Character Profile

Luo Qingzhong, a native of Maotai Town, Renhuai City, Guizhou Province, was the first deputy director, trade union chairman, and chief commander of technological expansion and renovation research at the original Maotai Distillery. In 1956, the Guizhou Provincial Department of Light Industry established the Maotai Liquor Pilot Committee. In 1965, the Maotai Liquor Pilot Committee led by Luo Qingzhong, after years of scientific experimentation and summarization, officially defined the three typical styles of Guizhou Maotai liquor—sauce-aroma, mellow-sweet, and cellar-bottom—and at the first National Baijiu Research Conference held in Luzhou, formally announced that Maotai liquor’s aroma type was “sauce-aroma,” abbreviated as “Three-Aroma Standardization.” This marked a milestone in the classification of Chinese baijiu aroma types. The quality standards for the sauce-aroma baijiu Three-Aroma Standardization, jointly researched and explored by Luo Qingzhong and the older generation of Maotai pioneers, have become the modern production quality standards for Maotai liquor.

Personal History

In 1951, I joined the revolutionary work (previously, I had been an apprentice at the Hua Mao Distillery, learning the art of baijiu brewing and blending).

In 1953, I was transferred from the district government to work at the Moutai Distillery.

In 1955, he served as the head of the Secretariat Section at the Maotai Distillery.

In 1956, he was appointed chairman of the factory’s trade union. In November of that year, he attended the National Congress of Advanced Workers held by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and was received by central leaders including Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Chen Yun, and Deng Xiaoping at Zhongnanhai.

Joined the Communist Party of China in 1958.

In 1960, he served as the deputy director of the Guizhou Moutai Distillery.

In 1964, he participated in the work of the Maotai Liquor Pilot Committee, established under the auspices of the Guizhou Provincial Light Industry Federation, and served as the deputy commander of the technical expansion project.

In 1965, after years of scientific experimentation and summarization, the pilot work committee led by [name] established the classification of Guizhou Moutai into three typical styles—sauce aroma, mellow sweetness, and cellar-bottom—and officially announced at the first National Baijiu Research Conference (in Luzhou) that Moutai’s aroma type was “sauce aroma,” abbreviated as “the Three-Aroma Standardization.” This marked a milestone in the classification of Chinese baijiu aroma types.

In 1966, the Moutai Wine Pilot Committee led by Luo Qingzhong, after two production cycles of experimentation, mastered the principles governing Moutai wine production, fundamentally standardized the traditional operating procedures, and established the quality standards for modern Moutai wine.

In 1978, he concurrently served as the deputy commander of the “Seventh Five-Year Plan” expansion project for the Maotai Distillery.

The Luo Qingzhong Advanced Worker Award to

In October 1980, the Department of Light Industry of Guizhou Province awarded Luo Qingzhong a bonus of 500 yuan in recognition of his groundbreaking research on the composition of the three aroma types of Guizhou Moutai liquor.

In October 1986, the Maotai Distillery held a commemorative meeting to celebrate Maotai’s three-time winning of international gold awards. At the meeting, the Guizhou Provincial Department of Light and Textile Industry presented honorary certificates and a bonus of 800 yuan to each veteran employee with 30 or more years of service and those who had made significant contributions.

Certificate of Thirty Consecutive Years of Service at the Lu Qingzhong Moutai Distillery

In December 1992, the People's Government of Renhuai County awarded him the “Certificate of Honor for Outstanding Professional and Technical Talents.” Please see “Lu Qingzhong’s Certificate of Honor for Outstanding Professional and Technical Talents” for the image.

Luo Qingzhong Receives the Certificate of Top-Tier Professional and Technical Talent from Renhuai County

In August 1994, he retired from the Maotai Distillery. The People's Government of Guizhou Province awarded him a “Certificate of Commendation for Outstanding Contributions to Engineering Technology” and granted him a special allowance.

Lu Qingzhong Engineering and Technical Special Allowance Certificate

In 1999, Luo Qingzhong, determined to pass on the art of sauce-aroma liquor production to future generations, handed down his lifelong expertise in sauce-aroma brewing and blending techniques to his descendants. He then established the “Jinniu Distillery” in Maotai Town, thus embarking on an independent brewing venture.

In November 2001, the Guizhou Moutai Distillery in China presented it with a certificate commemorating “50 Years of Contribution to the Glory of Moutai, the National Liquor.” The “Jinniu Distillery” was officially renamed “Huacheng Wine Industry (Group) Co., Ltd.”

Certificate of Special Contribution from the Lu Qingzhong Moutai Distillery

Huacheng Wine Group Co., Ltd.

Main Achievements

In 1956, the Ministry of Light Industry of Guizhou Province established the Maotai Pilot Committee. In 1965, the Maotai Pilot Committee led by Luo Qingzhong, after years of scientific experimentation, summarized and officially defined the three typical styles of Guizhou Maotai—sauce aroma, mellow sweetness, and cellar-bottom—and at the first National Baijiu Research Conference held in Luzhou, formally announced that Maotai’s aroma type was “sauce-aroma,” abbreviated as “Three-Aroma Standardization.” From then on, a new era of sauce-aroma baijiu was ushered in. The quality standards for the Three-Aroma Standardization of sauce-aroma baijiu, jointly researched and explored by Luo Qingzhong and the older generation of Maotai artisans, became the production quality standard for modern Maotai and also marked a milestone in the classification of Chinese baijiu aroma types. Mr. Luo Qingzhong is revered within the industry as “a master of his generation and the ‘Father of Sauce-Aroma.’”

A Master of a Generation — The Father of Jiangxiang Liquor: Luo Qingzhong

Artistic Heritage

Luo Qingzhong is revered in the industry as “a master of his generation and the ‘Father of Sauce-Aroma Liquor.’” To ensure that the art of sauce-aroma liquor production is passed down through the ages, Old Master Luo handed down to his descendants all the secret techniques he had mastered throughout his life—techniques for both brewing and blending sauce-aroma liquor. Huacheng Winery (Group) is the company personally founded and directly inherited by Old Master Luo during his lifetime. The company strictly adheres to the traditional methods passed down directly from Old Master Luo: the Three-Aroma Standardization Method for brewing and the Yin-Yang Blending Technique—a family-secret method for blending—that have been meticulously refined over generations. As a result, its various series of sauce-aroma baijiu are crafted with exceptional care and precision, exhibiting a distinctive sauce aroma, elegant finesse, rich and mellow body, lingering aftertaste, and an enchanting fragrance that lingers in the empty glass for days after pouring.