Qingxulaochencuniangzhijiyi
01 · Historical Records
Qingxu's vinegar-brewing lineage has two turning points: in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period the ancients already used vats and urns for liquid fermentation, and by the Northern Wei this was changed to solid-state fermentation; only after that did the combination of red sorghum, rice bran and red-hearted daqu come into being. In the Western Han, commercial vinegar workshops appeared in Qingxu, showing that this craft had early on moved beyond the scope of household drinking; from the Ming dynasty onward, the fame of "fragrance penetrating the bottle" fixed in place this northern-style gourmet vinegar technique. The list of techniques inherited by Wu Runwei — earthen-vat alcoholic fermentation, artificial cooling on hot summer days, multi-vat smoked starter, high-density leaching and household-style aging of old vinegar — are precisely the critical junctures that settled out along this lineage.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Shanxi aged vinegar is one of China's four great famous vinegars; its main production area lies in the townships of Mengfeng, Qingyuan, Xugou and Xigu within Qingxu County. Qingxu lies in the south of Taiyuan City, with mountains behind and plains before; legend has it that "southwest of the city of Emperor Yao there was a Jade Spring, where King Yao went in person to brew vinegar". In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period the people of Qingxu were already brewing vinegar with vats and urns by liquid fermentation, and this vinegar-brewing technique has continued to this day. In the Western Han, commercial vinegar workshops appeared in Qingxu. In the Northern Wei period, the vinegar-brewing technique was changed from liquid to solid-state fermentation — a milestone innovation that laid the foundation for the formation of the distinctive style of the Qingxu aged vinegar brewing technique. Qingxu aged vinegar takes locally grown red sorghum as its main raw material, various rice bran as auxiliary material, and red-hearted daqu as the fermenting agent, using the starter in place of grain; through rational ingredient proportioning and material steaming, it employs dilute-mash anaerobic alcoholization, manual turning of the solid acetic-acid starter, deliberate variable-temperature fermentation as required, and is finished by high-temperature smoked starter, high-density leaching and high-standard aging. Unlike the West, which has long consumed fruit vinegar, China's ancients mainly ate vinegar fermented from grain, which gives Chinese vinegar more amino acids and other nutrients essential to the human body. Shanxi aged vinegar is bright in color and clings to the bowl's walls; it integrates brewing aroma, ingredient aroma, mellow aroma and ester aroma into one, and in folk usage has long borne the elegant name "fragrance penetrating the bottle". Its sourness is pure and mild, its taste full-bodied, faintly sweet and refreshing, with a long finish; it has the unique effects of removing fishiness, gaminess and mutton odor and killing bacteria; it is a refined seasoning for cooking all kinds of fine dishes, and can also nourish the body, cure illness and beautify. At present, however, driven by economic interests, some workshops cut corners, dismember the traditional technique and produce inferior goods, distorting and damaging the technique and reputation of Shanxi aged vinegar; thorough rectification and strict prevention should be carried out.
Steaming and thin-mash anaerobic fermentation
Sorghum and bran are steamed with cake in place of grain, then fermented as a thin mash under anaerobic conditions to set yield and density.
Turning the solid vinegar mash by hand
In the solid stage the mash is turned by hand for air; how often and when decides both the rate of acetic fermentation and the evenness of the mash.
Smoking the vinegar mash
Hot smoking drives off moisture, turning the mash from black to brown and releasing its aroma; the multi-vessel method is among the key techniques he inherited.
High-density leaching
Leaching works on a thick, slow bed; the first run off is the strongest, and later fractions must be graded separately.
Household ageing of mature vinegar
Ageing is done household by household, vat by vat; this is where the age spread between vats and the celebrated aroma of the vinegar are built up.
Red-heart cake used in place of grain
The red-heart cake acts both as starter and as part of the raw material; the stability of its culture underpins the whole process.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
This technique with its distinctly local character has been passed down from generation to generation in Qingxu, and through continuous improvement and refinement has formed a complete process for northern-style gourmet vinegar brewing.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Laochencuniangzhijiyi · Niangcujiyi · Niangcujiyi · Niangcujiyi · Niangcujiyi · Niangcujiyi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Wu Runwei (record from the official archive of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in March 1955, from Qingxu County, Shanxi Province. Representative inheritor of the Qingxu aged vinegar brewing technique, a fourth-batch national-level intangible cultural heritage project. Senior industrial artist. He studied under the masters of all the influential vinegar workshops in the locality, collected relevant documents and physical objects, and from the many senior vinegar brewers inherited a number of nearly lost core brewing techniques — "earthen-vat alcoholic fermentation", "artificial cooling of fermentation workshops on hot summer days", "multi-vat smoked starter", "high-density leaching", "household aging of old vinegar" and "red-hearted daqu strain fermentation" — which, through continuous improvement and refinement, he formed into a high-standard aging technique. For many years he has devoted himself to training successors; he has passed the traditional Qingxu aged vinegar brewing technique on to twelve disciples and has established a lecture class on the traditional Qingxu aged vinegar brewing technique.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Guo Junlu 03-1328
- Wu Runwei 04-1853
- Wang Decai 05-2760
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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