The flowing water in Qingwa Long Street —— Reflections on the cultural quality of Kweichow Moutai liquor
Over the years, we have been talking about wine culture and cultural wine, but what is culture? Where is the culture? But no one can make a clear and definite arrangement and induction. I think on a specific carrier like Kweichow Moutai, its cultural character is mainly reflected in the words loyalty, filial piety and righteousness. Win glory for the country and be sincere in state affairs; Call it loyalty. Children obey their mother's wishes and work hard at home; This is called filial piety. Not envious of prosperity, not easy to reach; It is called a festival. Protect the body, strengthen the body, and do not harm the drinker; Meaning. The four capitals of loyalty, filial piety and righteousness refer to the national wine culture.
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Let's talk about a history first.
Two thousand years ago, Sima Qian told us a story about the discovery of Yelang in Historical Records, which was "A historian never sings again, leaving Sao without rhyme". The hero of this story is called Tang Meng. Around BC 135, when Tang Meng went to South Vietnam, where Guangdong and Guangxi were separated at the end of Qin Dynasty, he had the opportunity to eat a kind of food called citric acid sauce at a banquet. While eating, Tang Meng casually asked his host: Is this dish delicious? Is it made locally? The host also casually replied to him: this thing comes from Yelang country, which is west of South Vietnam. There is a river that flows down from Yelang and flows into the sea in Panyu, the capital of South Vietnam, which is today's Guangzhou. Tang Meng saved his heart and returned to Chang 'an with citric acid sauce. Some Shu merchants knew the origin of gouache sauce and told him that it was made in Sichuan. Shu people stole it and sold it to Yelang, who then sold it to South Vietnam. Hearing this, Tang Meng suddenly came to his senses. At that time, the Han court did not know that there was a Yelang country next to Shu. When asked in detail again, Shu merchants told him that this Yelang country "faces the river, and Jiang Guang has more than 100 steps, which is enough to sail ..." Tang Meng, after learning about these situations, dedicated the stewed beef to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty for tasting. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty called it "Xiang". Tang Mengli took advantage of Emperor Wu's pleasure and further hinted that if he seized South Vietnam from Hunan and Jiangxi, it would be difficult to succeed. It is suggested that the imperial court use Bashu's strength to subdue Yelang, and get more than 100,000 Yelang soldiers, and then go down the river, so as to take advantage of the surprise attack and bring South Vietnam into the territory. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appreciated Tang Meng's proposal very much. As a master of a generation, he is keenly aware of the huge strategic opportunity contained in this proposal itself. So in 135 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty named Tang Meng as a doctor, led a thousand Han troops, and entered Yelang along Chishui River with 10,000 civilian workers and a lot of gifts. Under the persuasion of Tang Meng and the temptation of various gifts, Wang Duotong of Yelang and some small countries around Yelang surrendered to the Han Dynasty. This incident was later called "Tang Mengtong Yelang". It has had a great and far-reaching impact on southwest China.
Sima Qian not only told us the story of a Yelang, but also said a passage in this story: "The king of Yunnan and the messenger of the Han Dynasty said: Who is Handa? The same is true of Yelanghou. Because the road is impassable, each thinks he is the owner of the state and doesn't know the vast number of Han people. " The emissary of the Han Dynasty went to find Dian, and the king of Dian asked him if there was Dian in the Han Dynasty. Back to Yelang, Yelang asked the same question. Because of the barrier of Guanshan, they don't know the vastness of Han; In fact, both Yunnan and Yelang are only equivalent to one of the Han countries. Because of Sima Qian's words, later generations omitted the king of Yunnan, and extended the famous idiom "Yelang is arrogant" to laugh at and warn those who are overreached and arrogant.
In fact, Yelang was not too young at that time. Her actual territory includes about the whole of Guizhou, one in Sichuan, one in Chongqing, one in Yunnan, one in Guangxi and one in Hunan. Even today, such a big country is not small. At that time, in the Han Dynasty, the Yellow River valley was the main ruling center, and most of the areas south of the Yangtze River and north of the Great Wall were still in a state of numerous countries and beyond the reach, which was not the later concept of "Greater China". Moreover, under the historical conditions of extremely blocked traffic and poor information at that time, King Dian and King Yelang asked, "Who is the bigger messenger of the Han Dynasty?" ? Maybe a little modest, knowing means knowing, and not knowing means not knowing.
It is precisely because of the historical event of "Tang Mengtong Yelang" that we surrendered to the state of Dian, and quickly seized the territory of South Vietnam, East Vietnam and the Han Dynasty, and finally outlined the basic outline of China today in the southwest and southeast. The original origin of such a big event as opening up territory is actually the bitter gourd sauce brought by the diligent people of South Vietnam. Without this cup of citric acid sauce, there would be no question and answer between Tang Meng and South Vietnamese officials, and there would be no strategic planning and realization of South Vietnamese territory by the Dahan court at that time. In other words, this strategic planning and implementation will be delayed for several years because of an unintentional mistake. According to many researches by later generations, this kind of beef stew praised by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was a kind of fine wine carefully brewed by the ancestors of the Gelao people who lived in Chishui River valley and the Pu people who constituted the main ethnic groups in Yelang and other countries in southwest China. Since then, gouache has probably become a model and symbol of aristocratic life at that time, intoxicated by a Han Dynasty in absolute beauty. This wine, which triggered and witnessed the great expansion of the country's territory and played an important role in it, was fixed as the world-famous Kweichow Moutai after two thousand years of reincarnation and tempering.
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Maotai Town is located in the mountains of Dalou Mountain, geographically on the northern edge of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Chishui River, which originated in Yunnan, flows through her. This place was first called Sang Ma Bay, and later called Sifang Well. After the Song Dynasty, the name Maotai began to appear. According to the research of local historical experts, the origin of this name comes from an ancient platform on the riverbank where Pu people sacrificed their ancestors. This high platform, which was later abandoned, was lost in the long years by the thatched grass that grew year after year, so that for a long time, the people simply called this place "thatched platform". Today's maotai appellation is actually the abbreviation of "thatched terrace" in the past. In the past, the old people often said that this place is the geomantic omen of returning the dragon and the horse to the valley, which contains the royal spirit. But this kind of kingly way has been said among the people for hundreds of years, but it has never been revealed.
Since the China government and the Han Dynasty, Maotai has been an important gateway between Guizhou and Sichuan 1000 years. Whether it is called Masangwan, Sifangjing, Maocaotai, or any other name, the wine industry in this area has not only never cut off the incense of the same strain, but has gradually flourished since entering the Qing Dynasty. During the Jiaqing and Daoguang years of the Qing Dynasty, according to the records of Zunyi Prefecture, "Maotai (brewer) burned more than 20 houses, worth more than 20 thousand stones." Moreover, the brewed wine was called "Maotai Shao", which was "the first in Guizhou Province" at that time. However, no one expected that the development of Maotai's wine industry was devastated at this prosperous time.
At that time, it was in the middle of19th century, and in the same year of Qing dynasty, China, who was deeply troubled by internal and external troubles, struggled and groaned in the fire of revolution. Although Maotai District is isolated in the southwest corner, it cannot be as comfortable as Xanadu. 1862, Shi Dakai, a famous general of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and a wing king, led more than 100,000 troops to Guizhou after the Tianjing Incident, hoping to open up a new situation in Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan. This winter, Shi Dakai sent troops to attack Zunyi City. Unexpectedly, although Zunyi is small, the resistance of the Qing army and militia is very tenacious. Shi Dakai attacked Zunyi for a long time and got the news that reinforcements arrived at night, so he had to withdraw from Zunyi and go north to Sichuan. During the siege of Zunyi, Shi Dakai ordered Prime Minister Li Fuyou to attack Maotai, which is more than 100 miles away from Zunyi. Maotai defenders and security guards fought to the death. The Taiping Army went door to door, and the fighting was fierce. After the First World War, the ancient town of Maotai, which had developed to a certain scale and established a considerable reputation and influence in the Qing Dynasty, was left with only rubble, people were displaced, their wives and children were separated, and all houses and wineries disappeared in flames.
Perhaps, just under a mountain and by a river near Maotai, His Royal Highness Wing Wang, with romantic poems and wine, received a trophy from Maotai-several jars of good wine. This wine is packed in a pottery jar and sealed with dried pig urine. It smells strange when it is opened. According to the customs of the local natives, the sergeants put some straws in the mouth of the clay pot, and then invited Wang Yi and the generals around them to have a good drink. The rare wine in this world gradually moistened His Royal Highness Wang Hao's sensitive, lonely and noble heart and inspired him to become a world hero. I only heard him drink lightly: "Pen and ink serve", and suddenly wrote an earth-shattering drinking poem. The poem says:
Ten thousand pearls were collected in a jar,
The king bowed his head when he came here.
Hold Optimus Prime gently,
Draw a long river back.
After leaving Maotai, the Taiping Army led by Shi Dakai wandered around the junction of Sichuan and Guizhou, passing in and out of Renhuai seven times, and then stepping towards its destiny-Dadu River. After the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Ding Baozhen, a famous official of the Qing court who started from suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, was appointed as the governor of Sichuan. Ding Baozhen, a native of Guizhou, knows that Guizhou does not produce salt, and all the salt that Guizhou people eat is brought in from Sichuan. However, because the system does not exist, the transportation and marketing are chaotic, and the price is extremely expensive, Guizhou people lack or even have no salt, and ordinary people mostly eat a light diet or "eat salt for the New Year". At the beginning of his tenure, Tang Jiong, a good friend, Zunyi native and later governor of Yunnan, was appointed to supervise the salt affairs and be responsible for rectifying the salt administration in Sichuan. Tang Jiong also recommended another Zunyi person, Hualian Hui, to assist. After meeting, Ding Baozhen also appreciated Hualian Hui's personality and talent, and the three of them hit it off.
It should be said that this time the salt policy rectification was very successful. First of all, Sichuan's salt tax revenue surged from 7,000 yuan per year before the rectification to more than1million yuan. Then, because the circulation channels are smooth and the system and price are relatively stable, the problem of Guizhou people's difficulty in eating salt has been alleviated to some extent. Hualian Hui, who resolutely came out to help Tang Jiong rectify salt affairs, firmly grasped this opportunity, not only did a good job, but also obtained some monopoly rights of Renhuai, Qijiang, Xuyong and Fuling ports when Sichuan Salt was transported and sold in Guizhou. For more than ten years, Renhuai and Xuyong ports were owned by a small landlord in Zunyi. He was educated but had no official position. So, many years later, the folk in Guizhou circulated the proverb "Tang Jia Queena Ding, Hua Jia Yin" to describe it. The Tang family in this proverb is the Tang Jiong and his descendants who were mentioned earlier as an official for him. The so-called Huajia is the Fahrenheit industrial and commercial family initiated by Hualian Hui.
Among the two major ports monopolized by Hualian Hui, Ren 'an, or Maotai Port, is the most important one. Due to the convenient navigation of Chishui River, Maotai Port became the most important wharf for selling salt in Sichuan and Guizhou at that time, with a sea of people and merchants, and gradually recovered from the chaos of war. Hualian Hui, who is responsible for rectifying salt affairs and has a salt number in Maotai, often runs near Chishui River. He is a man nourished by Confucian culture and believes in benevolence, righteousness, courtesy and filial piety. Even after he was very rich and glorious, every time he came home, he had to get out of his sedan chair and change clothes ten miles away from home so that his followers could return to the city. From a small hat in Tsing Yi, let the servant choose a gift, a hat in summer and an umbrella when it rains, and walk home. This is of great significance to the development of Moutai and even the brewing industry in Maotai area.
On one occasion, he came home from Maotai and gave a banquet at home to welcome him. During the dinner, Hua Lianhui's mother suddenly mentioned one thing, saying that before "Long Hair" rebelled (that is, the Taiping Army entered Guizhou), she had a very delicious Moutai. I wonder if this wine is still available after the riots. If not, it would be a pity. The old lady Hua didn't know what she was talking about, but she accidentally said it to her son. When Hualien Hui went to Maotai again, she told her men to look for this "good wine" and fulfill her mother's wish. Who knows what he thought was simple, but he encountered unexpected difficulties. The reason is that after the war, the wine cellar collapsed, the wine cellar was filled and the winemaker died. Maotai's brewing industry, except for a brick, no longer exists.
Although Hualian Hui couldn't find the kind of wine that his mother had drunk, in order to satisfy his mother's wish, he decided to rebuild a brewing workshop. With his financial resources and ability, this is not a big deal. A few months later, a new workshop was built on the ruins. There was no concept of a factory at that time. Hualian Hui pondered for a moment and named this new Fahrenheit family business "Cheng Yi Burning House". This happened in the sixth year of Tongzhi in A.D. 1867, only five years before the Taiping Army attacked Maotai, 138 years ago. This "Cheng Yi Burning House" is the earliest prototype of the world-famous Maotai Distillery. Kweichow Moutai, which was later regarded as the world by Wang, was born in the leisure of mother and filial piety of son.
When Hualian Hui first built "Cheng Yi Burning House", his salt business was booming and money poured in like water. So his original intention is that the wine baked in this burning house is for personal use at home, and it is given to relatives and friends as a gift to meet some entertainment needs of officialdom and shopping malls, not to sell money. The output is very low and there is no price. But contrary to expectations, this wine was welcomed by everyone as soon as it came out. The news that Huajia has good wine spread like wildfire, and relatives, colleagues and peers who came to ask for this wine came in an endless stream, breaking the threshold. Hualian Hui was very happy at first, generous and generous. More and more people want wine, and wine has become a burden. But he is a businessman after all, and his nature soon showed him the hidden business opportunities. After some thinking, he decided to increase production, mark the price and officially put the wine on the market. For Hualian Hui, this decision not only solved the human suffering, but also gained another benefit, killing two birds with one stone. However, Hualian Hui could not have imagined that the salt industry, which he and his descendants worked so hard to manage and made them a generation of rich people, had long since ceased to exist with the progress of the times. However, this inadvertently cultivated small tree has grown into a towering giant with the careful cultivation of future generations. It is really intentional to plant flowers instead of flowers. I planted a flea that year, but today I have harvested a dragon. The old comrades of Maotai did not expect that the legendary "Wang Qi" finally rose in the nectar of this altar. ...
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191101October10, the revolution of 1911 broke out. In the same year,165438+1October 4th, Guizhou established the Dahan Guizhou military government under the leadership of revolutionaries. 19 13 One day, Hua Zhihong, the son of Hua Lianhui, then the financial director of Guizhou Military Security Government, received an official document from the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce of Yuan Shikai Beiyang Government in his antique office.
The official document of Beiyang government was caused by an important event in the world at that time. It turned out that the United States government specially held a Panama World Expo in San Francisco to celebrate the opening of the Panama Grand Canal connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The Grand Canal that has been dug is 68 kilometers long, and it takes about 8 hours for the boat to pass. Before the Grand Canal was dug, it took 60 days for ships to sail from new york on the east coast of the United States to San Francisco on the west coast. Therefore, the Grand Canal was called "the lifeline of isthmus" by Americans at that time. After the navigation of this "isthmus lifeline", it will also create more than 1 billion dollars in tax revenue every year, saving the US government more than 1 billion dollars in expenditure. This really makes Americans very happy, and holding an unprecedented grand exposition is a manifestation of this good mood.
19 12 At the beginning of this year, the US Congress passed a proposal to hold an international exposition to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, and determined the purpose of this exposition as: to exchange human knowledge and promote civilization and progress. 1912 In March, the China government, which had just experienced the Revolution of 1911, received an invitation letter from US President Taft to attend the Expo. Later, the US government sent a special commissioner to China to "persuade China officials and businessmen to watch the Olympic Games". Beiyang government also set up a "Panama Games Preparatory Bureau" for this purpose, and sent letters to all provinces, asking them to pay attention to this matter, sending agents to carefully select exquisite and special utensils produced locally, and then organizing delegations to participate in the exhibition. After receiving the official letter, Hua Zhihong decided to personally package Yijing Moutai and Moutai produced by another Maotai "Rong Tai He" burning house in the name of "Moutai Brewing Company" and send them to the exhibition together. You can also see the scenery and human feelings across the ocean.
There are about 1000 kinds of commodities in China participating in the Panama World Expo. After some collection, selection and sorting, all the exhibits and accompanying officials of the China delegation boarded the seagoing vessel and embarked on a long journey to the other side of the ocean. At that time, the voyage from Tianjin Port to San Francisco took about two months. In the choppy Pacific Ocean, it is sometimes stormy and sometimes sunny. The ports along the way are also beautiful and have different customs. Such a tempting and refreshing journey will surely make Hua Zhihong's thoughts fly with the exhibition group. After all, there were too few people in Guizhou who could see the sea at that time.
The World Expo is called the World Expo. In fact, less than 50 countries participated in the exhibition, but more than 200,000 kinds of goods were sent to the exhibition. Memorabilia of the China delegation to the World Expo:1965438+February 20, 2005, the World Expo officially opened; 1965438+On March 9, 2005, the China Government Pavilion was officially opened; On March 25th, US Vice President Martha congratulated the museum on behalf of US President Wilson. In May, all exhibits entered the review and selection; On September 23, former US President Roosevelt visited the China Government Pavilion; On February 4, 65438, the Panama World Expo closed. In the final stage of the Expo, it is to give awards to exhibitors from all over the world. After tasting by wine experts from all over the world, Moutai was unanimously elected as the world famous wine and won the gold medal for its excellent and unique quality and style. Together with French cognac and English scotch whisky, * * * enjoys the reputation of the world's three largest distilled spirits.
However, in The Legend of Maotai, there is another exciting version of this award-winning story in San Francisco. It is said that the Expo is coming to an end, and the prize-level evaluation of the goods delivered by various countries has also come to an end, especially the evaluation of famous wines in various countries has been basically completed. However, there is no news about Kweichow Moutai put forward by China. This situation made Hua Zhihong, who went to the United States with the delegation, anxious. He inquired in many ways, and finally knew that this was because there were hundreds of famous wines from all over the world, all beautifully packaged and brightly colored, which attracted the attention of the judges as soon as they came up. But the Moutai we sent to the exhibition was a black pottery bottle, a cork, a pig urine bubble seal, a trademark or a homemade paper lithograph, which was really inconspicuous. The judges thought that the packaging of Moutai was too rustic and rough, and it was not opened at all. Hua Zhihong was very angry after learning this situation. In desperation, he took advantage of a group of western sommeliers to visit the China Pavilion, picked up a bottle of Moutai and threw it on the ground. ...
Hua Zhihong's original intention is nothing more than to express his anger at the unfairness of western judges. But he never imagined that the fall turned out to be a rock-breaking, and the rich and fragrant wine suddenly attracted many tourists to watch and marvel. Of course, the fragrance spread like wildfire and got into the experienced noses of western judges. The judges stopped immediately, and they looked at each other, looking for a fragrant place in unison ... Needless to say, it was Hua Zhihong who introduced the extremely complicated brewing process of Moutai to the judges. His story must have surprised the judges, who regretted their ignorance to judge a book by its cover. At the same time, they also admire the short China people who have such courage and drive. Finally, they agreed to take Moutai back to the jury for evaluation. As a result of the re-evaluation, all the judges agreed that Maotai liquor was the top liquor in the world and deserved to win the gold medal in liquor selection.
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After winning the prize, Maotai became more and more famous with many imitators. At this time, the so-called "golden hair", "ding hair" and "lang hair" appeared. Even in later Taiwan Province Province, there were many kinds of wines called Maotai. After liberation, due to the favor and support of leaders of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping and other countries, Moutai has been shrouded in a circle of political aura, thus witnessing almost all the * * * and state affairs since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Such Maotai has gradually become the name card of the country and the symbol of the nation. Just as westerners used to know China through porcelain, now when it comes to Maotai, everyone knows it's China.
In 1970s, in order to carry out the instruction that Mao Zedong Moutai should produce 1 10,000 tons, the Ministry of Light Industry also directly or indirectly hosted several large-scale off-site experiments of Maotai Distillery. But strangely, all these imitations of Moutai, even though the technology and raw materials are exactly the same, and even the winemakers are all winemakers in Maotai Distillery, can't produce Moutai with the same quality and taste. According to scientific analysis, this may be closely related to the soil and water, altitude and atmospheric environment of Maotai Town. Therefore, except Moutai produced by Maotai Distillery in Maotai Town, the "Moutai" produced in other places is not Moutai. And this kind of Moutai can not be separated from the special phenomenon of producing area, which has become a kind of * * * knowledge of China people. In recent years, the advertising words of "Moutai, the national wine, drinks health" have gradually become familiar to Chinese people. Indeed, drinking Maotai liquor has been recognized by more and more drinkers and has become an experience because it does not scratch the throat, hurt the head and hurt the liver and kidney.
In this way, we can make a summary of the cultural quality of Moutai;
Win glory for the country and be sincere in state affairs; Call it loyalty. Children obey their mother's wishes and work hard at home; This is called filial piety. Not envious of prosperity, not easy to reach; It is called a festival. Protect the body, strengthen the body, and do not harm the drinker; Meaning.
One summer in the 1970s, when I was a child, there was a rainstorm in the upper reaches of Chishui River. Although the sun is shining and the bottom of the water is crystal clear, all of a sudden, the valley of Maotai is full of big fish and small fish that choke unconscious from the upstream and then flow downstream. The Maotai people who heard the news all went down to the river to fish, pick up, laugh and make trouble with buckets, backpacks and washbasins ... That day became an unexpected festival given by God in the later memory of Maotai people. At that time, my father stood on the high ground on the shore, and his eyes were full of peace and wisdom. He took a string of small fish from my hand and murmured: Heaven and earth love each other, and you will be blessed in the future.
Perhaps this can be another interpretation of Maotai and Maotai.