New Wine, Old Stories

Though not as popular an export as Chinese cuisine, Chinese beverages containing alcohol (jiu) have as long and as fascinating a history. Myths hint at the stories that archaeology digs up; use of alcoholic drinks is as old as the Chinese culture.

Note: "Chinese-style wine" and "Chinese wine" are often used interchangeably and inaccurately to refer to Chinese-made "wines" made of fermented fruit juices, especially mulberries or grapes, as with grape wine (putaojiu); to rice wines (huangjiu) or to distilled sorghum-based hard liquor or spirtits (such as erguotou or more generally baijiu). Alcoholic drinks are identifiable in Chinese by the suffix jiu (as in pijiu or beer), which can refer to many things other than drinks that contain alcohol (such as rubbing alcohol); unfortunately English has no such all-purpose word!

Digging for a Drop

In September 2001, Chinese archaeologists excavating in the Three Gorges area found an ancient bronze jar that might contain some kind of 2,000-year-old liquor. Experts declared that there would be no plans to open the jar until they are certain of being able to do this without spoiling the contents. Anything drinkable inside will almost certainly now be spoiled, but the age does illustrate the richness of the jiu story.

Du Kang: Inventor?

In Chinese legend Du Kang is known as the originator of rice wine (huangjiu) -- by accident. Needing a place to store his grain, he chose a hole in a particularly big tree. Returning to retrieve the rice, he found it had fermented and turned into alcohol. The ubiquitous nature of this story has led to du kang being a synonym for jiu in Chinese.

Ancient records show that there was a person named Du Kang who lived 2,000 years ago, but, in fact, archaeology supports an even longer history. That the real story must lie elsewhere has not deterred two counties in Henan and one in Shaanxi from claiming that they are the hometown of Du Kang, even producing some written and archaeological evidence. Regardless of the true location, all three have water quality ideally suited to rice wine production.

Romancing the Bottle

Alcohol is deeply connected with literature and art, in particular poetry. Ancient philosophers and artists regarded it both as an inspiration and as a subject for their works. Among all the celebrities fond of a drink, poet Li Bai (701-762) was somewhat of an extremist. Du Fu, another most important Tang poet, in one his best-known poems, described Li Bai as capable of "producing 100 poems after drinking a whole dou of wine." (A dou is an old unit of measurement, about 10 litres.) Under the influence of alcohol, so goes Du's poem, Li Bai declines an imperial summons, calling himself the "god of imbibing." Many of his works mentioned drinking, including the most famous, "Amidst Flowers with a Jug of Wine."

  Amidst flowers with a jug of wine,

  I pour alone lacking companionship.

  With a raised cup I invite the Moon,

  To toast my shadow, the three of us.

  花间一壶酒，独酌无相亲。 举杯邀明月，对影成三人。

China's most romantic love story also features the drink. Sima Xiangru (179-118 BC) was the best-established poet of his age during the West Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 8). While staying in today's Sichuan Province, he fell in love with beautiful and talented Zhuo Wenjun (150-115 BC), the daughter of Sichuan's wealthiest and most powerful man. Opposition to the romance from all quarters (she was a widow, he an official on holidays in his notional "home town") encouraged them to elope. Cut off from their families, the two opened a tavern to make a living with Wenjun selling rice wine (and the stronger stuff) and Xiangru washing the implements. Compared with the professions of scholar, craftsperson, or even farmer, going into business was, in the view of the ancient Chinese, fit only for scoundrels. But a tavern carries the romantic cachet-by-association of the artist "in his cups," making it a classical setting for star-crossed lovers. Would the story be as romantic if they'd opened a haberdashery?

Heroic Hooch

Chinese share the Western notion -- now somewhat out of fashion in both cultures -- that those who can drink are somehow more vital, and so in the classics strong spirits are often related to heroes. As "artists" of derring-do, heroes are often able to surpass limits in their abilities after drinking. The most well-known story comes from The Water Margin (Shuihu), one of China's four best-known classical novels. It tells the tale of Wu Song and the tiger.

Stopping in at a shebeen beside a hill, Wu Song was warned not to drink too much before his onward journey so he could stay alert and avoid a tiger known to be roaming in the hills. Of course, being a hero, Wu Song neglected the advice, got tanked, and staggered away (singing, probably) to sleep it off on the hilltop. The tiger (appearing on cue) chose this moment to strike. One can't really fault the beast, as the world would probably not miss yet another singing, swaggering drunkard, but so as not to disappoint his legion of fans, rather than running away or scaring the beast off, he killed the tiger (after a failed first attack using a stick) with his bare hands.

Whether Wu Song could have killed the tiger without his "courage" is, of course, a traditional puzzle posed by the story. Could a sober person, even a hero, face and fight a tiger without hesitation? Or does one need the hair of the dog to kill a big cat?

Medicinal Purposes

The "medicated diet" is a unique branch of Chinese cuisine. It is not a simple combination of food and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), but a special, highly developed and complete diet made from TCM drugs, food, and condiments under the theoretical guidance of a TCM doctor, based on an analysis of an individual's different symptoms and signs. Snake and ant spirits are often used as beverages in such a diet.

Snake spirits generally include, whole in the bottle, one or more submerged snakes. Many Chinese, especially younger people, will not drink it, but you find it in many restaurants and can buy it around the country. It is said to alleviate arthritis. Ant spirits are similar and have a reputation for reducing rheumatism. The species of snake or ant is carefully selected for these medicinal properties.

Implements of Fermentation

There are many uniquely Chinese implements used in the process of making, drinking, heating and storing different Chinese alcoholic drinks.

The earliest found date back to the Neolithic Age, about 6,000 years ago. These tools were first made of pottery, then bronze, during the Shang (16^th-11^th centuries BC) and Zhou (11^th century - 221 BC) dynasties, of lacquer during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) and porcelain after the latter part of the Han Dynasty. Other construction materials included gold, silver, ivory, cloisonné and jade.

The shapes of the implements were decided by their function and quality, giving clues to the social status of the drinkers. The most common shapes found include zun, jue, hu (pot) and bei (cup).

Around the Country

The best Chinese hard liquor or baijiu is Maotai, honoured with the official title of "National Wine." Maotai is produced in Guizhou Province. Neighbouring Sichuan is the home of two other famous spirit brands Wuliangye and Luzhou Laojiao. These locations are all in Southwest China, but there are other regions that produce popular drinks including Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province with its rice wine (huangjiu), Tonghua in Northeast China with its very sweet grape wine (putaojiu), and Beijing with its fiery sorghum-based erguotou or baijiu. Mongolian people prefer fermented mare's milk, or "mare's milk wine" (manaijiu or naijiu), and are not alone among China's many minorities in having their own tipple.

Into the Future

Finally, in recent years, many have remarked on the increasingly palatable wines being produced by such wineries as Great Wall, Dynasty, and Zhangyu. So you can be sure that the rich history and tradition sketched out above will soon have another fascinating aspect.

Tips:

Good quality Chinese alcoholic drinks have long been popular gifts in China.

Different Western dishes may demand different wines as company; most Chinese wines are designed to accompany a whole Chinese meal.

Chinese do not drink iced wine and warm drinks are held to be a digestive aid and help blood circulation, so some Chinese spirits (as with Japanese sake) may be heated before drinking. This has a secondary "benefit" of causing some of the alcohol to evaporate.