HISTORY OF CHINESE WINE
Grapes appeared in the Book of Songs 3,000 years ago in China.
Poems - Zhou Nan - Liao Mu: "南有蓼木，葛藟累之；乐只君子，福履绥之."
The 葛藟 in this line refers to the wild grape of that time. The wild grape mentioned in the Book of Songs is similar to the mountain grape and the thorn grape in the middle and northeast region today. From this line, we can know that during the Yin and Shang dynasties (from the early 16th century BC to about the 11th century BC), the Chinese began to collect and eat various kinds of wild grapes.
THE ADVENT OF WINE
Wine first appeared in Chinese history when Zhang Qian, a renowned explorer of the Han Dynasty (3rd century BC to 3rd century AD), brought it back from the Dayuan Kingdom. Zhang brought back grapes, wine and winemakers from Dayuan, now in Xinjiang, China. According to the Taiping Imperial Review, Emperor Wudi planted vines next to all his palaces. It can be seen that Emperor Wudi attached great importance to grapes and wine at that time. Moreover, Emperor Wudi ordered the cultivation of grapes and the production of wine on a large scale. However, under this dynasty, wine remained the exclusive and expensive drink of dignitaries and did not have much influence on society.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF WINE INDUSTRY
The wine industry developed during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties (220-589 AD). Emperor Wen of Wei expressed his love of wine in the zhao Qun Yao. According to him, the mere mention of the name wine can make people's mouths water. Let alone take a sip. Thanks to the emperor's praise of wine, the wine industry developed rapidly.
During the Tang Dynasty (7th-10th century BC), as the state grew in power, wine became an alcoholic beverage that could be purchased for a considerable amount of money. The Tang Dynasty also obtained better grapes and winemaking methods from the ancient kingdom of Gaochang. This new method of making wine completely beat other grain-brewed wines of the time in terms of taste and alcohol content. This led to the rapid development of the wine industry in the Tang Dynasty and had a great influence on society and culture. The most important of these influences is the appearance of many poems about wine. One of the most famous is the Liangzhou Song.
SONG ABOUT WINE
With grape wine, the jade cups would glow at night;
Drinking pipa songs, we are called to fight.
Do not laugh if we are drunk on the battlefield,
How many warriors have returned safely?
Liangzhou Song by Wangzhihuan
However, with the succession of dynasties, the orthodox winemaking techniques of the Tang Dynasty disappeared during the war. However, some brewing techniques remained in the Song Dynasty (10th-13th century CE) after the Tang Dynasty. Wine making in the Song Dynasty consisted mainly of mixing rice and grapes. When you think about it, you know that this wine will never taste good. However, this is just a small ebb in the history of Chinese wine culture.
THE HEYDAY OF WINE CULTURE
The heyday of wine culture in China was during the Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty only existed for about 90 years, but the Yuan emperors attached great importance to viticulture and wine making. All these elements contributed to the heyday of wine cultivation in the Yuan Dynasty. The extent of grape cultivation and wine making in the Yuan Dynasty was unprecedented in Chinese history. There were also wine officials. Wine was often used for royal banquets, as gifts for officials, and even for foreign envoys. But this was also the last moment of glory for wine culture in Chinese history.
THE DECLINE OF WINE CULTURE
With the discovery of distillation technology, distilled wine gradually replaced the status of wine in society. And wine almost completely disappeared from Chinese culture due to the turbulence of modern Chinese history.
POEM ABOUT WINE
《襄阳歌》李白
鸬鹚杓，鹦鹉杯，百年三万六千日，一日须倾三百杯。遥看汉江鸭头绿，恰以蒲萄初酦醅。
此江若变作春酒，垒曲便筑糟丘台。
Cormorant ladle, parrot cup.
Drink three hundred cups a day for thirty-six thousand years.
Seen from afar, the green Han River looks like a newly brewed wine.
If the Han River could be turned into wine, the amount of distiller’s yeast used to make wine would make a mountain.
By Li Bai
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