Pen | Yang Ling
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There is such a road in Wuchang District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, named after the famous minister Zhang Zhidong in the late Qing Dynasty, this road is located in the north of Ziyang Lake, starting from Linjiang Avenue in the west and Zhongshan Road in the east, which can be seen that Zhang Zhidong has a deep fate with Wuhan.
During Zhang Zhidong's tenure as governor of Huguang, Wuhan became the second largest city in China in the early 20th century, and was known as the "Chicago of the East". He founded a series of schools here, including the Self-improvement School, the Wubei School, the Agricultural School, the Business School, and the Hubei Technology School, which later developed into Wuhan University, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, etc.
In addition to his contribution to education, Zhang Zhidong also has an indissoluble bond with the Yellow Crane Tower Liquor in Wuhan, and can even be called the first CEO of the Yellow Crane Tower Liquor.
In 1898, with the promulgation of an edict of "Zhang Zhidong will enter Beijing on the same day", Zhang Zhidong was ordered to enter Beijing to meet Emperor Guangxu.
When Zhang Zhidong and his party boarded the boat at Qiaokou Pier, he was attracted by the brewery on the side of the road.
At that time, on the Hanzheng Street of Qiaokou Wharf, there were seven brewing lees workshops, all of which inherited the brewing process of the "Dayouqing" lees mill during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and the liquor brewed was called "Hanfen Liquor", which was welcomed by the merchants. Some people in Zhang Zhidong and his party were quite disdainful: "In such a market, how can there be good wine, it is nothing more than the numbing wine drunk by some dock coolies." Zhang Zhidong disagreed: "How can the quality of wine be distinguished by temples and markets." ”
So a group of people postponed the boarding time to come to the bad fang, the owner of the bad fang took out the old wine to Zhang Zhidong to taste, he took the wine bowl, saw that the wine in the bowl is colorless and transparent, the wine aroma is elegant, the entrance is sweet and clean, soft and harmonious, and greatly admired: "This kind of wine, rare in the world, I can wait for it, it is like an adventure, how can we let such a good product continue to flow in the market." ”
Zhang Zhidong ordered people to purchase a batch of Hanfen wine for drinking along the way and arriving in the capital to feast on the princes and ministers. Arriving in the capital, after the princes and ministers saw the simple packaging of Hanfen wine, they didn't know what kind of wine it was, and their faces were sad.
Zhang Zhidong immediately explained: "You must not underestimate this wine, this is Hanfen wine, it is a popular wine in Hankou, all kinds of people love it, I also try it, after drinking it is like a breeze blowing on the face, so not happy, you may as well try it." ”
Subsequently, the princes and ministers raised their glasses to taste it, and praised it as "good wine". After this banquet, the fame of Hanfen wine spread all over the capital, and even Emperor Guangxu knew about it, and ordered Zhang Zhidong to bring Hanfen wine into the imperial court. Emperor Guangxu also praised it after drinking, and ordered Zhang Zhidong to establish a Hanfen wine royal wine workshop.
After returning to Wuchang, Zhang Zhidong integrated the seven major dregs by the wharf and established the Hanfen Liquor Imperial Liquor Workshop, which was specially brewed for the capital and presented directly to Emperor Guangxu. Emperor Guangxu personally named this winery "Tianchengfang", which means "good wine is natural, the country is rich and the people are strong". Later, after the war, Tianchengfang ceased to exist, but the wine-making skills of Hanfen liquor were inherited.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1952, on the basis of the "Lao Tiancheng" distillery, the "Baikang" and "Tongyuan" Hanfen distilleries were merged to establish the Wuhan state-owned Wuhan Distillery, which produces Hanfen liquor with traditional technology. In 1984, Hanfen Liquor was renamed Yellow Crane Tower Liquor and won the title of "Chinese Famous Liquor" twice, which is enough to show that the quality is excellent.
Yellow Crane Tower wine has become a well-known business card in Wuhan and even Hubei, which can be passed down to this day and carried forward, closely related to Zhang Zhidong, it can be said that without Zhang Zhidong, there would be no Yellow Crane Tower wine today.