Content note: Newspaper advertisement for a patent tonic using a named former diplomat's letter, which describes an injury and illness; no offensive content. This object is shown as it was published. Why
Shenbao, 1 June 1925, p. 5: 'Certificate of a famous man in political circles' (Baling Ji, Wu Zonglian)
A boxed advertisement at the foot of Shenbao's page 5 is headed 'A certificate from a famous man in political circles' and names Wu Zonglian, former minister to Italy, who says that at seventy he took Baling Ji tablets and that every result listed in the advertisements proved true. A long handwritten-style letter beneath tells of an old leg injury and a walk after the course. The named vouching, not any data, carries the claim: testimonial.
- Date
- June 1, 1925
- Period
- Interwar
- Made by
- Jiufu Company (九福公司), Shanghai, general distributor of Baling Ji (百齡機) tonic tablets; printed in Shenbao (申報)
- Region
- East Asia
- Country
- China
- Medium
- Newspaper pages
- Issuer type
- Corporation
- Regime
- Beiyang Government
- Leader
- Duan Qirui
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- Health, Economy and finance
- Techniques
- Testimonial
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Internet Archive (Shenbao collection, item shenbao-1925.06-144), retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (US: published 1925, before 1931); IA item page states no rights
Shenbao (申報), Shanghai, June 1, 1925; scan hosted by the Internet Archive, item shenbao-1925.06-144. Image is page 5 of the item's PDF, resized to 1280 px wide. The item page has no licence or rights field, so the basis is the 1925 publication date alone.
Text on the object
政界名人之證明書 前駐義公使吳宗濂先生 年交七秩服百齡機得種種功效 凡廣告中歷舉之成績皆無一不驗 總發行所 九福公司(上海) 百齡機 小瓶一元 每打十元 大瓶二元 每打廿元 外埠直接本公司函購寄費不收 各埠各大藥房均有出售 證明書製版刊佈 敬啓者 鄙人[illegible]度韶華瞬交七秩 然自三[illegible]年以前即辛酉年秋在津隆車左腿脫[illegible]後雖經日本共立醫院原田醫士三時接[illegible]而休養推摩竟達七個月之久元氣因大傷步履不能及遠稍遠即覺疲痛 此[illegible]種種之衆又復相繼發生 去秋適[illegible] 貴公司發明之百齡機藥片 廣告中歷舉之成績皆無一不驗 [illegible] 每日四片 前後共服六瓶遂覺逐漸[illegible]至溫泉浴池止後由原路走回原[illegible]時約半點鐘行路逾一里外竟無絲毫不適 亦可見百齡機藥片配製之精效力之偉矣 因喜而為之記此致 九福公司 [illegible] 前駐義公使吳宗濂 啓 五月[illegible]日
Certificate of a famous man in political circles. Mr Wu Zonglian, former minister to Italy: at the age of seventy, took Baling Ji and obtained many kinds of effects; every result listed one by one in the advertisements has proved true without exception. General distributor: Jiufu Company (Shanghai). Baling Ji: small bottle one yuan, ten yuan a dozen; large bottle two yuan, twenty yuan a dozen. Out-of-town buyers may write directly to this company, postage free; on sale at the large pharmacies in every port. Certificate reproduced by plate-making. Letter (partly illegible): 'Dear Sirs, I am passing the years and have suddenly reached seventy ... in the autumn of 1921 [xin-you year], in Tianjin, my left leg [was injured by a carriage?] ... treated at the Japanese Kyoritsu Hospital by Dr Harada ... rest and massage lasted a full seven months, my vigour much damaged, I could not walk far and soon felt tired and painful ... many further ailments followed in turn ... Last autumn [illegible] your company's Baling Ji tablets, every result listed in your advertisements is proved ... four tablets a day, in all six bottles, and I felt myself gradually [recovering] ... to the hot-spring baths and back along the same road, about half an hour, walking over a mile without the slightest discomfort. This shows the fine compounding and great efficacy of the Baling Ji tablets. I write this gladly. To the Jiufu Company. Former minister to Italy Wu Zonglian, 5th month, [illegible] day.'
Read from a 2400 px render. The letter body is set in a cursive typeface and the hosted 1280 px image does not resolve it; the heading box, price block and advertiser block are clear. Several characters in the letter are [illegible] and the translation of the letter is partly reconstructed; the bracketed words are guesses and are not verbatim.
