Peizhijiuchuantong Brewing Craftsmanship
01 · Historical Records
The imperial chrysanthemum white liquor of the Ming and Qing dynasties was a precious liquor type created on the basis of the folk chrysanthemum wine, combined with the special needs of the imperial court. The time-honored brand 'Renhe,' founded in the mid-eighteenth century, specialized in undertaking the production of imperial court liquors; during the Tongzhi reign it obtained the secret recipe for chrysanthemum white liquor from the palace, and the craft has been transmitted for seven generations to the present day.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Chrysanthemum wine is an essential drink of the Chongyang (Double Ninth) Festival, with a long brewing history. It uses chrysanthemum as the main ingredient, supplemented by more than twenty precious Chinese medicinal herbs such as ginseng, goji berry, and agarwood, distilled together with a base liquor, and has the effects of nourishing the liver and improving vision, dispelling wind and clearing heat, replenishing qi and strengthening the spleen, and nourishing yin and tonifying the kidney. The chrysanthemum white-liquor brewing craft inherits the craft tradition of distilled liquor's solid-state fermentation and solid-state distillation, combines the production process of liqueur (lujiu), and forms a whole set of special distillation processes centered on aroma extraction and impurity removal, combining solid and liquid phases and taking the liquor in stages. This liquor has a fairly long brewing cycle, requiring about eight months from start to finish, with main process steps including pretreatment, distillation, blending, and aging storage. The finished chrysanthemum white liquor is crystal-clear and colorless, integrating chrysanthemum aroma, medicinal aroma, and liquor aroma into one, fragrant and alluring. The chrysanthemum white-liquor brewing craft imposes strict requirements on materials and workmanship, advocating that the materials must be of the finest quality and the workmanship must be meticulous. Its formula is scientific and rigorous, conforms to the theory of Chinese herbal formula science, and embodies the traditional practical experience of Chinese medicine. It advocates health preservation through liquor and nourishment through medicine, possesses high scientific value, and has played a positive role in improving the physical fitness and quality of life of the people.
Archival Process Record
This liquor has a fairly long brewing cycle, requiring about eight months from start to finish, with main process steps including pretreatment, distillation, blending, and aging storage.
Finest materials, finest workmanship
Over twenty herbs are dosed by role, with chrysanthemum for aroma distilled out and ginseng and goji steeped in.
Solid-liquid combination with cut-by-segment distillation
Solid-state fermentation and distillation are combined with infused-liquor practice, taking the clearest cut.
Four stages across eight months
Pretreatment, distillation, blending and ageing add up to about eight months of slow, costly work.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The origin and distribution of the chrysanthemum white-liquor craft are concentrated between the imperial court and the time-honored brands of the capital. It is not a local rustic liquor of any one place, but rather a branch that first took the folk chrysanthemum wine as its base and was then reworked by the court to meet special needs. The time-honored brand Renhe, founded in the mid-eighteenth century, specialized in undertaking imperial court liquors; during the Tongzhi reign it obtained the secret recipe for chrysanthemum white liquor from the palace, and seven generations since have guarded this recipe without passing it on. In craft terms it combines the solid-state fermentation and solid-state distillation of distilled liquor with the methods of liqueur (lujiu), forming an approach centered on aroma extraction and impurity removal, combining solid and liquid phases and taking the liquor in stages—entirely different from the southern method of steeping medicinal liquor. This courtly background also determined its narrow circulation: it spread under the name of 'imperial liquor' through Beijing and the towns of the north, while most chrysanthemum liquor on the market is merely ordinary infused liquor, incomparable in either recipe or process. The output of chrysanthemum white liquor in this area has always been small, and the workshops able to complete the full process by the ancient method can be counted on one's fingers.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Relying on the Chongyang Festival, chrysanthemum white liquor has a certain seasonality; coupled with reasons such as high brewing costs and low manual-production efficiency, the related brewing craft has developed slowly, its transmission has been obstructed, and it needs protection and rescue. Half the value of chrysanthemum white liquor lies in its formula and half in its season. Using chrysanthemum as the main ingredient and supplemented by more than twenty Chinese medicinal herbs such as ginseng, goji berry, and agarwood, its formulation follows the 'monarch, minister, assistant, envoy' logic of Chinese herbal formula science, and accords with the thinking of health preservation through liquor and nourishment through medicine—hence the emphasis that the materials must be of the finest quality and the workmanship must be meticulous. It also leans toward the Chongyang Festival; the festival is itself linked with chrysanthemums and with respect for the elderly, and this seasonal attribute gives the craft a clear production-and-sales point in time, yet compresses the year's production into just a few months. A brewing cycle of around eight months, high raw-material costs, and low manual efficiency have long kept this craft on a narrow path of supply falling short of demand.
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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