Shaoxing, March 9 (Reporter Xi Jinyan) Yellow wine is one of the oldest liquors in the world, originating from China, and only China has it, and is called the world's three ancient wines together with beer and wine.
Yellow wine and the Chinese nation accompany each other, accompanied by the Chinese civilization through the long years, carrying the Chinese wisdom of the unity of heaven and man, brewing the richest spiritual world and scholars and bones of the Chinese. As a classic industry in Chinese history, what is the charm of rice wine? What is unique about the brewing technique?
In the spring of March, the spring breeze of ten miles into the wine. China News Service and China News Network "Foreign Anchors Watch the Two Sessions" column specially invited students from Morocco, Yu Jia, to shaoxing, Zhejiang, the capital of china's yellow wine, to talk with Zhang Guoqiang, deputy to the National People's Congress and director of the yellow wine brewing operation center of Shaoxing Daughter Red Wine Co., Ltd., to explore the past and present lives of the millennium yellow wine.
As the only NPC deputy in Shaoxing's rice wine industry, Zhang Guoqiang has insisted on "making suggestions" for the revitalization of rice wine for five years. From the inheritance and protection of rice wine brewing technology to the high-quality development of the rice wine industry, Zhang Guoqiang hopes that one day, Chinese rice wine can truly go abroad and go to the world.
The interview transcript is summarized below:
Yuga: Hello everyone, my current location is the fermentation area before the traditional wine brewing of Shaoxing Daughter Red Brewing Co., Ltd. Master Zhang, I saw that there was a cart there, what is the use of this car?
Zhang Guoqiang: Speaking of this car, we must first understand what Chinese rice wine is. Rice wine is the world's oldest grain brewing wine, which integrates drinking, health, cooking, and medicinal introduction. Because the original rice wine color is clear yellow or amber, it is called yellow wine.
Compared with beer and wine, Shaoxing rice wine brewing technology is very unique - wine koji winemaking, bilateral fermentation, multi-bacterial co-fermentation. The wine brewed in this way is very different from the simple yeast fermented wine, and the flavor is mellow, full,complete and fragrant.
Zhang Guoqiang introduced the brewing techniques of rice wine to foreign anchors. Photo by Tang Xiaopei
Brewing Shaoxing rice wine pays attention to conforming to the heavens, summer wine medicine, autumn wheat koji, Lidong brewing, Lichun wine, need a long time low temperature fermentation, 280 days of brewing period, cycle after cycle, the whole process is full of winemakers' persistence and feelings, reflecting the Chinese wisdom of the unity of heaven and man. In 2006, Shaoxing rice wine brewing technology was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage.
The cart we looked at was used for the fermentation process. Workers need to put the steamed rice in the cart and put it in a clay pot for fermentation.
Yuga: I see that there are many cylinders here, what is it for?
Zhang Guoqiang: These are clay pots fired with special clay, which are specially used for the aging of rice wine and are specially used for fermentation. Shaoxing rice wine is mainly based on rice, millet, corn, millet, wheat, etc. as the main raw materials, and wine medicine and wheat koji as saccharification fermentation agent for bilateral fermentation. The brewing process includes cooking, koji, saccharification, fermentation, pressing, filtration, decoction, storage, etc.
Every year in the winter, we pour the steamed rice into the tank, and then add the koji wheat and the wine mother, adjust the temperature and then keep it warm and let it ferment. This cylinder is nearly a thousand pounds or so. We do this every day during the winter brew.
Yuga: Master Zhang, I also saw a lot of cylinders outdoors, what are these for? Is there any difference between it and an indoor cylinder?
Zhang Guoqiang: The traditional brewing of Shaoxing yellow wine pays attention to "one winter and one brew" - Lidong feeding, starting to soak the rice fermentation, after fermentation in front of the clay pot, and then stored in the open air, so that the rice wine in the three-month long winter, slowly completed fermentation, the following year Lichun pressed out of the wine.
The tank we see indoors is used for pre-fermentation, and after 4 or 5 days of pre-fermentation, the material is put into a jar and fermented in a natural environment. The batch of altars we saw was sealed around December 7th, and it has been nearly 3 months now.
Yuga: Why put lotus leaves on this cover?
Zhang Guoqiang: The lotus leaves are placed to increase the fragrance.
Yuga: I see that there is a lot of packaged rice wine here, can you introduce me to these products?
Zhang Guoqiang: Our daughter red company has hundreds of rice wine products, but this is only part of China's rice wine industry.
Chinese rice wine is widely distributed, and more than 20 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China currently produce rice wine. There are eight main schools: Shaoxing Yellow Wine represented by Guyue Longshan, Huijishan mountain and Daughter Hong, Haipai Yellow Wine represented by Shikumen and Hejiu, Supai Yellow Wine represented by Shazhou Youhuang, Lupai Yellow Wine represented by Shandong Jimo Old Wine, Fujian Red Yeast Wine as representative, Huipai Yellow Wine represented by Anhui Gu Nanfeng, Shaanxi Yellow Wine represented by Shaanxi Xiecun Old Wine, and Taiwan Yellow Wine represented by Taiwan Shaoxing Wine.
Shaoxing rice wine is the best among Chinese rice wines. Shaoxing's unique natural environment, jianhu water and brewing techniques that have been passed down for thousands of years have produced a unique Shaoxing yellow wine, which has led the way for thousands of years, and the Ming and Qing dynasties have created the glory of "more wine in the world".
From the Eastern Jin Dynasty" Wang Xizhi and his friends in Shaoxing Shanyin Lanting qu water flow, drinking and poetry, to the Southern Song Dynasty Lu You and Tang Wan in Shaoxing Shenyuan after drinking, leaving behind thousands of years of singing "Baotou Phoenix", and then to the modern generation of literary heroes Lu Xun, the works also floated out of the yellow wine mellow from time to time. So I think that rice wine is the history of Chinese wine.
Yuga: Is there any benefit to our body from drinking rice wine?
Zhang Guoqiang: I have been in the factory for more than 30 years, and I have been drinking yellow wine, and I feel that drinking yellow wine is really good for our body. Warm yellow sprinkles can help blood circulation and promote metabolism. We have also developed innovative products such as rice wine ice cream and rice wine sticks, so that more young people can taste rice wine, understand yellow wine, and fall in love with yellow wine.
Yuga: Do you have any suggestions for participating in the National Two Sessions this year?
Zhang Guoqiang: I have brought two suggestions to the two sessions of the National People's Congress this year, one is to strengthen the inheritance and protection of rice wine brewing technology; second, it is to promote the declaration of rice wine brewing technology as a world intangible cultural heritage.
Winemaking culture is an important part of China's excellent traditional culture, and the winemaking skills that have been passed down from generation to generation nourish the life of Chinese, enrich the emotions of Chinese, and are full of the spirit of Chinese.
As a rice wine person who is fighting in the front line of rice wine brewing, I feel the sense of the times and national pride brought by this industry, but at the same time, I always feel the responsibility and anxiety of this national industry to innovate and develop.
The brewing technology of Shaoxing rice wine has been passed down for thousands of years and is created and summarized by the ancient working people in long-term production practice. The brewing process recorded in ancient literature is very limited, and the inheritance of the technique is almost continuously improved by the hearts of generations of winemaking technicians. At present, most of the non-hereditary inheritors of Shaoxing rice wine brewing skills are close to or above retirement age. The inheritance of Shaoxing rice wine brewing skills is facing a situation of green and yellow.
Therefore, I suggest that we should vigorously inherit and protect the chinese rice wine brewing technology and actively apply for the world intangible cultural heritage. This has a positive significance for promoting traditional Chinese culture and enhancing the sense of national cultural identity and self-confidence. I hope that through the joint efforts of everyone, we will promote rice wine to jump out of Shaoxing, go abroad and go to the world.
Yuga: I have heard of Chinese wine before, but I didn't expect that the brewing process is so complicated, such as summer wine medicine, autumn wheat koji, Lidong brewing, Lichun wine, to adapt to different seasons to do different processes, I think this also reflects the Concept of Chinese Unity of Heaven and Man. It is really remarkable that such an ancient skill can be passed down. There are too many surprises in traditional Chinese culture, and I hope to learn more in the future and tell these stories to more people. (End)