Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
In ancient times distilled liquor was called "shaojiu" (burnt liquor) or "chunjiu" (mellow liquor); it evolved originally from low-alcohol rice wine, took shape around the Song dynasty, and has a history of more than eight hundred years. The traditional Jiannanchun brewing technique had basically taken shape in the High Tang period; after being transmitted and developed through the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, by the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty the traditional brewing technique of Mianzhu Daqu liquor, of which Jiannanchun is the representative, was continually improved and reached full maturity. Eleven pits built in the early years of the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty in the "Tianyi Laohao" distillery are still in use today and are called "living artifacts" in the history of brewing.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
In the brewing of distilled liquor, starchy or sugary raw materials such as grains and tubers are first made into fermented mash (unfiltered liquor) or fermented into a cloudy fermented liquid (muddy liquor), which is then distilled into spirits. Distilled liquor is white or slightly yellow and transparent, and is therefore commonly called "baijiu" (white liquor). Its aroma is fragrant and pure, it is smooth, sweet and clean on the palate, and its alcohol content is relatively high, making it a strong liquor. Judged by the raw materials used and the saccharifying and fermenting agents, distilled-liquor brewing involves different techniques using daqu (large qu), xiaoqu (small qu) or fuqu (bran qu). Distilled liquor is made mainly from grain and can be divided into sorghum liquor, maize liquor and other types; sorghum, being high in starch and moderate in protein, is the most suitable for brewing distilled liquor. China's distilled liquor is produced mainly in Sichuan, Guizhou, Henan, Hebei, Shenyang, Jilin, Beijing and other regions, and the formation of its brewing methods is closely related to the local grains (abundant sorghum), climate (cold or humid), water quality and living customs. Jiannanchun liquor is produced in Mianzhu City, Sichuan Province. It uses five grains — glutinous rice, rice, wheat, sorghum and maize — as raw materials; in brewing, wheat is first made into medium-to-high-temperature qu, fermentation is carried out at low temperature in solid state in mud pits, and the liquor is then finished by the processes of continuous mash charging, mixed steaming and mixed firing, quality-based liquor drawing, storage at original proof, and blending and seasoning. The traditional Jiannanchun brewing technique is relatively elaborate, including the techniques of making, maintaining and caring for the mud pits, of making and appraising daqu medicine, of brewing and drawing the base liquor, of ageing the base liquor, of tasting and blending, and some other related techniques. Jiannanchun production has always used the ancient brewing technique of "solid-state fermentation of pure grain in mud pits". Jiannanchun liquor is richly aromatic, pure and elegant, mellow and supple, sweet and clean with a lingering aftertaste, and full and rounded in body; it is regarded as an important representative of China's strong-aroma baijiu.
Building and maintaining the mud pits
The craft divides into pit building and upkeep, qu making and grading, fermenting and cutting, ageing, and tasting and blending — and the mud pit, being both vessel and habitat, demands its own skill.
Making and grading the medium-high temperature qu
Of five grains, wheat is first made into a medium-high temperature qu, whose making and grading set the saccharifying power and the style of everything after it.
Solid-state low-temperature fermentation in mud pits
Slow solid-state fermentation in the pit, followed by lees carry-over, mixed steaming and burning, volume-based cutting, original-proof storage and blending.
Cutting by quality as well as volume
Cutting each fraction by both volume and quality before storing it separately — the basis of the base-wine grading system and the ceiling on what blending can achieve.
Tasting and blending
Ageing, tasting and blending are the last stages; the eleven Kangxi-era pits are still in use precisely because the standards at both ends have never been relaxed.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
By aroma type, distilled liquor can further be divided into sauce-aroma, light-aroma, strong-aroma, rice-aroma, composite-aroma and other types.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship · Traditional Distilling Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The value of Jiannanchun rests on two kinds of evidence, the physical and the technical. On the physical side, eleven pits built in the early years of the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty in the Tianyi Laohao distillery are still in use today and are called living artifacts in the history of brewing; that the pits can be kept in use rather than abandoned itself shows that the technique and the pits cultivate each other rather than being a one-off construction. On the technical side, the traditional Jiannanchun brewing technique is relatively elaborate, including the techniques of making, maintaining and caring for the mud pits, of making and appraising daqu medicine, of brewing and drawing the base liquor, of ageing the base liquor, of tasting and blending, and some other related techniques; such a fine division of labour makes the craft hard to sum up in a single secret formula. In drinking and stylistic terms, Jiannanchun liquor is richly aromatic, pure and elegant, mellow and supple, sweet and clean with a lingering aftertaste, and full and rounded in body, and is regarded as an important representative of China's strong-aroma baijiu; it uses five grains — glutinous rice, rice, wheat, sorghum and maize — as raw materials, first making wheat into medium-to-high-temperature qu, fermenting at low temperature in solid state in mud pits, and then finishing by continuous mash charging, mixed steaming and mixed firing, quality-based liquor drawing, storage at original proof, and blending and seasoning, and Jiannanchun production has always used the ancient brewing technique of solid-state fermentation of pure grain in mud pits. Its historical thread also explains why this technique matured during the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty: the traditional Jiannanchun brewing technique had basically taken shape in the High Tang period, and after being transmitted and developed through the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, by the Kangxi reign of the Qing the traditional brewing technique of Mianzhu Daqu liquor, of which Jiannanchun is the representative, was continually improved and reached full maturity.
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)
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。