Zhao Deyi

01 · Lineage & Regional School

Zhao Deyi, Male, Han, from Weifangshianqiu, Shandong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship (Ⅷ-144). The tradition is documented in Weifangshianqiu, Shandong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship in Weifangshianqiu, Shandong: Jingzhi liquor gave rise to folk customs such as wine rites, wine customs, wine games, wine canons, wine songs, and wine poems, bringing into being the rich and colorful Jingzhi regional wine culture. The abundant records in historical texts concerning the Jingzhi liquor traditional brewing craft help reproduce the scenes of those days with modern information technology, fill gaps in the history of brewing science and technology, and provide important references for verifying local historical materials. Over a thousand years, the Jingzhi liquor traditional brewing craft has formed the principles that "grain must be fine, water must be sweet, qu must be aged, vessels must be clean, work must be meticulous, storage must be long, and supervision must be strict"—that is, brewing grain must be of fine quality, brewing water must be clear, qu must be fully matured and aged, brewing facilities and wine containers must be clean, the process must be finely crafted, and storage must exceed three years. In 1957, a large number of wine vessels from the Dawenkou culture period were unearthed at the "Jingzhi Site," on the basis of which archaeologists confirmed that local liquor brewing has a history of over 5,000 years. The Anqiu County Annals of the Wanli reign of the Ming records that Jingzhi Town had "flourishing commerce and a notable output of white liquor," and "annually paid liquor tax of one hundred ingots and four strings of cash." In the Qing dynasty, the Jingzhi liquor industry flourished and was sold far abroad.

02 · Mastery & Signature Works

The bearer record for Zhao Deyi is anchored in the documented technical standards of Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship in Weifangshianqiu, Shandong. Within the documented technical tradition of Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship in Weifangshianqiu, Shandong: The Jingzhi liquor traditional brewing craft is one type of China's traditional distilled-liquor brewing crafts. Its core distribution area is Jingzhi Town, Anqiu City, Shandong Province; the main historical relics and features are all located in Jingzhi Town and radiate to surrounding areas. Jingzhi Town lies on the alluvial plain of the Wei River in the interior of the Shandong Peninsula; its soil suits the growth of crops such as wheat, corn, soybeans, millet, and red sorghum. Here the hills are green and waters clear, the climate humid, with a superior ecological environment favorable to the brewing industry; it has long enjoyed the reputation of being the "Wine Capital of Qilu." Its distinctive regional character gave Jingzhi liquor its unique production craft; the production of "summer-qu" (fuqu) and the brewing of "peach-blossom jar liquor" (taohua wengjiu) are especially distinctive. Jingzhi liquor's raw material is locally grown black-calyx green-stalk sorghum; this sorghum has a high horny-endosperm ratio, withstands steaming and cooking, and yields good and abundant liquor. Its adjunct is rice husk, crushed to a "plum-blossom petal" form with "no raw escape," and the ingredients are mixed with "no clumped ferment and no white spots." Raw materials and adjuncts enter the pool for fermentation, with moisture and acidity reasonably adjusted according to season and temperature changes; loading the steamer is "light, loose, even, thin, accurate, and level"; distillation is "high-heat chasing the tail"; gelatinization is "cooked but not sticky, with no raw core inside." Strict management and control from raw materials, brewing, blending, warehousing, packaging, to ex-factory oversight ensure the quality and taste of Jingzhi liquor. Jingzhi Town has a long history of liquor brewing. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "The seven musts of Jingzhi brewing": Six musts form the chain, and its weight falls on the last: new wine must rest more than three years before it may be sold. "Fu qu and peach-jar wine": Fu qu and peach-jar wine are the two signatures of Jingzhi, one governing fermentation, the other governing maturation in the jar. "Six rules for loading the still": Light, loose, even, thin, accurate and level: six rules that keep the steam path uniform through the still basket. "Driving the tail with a strong fire": At the end of the distillation a stronger fire drives the last spirits out; done well it keeps the tail clean and long.

03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status

In 2025, Zhao Deyi was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship, with Weifangshianqiu, Shandong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship in Weifangshianqiu, Shandong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Weifangshianqiu, Shandong as its declared area, and Shandong Jing ZhiBaiJiu Co., Ltd. as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.

04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier

05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage

National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.

06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography

1. Zhaodeyi (Weifangshianqiu, Shandong) · China ICH Official Project Archive
2. Zhaodeyi · China ICH Official Archive