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.
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. Lihuachun liquor is made by using barley, peas, and bran as the raw materials for qu-making and sorghum as the raw material for brewing, and is brewed in a natural ecological environment. Many of its process steps, including qu-making, brewing, distillation, and blending, are distinctive; the brewing technique as a whole embodies the production model of light-aroma distilled liquor represented by the brewing technique of Fenjiu, while also incorporating advanced experience drawn from the brewing techniques of ethnic minorities. The traditional brewing technique of Lihuachun employs such distinctive processes as making qu at medium temperature, heaping to enhance aroma, fermenting in earthen vats, distilling over a slow fire, storing by grade, and blending with skill; the operations at many stages rely on experience passed down from generation to generation and accumulated personally by the brewers, and to this day some key process steps still have to be done by hand.
Archival Record of Working Procedures
The traditional brewing technique of Lihuachun employs such distinctive processes as making qu at medium temperature, heaping to enhance aroma, fermenting in earthen vats, distilling over a slow fire, storing by grade, and blending with skill; the operations at many stages rely on experience passed down from generation to generation and accumulated personally by the brewers, and to this day some key process steps still have to be done by hand.
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. Lihuachun liquor from Yingxian County, Shanxi Province, is a famous liquor of northern Shanxi; its brewing technique embodies the wisdom of local brewers over a thousand years and has high historical and cultural value.
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04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Qin Wenke (per the official archival record of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in January 1954, a native of Yingxian County, Shanxi Province. Representative inheritor of the traditional brewing technique of distilled liquor (the traditional brewing technique of Lihuachun baijiu), a project of the third national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. A senior engineer. In order to unearth the traditional brewing technology of Lihuachun baijiu, he went among the people to interview veteran brewing artisans, and studied and systematically summarized the techniques of the ancient Lihuachun liquor, including material selection and qu-making and brewing. At the same time he organized professional technical personnel to study the technical experience of well-known distilleries nationwide, elevating the traditional brewing technique of Lihuachun baijiu. In the core technical post he has been devoted to training young technicians, has successively mentored dozens of disciples, and has collected and preserved more than four hundred precious physical objects.
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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