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Text | Uncle scum
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preface
In recent years, the number of Japanese tourists in various parts of China has attracted attention, and many of these Japanese tourists have gone straight to local bistros and night bars instead of visiting places of interest, in order to taste Chinese baijiu rice wine.
This phenomenon seems to imply that the supply of baijiu rice wine in Japan is in short supply, and the Japanese have to spend a lot of money to import from China, and the charm of Chinese baijiu rice wine seems to far exceed that of domestic wine. What is the unique charm of Chinese baijiu rice wine?
Rice wine: A special flavor that cannot be made by Japanese people
Rice wine has a long history in China, dating back to the Shang Dynasty, and is one of the oldest winemaking varieties in mainland China, and it developed to its peak during the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the brewing process matured day by day.
At the same time, rice wine also influenced the production of Japanese sake through cultural exchange, but to this day, the Japanese still cannot fully copy the flavor of rice wine, and can only import it in large quantities from China, which is inseparable from the raw materials and processes of the two liquors.
Japanese sake can be said to be learned and improved from Chinese rice wine technology, but the raw materials are different, Japanese sake uses polished rice as the main raw material, supplemented by water and rice malt for fermentation.
Some sake will also add sugar, acid and other edible alcohol as a flavoring agent, which makes most sake taste lighter, while rice wine has a richer choice of raw materials, such as rice, millet rice, black rice, wheat and other grains in different combinations, making the taste of rice wine thicker and richer, long charm.
In addition, rice wine is often brewed with Chinese medicinal herbs, which also contributes to its unique flavor.
On the other hand, the experience accumulated in the handmade brewing process of rice wine is difficult for the Japanese to fully replicate, and there is a long folk brewing tradition in typical production areas of Chinese rice wine, such as Shaoxing and Xiaogan.
After a long period of inheritance and innovation, the winemaking process has formed a unique style, such as Shaoxing rice wine is known for its "color, aroma, taste, type", this historical accumulation is difficult to copy in a short time, although Japan has also tried to brew rice wine, but has never reached the height and level of Chinese rice wine.
In recent years, with the promotion of Chinese rice wine overseas, Japan has also become one of the important export objects, data show that since 2001, China's rice wine exports to Japan have shown a significant growth trend.
Traditional Japanese restaurants and supermarkets in Japan can find rice wine from China, and some typical rice wine brands such as daughter red and flower sculpture are also well known to Japanese consumers.
It can be said that the selection of raw materials and brewing techniques of rice wine are difficult for Japanese people to fully master and copy, which is why rice wine in Shaoxing, China and other places will be loved by Japanese drinkers.
This famous sake with a long history has a homologous relationship with Japanese sake, and the Chinese brewing process gives it a unique charm that Japan does not have, which is an important reason why many Japanese people come to "pilgrimage".
Baijiu: The lack of the Japanese liquor market and the reason why Japanese people are seeking Chinese baijiu
As a country with a developed wine culture, Japan has its own national liquor, sake, but with the changes of the times and the change of social environment, the sake market is gradually limited in Japan, in contrast, the diversity, process complexity and unique flavor of Chinese liquor attract many Japanese to come to "purchase".
First of all, the raw materials and methods of brewing sake determine its sweet taste and low degree, which contrasts with the strong Chinese baijiu.
Chinese baijiu can be divided into a variety of categories according to the aroma type, such as strong aroma type, clear fragrance type, sauce aroma type, etc., the choice is wider, and Chinese baijiu also has a long brewing history and unique technological process, and each brand has its own characteristics, which makes many Japanese who like high liquor flock to it.
Specifically, the brewing process of Chinese baijiu dates back to the Yangshao era more than 7,000 years ago, making it the world's earliest distilled spirit.
It uses glutinous rice, wheat, sorghum and other grains as raw materials, using solid-state fermentation and repeated distillation methods to form a unique flavor, such as sorghum-fragrant liquor brewed from sorghum as raw material, with a distinct grain and grass aroma, and sauce-fragrant liquor is fermented with special aspergillus to exude a natural sauce aroma.
Chinese liquor can also be divided into furnace wine, cellar wine, etc. according to different technological processes, and the combination of various processes produces dozens of different flavors of baijiu.
Although sake in Japan also has a long history, its process is single, mostly using glutinous rice as raw material, and the fermentation method is mainly rice wine yeast fermentation.
As a result, the flavor of sake is relatively simple, and the variety is not as rich as Chinese baijiu, and many Japanese people want to taste the unique aroma of Chinese baijiu and experience its complex brewing process, so they come to China to buy baijiu.
Secondly, the employment pressure of Japanese society and epidemic prevention and control and other factors, so that the wine culture market there has been affected to a certain extent, when the alcohol ban was promulgated, Japanese people who could not drink alcohol could only choose to purchase abroad, in contrast, the Chinese liquor market developed steadily, with a wide variety of varieties, becoming their best choice.
As can be seen, Japan has implemented multiple states of emergency, including two in April 2020 and January 2021.
During these times, the Japanese government asked people not to eat out and drink, and even closed restaurants and bars, which directly caused the consumer market of sake to be severely hit.
At the same time, China's epidemic prevention and control has entered the normalization, the production and sales market of baijiu is still active, and the Japanese who cannot drink alcohol in China have set their sights on Chinese baijiu.
It can be said that the domestic liquor market in Japan is becoming more and more limited due to changes in the social environment, and the Japanese are gradually realizing this problem, which has prompted them to come to China to pursue Chinese baijiu with a thousand-year history and feel its charm.
Be wary of Japanese cultural invasions
While exchanging wine culture, we must always be vigilant against Japan's cultural invasion of the mainland.
Japan has been trying to carry out cultural invasion of China for many years with the aim of making China a vassal state of Japan, and we need to be wary of Japanese infiltration of China in the following ways:
First, Japan is trying to dissolve the sense of identity of the Chinese nation by distorting history. Some Japanese scholars put forward absurd views such as "there is no China after the cliff mountain", which is intended to deny the existence value of China's civilization since the Yuan Dynasty.
We must persist in learning from history and inherit and carry forward Chinese civilization. Specifically, Japanese scholars deny the existence of Chinese civilization after the Song Dynasty, which is untenable.
China has been an ancient civilization since ancient times, and the Chinese culture is broad and profound, with a long history, even after experiencing the change of dynasties such as the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the bloodline inheritance of the Chinese nation has never been interrupted.
China is still carrying forward the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and this view of Japanese scholars maliciously smears Chinese history, and we must remain sober and not be misled by it.
Second, Japan is trying to brainwash Chinese teenagers by exporting entertainment content containing right-wing ideologies. Some Japanese anime works contain anti-Chinese content, and we must guard against the erosion of this ideological poisonous weed and cultivate the discernment of young people.
For example, Japanese right-wing forces will carry anti-China messages in entertainment, such as anime and games, with the intention of influencing Chinese teenagers, in the face of this cultural invasion, we must not kill all foreign cultures with a stick, but we must also be vigilant against the traps, guide young people to build self-confidence, learn to distinguish right from wrong, absorb the essence of excellent cultures of various countries, and resist waste.
Third, Japan will also target Chinese children with values-oriented animations and toys for young age. We should attach importance to the education of the three views of minors, so that Chinese children can build correct historical cognition and cultural self-confidence.
Specifically, Japan will spread its cultural concepts in some children's anime and toys in order to influence the value judgment of Chinese children, so we must attach importance to children's education, so that children can establish a firm Chinese cultural identity and self-confidence from an early age, and at the same time, avoid emotions and absorb positive cultural factors from all over the world with a rational attitude.
Of course, cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and Japan are important, but we must guard against Japanese right-wing forces using cultural export to realize their ambitions, remain sober and vigilant in the face of Japan's cultural invasion, and at the same time continue to promote Chinese culture to the world and respond to challenges with cultural confidence.