Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
Distilled liquor was anciently called "shaojiu" (burned liquor) or "chunjiu" (mellow liquor). It first evolved from low-alcohol rice wine and took shape around the Song dynasty; it has a history of more than eight hundred years. Carefully brewed Bancheng shaoguo liquor is clear in body, rich in aroma, and long in aftertaste, and does not cause a hangover; in 2005 it was recognized as a "China Well-Known Trademark", in 2006 it was rated a "China Time-Honored Brand" by the Ministry of Commerce, and in 2007 it was again rated a "China Famous Liquor" by the Ministry of Commerce.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In distilled-liquor brewing, starchy or sugary raw materials such as grains and tubers are first made into fermented mash (unfiltered liquor) or fermented into a cloudy liquor, and the liquor is then obtained by distillation. Distilled liquor is white or faintly yellow and transparent, and is therefore commonly known as "baijiu" (white liquor). It has a fragrant, pure aroma and a smooth, sweet, clean taste on the palate; its alcohol content is relatively high, making it a strong liquor. Distinguished by the raw materials and the saccharifying-and-fermenting agents used, distilled-liquor brewing differs according to whether it employs the daqu (large qu), xiaoqu (small qu), or fuqu (bran qu) technique. The materials for distilled liquor are mainly food grains, giving types such as sorghum liquor and maize liquor; sorghum has a high starch content and a moderate protein content, which makes it best suited to brewing distilled liquor. China's distilled liquor is produced mainly in Sichuan, Guizhou, Henan, Hebei, Shenyang, Jilin, Beijing, and other areas; the formation of its brewing techniques is closely related to the local grains (abundant sorghum), climate (cold or damp), water quality, and living customs. Legend has it that in the thirty-eighth year of the Qianlong reign (1773), the Qianlong Emperor, traveling incognito with his favored minister Ji Xiaolan, came to the Qingyuanheng tavern at Xiabancheng in Chengde; in the warmth of the wine he ingeniously matched "Bancheng shaoguo jiu" against the five elements "metal, wood, water, fire, earth", a witticism that was long recounted with delight and from which Bancheng shaoguo liquor took its name. Bancheng shaoguo liquor uses high-quality sorghum and wheat as its main raw materials and combines the traditional old five-zeng process with modern microbiological technology. The old five-zeng brewing process requires that the raw materials and the aromatic fermented mash taken from the pit be steamed and gelatinized together in the same zeng steamer: the pit holds four zeng of fermenting material, and after it is removed new raw material is added so that it is divided into five zeng for fermentation. The old five-zeng brewing process of Bancheng shaoguo liquor ferments the raw materials repeatedly in order to raise the liquor yield, accumulate aroma precursors, and increase the fragrance of the baijiu.
Steaming raw grain and spent lees in one vessel
New grain is steamed in the same vessel with the lees dug from the pit: four batches were already fermenting, and the fresh material makes the fifth.
Repeated fermentation building aroma precursors
Sending the material round the five stages many times raises the yield and builds up the aroma precursors that give the finished wine its fragrance.
Combining traditional practice with modern microbiology
Quality sorghum and wheat, combined with modern microbiological control, let the advantage of repeated fermentation be reproduced reliably.
Clarity and a clean head
The wine is clear in the glass, richly aromatic, long in finish and leaves no headache, the last point showing the room the process leaves for impurity control.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
According to aroma type, distilled liquor can further be divided into sauce-aroma, light-aroma, strong-aroma, rice-aroma, and composite-aroma types, among others.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The name of Bancheng shaoguo liquor carries with it a verifiable piece of liquor lore: legend has it that in the thirty-eighth year of the Qianlong reign (1773), the Qianlong Emperor, traveling incognito with his favored minister Ji Xiaolan, came to the Qingyuanheng tavern at Xiabancheng in Chengde, where in the warmth of the wine he ingeniously matched Bancheng shaoguo liquor against metal, wood, water, fire, and earth — a witticism long recounted with delight, and the origin of the liquor's name. A liquor name that turns on a couplet shows that the value of such a local liquor often lies not only in the liquor itself but in the way it is bound up with the stories of local figures. This renown has in our own time been written into recognitions and lists: in 2005 it was recognized as a China Well-Known Trademark, in 2006 it was rated a China Time-Honored Brand by the Ministry of Commerce, and in 2007 it was again rated a China Famous Liquor by the Ministry of Commerce; that the liquor is clear in body, rich in aroma, long in aftertaste, and does not cause a hangover provides the basis for its quality. Chengde Qianlongzui Liquor Co., Ltd., as the protecting unit, has kept the old five-zeng craft within its production area. As for brewing, Bancheng shaoguo liquor uses high-quality sorghum and wheat as its main raw materials and combines the traditional old five-zeng process with modern microbiological technology: the old five-zeng brewing process requires that the raw materials and the aromatic fermented mash taken from the pit be steamed and gelatinized together in the same zeng steamer — the pit holds four zeng of fermenting material, and after it is removed new raw material is added so that it is divided into five zeng for fermentation; the old five-zeng brewing process of Bancheng shaoguo liquor ferments the raw materials repeatedly in order to raise the liquor yield, accumulate aroma precursors, and increase the fragrance of the baijiu. Traditional practice insists on passing through the steamer many times while modern technique insists on controllable parameters; placing the two within a single set of procedures is precisely how Bancheng shaoguo liquor is made today.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Gao Jingyan 03-1409
- Shang Liyun 03-1410
- Qin Wenke 03-1411
- Li Yuheng 03-1412
- Lai Dengyi 03-1414
- Li Jiashun 03-1415
- Yang Dajin 05-2838
- Zhou Xinhu
- Li Tianhua
- Xu Zhancheng
- Zhao Deyi
- Li Zexia
- Lu Zhenying
- Zhao Dong
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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