Text | Wang Saishi, researcher and professor of history at the Institute of History, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences. Chinese soju developed into the Ming and Qing Dynasties and was promoted on a larger scale, forming several large regions.

Text | Wang Saishi, researcher and professor of history at the Institute of History, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences

Chinese shochu developed into the Ming and Qing Dynasties and was promoted on a larger scale, forming several large regions.

Jingcheng Shaojiu

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, shochu always pursued high alcohol content, and the shochu made in Jingcheng was particularly spicy, so people liked to call shochu "Shaodao". "Wuzazu" records: "The Shaojiu of the capital is made of pure cotton, but its nature is fierce and cruel, no more than an ax without an edge." The capital's shochu, the old wheat-burning and sorghum-burning ones The wines are divided into raw materials. "Guangxu Shuntianfu Zhi·Products" records: "Shochu is made from wheat, and local wine makers call it a big wine tank."

Good quality sorghum is mostly made from sorghum. Xie Yong's "Miscellaneous Notes on Food" says: "All grains of rice can be steamed and burned... The ones cooked in other provinces are not as good as those in the capital. Barley is mostly used everywhere, while sorghum is used in the capital, and wheat is not as good as sorghum. It’s so sweet.” It can be seen that sorghum shochu is the most popular. The Shaojiu workshops in the Jinghua area are commonly known as "Shaoguo". According to the region, the Tongzhou area in Jingdong is called "Donglu Shaoguo".

The "Zhili Donglu Wine" listed in Chapter 96 of "Jinghuayuan" refers to the shochu produced by Donglu Shaoguo. Xizhimen and the area in the west of Beijing are called "Xilu Shaoguo". The area in Daxing County is called "South Road Shaoguo". Each hot pot restaurant has its own high-quality products, and today’s Erguotou in Beijing is the essence of each hot pot restaurant.

Fenzhou Shaojiu

Fenzhou produces Shaojiu, and the locals first called it "fire wine". After the Qing Dynasty, Fenzhou Shaojiu's reputation soared, its output increased, and its sales gradually expanded. At this time, people began to commonly call Fenzhou Shaojiu "Fenjiu". As a result, "Fenjiu" has become a resounding brand in the wine industry. In the seventh year of Qianlong's reign, Yan Ruilong, the governor of Shanxi Province, said in a memorial: "Fenzhou Prefecture is the best pot-burning place in Jin Province and is famous far and wide. It is also called Fenjiu. In addition, the autumn harvest is abundant, the food is abundant, and the people cook it. In the Qing Dynasty, in areas with low wine production, Fenjiu was mostly chosen when buying shochu from other places. In the early years of Qianlong's reign, Depei, the governor of Gansu Province, said: "The wines sold in the market all come from Shanxi, and are called Fenjiu. Because they come from a long distance, the price is also high, and only wealthy families can sell it."

That's it. In areas where the wine industry is developed, Fenjiu is still people's favorite foreign wine. Fenjiu can be found everywhere across the country. When we read the local chronicles of various provinces, we often see traces of Fenjiu. From a sales perspective, Fenjiu has long maintained the record for the highest sales volume of soju in China.

Southern Shaju

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, influenced by the brewing trend of Shaju, various regions in the south of the Yangtze River began to mass-produce Shaju and mastered relatively advanced distillation technology. Since most of the grains produced in the south of the Yangtze River are rice and wheat, the local area mainly produces rice-shake, wheat-shake and glutinous rice-shake, while sorghum-shake is relatively less.

Li Dou's "Yangzhou Hua Fang Lu" records: "Shochu is made from rice, which is called Mishao; when it is made from wheat, it is called Maishao. There is also steamed from the glutinous grains of Kujiu, which is called Zaoshao. Its sorghum, Both buckwheat and mung beans can be steamed, and each is named after its grain. The people in the village are good at it. Most of the shochu in the city comes from outside the city, carried by donkeys, camels and carts. "

As far as sorghum is concerned, steamed rice and wheat are not as strong as sorghum crops in the north, so it is produced in the south of the Yangtze River. The soju is the best in terms of quality. It has never been able to compete with northern Shaojiu. Lin Sumen in the Qianjia period directly admitted it in the poem notes of "Duihua Shaojiu": "Xuzhou sorghum and Shanxi Fenjiu are both Shaojiu.

Yangzhou may use barley, which is called wheat burning, or use barley. Glutinous rice is called rice burning. The enemy is far away from sorghum and Fenjiu. When it is steamed and mixed, it will be as clear as water, and when it is stored in a jar, the surface of the wine will sparkle with flowers, and it will be sold in the market, and it is known as Duihua Shaojiu. Soju produced in the Jiangnan region is generally sold locally, and it is difficult to penetrate the northern market.

However, Jiangnan Shaojiu also has its own unique characteristics. In addition to paying attention to the "pile of flowers" in the finished wine, it also pays special attention to the fermentation. The so-called lees burning refers to using distillation method to steam shochu from white lees so that it can be repeatedly produced.Zaoshuo uses rice wine residues to re-distill wine. This model is very popular in Jiangnan.

During the Qing Dynasty, although there was still no major breakthrough in the quality of Jiangnan Shaojiu, its output skyrocketed, and its number of pot-making workshops was comparable to that in the north. In the fifth year of Qianlong's reign, there were only one town in Mudu, Suzhou, and there were more than 2,000 pot-burning households. Each household started a fire at the second watch and stopped at sunrise. It could burn five stones of rice, and the total daily consumption was 10,000 meters. stone". At about the same time, "Zhenjiang's trough households had no less than 10,000 workers" specializing in the production of shochu. During the Qing Dynasty, the consumption of shochu in the Jiangnan area increased day by day, and it gradually competed with Nanjiu (referring to rice wine) in the alcohol market.

Guizhou Shaojiu

After entering the Qing Dynasty, Guizhou's brewing industry experienced unprecedented growth and entered the ranks of China's famous wines, achieving a historic mutation. In particular, the brewing of strong shochu has created a major genre of Chinese sauce-flavored shochu, which has become prominent in the Chinese wine industry.

Since the early Qing Dynasty, many winemakers from other places have gone to central Guizhou, and they have taken a fancy to Guizhou's geographical environment. They cooperated with the locals to improve the winemaking process and produced Guizhou Shaojiu, which has attracted worldwide attention. After the mid-Qing Dynasty, the shochu here showed a new look.

When it comes to Guizhou Shaojiu, the number one brand must undoubtedly be " Maotai ". Moutai was originally brewed in Moutai Village in the west of Renhuai city. It is called "Maotai Shao", also known as "Maotai Spring". Wu Zhenfeng's "Qianyu" has the earliest record: "The natives of Binhe are good at brewing Maotai Chun, which is very clear and refreshing." Volume 17 of Daoguang's "Zunyi Prefecture Chronicles" "Business Chronicles" records: "Qian people are also commonly known as Daqu Liquor, - said Maotai Shao. "Maotai Village is located on the bank of the Chishui River and has unique natural climate and geographical conditions. The microbial population is very active, providing a natural place for the birth of Maotai liquor.

Of course, the main advantage of Moutai lies in the exquisite brewing method. The brewing of Moutai requires high-quality sorghum as raw material and high-temperature koji made from wheat. This kind of high-temperature song is commonly known as "Baishui song" by the locals. Daoguang's "Zunyi Prefecture Chronicles" records: "The koji is made from wheat, which is called white water koji." The amount of koji used in Moutai is more than the amount of raw materials. With koji, the fermentation period is longer and the quality of the wine is relatively improved. Moutai liquor in the Qing Dynasty always used the process of multiple fermentations and multiple wine extractions. At that time, there was a method of " returning to sand ". The ingredients are first cooked and put into the underground kiln. After the full moon, they are taken out of the kiln, steamed and baked, then returned to the kiln and steamed again, which is called "Huisha".

When introducing the craftsmanship of Maotai liquor in "Continued Zunyi Prefecture Chronicles" of the Republic of China, it said: "The first round is called Shengsha, the third and fourth rounds are called Suisha, the sixth and seventh rounds are called Dahuisha, and the subsequent rounds are generally called Xiaohuisha." Sha refers to what is used for it. For the grain used in wine, raw sand refers to raw grain, adding sand means adding ingredients, and returning sand means fermenting and distilling again. In modern times, the process of brewing Moutai has been greatly improved. However, the original model of multiple brewing and multiple distillations has always been retained, forming the fixed style of Moutai.

Moutai was first brewed by villagers. Later, a number of professional brewing workshops appeared, which enabled Moutai to be gradually optimized and the output to be greatly increased. Before Daoguang, there were about 20 Shaoxing houses in Maotai Town. The "Daho Shaofang" in the Jiaqing period, the "Chengyi Distillery" and the "Rongtaihe Shaofang" in the Tongzhi period were all the leaders. These wineries have played an immeasurable role in the historical development of Moutai.

Yang Wenying's "Xingcaotang Poetry Notes" contains his "Miscellaneous Odes of Qianyang" written during the Guangxu period, which mentions Moutai: "Moutai is the best brewed in the country, with less sweetness and more spicy taste. Chi. People praise Chongqing Liquor for its good character." Note: "Maotai, the name of Renhuai Village." Since the late Qing Dynasty, Maotai liquor has become more and more powerful in China's shochu industry. .

In addition to Moutai, Guizhou Shaojiu, which was already famous in the Qing Dynasty, also had "Huisha Leiquan Liquor". Sixty miles west of the city of Zunyi, there is the ancient town Tianwangli, also known as "Yaxi Town". It is located near Leijiapo Mountain. There is a good spring in the mountain, which is known as "Leiquan Shashui". Around the end of Qianlong's reign, a "Lai's Winery" appeared in Yaxi Town, brewing "Huisha Leiquan Daqu", which immediately caused a sensation in Guizhou.In the late Qing Dynasty, the number of wineries in Yaxi Town gradually increased, and the momentum of Leiquan Liquor became more and more prosperous, adding a new force to Guizhou Shaojiu brewing.

About the author: Wang Saishi, male, born in 1955, is a researcher at the Institute of History, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences. He is mainly engaged in research on the history of Chinese topics, the history of Chinese wine, and the history of Chinese food. His research scope covers all eras and regions in China, and he is known for his extensive knowledge.

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