Everyone should have seen the packaging and bottle of Moutai, even if they haven't seen the real thing, they have seen pictures of Moutai in many places. There is a detail that I don't know if you have noticed, that is, the pinyin on the Moutai packaging box and wine bottle is MOUTAI instead of MAOTAI?
Why is the English spelling of "Moutai" neither Hanyu Pinyin nor a standard English writing method? It's obviously wrong, why hasn't Moutai changed it, but has been used to this day! What is the reason and the story?
01
The origin of "MOUTAI".
As for the origin of "MOUTAI", we must first start with an Englishman named Wittoma.
Thomas Francis Wade, also known as Thomas Wade, is a famous British diplomat, Chinese language and literature, since 1841 in the British Embassy in China, Francis Wade has lived in China for 43 years, is a British who has a profound influence on China.
This is not just because he was a diplomat in China for 43 years and even served as British minister to China for a time; It is also because he created the "Wechsler Pinyin Method", which uses the Roman alphabet to phonetize Chinese characters.
Because the old China was very backward at that time, there was only the use of Chinese characters, and there was no Hanyu Pinyin, which greatly affected China's communication with other countries in the world. In order to facilitate foreigners to learn Chinese, Wittoma spent a lot of time and energy studying Chinese, and in 1867 invented the method of using the Latin alphabet as Chinese phonetics, that is, the "Wittoma Pinyin Method".
He used the Roman alphabet as the phonetic pronunciation of Chinese characters and created the Weituma Pinyin Method, a Roman pinyin system for spelling Chinese Chinese. After the first edition was published in 1867, Weituma Pinyin was used in China until 1913.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, more than half a century of Weituma Pinyin was used, and finally revised by the British diplomat in China in 1912, Zhai Lis, so Weituma Pinyin is also called Weituma-Zhai Lisi Pinyin, abbreviated as WG Wade-Giles System Pinyin.
Although it maintains some characteristics close to the English spelling, it does not completely accommodate the English spelling habits.
IN THE 20S OF THE LAST CENTURY, KWEICHOW MOUTAI HAS GONE TO THE WORLD, AND ACCORDING TO THE WITTOMA PINYIN USED AT THAT TIME, KWEICHOW MOUTAI IS KWEICHOW MOUTAI.
At that time, Moutai had been exported overseas as early as the advent of Weituma Pinyin. Since 1915, when Panama became famous, Moutai has been spelled as "MOUTAI" by Merriam-Webster, and as Moutai is sold all over the world, Moutai's English spelling "MOUTAI" has gradually exerted a huge influence in the sales of various countries.
For a long time, the Weituma Pinyin method was the most popular Chinese pinyin method in China and internationally. It was not until 1958, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, that Hanyu Pinyin began to be promoted, and the Wechsler Pinyin method was gradually abolished.
Taiwan Province continued to use Wechsler Pinyin until the beginning of the 20th century, when it was changed to Universal Pinyin, and after 2008, it switched to Hanyu Pinyin used in the mainland.
02
Why hasn't MOUTAI changed?
SO, WHY DIDN'T "MOUTAI" BE CHANGED TO "MAOTAI" AFTER THE ABOLITION OF WEITUMA PINYIN?
IN THE 20S OF THE LAST CENTURY, KWEICHOW MOUTAI HAS GONE TO THE WORLD, ACCORDING TO THE WITTOMA PINYIN USED AT THAT TIME, KWEICHOW MOUTAI IS "KWEICHOW MOUTAI".
After Moutai was established from 1951 to 1953, Moutai was exported to foreign countries one after another, and became a very important foreign exchange commodity.
Before the Weisler Pinyin method was abolished, Moutai had always used "MOUTAI". At this time, Moutai already had a certain influence in the world.
Now you know why the pinyin of Moutai's trademark is "MOUTAI" instead of "MAOTAI"!
ALTHOUGH MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY HAS PASSED, KWEICHOW MOUTAI'S IMAGE IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET HAS BECOME WELL-KNOWN, IN ORDER TO AVOID THE INCONVENIENCE CAUSED BY THE CHANGE OF TRADEMARK TO FOREIGN CONSUMERS, THE MOUTAI TRADEMARK CONTINUES TO USE THE SPELLING "KWEICHOW MOUTAI" AND HAS BEEN SPREAD AROUND THE WORLD. In fact, this trademark is also in line with the relevant national regulations.
There are also some brands similar to Moutai, most of them are some time-honored brands or old brands that became famous in the world before the liberation, such as Tsingtao beer "Tsingtao", Changyu wine "Changyu", etc., which still choose to use Wei's Pinyin today, but also to continue their consistent brand image.
In addition to the internationally renowned brand, other names with a long history continue to use the original Wittoma spelling.
For example, some place names, Tianjin Tientsin, Hangzhou Hangchow, Guangdong Kwangtung; PEKING UNIVERSITY IS PEKING UNIVERSITY; TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY IS TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY. Some famous Chinese historical figures, such as Chiang Kai-shek, Mencius, etc.
Other words that can represent Chinese culture have become customary English translations in the form of English plus Webster's pinyin, such as Chinese Kungfu for Kung Fu, Chingming Festival for Qingming Festival, Kungpao Chicken for Kung Pao Chicken, etc., which are widely used and have become representative symbols of Chinese culture, recording wonderful historical sounds.
NOW YOU KNOW WHY THE PINYIN OF THE TRADEMARK OF MOUTAI IS "MOUTAI" INSTEAD OF "MAOTAI", AND WHY THE PINYIN OF THE TRADEMARK OF MOUTAI HAS NOT BEEN CHANGED BACK TO CHINESE PINYIN, BUT HAS BEEN USED WITH "MOUTAI" TO THIS DAY!
Some time ago, WSET's curriculum reform wanted to add a lot of Chinese baijiu content, and it was necessary to translate China's unique vocabulary, theory, context, and culture well, especially in baijiu brewing and tasting.
According to professionals, "koji" at the time of brewing will be directly translated as "Qu", and Moutai will also be directly translated as "MOUTAI".