Niangcujiyi
01 · Historical Records
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the production scale of millet vinegar reached its peak, among which the 'Sanshenghe' vinegar workshop of Fencheng was renowned in the region.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Millet vinegar is a very important variety of vinegar; the millet-vinegar brewing technique is a traditional vinegar-making art using millet as raw material, malted barley as saccharifying agent, and daqu as fermenting agent, with cooking, saccharification, drawing off the liquid, static low-temperature dual cooperative fermentation of alcohol and acetic acid, and sealed-vat pit-storage aging. Fencheng Town, Xiangfen County, Shanxi Province, is one of the main regions where this technique is spread. Millet vinegar is rich in nutrients and contains cystine and tryptophan not found in other types of vinegar; it is not only an excellent choice for seasoning and accompanying meals but can also be taken as medicine to treat illness. The Compendium of Materia Medica records: 'Only millet vinegar of two or three years is used in medicine; the rest may be eaten but cannot be used in medicine.' Millet-vinegar brewing must go through eight major process steps, including making the daqu: crushing barley, corn, wheat, peas, and black beans and the like, adding water and mixing them evenly, then filling molds to make blocks and placing them in the starter room to ferment; making the malt: placing barley in a vat and changing the water at set intervals to make it sprout; cooking and saccharifying: adding millet and water to the cooking pot and steaming, then adding the malt to form the millet mash; draining the saccharification liquid: placing the millet mash in a saccharification vat with a false bottom, holding it warm for saccharification and draining off the saccharification liquid, then adding hot water to the vat, holding it warm for saccharification again, and draining off the saccharification liquid; filling the vat with starter: transferring the millet saccharification liquid into the fermentation vat and sprinkling daqu powder over the liquid surface; sealing the vat for fermentation: sealing the vat with alkaline wheat-husk clay, carrying out static low-temperature dual cooperative fermentation of alcohol and acetic acid, and aging by natural pit-storage fermentation for more than one hundred days. The characteristics of this technique lie in the use of high-temperature cooking to drain the sugar liquid, static low-temperature dual cooperative fermentation of alcohol and acetic acid, and sealed-vat aging; the finished product has a golden, clear color. The Fengsu Tongyi records: 'In ancient times the mingjia plant grew by the steps of Taiping; its taste was sour, and the king took it to season food; later it was replaced by vinegar and pickled mince.' Fencheng Town, the birthplace of millet vinegar, is a famous historical and cultural town of China.
Archival Records of Process Steps
Millet-vinegar brewing must go through eight major process steps, including making the daqu: crushing barley, corn, wheat, peas, and black beans and the like, adding water and mixing them evenly, then filling molds to make blocks and placing them in the starter room to ferment; making the malt: placing barley in a vat and changing the water at set intervals to make it sprout; cooking and saccharifying: adding millet and water to the cooking pot and steaming, then adding the malt to form the millet mash; draining the saccharification liquid: placing the millet mash in a saccharization vat with a false bottom, holding it warm for saccharization and draining off the liquid, then adding hot water to the vat, holding it warm again, and draining off the liquid; filling the vat with starter: transferring the millet saccharification liquid into the fermentation vat and sprinkling daqu powder over the liquid surface; sealing the vat for fermentation: sealing the vat with alkaline wheat-husk clay, carrying out static low-temperature dual cooperative fermentation of alcohol and acetic acid, and aging by natural pit-storage fermentation for more than one hundred days.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
In recent years, the locality has carried on the traditional vinegar-making craft of the 'Sanshenghe' workshop, expanding and reorganizing it into Shanxi Sanshenghe Brewing Co., Ltd.; through years of development it has formed a traditional millet-vinegar brewing technique matched to modern science and based on handmade craft, enlarging the scale of millet-vinegar brewing and carrying it forward.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Qingxulaochencuniangzhijiyi · Laochencuniangzhijiyi · Niangcujiyi · Niangcujiyi · Niangcujiyi · Niangcujiyi.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The millet-vinegar brewing technique has a position and significance in the history of vinegar production that cannot be underestimated; its products excel in color, aroma, and taste, combine seasoning and health-preserving functions, and possess very high historical and cultural value as well as practical value. Shanxi's exquisite millet-vinegar brewing technique, relying on the long history and culture of its birthplace, displays the brewing wisdom of ancient times and has important reference value for the study of ancient technology and national history. Wang Decai (recorded in the official archive of associated inheritors): Representative inheritor of vinegar-making technique (millet-vinegar brewing technique), a national-level intangible cultural heritage item (fifth batch). He successively went to Beijing, Sichuan, Jilin, Shaanxi, and elsewhere to study. Working earnestly with the scientific and technical personnel of the Shanxi Food Industry Research Institute, on the basis of the traditional brewing craft of Fencheng rice vinegar, he adopted the method of 'multi-strain cultivation, multi-enzyme action, low-temperature fermentation, long-term brewing,' combining ancient craft with modern technology and building the Fencheng rice-vinegar brand. He devoted himself to training successors, passing the traditional millet-vinegar brewing technique on to his disciple Wang Junlong and organizing lecture classes, effectively protecting and transmitting the old craft of millet vinegar and promoting Shanxi's vinegar culture. Male, of Han ethnicity, born in October 1951 in Xiangfen County, Shanxi Province; died in January 2019.
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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