Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 7

Yifang Fang

Contents 7.1 Exploring the Origin of Fermented Drinks in Far Antiquity: Archaeological and Anthropological Evidence and Contemporary Technical Analysis ...... 176 7.2 Focusing on Historical Records: Examination of Liquor Making History Materials from a New Perspective ...... 183 7.3 From Agricultural Books to Recipes – Extensive Clustering of Liquor Making to Technological Formation ...... 192 References ...... 203

Abstract The ancients worshipped liquor as “heavenly nectar” and “king of medications.” Or in modern languages, the liquor fermentation technique was the same as a cooking technique, extended the digestion process of the human body, expanded the category of food available for choice, optimized the nutrition elements that help absorption and utilization by the human body, and enabled human organs, including digestive organs, to evolve to be healthier and more efficient. This chapter will focus on the stories of our ancestors in the drainage areas of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, including actively learning about mold and yeast; fully processing and using carbohydrates such as paddy, broomcorn millet, and millet; and gradually grasping and improving the liquor making techniques, as well as highlights derived from liquor making in the human history.

Keywords Liquor making · Fermented drink · Technical analysis · Agricultural book · Liquor culture · Anthropological evidence

Y. Fang (*) School of History and Culture Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 175 X. Jiang (ed.), A New Phase of Systematic Development of Scientific Theories in China, History of Science and Technology in China, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7844-1_7 176 Y. Fang

We examine the origin and evolution of liquor making in ancient China and the change of relevant folk customs from the perspective of technology history. Such an academic topic is essentially different from the liquor culture people generally talk about. In this paper, we will not repeat the literature, arts, political trickeries, figures, games, and anecdotes related to liquor, but will focus on the stories of our ancestors in the drainage areas of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River actively learning about mold and yeast; fully processing and using carbohydrates such as paddy, broomcorn millet, and millet; and gradually grasping and improv- ing the liquor making techniques, as well as highlights derived from liquor making in the human history. The ancients worshipped liquor as “heavenly nectar” and “king of medications.” Or in modern languages, the liquor fermen- tation technique was the same as a cooking technique, extended the digestion process of the human body, expanded the category of food available for choice, optimized the nutrition elements that help absorption and utilization by the human body, and enabled human organs, including digestive organs, to evolve to be healthier and more efficient. The logic connection between this intensive processing of human food and the development and evolution of the human body has been advocated in the ancient legends of China and confirmed by today’s experimental data in the West. I will start with an analysis of the liquor making technique.

7.1 Exploring the Origin of Fermented Drinks in Far Antiquity: Archaeological and Anthropological Evidence and Contemporary Technical Analysis

Just like the birth and evolution of humanity, the emergence of fermented drinks on earth is one of the various achievements of the nature. All lives are created equal. There is no essential difference between the DNAs of humanity, who value them- selves so high, and tiny mold and yeast. They all follow a fundamental principle, which is to maximize the use of natural resources to fully expand their genetic advantages. The alcoholic fermentation process is driven by the need of microor- ganisms for survival and expansion. This secret in biotechnology happened to be discovered by intelligent life under certain historical circumstances. Thence, humans were able to improve the taste and quality of food through the fermentation of microorganisms. Finally, this technique evolved into a major source of invention for various kinds of delicious food. The maturity of the liquor making technique is one of the most typical. An analogy can be made: The use by humans of microor- ganisms to develop primitive biotech such as liquor making, a technique that changes the taste and quality of food, is largely similar to the occurrence and development of agriculture in human society.

1. Alcoholic fermentation is pure nature, and the greatest achievement of humanity is to discover, use, and improve it 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 177

As for the origin of fermented drinks, we might as well start with a widely popular foreign fable to unveil a past occurrence of humanity. In autumn, fruits are ripe in the forest, and the monkeys, wild with joy, pluck the fruits in large quantities – so large that they cannot eat them all, and all they can do is to store all the extremely sweet peaches, plums, and pears in a warm, clean rock cave behind the monkey king’s throne. In the days that follow, the monkeys, with their stomachs filled, run around and forget the treasure of the monkey king, until the next year, when food supply does not meet their needs, monkeys with empty stomachs implore the monkey king to do something to fill their stomachs. It is not until then that the monkey king remembers the treasure of sweet fruits behind him, which have turned into a scented liquid. The monkey king sends a little monkey to have a taste. The starving poor thing first sips in fear and eventually devours. At this moment, the monkeys realize it is nectar and jump down to drink it all, until they are drunk and laying around the throne. Through this foreign fable, we can find our ancestors’ understanding of fermented drinks is based on sugar, yeast, and temperature,1 a technique directly derived from the natural environment, which represents the evolution and development of western liquor making techniques, with wine as the main drinks.2 The process is as follows:

1Through archaeological examination of the Dogon tribe in Africa, new evidence for primitive liquor making was found. Women store production materials such as maize in the nature, and the maize will naturally ferment into fine liquor under favorable conditions. The maize is soaked in water to sprout, and the sprout is grinded, cooked and filtered. On the morning of the day they go to the market, yeast is added to turn sugar into alcohol. Around almost 1 PM, the fermented liquor is drinkable, while the alcoholic content is modest. By sunset, most of the liquor will have been consumed, and many villagers return home drunk. However, as long as there is one drop of liquor left, some villagers will linger around the market, passionately participate in increasingly heated discussions and won’t return home until midnight. By Stephen Payne. Translated by Fei Gao: Xi Fei Jia Mian Wu Zhe: Duo Gong Bu Luo (《西非假面舞者:多汞部落》), Huayi Publishing House, 2005, p.160. 2Roman politician, orator, historian and agriculturist Marcus Porcius Cato, a.k.a. Great Cato (234– 149 A.D.) detailed in the work De Agri Cultura the wine making process in Europe in his time, and this technique was confirmed in Chapter 54 of the famous work De Agricultura by another Roman scholar Varro (116–27 A.D.). “(Section 23) It is necessary to make preparations for harvesting grapes. On rainy days, the vessels should be brushed, baskets should be repaired and barrels needed should be coated with naphtha; baskets should be purchased and repaired, flour should be grinded and salt fish is purchased to salt the olive fruit blown off. Hybrid grapes should be timely harvested, and premature grapes picked should be harvested for drinking by the workers. Dry grapes are cleanly and evenly placed in the barrels. When necessary, one quarter of grape juices should be added to new wine, and the grape juices added should be made from grapes that have not been stepped upon, or one and a half pounds of salt are added into a Kuras of wine. If you add marble powder, one pound is added for one Kuras of wine; you should place it in the water pot, mix it with grape juices and place it into the barrel. To add rosin, you need to grind it into pieces, add three pounds for every Kuras of wine, then put it into the basket and hang the basket in the grape juice barrel; keep shaking it to dissolve the rosin. Once heavy wine or marble powder or rosin is added, it should be often stirred in 20 days and squeezed every day. The second grade grape juices squeezed for the second time should be sorted and evenly added to the respective barrels. (Section 24) Greek wine should be made in the following way. Fully mature Apizius grapes are harvested, and two Quadrantols of sea water or one bucket of pure salt is added for each Kuras of grape juices. If pure 178 Y. Fang

High glucose fermentation substrate + yeast + external environment ⇨ ethanol However, the above three elements cannot explain China’s liquor making tech- nique, i.e., the technique used by ancient Chinese that relies on non-glucose raw materials such as grains to make fine liquor. A key difference is that ancient Chinese must transform grains such as millet and paddy into yeast substrates with high glucose content and acquire nectar by transforming the glucose into ethanol. This is the so-called two-step fermentation process. According to the latest archaeological evidence, around 8000–9000 years ago, ancient Chinese were beginning to use low-sugar carbohydrates to make fermented drinks. That is to say, the liquor making technique used by ancient Chinese was far more sophisticated than the general understanding of liquor making and technological capability in human societies in Central Asia, Europe, and Africa.

“Grains” þ mold þ external environment ⇨ high À glucose yeast substrates þ yeast þ external environment ⇨ ethanol

Namely:

“Grains” þ distiller’s yeastðÞ mixture of mold and yeast þ external environment ⇨ ethanol

2. Ancient Chinese first grasped the “two-step fermentation” liquor making technique

In the mid-1980s, the Jiahu Cultural Relic Site at Wuyang County, Henan Province, which dated back to about 9000 years ago, was found. It is the earliest Neolithic culture relic site in the drainage areas of the Huaihe River. In June 2001, the Jiahu Relic Site was determined as a national cultural heritage, where the earliest in-pottery liquid in the world was unearthed, entitled as the “origin of manmade liquor,” which along with the Jiahu Characters (entitled as “the origin of Chinese characters”) and the seven-scale bony flute (entitled as “the origin of wind music”) made Jiahu a world-renowned cultural relic site with three origins. However, the discovery of the manmade liquor was not mentioned in the onsite archaeological report Wuyang Jiahu (舞阳贾湖) published in 1999.

salt is used, the salt should be put in small baskets and dissolve in grape juices. To make yellowish wine, you need to put in half yellowish wine, half Apizius wine and 1/30 strong wine. To make any strong wine, you need to add 1/30 strong wine. (Section 25) When the grapes are ripe and ready for harvest, they are first served to the family. It is important to use fully ripe and dried grapes so that the wine will not lose fame. A net bed or screens should be used to screen out fresh grape skin. They should be put into barrels or slot with naphtha, trampled on to be solid and sealed, and will be fed to the cattle in winter. If you like, you can soak some to make sub-par wine for drinking by the slaves.” In sections 104 and 105 that followed, Cato further recorded the processes for wine salinity regulation, aroma treatment, long-term preservation, sweetening, elimination of odors, concentra- tion measurement, and the preparation of local feature wine and therapeutic wine. 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 179

The Jiahu Relic Site is located on the alluvial plain between the Shahe River and Nihe River east of the Jiahu Village, 1.5 km from Wudu north of Wuyang County. The Jiahu Relic Site is of an irregular round shape, which is 275 m from east to west and 260 m from north to south, and covers an area of 55,000 square meters. From 1983 through 2001, the Henan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeological Research Institute and the University of Science and Technology of China conducted seven excavations on the site. A dike runs from north to south in the middle of the relic site and separates it into the eastern and western parts. However, the western rim of the relic site remains under a village today. Some 10 rural households are located in the key conservation zone in the western part of the relic site, and only over 2000 square meters of the site have been excavated by scientists. To the east of the dike is a large swath of farmland, and some cultural layers near the eastern part of the dike have been damaged. In December 2004, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America published a paper “Fermented Beverages from Prehistoric China,” a co-research project between China and the USA led by Patrick E. McGovern, a professor at the Museum of the University of Pennsyl- vania (UPenn). The Museum of UPenn had accumulated 25 years of experience and led peers in terms of the research on ancient liquors unearthed worldwide. By using technologies such as gas chromatography and liquid chromatography, they managed to extend the archaeological research on liquors of the far antiq- uity unearthed to the molecular level and had published findings on prehistoric beverages unearthed in Iran and Turkey. Based on the samples from the Jiahu Relic Site, the paper “Fermented Beverages from Prehistoric China” conducted research on the sediments of the content of the potteries and analyzed the content of the bronze ware from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties periods as a benchmark. As a result, they found (see Fig.7.1 for ingredients of the yeast of the far antiquity found through chromatography) the remnants from the Jiahu site dated back to 6600–6200 B.C., and the remnants from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties periods dated back to 1250–1000 B.C. It was initially determined that the content of the pottery ware from Jiahu was an alcoholic beverage made through fermentation of mixed raw materials, and the yeast substrate could be the mixture of broomcorn millet, honey, and hawthorn. The liquid residues from the bronze ware of the Shang and West Zhou Dynasties periods found in Anyang, Henan, no longer contained plant materials composed of honey and oxalic acid crystal, where the alcohols were mostly of a short chain and contained more ethanol substances, close to the final product of grain and grape fermentation (Fig. 7.2). Unfortunately, this historic scientific cooperation, in which much hope was vested by the international academic community, broke up in disagreement. The involvement of commercial interests and the parties’ different understandings of the rules for international joint research are the primary causes. Nevertheless, the scientific validation and commercial duplication of the Jiahu liquor reflected the historical value of the fermentation technique in ancient China from a different perspective. 180 Y. Fang

Fig. 7.1 Analysis of residues in Jiahu pottery ware Representative pottery and bronze vessels dating to the Neolithic period and the Shang-Western Zhou Dynasties, showing selective analyses of their contents. (a) Typical Neolithic storage jar from Jiahu (no. T109:65, subperiod II, ca. 6600 ~ 6200 B.C.). (b) Lidded he “teapot” from Anyang (Liu Jiazhuang Tomb, no. M1046:2, ca. 1250 ~ 1000 B.C.). (c) GCMS analysis of chloroform extract of a, showing homologous series of n-alkanes. (d) HPLC-MS analysis of chloroform extract of c, showing the presence of amyrin; oleanolic acid was attested at 8.9 min

3. A massive liquor making industry in China supposedly emerged after late Xia Dynasty period

In the Han Dynasty, An Liu recorded in Huai Nan Zi (《淮南子》): “The beauty of liquor starts with the plow.” The plow refers to a stage of social development before 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 181

Fig. 7.2 Based on the formula of the Jiahu fermented beverages found in the above research, an American manufacturer copies the Jiahu beer with the brand name Chateau, which is sold at $12/bottle

the Bronze Age, which ended in the early period of Shang Dynasty. The above anthropological and archaeological evidence indicates the Chinese in the far antiq- uity might have grasped the technique for making fermented beverages before a mature agricultural society emerged. The time at which the ancients began to purposefully plant and process grains at a large scale to make liquor remains a question for analysis. According to the latest archaeological findings, the ancient Chinese had grasped the technique of paddy planting no later than 12,000 years ago.3 The ancient Chinese began to make liquor at a large scale at a time when agricultural civilization reached a certain level or upon advent of a historic era when they had large quantities of grain reserve. And the large numbers of literatures on liquors and physical evidence from the Shang and Zhou Dynasties periods suggest China’s liquor making technique reached full maturity during those periods. At any time between these two points, the incident that triggered the massive utilization of the liquor making technique in China might have occurred. Therefore, we might as

3A series of archaeological evidence suggests five carbonized paddy particles dating back to 12,000 years ago were unearthed at the Yuchanyan Relic Site in Daoxian County, Hunan; paddies dating back to 7000 years ago were unearthed at the Hemudu Relic Site in Yuyao, Zhejiang; cultivated paddies dating back to 7800–9000 years ago were unearthed at the Pengtou Mountain Relic Site in Lixian County, Hunan; paddies dating back to 7000–9000 years ago were unearthed at the Jiahu Relic Site in Wuyang, Henan; carbonized paddies dating back to over 10,000 years ago were unearthed at Bashidang Relic Site, Lixian County, Hunan; at the Kuahuqiao Relic Site in Xiaoshan Zhejiang and the Shangshan Relic Site in Pujiang, paddies dating back to 9000 and 10,000 years ago were also unearthed. Archaeologists have to ask: If the paddies are the origin, what is the cradle? Anyway, the conclusion that China’s agriculture emerged 10,000 years ago is doubtless. Chun Chen & Jianming Zheng: Environment, Paddies Agriculture and Social Evolution. Science, 2005, Issue 5, p.34–37. 182 Y. Fang well explore the two clues of agricultural society and primitive religions to determine the origin of massive liquor making in ancient China. First, as liquor making involves large-scale grain processing, the ancient Chi- nese might not be able to produce liquors at scale in the hunting and gathering society before the agricultural society, even if they grasped the primitive liquor making technique. This was because of the constraint in raw material and demand. Therefore, to discuss the origin of liquor making, we must discuss agricultural techniques, including the formation of the agricultural society. That is to say, was the development of agriculture and surplus of grain led to the emergence of the industry of massive liquor making? Or was the huge demand for alcoholic bever- ages promoted the development of agricultural techniques and expansion of grain production? As for the origin of agriculture, the mainstream theory is population growth went beyond the supply capacity of nature, and as a result, the hunting and gathering system turned into artificial planting and husbandry. With gradual prosperity of the social life in the primitive society and greater demand for cultural life, the liquors for drinking and for rituals emerged at the same time. With such tremendous demand for liquor making and use, was the hunting and gathering system able to withstand the various demands that had been increasing? Of population pressure and the demand for liquor making, which was the predominant factor to the origin of the agricultural society? Or when did the mass production of grain originate? Canadian archaeologist B. Hayden coined the Competitive Feasting Theory, which was contradictory with the opinion that agricultural development resulted from pop- ulation pressure. The Competitive Feasting Theory thinks agriculture might have originated in areas with abundant resources and stable supply, and these areas had relatively more complex social structures as a result of economic and cultural pros- perity. Leaders could breed species intended for feasting and sacrificial rituals through the control of labor. It took tremendous labor to breed these species, which however could provide the food or liquors used for feasting and rituals. According to Hayden, grains were planted to make liquor in the early periods. For example, corns and other grains were used more to make liquor than feed the people in prehistoric eras, and liquors played an important role in the religious ceremonies and assignment of labor force in wealthy societies. In a resource-abundant environment, a community could grow into a large size, and the social complexity was higher, and as a result, religious and feasting activities played a vital role. The Competitive Feasting Theory concluded that agriculture only emerged in societies with higher complexity. A similar viewpoint had been raised. For example, American archaeologist C. Sauer said in the early 1950s that agriculture was unlikely to emerge in an environment threatened by famine, as people living in the shadow of starvation did not have the ability or time to engage in slow, leisurely experimental steps to select the plant specified for improvement. Only in a natural environment with abundant natural resources could people have the free time to experiment with planting practices whose harvest was unpredictable, so as to satisfy their mental pleasure beyond basic subsistence. Besides, some scholars 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 183 discussed the mechanism for agricultural economy to emerge and ascribed the orig- ination of agriculture to societal reasons, claiming that a minority group tried to expand the consumption of resources to control other groups and triggered the emergence of grain production. In fact, in 1937, Chinese historian Mr. Qichang Zhou, based on analysis of inscriptions on tortoise shells and tripods and ancient literature, believed ancient humans fed on meat as the staple, and agriculture originated from liquor making, which coincided with the Competitive Feasting Theory. The origins of agriculture and liquor making are two incidents that were independent of each other but occurred under similar backgrounds. The maturity of the brewing technique or massive liquor making, namely, the transformation of brewing from natural occurrence into human control, and into mass production, was primarily driven by the demand of the upper class. According to research findings, the methodology of brewing, like theology, was an instrument needed by the ruling class to maintain their grip over power and was the technological support to maintain the regime, following the emergence of deities, kingdoms, states, emperors, and aristocrats.

7.2 Focusing on Historical Records: Examination of Liquor Making History Materials from a New Perspective

1. Primitive liquor-free rituals in Xia Xiao Zheng (《夏小正》 and Shan Hai Jing (《山海经》)

In China’s ancient legends, Du Kang is a monarch surnamed Si during the Xia Dynasty period. According to folklore, Du Kang was the inventor of liquors, for which no substantial evidence was found. Among China’s historical literatures, works that recorded both agriculture and rituals include Xia Xiao Zheng, which contains fewer than 400 characters. This work is believed to have recorded details of social life in the Xia Dynasty period. Xiuling You, an ancient scholar in agricultural history, determined and ran category statistics on the word count of Xia Xiao Zheng scriptures, which consist of 413 Chinese characters, and with the word count for the names of the 12 months deducted, the word count is 389. The word counts and percentages of the four parts of astrology, meteorology, phenology, and agriculture are as follows: 85 characters or 21.80% for astrology; 21 characters or 5.39% for meteorology; 173 characters for 44.47% for phenology; 72 characters or 18.50% for agriculture; and 38 characters or 9.76% for other. As can be seen, phenology accounts for nearly a half while agriculture less than one-fifth. Among 173 characters on phenology, 36 characters are about animals and 14 about plants. Xiuling believed animal phenologies appeared during the hunting era, followed by plant phenologies. The fact that there were more animal phenologies than plant ones suggested the antiquity of Xia Xiao Zheng, when hunting and gathering accounted for a major 184 Y. Fang proportion of the production structure then, which was aligned with the character- istics of the late hunting era or early agricultural era, and similar to the social characteristics of the Xia Dynasty period. Food is the main tool to connect with the heaven and deities in rituals. Xia Xiao Zheng describes ritual events five times:

Da Dai Li Ji - Xia Xiao Zheng - Zheng Yue (《大戴礼记·夏小正·正月) Upon sacrificial rituals at the beginning of a year, the fields are weeded. Da Dai Li Ji - Xia Xiao Zheng - Er Yue (《大戴礼记·夏小正·二月》) The pretty lamb helps its mother survive. Da Dai Li Ji - Xia Xiao Zheng - Er Yue (《大戴礼记·夏小正·二月》) Sacrificial rituals are performed for tuna. Da Dai Li Ji - Xia Xiao Zheng - San Yue (《大戴礼记·夏小正·三月》) Praying for solid wheat. Da Dai Li Ji - Xia Xiao Zheng - Shi Yue (《大戴礼记·夏小正·十月》) Jackals sacrifice preys.

Upon scrutiny, of the offerings involved in all the five sacrificial rituals in the four seasons above and throughout the over 400 characters, the word “liquor” is never mentioned, nor is anything related to fermented beverages. In addition, the “酉” component which symbolizes liquor or any reference to liquid beverages related to sacrificial rituals is totally absent. The connection between liquor and sacrificial rituals is another window for us to understand Xia Xiao Zheng. Meanwhile, as liquor production relies on grain reserve, the analysis of the connection between liquor and agriculture upon their origination also helps us study the era when Xia Xiao Zheng was written. It is widely recognized that Shan Hai Jing (《山海经》) is a work that records the legends and history of the Xia Dynasty period, and the academia regards it as a work on phenology, geography, or deities. As I see it, Shan Hai Jing is also a work on the history of food and drinks in the far antiquity. Average people just dare not try the strange food and exotic animals mentioned in the book. Besides, as the food mentioned in Shan Hai Jing is characterized by a great many therapeutic effects or contraindications, it can be interpreted as a medical work. Unlike Xia Xiao Zheng, Shan Hai Jing mentions “酸甘” three times and is somewhat related to “酉” in some way. However, upon examination of the context, we find its content has nothing to do with brewing or fermentation. After all, Shan Hai Jing is a work on legends of the Xia Dynasty period by authors in the Warring Kingdoms period, and traces of the time in its wording are nothing strange, while the only mention of the word “觞” prompts researchers to associate it with “something in the cup.” However, as ancients often called plain water “light liquor,” we cannot assert that “觞” is the vessel for fermented beverages. In light of the focus of this paper, the key lies in whether Shan Hai Jing associates liquor with sacrificial rituals as a tool to connect with the deities. In this respect, Shen Li’s summary has provided us with valuable academic data (see Table 7.1). 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 185

As can be seen from Table 7.1, despite descriptions of sacrificial rituals through- out Shan Hai Jing of the Xia Dynasty period, there is no reference to liquors or anything liquid involved in the rituals. Shen Li’s summary of the sacrifices and rituals recorded in Shan Hai Jing suggests sacrificial rituals were performed without liquors in the Xia Dynasty period, and liquor production and sacrificial rituals were relatively independent of each other. According to the viewpoints of archaeologists, folk customs experts, and reli- gious scholars, sacrificial activities originated from the awe by higher beings of nature, deities, and natural phenomena. Sacrificing the most precious offerings (including cattle and liquors) is one of the rituals that came into shape during the long history of humanity. This viewpoint was summarized in Bei Shan Jiu Jing (《北 山酒经》) by Hong Zhu, an oenologist in the Song Dynasty period: “Used in 186 Y. Fang

Table 7.1 Deities and sacrificial articles in Shan Hai Jing 中文 英文 中文 英文 中文 英文 篇名 Title 神状 Deities’ appearance 祠神食物 Food served to the deities 南山首经 Nan Shan 皆鸟身 All with a bird’s body 稌米、稻 Rice and Shou Jing 龙首 and a dragon’s head 米 paddies 南次二经 Nan Ci Er 皆龙身 All with a dragon’s body 稌米 Rice Jing 鸟首 and a bird’s head 篇名 Title 神状 Deities’ appearance 祠神食物 Food served to the deities 南词三经 Nan Ci 皆龙身 All with a dragon’s body 白狗、稌 White dogs San Jing 人面 and a human face 米 and rice 西次二经 Xi Ci Er 十神人 Ten deities with a 少牢、雄 Lamb-pig Jing 面马身 human face and a horse 鸡 mixture and body cocks 七神人 Seven deities with a 面牛身 human face and an ox body 西次三经 Xi Ci San 皆羊身 All with a lamb body 稷米 Millet Jing 人面 and a human face 北山首经 Bei Shan 皆人面 All with a human face 雄鸡, 不 Cocks and Shou Jing 蛇身 and a snake body 用米 without rice 北次二经 Bei Ci Er 皆蛇身 All with a snake body 雄鸡, 不 Cocks and Jing 人面 and a human face 用米 without rice 北次三经 Bei Ci San 廿神马 Twenty deities with a 皆稌米, All rice and Jing 身人面 horse body and a human 不火食 without face cooked food 十四神 Fourteen deities with a 彘身载 pig body with jade 玉 十神彘 Ten deities with a pig 身八足 body and an eight-foot 蛇尾 snake tail 东山首经 Dong Shan 皆人身 All with a human body 犬祈, 鱼 Dogs and fish Shou Jing 龙首 and dragon head (耳申) 东次二经 Dong Ci 皆兽身 All with an animal body 鸡 Chickens Er Jing 人面 and a human face 东次三经 Dong Ci 皆人身 All with a human body 牡羊、黍 Rams and San Jing 羊角 and a ram’s horns 米 millet grain 中次六经 Zhong Ci 如人而 Humanoid with two 雄鸡(禳 Cocks Liu Jing 二首 heads (actually honey 而无杀) (praying (实为 hut) without 蜂蜜之 killing) 庐) 中次七经 Zhong Ci 十六神 All sixteen deities with a 羊 Lambs Qi Jing 皆豕身 pig body and a human 人面 face 又:人 Or: a humanoid with 面三首 three heads (continued) 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 187

Table 7.1 (continued) 中文 英文 中文 英文 中文 英文 中次八经 Zhong Ci 皆鸟身 All with a bird head and 雄鸡、稌 Cocks and Ba Jing 人面 a human face 米 paddies 中次九经 Zhong Ci 皆马身 All with a horse body 雄鸡、米 Cocks and Jiu Jing 龙首 and a dragon head rice 中次十经 Zhong Ci 皆龙身 All with a dragon head 雄鸡、米 Cocks and Shi Jing 人面 and a human face rice 中次十一 Zhong Ci 皆彘身 All with a pig head and 雄鸡、米 Cocks and 经 Shi Yi Jing 人首 a human head rice 中次十二 Zhong Ci 皆鸟身 All with a bird body and 雄鸡、 Cocks, pigs 经 Shi Er Jing 龙首 a dragon head 豚、米 and rice performing rituals and serving deities, liquors are so important to the world.” According to Tian Xue Zhen Yuan (《天学真原》), humans are pious because they understand the great principles of interactions between Heaven and Man, which can be summarized as: To get along with God, man must know God’s wishes, obey God’s orders, follow God’s rules, and invite for God’s blessings. As precious fermented beverages, liquors are first a gift from nature. According to studies of animal behaviors and human folk customs, surplus rotten food included fruit and grain, which might ferment and turn into low-concentration alcoholic beverages under appropriate natural conditions. This technique was gradually improved and grasped by humans in subsequent practical activities. Alcohol is able to warm, excite, and intoxicate creatures. It is not only a pioneering new and high-tech product in humans’ daily lives but also serves the function of connecting with gods. Unearthed materials suggest two mutually independent matters, namely, sacrificial activities and making of liquors for human use might have been associated with each other prior to the emergence of Chinese characters; and it is certain that liquors were closely related to major sacrificial events after emergence of the Chinese characters. It is fair to say liquors were an indispensable practical tool for the ancient Chinese to communicate with the deities and connect with God. When Xia Xiao Zheng was written, sacrifices were made without liquors. This is a stage of human development when agriculture was undeveloped, an era of dictation more ancient than the Shang and Zhou Dynasties periods, with scarce materials and rudimentary brewing techniques. In this era, sacrificial rituals were unrelated to liquors, and brewing remained in the stage of natural fermentation and was inde- pendent of agriculture. Nevertheless, we can still smell the piety of people in connecting with God from the lines of Xia Xiao Zheng, which is free of any reference to alcohol, even if it was created in an era of dictation when alcohol and sacrificial rituals were unrelated. Although the human fermented beverages unearthed at the Jiahu Relic Site in Wuyang, Henan, moved forward the origin of the liquor making technique of ancient Chinese to 9000 years from today, liquors and sacrifices were still independent of each other according to Xia Xiao Zheng and Shan Hai Jing. Based on the Compet- itive Feasting Theory, we deduce a massive liquor making industry did not appear in 188 Y. Fang

China until the late Xia Dynasty period. There might have been a period of primitive liquor-free sacrificial rituals in China prior to the emergence of a massive liquor making industry. That is to say, China’s massive liquor making industry emerged after the sacrificial rituals became widespread.

2. Connection between liquors and sacrificial rituals as recorded in inscriptions on tortoise shells and tripods

Since primitive texts readable to contemporary humans appeared in China around 1600 B.C., there have been inscriptions on tortoise shells and tripods that emerged around 1600 B.C. with reference to liquors, the connections between liquors and sacrificial rituals, sacrificial rituals, and bronze ware. These exact historical evi- dences suggest the liquor making technique in the Shang Dynasty period was a historic turning point of enlightenment in the Chinese civilization. Unlike the previous era, the Shang civilization began to associate liquors with sacrificial rituals as major events, with extensive examples in social life, such as:

The 190th tortoise shell of Yin Qi Cui Bian (《殷契粹编》): “In the year of Bingwu, liquors were used for sacrifices, with 100 Qiang people and 10 trios of cattle, goats and pigs sacrificed.” The 76th tortoise shell of Yin Qi Cui Bian (《殷契粹编》): “Divination: liquors were provided to Wang Hai.” The 2nd tortoise shell of Yin Qi Shi Zhuan (《殷契拾撰》): “Upon divination in the year of Guihai... Divination: In the year of Xinmo, the King poured liquors into the river.” The 199th tortoise shell of Yin Qi Yi Cun (《殷契佚存》): “...upon divination, three lines of Qiang people were used for sacrifice”

Since the late Shang Dynasty period, inscriptions on the tripods of the Bronze Age gradually evolved from simple ownership marks into textual records of the purpose of sacrificial rituals and rewards for triumphs. Early bronze ware were made up for the functional deficiencies of pottery ware and served as practical vessels for drinking and eating. This practicality finally lifted bronze ware to be an important article used for imperial and aristocratic rituals in major sacrificial events, and consequently bronze ware evolved into a symbol of the state, regime, and throne in the Chinese civilization. Take for example the 38 bronze jues unearthed at Fu Hao’s tomb in the Shang Dynasty relic site in Anyang. Apart from King Wu Ding’s wife, Fu Hao was also the first named female military commander and stateswoman in Chinese history. These bronze jues were used for special purposes. 20–26 cm in height and 1.1.7 kg in weight, bronze jues are more suitable for high-caliber sacrificial rituals or celebrations. Along with the large bronze wine vessels (zuns), funnels, square statues, owl-shaped bronze zuns, and round vessels with a closed sprout constituted a magnificent national ceremony. In the Spring and Autumn and Warring Kingdoms periods, inscriptions on bronze ware were no longer names such as Fu Hao, but consisted of a dozen characters that recorded a historical incident or 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 189 an idea. Let’s get back to the UPenn Museum that studies the ancient liquor unearthed at Jiahu, China. The bronze ware from the Warring Kingdoms period they collect (Chenzhang Bottle) bears an inscription of 29 characters, which are surprisingly identical to the inscriptions on the outer rim of the round foot of the heavy metal pot collected by Nanjing Museum. The bronze ware was used by King Xuan of the Qi Kingdom for the ceremony celebrating his conquest of the Yan Kingdom. “In the fifth year of the King’s reign, trophies from Zhengyang were counted and celebratory ceremonies were held. These trophies were from the crusade by generals Guo Kong and Chen Zhang against the Yan Kingdom in the first month of the winter.”4

3. Connections between liquors and sacrifices and their production for special purposes as recorded on bamboo slips in pre-Qin Dynasty eras

In the treasure of Chinese culture, literature abounds and helps us reach the conclusion that the massive liquor making technique matured no later than the late Shang Dynasty period or early Spring and Autumn period. In the Spring and Autumn and Warring Kingdoms periods, bamboo slips were easier to acquire, and as a result, textual records and thoughts were more widely spread, and large numbers of materials have been found and interpreted by contemporary scholars. In the system recorded in the well-known Zhou Li - Tian Guan Zhong Zai (《周礼·天官冢宰》), liquor-related positions were official titles instead of craftsmen:

For the official rank of Jiuzheng, there are four Zhongshis, eight Xiashis, two Fus, eight Shis, eight Xus and eighty Tus. For the official rank of Jiuren, there are two ten Yans, thirty female liquor officials and three hundred Xis. For the official rank of Jiangren, there are five Yans, fifteen female Jiangrens and one-hundred and fifty Xis.

Upon examining the entries that represented the 22 categories of latest technol- ogies recorded in Kao Gong Ji (《考工记》) that mainly described craftsmen and techniques, we did not find the liquor industry, which suggests the liquor industry was a mature industry during the Warring Kingdoms period. The only occupation related to liquor making in Kao Gong Ji (《考工记》) was described in the chapter on liquor vessel making “Craftsmen”: “The craftsman makes drinking vessels, includ- ing a one-sheng shao, a one-sheng jue and a one-sheng gu. One proposes a toast with a jue and the other returns a toast with a gu three times, which forms a dou. One eats a dou of meat and drinks a dou of liquor, which is a medium dietary standard. The foreman checks the quality of a drinking vessel by pouring in a standard volume of

4Archaeological Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Yin Zhou Jin Wen Ji Cheng (《殷 周金文集成》), Zhonghua Book Company, 2007 190 Y. Fang liquor, and if the liquor overflows or is insufficient to fill the vessel , the craftsman who has made the vessel will be punished.” Contrary to the sacrificial rituals in Xia Xiao Zheng and Shan Hai Jing, textual records of the mutual connections between sacrifices and liquors have been com- monplace since the Shang and Zhou Dynasties periods. Zhou Li - Tian Guan Zhong Zai clarifies the two in a systematic way: Jiuzheng controls decrees related to liquors and distributes liquor-making materials according to government-specified procedures. So do those who make liquors for official matters...responsible for identifying the thickness or lightness of the yeast to provide the four beverages and three liquors needed by the king, as well as the beverages and liquors for the queen and crown prince. Upon sacrifice, the five yeasts and three liquors are provided as per the usual procedure to fill the eight vessels. The procedure is repeated three times upon major sacrifice. Twice upon medium sacrifice. And once upon minor sacrifice. There are a specified number of spoonfuls for all the rituals. Only the yeasts are not added, and a specified quantity should be added into the vessel. All the beverages for the queen and the guests, namely unfiltered elixirs, shall be delivered by the guards. All the beverages for the king to perform rituals shall be delivered by Jiuzheng himself. The beverages served to the scholars, elders and orphans shall be pro- vided without a fixed number of spoonfuls. The beverages for the officials as ordered by the king shall be served according to a certain procedure. Wherever liquors are provided as per the custom, they shall be provided according to the ledger. The liquor-making materials and liquors given away by Jiuzheng shall be recorded on a daily basis, a summary of ten days’ account shall be submitted, a monthly accounting report shall be submitted to Xiaozai, who reviews the sub- mission and submits the full-year accounting report at the end of the year. Only the liquors for the king and queen are not recorded. Reward and punishment shall be determined based on compliance with the liquor procedures. Zhou Li - Tian Guan - Jiu Zheng records: Jiuren controls the five yeasts and three liquors for use in sacrificial rituals and orders the female Xis to obey the instructions of Shifu and deliver the ritual liquors and drinking liquors for guests to Jiuzheng. Whenever the king needs to drink, liquors shall be sent to Jiuzheng’s compound. Upon minor sacrifice, liquors shall be sent. Liquors provided to the guests shall also be sent. There are three kinds of liquors, namely, ritual liquors, leisure liquors, and clear liquors. Yi Zhou Shu - Shi Xun Jie (《逸周书·时训解》) bears obvious resemblance to Xia Xiao Zheng (《夏小正》): “At the Beginning of Spring, the east wind unfreezes. Another five days later, hibernating creatures begin to wake up...if hibernating creatures do not wake up, it suggests negative energy has overcome positive energy...on the Day of Awakening, otters prey on fish. Another five days later, wild gooses return. Another five days later, grass and trees sprout. If otters do not prey on fish, theft will be rampant across the country; if wild gooses do not return, remote tribes will not be obedient...on a rainy day, peach blossoms begin to bloom...” These descriptions are almost a refined and more modern version of Da 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 191

Dai Li Ji - Xia Xiao Zheng - Zheng Yue (《大戴礼记·夏小正·正月》). In what follows, information on progress of the times, technological advances, and social activities is unveiled through the close connection between liquors and sacrificial events in an unprecedented manner. “In the first month of spring...in this month, the king prays for a good harvest on the first day and chooses the first hour. The emperor personally operates the plough under the protection of the guards, and the three top ministers, nine ministers, dukes and officials follow suit to plow the emperor’s field. The emperor plows three times, the three top ministers five times, and the ministers and dukes nine times. After return, the emperor holds a banquet in the grand palace, with liquors served to the three top ministers, nine ministers, dukes and officials, calling these ‘liquors in reward of labor’. In the first month of summer...in this month, the emperor drinks double-fermented liquors and watches ritual and musical performances. If the decree corresponding to this month is implemented, there will be timely rain every ten days.” According to historians, the completion dates of the chapters of Yi Zhou Shu (《逸周书》) range from the West Zhou Dynasty period to the Warring Kingdoms periods, and some chapters might have been altered or expanded during the Han Dynasty period. For example, Shi Xun (《时训》) regarded the Rainy Day as the middle of January and the Awakening Day as a day in February, which is contradictory with the calendar prior to the Han Dynasty period. However, regard- less of West Zhou or West Han, Yi Zhou Shu mentioned the connection between liquors and sacrificial events, while the negligence by Xia Xiao Zheng of liquors in sacrificial events is the focus of this paper. Li Ji - Yue Ling (《礼记·月令》) and Yi Zhou Shu - Shi Xun Jie (《逸周书·时训解》) revealed the same historical facts:

In the first month of spring, the east wind unfreezes, insects are awakened, fish swims beneath melting ice, otters prey on fish and wild gooses return...in this month, the king prays for a good harvest on the first day and determines the first hour of the ceremony. The emperor personally operates the plough under the protection of the guards, and the three top ministers, nine ministers, dukes and officials follow suit to plow the emperor’s field. The emperor plows three times, the three top ministers five times, and the ministers and dukes nine times. After return, the emperor holds a banquet in the grand palace, with liquors served to the three top ministers, nine ministers, dukes and officials, calling these “liquors in reward of labor.”

Guan Zi - Qing Zhong Yi (《管子·轻重乙》) of the Warring Kingdoms period is another piece of evidence, reflecting the DNA of Xia Xiao Zheng while mentioning the close connection between liquors and sacrifices:

From the start of winter...the emperor meets with the dukes, ministers and officials and presents himself to the people, calling the day a sacrificial day. Fish is sacrificed and a decree is issued: On this day, you shall give birth and not kill, you shall reward and not punish, and trials shall be suspended until the end of the year. The people shall be instructed to heat their houses, make fire by drilling wood, repair their stoves and replace the water in the wells, which is for the sake of their health. All the agricultural instruments which are meant for plowing in the spring and summer shall be prepared. The people shall also be instructed to prepare liquors and food and hold banquets, to show their respect for seniors and elders. 192 Y. Fang

In the Lv Shi Chun Qiu - Shi Er Yue Ji (《吕氏春秋·十二月纪》) completed in the Qin and Han Dynasties periods, the sacrificial events for at least months were directly related to liquors. Xia Xiao Zheng is incomparable to Lv Shi Chun Qiu in terms of wording, knowledge, and information amount.

The emperor prays for a good harvest to God on the first day...holds a banquet in the grand palace...calling these “liquors in reward of labor.” Lv Shi Chun Qiu - Meng Chun Ji (《吕氏 春秋·孟春纪》) On that every day, cattle, lambs and pigs are sacrificed at the temple, hosted by the emperor in person, and the concubines serve sweet liquors to the emperor.... Lv Shi Chun Qiu - Zhong Chun Ji (《吕氏春秋·仲春纪》) Sturgeons are sacrificed in the rear palace to pray for a good harvest of wheat. Lv Shi Chun Qiu - Ji Chun Ji (《吕氏春秋·季春纪》)

By comparing the sacrifice of sturgeons in Da Dai Li Ji - Xia Xiao Zheng - Er Yue (《大戴礼记·夏小正·二月》) and the pray for wheat harvest in Da Dai Li Ji - Xia Xiao Zheng - San Yue (《大戴礼记·夏小正·三月》), we can identify a strong link between Lv Shi Chun Qiu and Xia Xiao Zheng. However, Lv Shi Chun Qiu describes the connection between diet and health/cure in the chapter that immediately follows: “Avoid food with heavy taste, which, along with strong liquors, is the primary cause of illness.”

7.3 From Agricultural Books to Recipes – Extensive Clustering of Liquor Making to Technological Formation

1. An encyclopedia-like agricultural publication: records of liquor making tech- niques and folk customs

“For liquor making, two hus of coarse and one hu of yeast are used to acquire six hus and six dous of liquor.” Even today, this technique is considered sophisticated. In that sentence of a mere 17 characters, we derive the following information: In the Han Dynasty period, genuine liquor formulae in the technology history of China emerged. When describing the cost of liquor making, Han Shu - Shi Huo Zhi (《汉书·食货志》) and Han Shu - Bu Zhu (《汉书·补注》) inadvertently handed down this technique for liquor making: “For liquor making, two hus of coarse rice and one hu of yeast are used.” ① Yeast, rice, and water are the basic raw materials of liquors. The yeast can improve the efficacy of coarse grain. ② Rice and yeast are mixed at a ratio of 2:1, and bacteria activity is weak. ③ Rice and water are mixed at a ratio of about 1:3.3, and the alcoholic content is moderate. The mixture of yeast and rice is a pioneering technique. During the yeast process that lasts a dozen days, the mixed bacteria comprising mold and yeast trigger biological and chemical reactions. Enzyme activity will decompose and generate basic elements beneficial to the human body, such as sugar, methanol, vitamin, and bioactive factors, and the beverage produced sustains life and promotes health. 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 193

2200 years ago, it was historians, instead of scientists, that articulated a chemical formula with reliable concepts. According to such technique-describing literature, liquor making became a mature segment of agricultural and byproduct processing no later than the Han Dynasty period. Around the year of Christ’s birth, the liquor price was as follows: “The position of Liquor Officer was canceled...liquors were sold at four qians per sheng.” After comparing this data with the liquor price of ten qians every two dous, Lao Gan of Academia Sinica of Taiwan believed the liquor price was twice that of grain during the Han Dynasty period. Therefore, different types of liquor makers emerged to meet different demands. “Liquors produce residues in time and now become unstrained liquors. Sweet liquors...liquids and residues are mixed to become liquors with distiller’s grains. If showing an onion white color when complete, the liquors are now turbidly white. If showing a reddish color when complete, the liquors are now inferior liquors. If containing residues when complete, the liquors are now green nectar.”5 To that date, China’s liquor making industry had existed for over a thousand years, and the state polity had also changed significantly over this thousand years, having a major impact on people’s lives. By examining only the interactions between the state and the people in terms of liquor making and liquor tax, we can perceive the importance of liquor making to the state and people’s lives. Agricultural works currently available are extremely few, including Fan Si Zhi Shu of the West Han Dynasty period, Si Min Yue Ling (《四民月令》) of Later Han Dynasty, and Qi Min Yao Shu (《齐民要术》) of later Wei Dynasty that were handed down basically in entirety. Spanning across five centuries, these works covered everything about the liquor making technique, including its emergence from scratch, the development from simplicity to sophistication, and the critical turning point where the liquor making technique turned into religious mysticism, reflecting a contradictory mindset of the craftsmen who expected further breakthroughs in the liquor making technique while finding it difficult to grasp its secrets. Si Min Yue Ling (《四民月令》) is a piece of work by Cui Shi, a minister of the Later Han Dynasty period, describing the folk activities of all walks of life from January to December (according to the lunar calendar), including the civil liquor making techniques and liquor-related folk customs. In January, “on the sacrificial day, the entire family present themselves in front of the ancestors’ memorial tablets after sacrificing liquors, regardless of seniority. Sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren propose toasts to parents, hold liquor cups and wish parents lon- gevity in extreme euphoria...the order of proposing the toast is based on seniority, with the younger taking precedence.” Before June, fermented food such as vinegar and sauces were made, and liquor making activities occurred mostly during the warming season. On June 6, “harvesting can be carried out and yeast can be made. The quantity of yeast is the same as that used for spring liquors, while the liquor

5Zhou Li Zhu Shu (《周礼注疏》), quoted from Xu Zhuoyun: Agriculture of Han Dynasty - Origin and Characteristics of Chinese Agricultural Economy, Guangxi Normal University Press, 2005, p.263. 194 Y. Fang thus made cannot be used as spring liquors. The yeast of spring liquors is particularly good for use in the Yi liquor.”“On July 4, the yeast room is set, a hammer is prepared and argyi is taken. On July 6, grain and grinding mills are prepared. On July 7, the yeast is made.” The other liquor making climax of the year is scheduled after the autumn harvest, “In October, liquor yeast is prepared to make winter liquors, and cured meat is made for sacrifices.”“In November...on the day of Winter Solstice, broomcorn millet is sacrificed. Sacrifice is made to the Deity of Winter first, and then to the forefathers. Liquors and dishes are served, and visits are paid to the local seniors, just like the first day of the year. Sauces made of meat and fish, grain, non-glutinous sorghum, paddies, millets, beans and oil plant seeds can be made. In the slack season in December, people are busy with socializing and rituals.”“The day immediately following the eighth day of the 12th lunar month is called Little New Year, on which liquors are served to pay homage to seniors, the emperor and teachers. Liquors infused with pepper are served, starting with the youngest.” In Qi Min Yao Shu - Zao Shen Qu Bing Jiu by Sixie Jia, the process of preparing the yeast is integrated with sacrifices, and technical records and humanistic descrip- tions are combined to form a vivid classical work of technology. The method for making three vessels of yeast: a vessel is prepared for steaming, frying, and grinding. Wheat frying: yellowish and not charred. Wheat grinding: the best is chosen for processing. Seeds are subjected to grinding, which should be delicate. Mix after grinding is complete. On the Zhongyan day in July, a page boy is instructed to wear green clothes, face the Place of Death, and collect twenty hus of water before sunrise. Do not order him to splash water, and if the water overflows, pour the surplus, and don’t let anyone use it. When mixing with the yeast, the boy should face the Place of Death to make it strong. All those mixing the yeast are minors who also face the Place of Death, and filthy minors must not participate. Irrelevant people should not be allowed to approach it. Yeast mixing should be complete on the same day and may not be delayed to the second day. The mixing should be done in a hut and not in a tile house. The floor should be cleaned and free of filth; the yeast may not be moistened. Draw paths on the floor and form lanes. Make “yeast people” and place them in the lanes. “Yeast kings” are placed and there are five of them. Yeast pancakes are placed side by side along the paths drawn. Upon completion, one person from the host family should serve as the principal toast proposer, and no slave or guest can be the principal toast proposer. Liquors and meat should be handed over to the “yeast kings” in the following way: Wet the bowls held by the “yeast kings,” and put liquors, dried meat, and cakes in the bowls. The host reads the toast three times, and participants propose toasts to each other. The house should have a single wooden door which should be tightly sealed with mud to the extent that no wind may get through. The door is opened on the seventh day, and the yeast pancakes are turned over at the original spots. On the 14th day, the yeasts are gathered, and the door is sealed again, and no wind may get through. On the 21st day, the yeast pancakes are taken out and put into the urns, which are sealed with mud. On the 28th day, the yeast pancakes are punctured, stringed, and dried in 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 195 the sun. They must be thoroughly dried and collected. These yeast pancakes are then manually made into the size of two and a half cuns and a thickness of nine fens. Sacrificial oration: For the God of Earth and the God of Power under the Green Emperor in the east, the God of Earth and the God of Power under the Red Emperor in the south, the God of Earth and the God of Power under the White Emperor in the west, the God of Earth and the God of Power under the Black Emperor in the north, and the God of Earth and the God of Power under the Yellow Emperor in the center, we propose this toast to all the five emperors along with the gods in the five locations at this time of this day of this month of this year: The host makes a great many yeast pancakes in early July and draws horizontal and vertical lines on the floor as boundaries for the five emperors. Liquors and dried meat are served in exchange for their blessings: May pests disappear and insects stay in their lairs; and may high-quality yeast pancakes be made. The saccharification and alcoholic reactions should be strong; the scent should be more fragrant than that of smoked peppers and the taste better than that of the best sauce. The liquors are good for good men, who are drunk and satisfied; the liquors are also good for bad men, who become humble and cultivated. The toast should be repeated three times as a solemn oath. When the gods hear, their blessings naturally come. As long as man does not violate the oath, the blessings will stay for eternity. The oration is repeated three times, and a toast is made to each other.

2. Era of refined liquor techniques: liquor making techniques and folk customs recorded in recipes

In China’s history, the Tang and Song Dynasties periods are the heyday of Chinese politics, economy, and culture, and social progress facilitated the survival and development of the liquor making industry. After thousands of years of explo- ration, China had established a fixed set of liquor making theories and techniques. The literature on which our study is based includes Dong Po Jiu Jing (《东坡酒经》) by Shi Su, Xin Feng Jiu Jing (《新丰酒经》) by Hong Lin, and Xu Bei Shan Jiu Jing (《续北山酒经》) by Bao Li, of which Bei Shan Jiu Jing by Hong (Yizhong) Zhu was the most influential. Compared with prior liquor making techniques, Yizhong Zhu recorded the highlights of the contemporary technique of mass liquor production in his time, and some steps remain in use today. ① Winter cherry is used to adjust the pH value of the fermentation environment and curb the growth of hybrid bacteria. ② The bacteria can be escalated through “rice yeasting” and “joint fermentation,” and yeast can be added on a pro rata basis during the brewing process. ③ The squeezing technique upon liquor production is increasingly refined. ④ The liquors are heated to kill the bacteria and prevent putridity, which also gives rise to highly alcoholic distilled liquors. ⑤ Beeswax (honey wax) is used to eliminate bubbles and isolate air to facilitate transport and preservation. Since this historical period, there has been an obvious turning point in terms of the records of liquor making techniques. These texts were not only recorded in agricul- tural books or publications on liquor making but also began to be gathered by diet books and became the primary textual source of subsequent generations studying 196 Y. Fang alcoholic beverages. In Yin Shi Xu Zhi (《饮食须知》), Ming Jia included basic food ingredients such as water and liquors, which had never appeared in books on primitive nutrition and recipes such as Shi Liao Ben Cao (《食疗本草》), into the category of diet for discussion and summarized how previous generations differen- tiated 25 water sources, pointing out that the “mold” in water had direct impact on the liquor making outcome. The connection between water quality and liquors began to appear in texts, and the method of using high temperature to eliminate mold was proposed. The plum rainwater of the rainy season is sweet and mild-natured. The rainy season starts with the Ren Day after the solar term of Mangzhong, and ends with the Ren Day after the solar term of Xiaoshu, when the plum rainwater should be heated to eliminate the toxins. If added to sauces, this water quickly makes sauces ripe; if soaked with water, clothes are vulnerable to decay; humans affected by this water get sick; items affected by this water go moldy; and this water should not be used to make liquors or vinegar. If one washes with this water, it is like washing with muddy water. If some plum leaves are soaked with boiled water to wash moldy clothes, the mold will be washed off...rainwater preserved during the solar terms of Lichun and Qingming is called magical water. This water is suitable for use in making pills and liquors, which can be preserved for long without deterioration. Upon the solar term of Guyu, water is taken from the Yangtze River and used to make liquors, which turns dark red and tastes icy when preserved for long. The water during the solar terms of Xiaomang, Mangzhong and Bailu is toxic. Anything made with this water, such as medicinal liquors, liquors and vinegar and all food, is susceptible to deterioration...the water during the solar terms of Hanlu, Dongzhi, Xiaohan and Dahan and the water on the 8th day of the 12th lunar month is suitable for use in making nourishing pills and medicinal liquors, which have the same effect as snow water. The liquor making industry burgeoned during the Song Dynasty period, which was closely related to the politics, economy, and social life of that time. Feudal regimes focused on commodities such as salt, iron, and tea as the primary sources of tax revenue. In the Song Dynasty period, the state monopolized the sale of liquors, which became another source of revenue for the state, which promulgated the policy of state monopoly over liquor sale. “During the reign of Emperor Zhen of the Song Dynasty, revenue from taxes on liquors, tea and salt totaled 12.33 mil- lion guans, of which 4.28 million guans were from liquor taxes, and 3.55 million guans from salt taxes. During the reign of Emperor Ren of the Song Dynasty, total tax revenue reached 44 million guans, of which liquor taxes soared to 17.1 million guans and salt taxes remained at 4.28 million guans. The liquor taxes quadrupled in four decades.” With the rapid development of the liquor making industry, a special social class that lived on lees came into existence and became a new source of social conflicts. The earliest chapter persuading people to exercise self-discipline over drinking from a moral perspective appeared in Shang Shu - Jiu Gao (《尚书·酒诰》). However, it was not until liquors penetrated into all walks of life and grew into a massive industry that insightful people began to get rid of the previous generations’ blind 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 197 enthusiasm about liquors and analyze one by one the physical harms liquors could cause to the human body as well as the cons of liquors, especially strong spirits. For example, Yin Shi Xu Zhi (《饮食须知》) articulates “There are various kinds of liquors, which can be sweet, bitter, sour, plain or puckery. All these liquors are calorific and toxic in nature. Drinking too much will yeet hay, generate sputum, cause dizziness, soften the body, damage muscles and bones, hurts the spleen and stomach, consumes pulmonary air and shortens the lifespan. Cold liquors, if drunk along with beef, generate vermin. If drunk with milk, they make breaths short. If drunk with walnut, they cause hemoptysis. If one lies drunk on the broomcorn millet and eats pork, he may catch leprosy. If drunk along with mustard and spicy food, liquors make people limp. If one drinks tea after drinking liquor, the kidneys will be hurt and sputum develops, causing edema and spasm, in addition to a heavy, falling waist and legs, bladder hernia, a cold and painful underbelly, thirst and retained fluid. Excessive drinking is spermicidal and makes one childless. If one lies drunk against the wind, he may catch purpura and paralyze. If one takes cold bath after drinking, he may develop arthralgia. If liquors are drunk with herbs like cinnabarite and realgar, the toxins of the herbs will enter the limbs, cause blood stagnation and generate ulcers. For those who have drunk, there is no cure for arsenic intoxication and poison from venomous insects. Liquors should be warm and must not be hot, and should be in moderate amount. Drinking cold liquors makes the drinker’s hands tremble. Patients of fire syndromes, eye diseases, hemorrhage, phlegm, anal fistula and sore scabies should avoid drinking alcohol. If the drinker prefers salty to sweet liquors, do not eat sweet food. Trifoliate orange, kudzu flower, chidouhua and mung bean powder can all counter the effect of drinking. Do not drink liquors that do not show reflections or liquors that consume during sacrifices. Take one sheng of red beans, cook them and put into the jar, and the liquors will turn good.” During the reign of Emperor Chunyou of the Southern Song Dynasty, Xi Yuan Lu Ji (《洗冤录 集》) by Ci Song even recorded the earliest cases of forensic authentication in human history: “This man died of excessive drinking” (Section 43), and “This man died of internal injuries from a massive volume of liquors” (Section 44). Yin Shi Xu Zhi (《饮食须知》) recorded: “The cooked liquor is bittersweet, extremely hot in nature and toxic. If drunk excessively, this liquor hurts your stomach and gallbladder, ulcerates your marrow and weakens your bones, and racks your nerves and shortens your lifespan. Those with symptoms of yeet hay should avoid it. If mixed with ginger, garlic and dog meat, it causes hemorrhoids. If drunk by a pregnant woman, it causes epilepsy. Anyone running a fever due to excessive drinking can be soaked with newly acquired cold water, or can be awakened by wetting of hair. Those intoxicated can drink salty cold water with green bean powder for relief. Or drink one or two shengs of juice with one sheng of cooked black beans. After drinking and vomiting, the symptoms will be relieved.” Ming Jia, author of Yin Shi Xu Zhi, lived during the Yuan Dynasty period, when the technique of acquiring highly alcoholic cooked spirits by distilling low-alcoholic content liquors was widespread, called the Arago liquor in Mongolian in Yin Shan Zheng Yao (《饮膳正要》) by Hisihui. However, the latest research indicated the production of cooked liquors was not a western technology spread from the prairie, 198 Y. Fang as similar techniques and products had at least existed in the Song Dynasty period, which preceded the Yuan Dynasty period by 100–200 years. In fact, the ancient Chinese had always enjoyed drinking cooked liquors and were just one step away from distilling and acquiring upgraded liquor products with specialized workshops. It wouldn’t be difficult for the talented Chinese liquor makers throughout China’s long history of liquor making to grasp the secrets of making cooked liquors. The development of the liquor making industry not only promoted commercial development and supported the tax revenue of the ruling regime but also cultivated an extensive consumer market and indirectly demonstrated the relatively stable social situation and quality of living in the Song Dynasty period. Works like Qing Ming Shang He Tu (《清明上河图》) and note-style novels of the Song Dynasty period such as Dong Jing Meng Hua Lu (《东京梦华录》), Wu Lin Jiu Shi (《武林旧 事》), and Meng Liang Lu (《梦粱录》) provided plenty of examples of a vibrant market supporting a massive liquor making industry. Compared with the Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties periods, thanks to the massive production of liquors, they became an everyday staple instead of being used for rituals only, and they were consumed by average people instead of the ruling elite. Besides, liquors were often associated with brothels. Let’s take Dong Jing Meng Hua Lu for example:

If traveling westward from Zhuquemen and crossing the bridge, you will reach the Touxi Avenue, which is called the “street of yeast and brothels”. To the south of the street is a major liquor shop, which consists of a building in the front and a pagoda in the back, called by capital dwellers the “upper pagoda”. This shop sells great liquors, such as Silver Bottle liquors sold for 72 wens and one jiao, and Lamb liquors for 81 wens and one jiao. To the north of the street are a teahouse and mutton rice and cooked mutton shops. To the west are all brothels, called by the capital dwellers “the street of brothels.” (Dong Jing Meng Hua Lu volume 2 “Ministerial Palace in Front of Xuande Pagoda”) After exiting the former Caomen Gate, one gets on the Zhujia Bridge. After passing the bridge, he reaches the South and North Cornered Streets, with a Taishan Temple and brothels along the two streets. The bridge is crowded and full of bazaars just like areas south of the bridge. To the east is the street for cattle, with a pharmacy, a barroom and brothels, which extend all the way to the new city peripheral. (Dong Jing Meng Hua Lu (《东京梦华录》) Volume 2 “Panlou East Alley”) All the barrooms in the capital city have a bamboo gate decorated with brocades in the front, and anyone may enter the gate and reach the main corridor, which stretches about 100 steps. Small chambers line up along the south and north corridors, immersed in an ocean of light and candles, and several hundred prostitutes with heavy make-ups gather on the main corridor, waiting for customers to call. At a glance, they are like fairies. (Dong Jing Meng Hua Lu (《东京梦华录》) Volume 2 “Barrooms”) All those bartenders and cooks in the barrooms are called “experts in tea, meals and liquors”. The waiters are all called “uncles”. And some women from the neighborhood, with green flower handkerchiefs tied to the waist and a lofty bun in the hair, come to serve liquors to the customers, called “liquor-serving women”. Moreover, some local commoners enter the barrooms, watch younger people drink, and purchase food and patronize prostitutes, called “bums”. And some serve liquors and entertain people by singing, or serve fruit and spices and perfumes for money, called “customer-serving bums”. Some low-level prostitutes come without being called and sing before the tables in exchange for some gratuities and gifts, called “uncalled prostitutes” or “gratuity demanders”. Some peddle herbs, fruits or carrots without asking if anyone will buy, and just distribute the stuff among the customers and collect money, called “scattered peddlers”. Such people can be seen in all barrooms in 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 199

the city, except two barrooms on the Zhouqiao Bridge, namely Tanzhang and Nailaozhang, where the abovementioned people are not allowed to enter and no inferior liquors are sold. They only sell high-quality food and liquors. (Dong Jing Meng Hua Lu (《东京梦华录》) Volume 2, “Food and Drinks”) Capital residents mostly lead a luxurious lifestyle. Whenever they have extra money, even if just two people drink with each other, they must order an infusion bowl, two dishes, five fruit plates and three to five dish bowls, which cost nearly 100 liangs of silver. Even if one person drinks alone, a silver bowl must be used. (Dong Jing Meng Hua Lu (《东京梦华 录》) Volume 2 “Huixian Barroom”)

The author recorded the dream-like mundane life in the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. And Yuanlao Meng also tried to follow the tradition of describing by solar term as adopted by previous generations of authors. However, as times changed, urban life was limited to the enjoyment of liquors and things they brought along, either a perception by the author or a matter of fact. The work covered all the scenes of sprees and extreme luxury, yet did not have a single mention of the scene where households made yeast and liquors based on the calendar. Optimists see this as a symbol of technological and industrial advancement, while pessimists sigh at what they see as moral degradation. In Ling Wai Dai Da (《岭外代答》), Qufei Zhou of the Southern Song Dynasty period recorded liquor matters far away from the prosperous capital area:

There is no liquor ban in Guangyou, and great liquors are made by both public and private makers, who use dews to make liquors that are particularly fragrant and reputable in Huguang. This liquor is originally made in Hezhou, which is distant and unreachable. The liquors produced in other provinces are not as intoxicating as Shaozhou liquors. It is said they use datura to make the liquors by placing it in the urn so the liquors may absorb the fragrance. Why is this? There are Gula fairs and mountains where rattan medicine and water suitable for brewing are produced, and the liquor made with this water is light red. Even if the liquor is transported under the scorching sun for days, the color and scent remain. Rich locals in the counties brew strong liquors, which is dark red and black and whose taste remains good after ten years. Along the streets, white liquors are on sale, especially in Jingjiang, where pedestrians can buy a big jar of liquors and tofu soup, called tofu liquors, for 14 qians. Jingjiang can produce lead powder because grains abound there. (Shi Yong Men (“食用门”), Section 120, “Liquors”)

All information on liquors in the ancient times, including drinking rules, place of production, liquor scent techniques, colors, years, and relative prices, is recorded there.

3. Final elevation of the liquor making technique – workshop recording and drinkers’ amusement

In the Ming Dynasty period, Yingxing Song briefly described liquors in the three sections of yeast, magical yeast, and red yeast of Tian Gong Kai Wu (《天工开物》). According to the author’s annotations, the content was derived from a previous author’s Jiu Jing (《酒经》). In the recipe Yi Ya Yi Yi (《易牙遗意》) by Yi Han in the name of the ancient chef Ya Yi, the techniques for making the peach liquor, snow 200 Y. Fang liquor, fragrance liquor, “12th month” liquor, Jianchang red liquor, and white yeast and red and white medicinal liquor were recorded. The descriptions were concise and resembled a modern formula and contained technical data such as the quantity, proportion, time, and temperature. The use of data reflected the cultural and tech- nological exchanges between the East and West and had obvious influence on the intellectual class. Snow liquor: One shi of glutinous rice is used. Nine dous are taken first and are thoroughly rinsed until the rice water is totally clear. The rice is measured with a barrel and blended with one dou of water. After being soaked in the rice jar, one dou of rice is rinsed in the same way, cooked rice is placed on the rice, and the jar is covered with straw. After 20 days later, after the rice floats, the rice shell is washed first, and then rice is washed and dried. The original rice rinsing water filtered out and white yeast is left. The white yeast is cut into small chunks of 20 jins. The rice shells are evenly mixed, cooked, and placed at the bottom of the jar. In hot weather, the heat can be reduced, and after the rice is evenly mixed, the jar is covered. In a week, the first tamping is done, and after the tamping, the jar does not need to be covered. In another half a week, the second tamping is done, and if the weather is hot, the heat should be removed. After the third tamping is done, the jar is covered for the yeast to be ripe. If the usual method is used, the rice must be white and thoroughly rinsed. The yeast should be tamped as such that the heat is totally eliminated, so the yeast will not deteriorate. Based on the large quantities of literature of previous generations,6 Hongdao Yuan of the Ming Dynasty period summarized all aspects related to liquors in Shang Zheng (《觞政》). While mentioning the ancestral liquor makers over the thousands of years,7 he said nothing of liquor making. In the eyes of his and the officials of his generation, craftsmanship such as the liquor brewing and making techniques and literati enthusiasm about appraising and drinking liquors, though related, were distinct from each other. At the junction of the Ming and Qing Dynasties periods, literati and Confucius scholars returned to the country to show their disdain for

6Hongdao Yuan: Shang Zheng (《觞政》): “The drinking styles mentioned in Liu Jing (《六经》),Yu (《语》) and Meng (《孟》) are all liquor techniques. Gan Lu Jing (《甘露经》) and Jiu Pu (《酒谱》)by the King of Ruyang, Jiu Jing (《酒经》) by Ji Wang, Jiu Xiao Jing (《酒孝经》) and Zhen Yuan Yin Lue (《贞元饮略》) by Xuan Liu, Jiu Pu (《酒谱》) by Ziye Dou, Jiu Jing (《酒经》) by Yizhong Zhu, Xu Bei Shan Jiu Jing (《续北山酒经》) by Bao Li, Zui Xiang Xiao Lue (《醉乡小略》) by Hu, Zui Xiang Ri Yue (《醉乡日月》) by Song Huangfu, Jiu Lv (《酒律》) by Bai Hou and other works on liquors are specialized works. Meng Zhuang (《蒙庄》), Li Sao (《离骚》), Shi (《史》), Han (《汉》), Nan Bei Shi (《南北史》), Gu Jin Yi Shi (《古今逸史》), Shi Shuo (《世说》) and Yan Shi Jia Xun (《颜 氏家训》) and the collections of Jingjie Tao, Bai Li, Fu Du, Xiangshan Bai, Yuju Su and Fangweng Lu are all general works. The poems by Sheren Liu and Jiaxuan Xin, music by Jieyuan Dong, Shifu Wang, Dongli Ma and Zecheng Gao, and legends such as Shui Hu Zhuang (《水浒传》) and Jin Ping Mei (《金瓶梅》) are leisure works. Anyone not familiar with these works cannot call himself a drinker.” 7Hongdao Yuan: Shang Zheng (《觞政》): “Synonyms of the term ‘liquor’ such as Yidi, Dukang, Liubaiduo and Jiaogebei are all derived from the liquor-making technique and unrelated to the maker. A banner is hung on the temple gate to commend the maker.” 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 201 official ranks and spent their time enjoying great food and natural landscapes. Yu Li, known as a philanderer, claimed he distanced himself from liquors in Xian Qing Ou Ji (《闲情偶寄》), “I’m not good at enjoying liquors but good at hosting guests...I don’t abuse co-drinkers while drunk, but like to listen to them confide,” which is his only mention of liquors. Gourmet Mei Yuan commented on a dozen liquors across the country in Sui Yuan Shi Dan (《随园食单》), and neither did he say a single word about liquor making, leaving an incredible blank as someone who knew food and drinks so well. “I don’t enjoy liquors by nature,” while Mei Yuan believed he knew liquors, “with such strict abstinence, I actually know how liquors taste.” As for liquor making, did he consider it too trivial to mention or just pretend not to know? Checking out his words, we didn’t see him confiding his true thoughts. Authors who lived during the Ming and Qing Dynasties periods and perused Hong Lou Meng (《红 楼梦》) and Jin Ping Mei (《金瓶梅》) and the mundane world they described had sufficient reference to great liquors and food as well as liquor games. However, these texts were inevitably fraught with the complacency and split personality of literati and were distant from the liquor making workshops. Therefore, the accuracy of the descriptions of liquor matters in literary works is highly questionable. We advise the readers focus on the recipe collection Tiao Ding Ji (《调鼎集》)by Yangzhou salt merchant Yuejian Dong during Emperor Qianlong’s reign. As a merchant, he might not be so eloquent as the above masters, but he was attentive to detail and figures. As a salt merchant, Dong must have been busy with hosting banquets and good at calculating the cost-effectiveness. Therefore, as a personal literature material instead of a publication, Tiao Ding Ji is valuable and academically important as a historical material for subsequent generations to study food and liquors. Tiao Ding Ji includes the volume of Jiu Pu (《酒谱》) specially prepared by Dong, which preserved the last record of liquor techniques in ancient China. Unlike previous liquor making records, Jiu Pu almost recorded all aspects of liquor making techniques and costs, including the water, the fire, the wheat, the vessel, the rice, rice soaking, the yeast, white grains, squeezing, heating, pickling, cooking, sterilization, steaming, oil, grain use, medicinal liquors, grain liquors, mud, bamboo tube, cylinder, jar, stove, Chun rice, grain mixing, liquor storage, and steaming tools. All the techniques after heating were never recorded in the thousands year of historical literature prior to that. Thanks to his familiarity with and comprehensive of first-hand techniques of liquor making, Dong made up for the defects in the literature of other authors and craftsmen. He had a distinctive description of the details of Chinese liquor making before the advent of modern technology. Here are nine examples:

1. Types of liquor: Divided into bitter, spicy, sour, and sweet liquors. In Dong’s birthplace of Huiji, Shaoxing liquors are naturally preferred, while white and yellow liquors from across the country, including Fen liquors, are also appreciated. 2. Fruit liquors: Strictly speaking, fruit liquors in Dong’s time were not brewed but made with fruit juices. However, as the liquors are not made and drunk on the spot, juices may facilitate the fermentation process after being added to the jar. 202 Y. Fang

For example, the name of “grape wine” was widespread, “grape juices are added to the liquor, which is called ‘heavenly liquor’. If rice beans are added, the taste is even stronger.” 3. “Cattle liquor” legend: The entire jar is coated with cattle excrement all around and placed in the cellar for a day, when there is sound in the jar and the liquor is drinkable in a month. Upon drinking, the scent is strong, while half of the liquor is consumed. This record sounds so unbelievable, and I’ve never tried it. Therefore, it seems baffling and might as well be regarded as a folk custom. 4. Determination of liquor quality by sound: Shake the jar and listen to the sound to determine its quality. The method: Hold the jar with both hands and shake quickly. If the sound is crispy and like bamboos cracking, the liquor quality is good; if it sounds like cracking trees, it is likely to be sour. If the sound is vague or absent, the liquor is undrinkable. Drinkers nowadays like to open the jar and drink, treating the jar like a melon. This is actually a business approach that only works for experts. 5. Know-how on hangover alleviation: Borax, kudzu, Acorus tatarinowii, edible salt, and olives can relieve the effect of alcohol. Interestingly, it was believed that “alcohol toxins enter through the teeth,” which might have a point, as mucous membranes are thin there and alcohol may directly reach blood capillaries. Therefore, “you have to eat a spoonful of salt and rinse with clean water, so you won’t end up sick after excessive drinking...if you drink too much and your stomach swells, wipe your teeth with salt and rinse with warm water three times, and the discomfort vanishes.” 6. Tips on liquor storage: The influence of temperature on finished liquors is well known: “If the jar is exposed to intense sunshine, the liquor will certainly deteriorate.” Jars must be placed at elevated spots with good ventilation. Of course, our ancestors had no idea of heavy metal intoxication, but they knew “liquors long preserved in tin vessels can cause death,” and “do not preserve liquors in copper vessels overnight.” This was the essential difference between emperors in the Bronze Age and commoners on the eve of modernity in how to stay healthy. 7. Purity test: Science is not mysterious and experiments start in real life. Instead of using a chemical reaction formula, Dong described the process as follows: “The liquor is heated and salt is added and melts into water.” Heated liquors have been popular in China since the Yuan Dynasty period. Rushes were put into the liquors, and their level in the liquors was used as the indicator of alcoholic concentration. “Rushes float in water and do not sink.” 8. Blending technique: Like cocktails, the purpose of blending liquors with water is not to cut down on materials, but to control the degree of the chemical reaction. “If you put vinegar into cooked liquors, the taste is as usual and will not turn sour.” The emphasis on accurate figures during the blending process reflected a change in the traditional approach of vagueness, “amber liquors consist of 50 jins of cooked liquors, two jins of sugar, one jin of grinded yeast, and one jin and three liangs of mint.” With such processing, the taste is worth anticipating. 7 Liquor Making and Folk Customs in Ancient China 203

9. Dry powder of cooked liquors: For travelers, carrying liquid liquors is a problem. If cooked liquors are converted into dry powder, the size, safety, and effect problems are solved, “Sorghum is cooked and blended with steamed bun powder and dried at the same time, and blended again after drying, with the quantity randomly determined. Upon use, this dry powder is added into boiled water and drunk, and tastes just like cooked liquors.”

The aforesaid liquor making techniques and customs in ancient China are at least 200 years from today. Back in reality, scholars remain impoverished. I am often enraged by the exorbitantly high prices of liquors claimed to have been discovered in a thousand-year cellar or a century-old jar. Friends all know I enjoy drinking. I am inclined to talk less in case of making inappropriate remarks under the influence of alcohol. I wrote this article when sober and have to end it in time. So I have just chosen some typical examples in the history of Chinese liquor making as a summary.

References

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