinese medicinal materials and influenced by factors such as tariff policies and maritime routes, merchants relied on intermediaries such as the Taiichi Trading Company to handle customs clearance and seek tariff reductions when importing goods into China. These commercial interactions, and the companies and regions involved, thus became crucial nodes in Taiwan’s trade in medicinal materials and agency-based pharmaceuticals.