Niangzaojiuchuantong Brewing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The brewing of Hongqu (red qu) yellow rice wine in Pingnan has been practiced among the people for a thousand years. The Jiufeng Temple (the site where Huizelong ascended to immortality), the three-pool donation stele at Zifu Temple, ancient qu yards, and old wine cellars are scattered throughout the county — all relics directly related to this craft. Transmission also mostly takes place by family: the Qiu, Zheng, and Wei clans of Yuyang, the Chen clan of Longtan, the Wu clan of Beiqian, and the Huang clan of Dashanxi all continue to pass down the red qu and yellow rice wine. An even earlier origin lies in folk legend: someone mixed moldy fava bean paste with chili and found the taste exceptionally fine, and from then on it was unstoppable. The people of Pingnan treat both the red qu and the yellow rice wine not only as food and drink but also as medical adjuvants and medicinal materials; here, the liquor qu and the medicinal formula were originally one and the same.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Pingnan County is located in the northeast of Fujian Province, within a mid-subtropical maritime monsoon climate, with relatively high average elevation and forest coverage. Its abundant natural spring water and thick red and yellow soils have provided high-quality raw materials and a natural environment for the development of the Hongqu yellow rice wine brewing technique. Yellow rice wine is the oldest type of liquor in China, worthy of being called the ancestor of all liquors. The red qu yellow rice wine uses clear spring water drawn at the chen hour (7–9 a.m.) with distinct Pingnan regional characteristics, high-mountain glutinous rice, and handmade red qu as raw materials. Using family brewing techniques, it is carefully crafted through nine ancient steps: drawing water at the chen hour, soaking and washing the rice, steaming the rice and cooling it, adding the qu-rice mixture to the jar, raking to start fermentation, pressing to extract the wine, tasting the new wine, smoking it with rice husks, and sealing it in the wine cellar. Among these, steaming the rice and cooling it requires steaming with pine firewood and controlling the cooling time; raking to start fermentation requires strict control of the raking-fermentation temperature; and smoking with rice husks centers on mastering the heat. Because of the Maillard reaction that occurs after sealing, the new red qu yellow rice wine is red, while the aged wine is yellow or amber, with a mellow and long-lasting taste. The new wine has a slight pungency, while the aged wine is fragrant. Both the red qu and the yellow rice wine made from it are food and drink as well as important medical adjuvants or medicinal materials in local people's lives, and are deeply loved. The Pingnan red qu yellow rice wine brewing technique has lasted a thousand years. Pingnan has relics related to red qu yellow rice wine brewing, such as the Jiufeng Temple (the site where Huizelong ascended to immortality), the three-pool donation stele at Zifu Temple, ancient qu yards, and old wine cellars. At the same time, red qu yellow rice wine has always been an important agricultural byproduct of Fujian and plays a positive role in promoting rural revitalization.
Drawing water at the chen hour
Water is drawn at the chen hour and the rice soaked and washed in the same stretch of the morning.
Steaming over a pine fire and cooling
The rice is steamed over a pine fire, then cooled for a controlled time so its moisture suits the red qu.
Opening and raking the ferment
After the qu and rice enter the jar the ferment is raked open, with temperature held firmly because red qu ferments fast.
Smoking the wine over rice husk
The pressed wine is smoked over rice husk, with sound, smoke and scent used together to judge the fire.
Sealing in the cellar and the change of colour
Slow Maillard reactions during cellar storage turn new red wine amber and mellow, which is why families cellar it.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Pingnan red qu yellow rice wine brewing technique is closely related to the production, daily life, and folk beliefs of the people, is an important carrier of local culture and local knowledge, and holds high historical and cultural value.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Niangzaojiuchuantong Brewing Craftsmanship · Niangzaojiuchuantong Brewing Craftsmanship · Niangzaojiuchuantong Brewing Craftsmanship · Niangzaojiuchuantong Brewing Craftsmanship.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The red qu yellow rice wine brewing technique is one of the representative traditional fermented-liquor brewing techniques of China, distributed across the provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Taiwan as well as Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Fujian is its main inheritance and practice region, with more than 30 county-level districts including Pingnan, Gutian, and Jiaocheng in Ningde City as key areas. The inheritance lineage of this technique is clearly traceable; among them, groups and families with an inheritance reaching a century or more than three generations include the Qiu, Zheng, and Wei clans of Yuyang, the Chen clan of Longtan, the Wu clan of Beiqian, and the Huang clan of Dashanxi. This item is mainly transmitted through family inheritance and master-apprentice inheritance; households, workshops, and small brewing enterprises are the most important transmission sites. Family brewing is characterized by the whole family collaborating in the practice of the technique, while workshops and small brewing enterprises rely on master-apprentice teaching and personal instruction to pass on the related knowledge and skills. Its fermentation technology and Maillard reaction process contain high scientific research value. As important Chinese medicinal materials and medical adjuvants, the health and cultural value of the red qu and yellow rice wine must not be overlooked.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Xu Chaozhong 03-1416
- Wang Haoping 05-2839
- Lvminxiang 05-2840
- Chen Guanchang
- Li Zhongsheng
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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