Zhenjiang Hengshunxiangcuniangzhijiyi
01 · Historical Records
Zhenjiang Hengshun aromatic vinegar was founded in 1840 and is one of China's four famous vinegars. At this point the mature vinegar mash can be sealed, then added to the leaching jars, where home-made rice colouring is added with water and soaked to draw off the raw vinegar; after filtering and decocting it is stored. Specifically, the decocted vinegar is first poured into breathable earthenware jars and then placed in the open to withstand wind, sun and rain; the open-air placing period is at least half a year and may last as long as eight years.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (Zhongguo Yiyao Dadian), "the best vinegar comes from Hangzhou and Shaoxing in Zhejiang, but in truth it is Zhenjiang in Jiangsu that is supreme." Zhenjiang Hengshun aromatic vinegar has a unique brewing craft, using a solid-state layered fermentation method, thereby producing a distinctive flavour that is "sour but not astringent, fragrant with a hint of sweetness, deep in colour and fresh in taste, and mellower with longer storage." Among comparable products, Zhenjiang Hengshun aromatic vinegar not only has advantages in colour, aroma and taste, but also ranks at the top in every physical and chemical indicator (non-volatile acid, amino acids, esters and so on). The raw material of Zhenjiang Hengshun aromatic vinegar is carefully chosen: it must be premium glutinous rice from the land of fish and rice in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In brewing, a self-made special wheat qu is first added to the steamed glutinous-rice porridge as a fermenting agent to bring about saccharification and alcoholisation, producing a fine liquor that becomes the vinegar mash. Then the solid-state layered fermentation craft is adopted: wheat bran and rice husk are mixed into the liquor to form a solid; when the temperature is right, the selected unique acetic-acid bacterial strain is inoculated, and the mash is turned once daily for cooling, oxygenation and acetic fermentation. During more than twenty days of growth and reproduction, the acetic-acid bacteria trigger a series of biochemical reactions that generate acetic acid, amino acids and other sour, savoury and fragrant substances. Through long storage, the decocted vinegar undergoes later reactions such as natural concentration and esterification for added aroma, finally forming a flavour of "rich vinegar fragrance, prominent ester aroma, mild sourness and fragrant sweetness." All told, the craft goes through more than forty process steps and, excluding storage time, takes over sixty days.
Documented production process
All told, the craft goes through more than forty process steps and, excluding storage time, takes over sixty days.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The craft of brewing Zhenjiang Hengshun aromatic vinegar is centred on Zhenjiang City in Jiangsu Province and extends to Changzhou and Wuxi. Jiangsu Hengshun Vinegar Industry Co., Ltd. is the protecting unit of the item. According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, "the best vinegar comes from Hangzhou and Shaoxing in Zhejiang, but in truth it is Zhenjiang in Jiangsu that is supreme." Zhenjiang sits where the Yangtze River meets the Grand Canal; since the Ming and Qing dynasties it has been a mandatory passage for grain transport and trade, with vinegar workshops lining both banks of the canal, so its solid-state layered fermentation method has been passed down through the generations.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
"Today this product holds many honours—a China Well-Known Trademark, a China Top Brand, a state-inspection-exempt product, a product under original-region protection, and a green food—and has become a city card of Zhenjiang. At present the brewing craft of Zhenjiang Hengshun aromatic vinegar is increasingly threatened by imported liquid-state brewing processes; Japan has even raised the banner of "Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar made in Japan," researching and copying the Zhenjiang aromatic-vinegar craft. In this situation we should all the more properly protect and pass on this traditional national manual craft. Qiao Guiqing (from the official archival record of the associated inheritor): male, Han, born in June 1963, a native of Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province. Representative inheritor of the national-level intangible cultural heritage item, the craft of brewing Zhenjiang Hengshun aromatic vinegar (fifth batch). Senior technician. Through long practice he gradually mastered the unique skills of manually testing temperature, turning the mash with a bamboo rake, and tasting and appraising vinegar, becoming a highly skilled vinegar brewer. He has played a positive role in further refining the craft and improving quality. He actively carries out specialist research and the teaching of apprentices; he serves as technical adviser for traditional craft at the China Zhenjiang Vinegar Culture Museum and founded the Qiao Guiqing Skills Master Studio. He was awarded the title of "Jiangsu Provincial Technical Expert" by the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Qiao Guiqing 05-2761
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。