Xinghuacunfenjiuniangzhijiyi
01 · Historical Records
Xinghua Village's brewing history can be traced back to the Yangshao culture site; the unearthed implements already show that brewing activity existed here six thousand years ago, after which a complete system using sorghum, barley and peas as raw materials was gradually formed. Fenjiu is called the ancestor of Chinese baijiu; Moutai, Luzhou daqu, Xifeng and Shuangou daqu have all at some point drawn on its brewing technique, and this spillover influence is itself corroborating evidence of its status as a source.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Fenjiu is also called "old white Fen liquor"; because it is produced in Xinghua Village, Fenyang, Lüliang City, Shanxi Province, it is also known as Xinghuacun Fenjiu. Fenjiu is the model of light-aroma-type baijiu and can be called the ancestor of Chinese baijiu. Many famous Chinese liquors, such as Moutai, Luzhou daqu, Xifeng and Shuangou daqu, have all at some point drawn on Fenjiu's brewing technique. Fenjiu's brewing technique is a complete technical system that ferments and brews raw materials such as sorghum, barley, peas and water under certain ecological conditions, in which human awareness and insight play a vital role; processes such as starter making, fermentation and distillation are all highly empirical skills. A Yangshao culture site six thousand years old has been discovered at Xinghua Village, Fenjiu's place of production; from the unearthed implements it can be judged that brewing activity already existed at the time. The Fenjiu family of liquors gradually expanded in the course of its development; taking Fenjiu as the mother liquor, a series of liquors was produced, including old white Fen liquor, Zhuyeqing liquor, rose Fen liquor and white jade Fen liquor.
Preparing the fermentation cake
Preparing the cake is the first gate; Guo Shuangwei's three methods turned around the black streaks, split skins and scorched hearts that had spoiled large cakes.
Controlling fermentation heat
His slow-start, firm-middle, slow-end method splits the temperature curve of the mash into three stages, giving a sweeter wine and a better yield.
High-temperature mixing
Paired with the heat control, high-temperature mixing is one of the most experience-bound skills in the craft, judged entirely by hand and eye.
Distillation and drawing off
Distillation is the third experience-bound gate: the heat and flow at which the spirit is drawn off decide its clarity.
The family of Fen wines
Old Baifen, Zhuyeqing, Rose Fen and Baiyu Fen all descend from the mother wine, keeping the light-aroma base while each blends by its own route.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Fenyang area still retains brewing workshops, ancient wells, stone tablets, inscribed boards and old streets from the Ming and Qing periods; the distilleries of the Xinghua Village area still bear old trade names such as Fenxing and Xinghua. With Fenjiu as the mother liquor, a series of liquors has grown out — old white Fen liquor, Zhuyeqing liquor, rose Fen liquor and white jade Fen liquor; the unity of aroma type alongside the differentiation of varieties is the most notable structure of the liquor industry in this area.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
For thousands of years this skill has been transmitted from generation to generation through oral instruction, tacit understanding and the master-apprentice line, and has been continually innovated and developed; in today's Fenjiu brewing process it still plays an irreplaceable, key role. Fenyang still preserves the remains of Ming and Qing brewing workshops, ancient wells, stone tablets, inscribed boards and old streets, and the transmission chain of the traditional technique also continues; this historical continuity has become a solid foundation for protecting Fenjiu's traditional brewing technique. Distilleries in the Xinghua Village area today include Fenxing and Xinghua. At present, however, Fenjiu's large-scale industrial production poses a great challenge to the transmission of the traditional workshop-style brewing technique; at the same time Fenyang still faces water shortages, air pollution and shortages of raw materials such as sorghum, which should be taken seriously, with timely measures taken to ensure the normal production of Fenjiu and the smooth transmission of the Fenjiu brewing technique. Guo Shuangwei (record from the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in March 1949, from Wenshui County, Shanxi Province. Representative inheritor of the Xinghuacun Fenjiu brewing technique, a third-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project. Xinghuacun Fenjiu brewing technician. From the age of seventeen he entered the Xinghua Village Fenjiu Distillery to work, successively engaged in key technical work such as starter making and liquor brewing. On the basis of summarizing the experience of his predecessors, he proposed the "three methods of starter making", rectifying the black streaks, starter skin and burnt-core defects in daqu quality, and invented the fermentation temperature-control method of "slow start, firm middle, slow finish" and the high-temperature husk-mixing method, making Fenjiu's taste soft and sweet while greatly raising the liquor yield. For many years, in key posts in daqu production and liquor brewing, he devoted himself to training younger-generation inheritors, bringing out more than twenty apprentices in succession and laying a solid foundation for the development of the Fenjiu brewing industry.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Guo Shuangwei 03-1327
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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