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In ancient Maotai Town, the aroma is said to waft for ten miles.
In ancient Maotai Town, the aroma is said to waft for ten miles.
Baijiu culture has a long and storied history.
2022-11-29
Since ancient times, the Chinese people have harbored deep affection for baijiu, and there are numerous legendary stories associated with it. Whether it’s the exquisite verses mentioned in classical poetry or the beautifully crafted wine cups unearthed from archaeological sites, it can be said that baijiu culture has long been deeply rooted in the minds of the Chinese people.
Since ancient times, the Chinese people have harbored deep affection for baijiu, and there are numerous legendary stories associated with it. Whether it’s the exquisite verses mentioned in classical poetry or the beautifully crafted wine cups unearthed from archaeological sites, it can be said that baijiu culture has long been deeply rooted in the minds of the Chinese people.
“I have a pot of wine—enough to comfort the weary traveler. I’ll pour it all into rivers and seas, offering it freely to everyone under heaven!” This verse roughly means: With just one pot of wine in my hand, I can ease the fatigue and hardship of this long journey. By pouring this pot of wine into rivers and seas, I hope that people from all over the world can join me in a joyful drink together. This vividly demonstrates that the allure of baijiu is simply unmatched—certainly, in China’s liquor culture, baijiu occupies a uniquely special place.
In many ancient poems and lyrics, people often referred to “wine” as “Du Kang.” For instance, in Cao Cao’s famous poem “Short Song行,” there’s a well-known line: “With fervent spirit, my worries remain unforgettable. How can I relieve my sorrow? Only Du Kang can do that.” So, was Du Kang actually a person or an object?
Du Kang was actually a real person who held many different identities throughout history. According to the "Records of the Grand Historian," his most prominent identity was as the ruler of the Xia Dynasty. Additionally, there are records indicating that he was a renowned figure in Daoism. Ultimately, however, his legacy became firmly associated with being the inventor of ancient Chinese brewing techniques. As time passed and dynasties succeeded one another, people gradually forgot about his earlier identities. Yet thanks to his pivotal role in the art of brewing—and because of the enduring, timeless significance of wine in Chinese history—Du Kang’s identity as the "Ancestor of Brewing" has become his most iconic and widely recognized title. It is precisely because of wine that Du Kang has been immortalized in history and is now known to everyone.
So how did Du Kang come up with the idea of brewing alcohol? Legend has it that Du Kang was in charge of a large quantity of grain. As the grain kept piling up, storage space became increasingly limited. Just as he was worrying about this problem, he suddenly noticed a hollow in a dead tree. An inspiration struck him: he poured all the grain into the dried-out tree trunk. After some time had passed, he went to check on it and was amazed to find that clear, refreshing juice had begun to seep out from the very trunk that had once held the grain. Unable to resist, Du Kang took a sip—and the taste was simply exquisite, comparable to the finest jade dew or celestial nectar. Thus, word of Du Kang’s brewing spread rapidly among the people, and Du Kang himself earned the honorable title of “God of Wine.”
This is the Chinese legend about the origin of baijiu: In ancient times, people obtained alcohol by allowing grains to ferment naturally under specific environmental conditions.
In historically documented reality, the Eastern Han dynasty may represent a pivotal period in the development of Chinese baijiu. Tang Dynasty poetry provides evidence that distilled spirits originated during the Tang era, as there are already clear records of distilled liquor from that time. However, Li Shizhen’s “Compendium of Materia Medica” from the Ming dynasty mentions that the technique of distilling baijiu actually originated in the Yuan dynasty. Before the Yuan dynasty, baijiu was likely of relatively low alcohol content. It was only after the Yuan dynasty, with the widespread adoption of distillation technology, that baijiu as we know it today began to take shape. The Qing dynasty marked the golden age of baijiu development; many of today’s renowned distilled-spirits brands were established during that era.
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