The Legend of the "Name" of the Story of the Four Special Wines
In the magical land of Jiangxi camphor tree, a legend of wine fragrance spanning thousands of years has quietly unfolded. From the Wu tribe in ancient times to Lou Deqing in the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, there are countless touching stories behind the "name" of the four special wines. It began with a pious sacrifice, and after the change of dynasties, it witnessed the transformation of the camphor tree from the "capital of medicine" to the "capital of wine". These legends have not only shaped the brand image of Site Liquor, but also become a distinctive symbol of Chinese liquor culture. Let's unveil the veil of this legend between the "names" and taste the mellow fragrance of the once amazing time.
The aroma of wine is intoxicating, and the camphor tree is fertile soil
Zhangshu City is located in the central part of Jiangxi Province, on the west bank of the middle reaches of the Ganjiang River. With beautiful mountains and rivers and a pleasant climate, it has been a fertile land since ancient times. The camphor tree is not only rich in Chinese medicinal materials, but also the cradle of wine.
In this land, a resounding title continues to echo in the long river of history - the wine capital. The origin of this title has a legendary story that can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty. At that time, the Shang Dynasty sent envoys to Wucheng, and the Wu people dedicated the four fine wines they brewed to the Shang king.
As soon as the wine entered Beijing, it immediately caused a sensation. The nobles of the Shang Dynasty vied with each other to taste it, and the supply exceeded the demand. In this way, the name of Wucheng's wine capital began to spread in the Central Plains. This history is not groundless, a batch of exquisite bronzes unearthed in the Wucheng site of Zhangshu City in the last century just confirmed the authenticity of this history.
These excavated artifacts show the unique bronze technology of Wucheng, and at the same time, the influence of Shang culture can be seen. Among them, all kinds of ancient wine containers, such as Yao, Zun, Jue, Zhu, etc., all show that the Wu people had mastered quite mature wine-making technology at that time. The name of the wine capital is well deserved.
Over time, the reputation of the Four Specialties has spread. By the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Zhangshu region was divided into spheres of influence of the Yue, Wu, and Chu states. As the territory of these different countries expanded, the wine spread to a wider area.
It was introduced to Jiangsu and Zhejiang with the Wu State, Fujian and Guangdong with the Yue State, and to the Lianghu region with the Chu State. In the process of competing for the Po-Jiangxi River Valley, Wucheng, the wine capital, has become a battleground for soldiers. The name of the wine capital has also spread all over the country.
By the Warring States Period, the State of Chu, as one of the Seven Heroes, occupied the wine capital of Wucheng and its surrounding areas. The nobles of the Chu State had a soft spot for the four special wines, and ordered Wu Cheng to pay tribute all year round. Si Tejiu has gradually become the national liquor of the Chu State, and its status can be seen.
The wine is named because of the four specials, and the four special are spread because of the wine. This complementary relationship provides a stage for the four special wines to showcase their unique style. At the same time, it also promotes the continuous development of Site Liquor and brews more mellow wines.
In the fertile soil of camphor trees, there is not only a long history of winemaking, but also many moving stories about Site wine. One of the most talked about is the origin of the name of the four special wines.
It is rumored that in ancient times, there was a tribe of Wu people who lived by hunting in the area of Zhangshu. They are the ancestors of Jiangxi camphor trees and have their own unique culture and customs. When the Xia Dynasty was destroyed by the Shang Dynasty, the Wu tribe, which had been oppressed by the Xia Dynasty for many years, ushered in a new opportunity.
King Wu decided to hold an ancestor worship ceremony to pray for the prosperity of the tribe. He ordered all the brewers to make the best wine to worship their ancestors. But how easy is it to make a truly fine wine?
At this moment, King Wu remembered the last words of the old King Wu before he died-Xia can dig up the ancestors and seal the relics. Wu Wang Yiyan found the winemaking map left by his ancestors in the ruins. He immediately ordered the master brewer to make wine according to this ancient method.
The brewing masters took the Jiulong spring water from Zhangshuge Soap Mountain and the local high-quality rice, and after 9981 days of careful brewing, they finally made a bottle of sweet wine. King Wu led the people of the tribe to kill four sturdy bulls, offered this bottle of wine, sacrificed to the ancestral gods, and prayed to bless the rise of the Wu people.
When the winemaker asked what the name of this wine should be, King Wu said: "This wine is as precious as Si Te, so let's call it 'Si Te'!" In this way, the name of the four special wines is derived from this. The fourth is the east, west, south and north, implying territorial expansion; It is especially a bull, which is the totem of the Wu tribe, symbolizing the power of the overlord.
This name not only reflects the totemic culture of the ancient Wu people, but also reflects their yearning for a better future. To this day, there is still a folk legend in Zhangshu City that a bottle of wine is worth four cows, which may be a folk interpretation of this history.
Sacrifice to the ancestors Four special wines are famous
In the ancient city of Wu, a solemn sacrificial ceremony was underway. King Wu stood on the high platform, his eyes were like torches, and he glanced at the clansmen under the stage. His heart was filled with reverence for his ancestors and hope for the future.
King Wu knew that in order to hold a solemn sacrificial ceremony, it was necessary to have fine wine. He gathered all the brewers in the tribe and issued a strict order: the best wine must be brewed to worship the ancestors. The brewers looked at each other with trepidation.
Where does the best wine come from? The breweries racked their brains, but they couldn't find an answer. At this moment, King Wu remembered the last words of the old King Wu before his death - "Xia can dig up the ancestors and seal the relics". This sentence was like a lightning bolt, instantly lighting up King Wu's train of thought.
King Wu immediately led a team of elites to the sealed ruins of the ancestors. They dug for three days and three nights, and finally found a yellowed roll of parchment in a hidden corner. King Wu carefully unfolded the parchment scroll, on which an ancient winemaking map was recorded.
Getting this precious map, King Wu was overjoyed. He immediately summoned the brewers and ordered them to make wine according to the ancient method on the map. The breweries carefully studied the atlas and found that it was a never-before-seen method of winemaking.
According to the instructions of the map, the brewers first took the Jiulong spring water from Zhangshuge Soap Mountain. The water is clear and sweet, making it an excellent choice for sake brewing. Next, they select the best local rice and process it with great care.
The process of winemaking is long and arduous. The winemakers are busy day and night, strictly following every step on the map. They carefully control the temperature and accurately grasp the timing of each fermentation.
Ninety-nine eighty-one days have passed. Finally, a bottle of sake with an intoxicating aroma was born. The brewers carefully presented the wine to King Wu. King Wu took the wine bottle, took a sip lightly, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
This wine is full-bodied, soft on the palate, and has a long aftertaste. King Wu praised it again and again, believing that this wine was worthy of being used to worship the ancestors. He immediately ordered the preparation of the sacrificial rite.
On the day of the sacrifice, King Wu led his tribesmen to the altar. He ordered four of the strongest bulls to be slaughtered as sacrifices. These four bulls represent the strength and hope of the tribe.
King Wu personally placed the bottle of precious wine on the altar and respectfully prayed to the ancestral gods. He prayed to the ancestors to bless the Wu tribe to rise and thrive in this land.
After the sacrificial ceremony, the winemaker on the side asked curiously, "King, this wine is so precious, what should I name it?" King Wu pondered for a moment, his eyes swept over the four bulls on the altar, and then at the bottle of wine, and a flash of inspiration appeared.
"This wine is as precious as the four specials, so let's call it 'four specials'!" As soon as King Wu's words fell, the surrounding clansmen were amazed. It's a catchy name with a lot of meaning.
"Four" represents the east, west, south and north, implying that the Wu tribe wants to expand its territory in all directions. "Te" is a sturdy bull, which is the totem of the Wu tribe and symbolizes the power of the hegemon.
In this way, the name "Si Te" was born. It is not only a wine name, but also carries the culture and spirit of the Wu tribe. Since then, whenever someone tastes this wine, they will be reminded of this touching story.
The fame of the four special wines soon spread around. When the neighboring tribes heard that the Wu people had such a fine wine, they sent people to exchange it. Seeing the opportunity, King Wu began to trade with other tribes with Site wine to expand his influence.
With the passage of time, the brewing skills of Site Liquor have been passed down from generation to generation among the Wu tribes. Each generation of winemakers has continuously improved on the basis of their predecessors, so that the quality of Si Teh wine is getting better and better.
Site wine has not only become the pride of the Wu tribe, but also an important link between them and the outside world. Through Si Tejiu, the Wu tribe has made more friends and let more people understand their culture.
In later years, whenever the Wu tribe encountered difficulties, they would remember this precious gift left by their ancestors. Site wine has become the spiritual force that unites the people and inspires them to keep moving forward.
To this day, there is still an interesting saying circulating in Zhangshu City: the value of one bottle of four special liquor is equivalent to four strong oxen. This statement may originate from the story of King Wu sacrificing four bulls, and after folk interpretation and dissemination, such a vivid metaphor was finally formed.
Craftsman inheritance Si special wine fragrance far away
Time flies, and the brewing skills of Site Liquor on the fertile soil of Zhangshu have been passed down from generation to generation, after thousands of years of vicissitudes. In the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, a brewing master named Lou Deqing was born and wrote a new chapter for Site Liquor.
Lou Deqing was born in an ordinary farming family in Zhangshu and has been interested in winemaking since he was a child. He often followed his father to learn the art of winemaking, and watched the scene of the aroma of wine, and his heart was full of yearning for this ancient skill. As he grew older, Lou Deqing began to try his hand at winemaking, constantly exploring and improving.
When Lou Deqing was twenty years old, the camphor tree suffered a severe drought. The harvest was not harvested, and the people were miserable. At this moment, a chance chance changed Lou Deqing's fate. A wealthy local merchant tasted the wine brewed by Lou Deqing and was attracted by its unique aroma.
The wealthy businessman approached Lou Deqing and offered to invest in him to open a winery. Lou Deqing readily agreed, and in this way, his first wine shop "Deqing Wine Fang" was born. At the beginning of the winery's opening, business was not very good. But Lou Deqing is not discouraged, and he thinks about how to improve his winemaking skills every day.
One day, while looking through ancient books, Lou Deqing discovered an interesting method of winemaking. This method refers to the use of special clay pots to store the liquor in order to enhance the aroma of the wine. Lou Deqing had an idea and decided to try this method.
He recruited the best potters in the area and made a special batch of clay pots according to the ancient method. These pots not only maintain the temperature of the wine, but also allow the wine to be subtly exchanged with the air, resulting in a more intense aroma. Lou Deqing used these clay pots to store a batch of newly brewed wine, waiting for the wine.
Three months later, Lou Deqing carefully opened the clay pot, and an intoxicating aroma came to his face. He couldn't wait to take a sip, and his eyes lit up. This wine is not only full of aroma, but also soft in the mouth, with a long aftertaste, which is a notch higher than the previous wine.
Lou Deqing was so excited that he immediately put this batch of wine on the market. Sure enough, as soon as this batch of wine was launched, it caused a sensation. People rushed to taste it and praised it. The fame of "Deqing Distillery" soon spread throughout the camphor trees and even to the surrounding area.
Seeing that the business was booming, Lou Deqing was not satisfied. He began to think about how to promote the wine further afield. It just so happened that at this time, camphor trees began to build a railway. Lou Deqing was keenly aware that this was a great opportunity.
He took the initiative to contact the railway engineering team to provide the workers with high-quality Si Teh wine. The workers drank the four special wines, and they were full of praise. After the railway was built, these workers returned to their hometowns and missed the taste of Si Tejiu, so the fame of Si Tejiu extended further along with the railway.
With the improvement of the reputation of Site Liquor, Lou Deqing's winery has also expanded. He hired more workers and expanded his winery. In order to ensure the quality of the wine, Lou Deqing personally trained each winemaker and taught him the experience he had accumulated over the years.
In the winemaking process, Lou Deqing pays special attention to the selection of raw materials. He insisted on using the local high-quality rice of Zhangshu and the water of the Nine Dragons Spring. In order to ensure water quality, he even sent people to guard the Jiulong Spring all year round to prevent the water from being polluted.
In addition to raw materials, Lou Deqing also attaches great importance to the winemaking environment. He planted a large number of camphor trees around the winery, believing that the fragrance of the camphor tree purifies the air and is conducive to the fermentation of wine. This practice not only improves the winemaking environment, but also adds a beautiful scenery to the camphor trees.
Lou Deqing's efforts quickly paid off. The fame of Site Liquor is growing, not only in Jiangxi Province, but even in Beijing. At that time, some dignitaries and nobles also began to like the four special wines, and often sent people to Zhangshu to purchase.
Seeing that Site wine was so widely popular, Lou Deqing was extremely proud. He knows that the success of Site Liquor is not only his personal credit, but also the crystallization of Zhangshu winemaking culture for thousands of years. In order to inherit this culture, Lou Deqing began to train successors.
He sent his son to study in famous liquor producing areas all over the country, hoping that he could learn from others and further improve the quality of Si Te. At the same time, he also set up an apprenticeship system within the winery to encourage young people to learn the art of winemaking.
With the efforts of Lou Deqing, Site Liquor has not only become the pride of Zhangshu, but also a bright pearl in China's liquor industry. His story has also become a legend that has been talked about by the people of Zhangshu, inspiring generations of winemakers to strive for excellence.
To this day, when people taste the special wine, they seem to be able to feel the ingenuity of Lou Deqing back then. His spirit has been deeply integrated into every drop of Site Liquor and has become an inseparable part of this thousand-year-old brand.
The changing situation has created brilliance again
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, in 1949, New China was founded. This great change has brought unprecedented challenges and opportunities to Site Liquor. At that time, in Zhangshu City, Site Liquor had become a pillar industry in the local area, but in the face of the new social system, what would its fate be?
The new government quickly noticed the value of the four special wines. In 1951, the Zhangshu Municipal People's Government took over the Site Distillery and reorganized it into a state-owned enterprise. This decision has left many long-time employees nervous, who are worried about whether the traditional winemaking technique will be lost.
However, their fears quickly dispelled. The new government attaches great importance to the traditional craftsmanship of Site Liquor, not only retaining the original brewing masters, but also investing a lot of money in technological transformation. The small workshops that were originally scattered have been consolidated into a large, modern winery, and the production efficiency has been greatly improved.
In 1953, Sith Liquor ushered in an important moment. At the national wine appraisal meeting that year, Site Liquor won the first place in one fell swoop and was rated as "National Famous Liquor". This honor made the wine famous and orders poured in. The employees of Site Distillery are full of energy and can't work overtime.
However, the good times were short-lived. In 1958, the Great Leap Forward began. The Si Tee Distillery was asked to increase production drastically, and some even offered to increase production tenfold. Faced with this unrealistic goal, the masters in the factory were so anxious that they stomped their feet.
A young man proposed, "Wouldn't we be able to double the yield if we halved the fermentation time?" The teachers shook their heads when they heard this: "Wine, it's like raising a child, you have to take your time, you can't be in a hurry." In the end, with the insistence of the masters, the Si Te Distillery did not blindly expand its production and preserved the quality of the wine.
During the Cultural Revolution, the Si Teh Distillery was not spared. Some people accused Si Tejiu of being a "bourgeois luxury" and demanded that it be discontinued. Fortunately, the factory director at that time was under great pressure and led the workers to continue small-scale production, preserving the traditional craftsmanship of Si Tejiu.
In 1978, the spring breeze of reform and opening up blew across the land of China. Site Distillery has ushered in new development opportunities. The factory has introduced modern production equipment to improve production efficiency. However, the masters insisted that the key processes must be kept manual to ensure the quality of the wine.
In 1979, Site Liquor once again won the first prize at the National Wine Appraisal. This time, it has not only won the recognition of experts, but also won the favor of the market. Sales of Si Teh began to soar and soon demand outstripped supply.
In the face of a booming market, the Side Distillery began to seek greater development. In 1980, a special R&D team was set up in the factory to develop new products. On the basis of maintaining the traditional taste, they have launched new varieties with different degrees and different packaging to meet the needs of different consumers.
In 1985, Site Liquor ushered in an important international opportunity. In that year, China acceded to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, and Site Liquor obtained a pass to enter the international market. The factory set up a special foreign trade department and began to promote the four special liquor overseas.
However, the international market is highly competitive, and Site Liquor was not favored at first. Someone said: "The taste of Chinese liquor is too strong for foreigners to accept." But the Four Wines were not discouraged. They delved into the tastes of foreign consumers and launched new products suitable for the international market.
The hard work paid off, and Site Liquor gradually gained a firm foothold in the international market. In 1990, Site Liquor won the gold medal at the Paris International Food Expo, which was an important breakthrough for Chinese liquor on the international stage.
In the 21st century, Site Liquor is facing new challenges. With the improvement of people's living standards, consumers have higher and higher requirements for wine. Si Tee Distillery began to focus on brand building and launched a series of high-end products. At the same time, they have not forgotten the ordinary consumer and continue to produce classic models that are loved by the masses.
In 2008, the global financial crisis broke out, and the liquor industry was impacted. Si Tee Distillery quickly adjusted its strategy and increased its efforts to develop the mid-end market. They have launched new varieties that are more cost-effective and have won the favor of consumers.
In 2013, Site Liquor celebrated its 60th anniversary. To celebrate this important occasion, a grand celebration was held at the factory. Dealers and old customers from all over the country gathered in Zhangshu to witness the glorious history of Site Liquor.
In recent years, in the face of increasingly fierce market competition, Site Liquor has not stopped innovating. They have introduced intelligent production lines to improve production efficiency. At the same time, they also pay attention to environmental protection and promote green brewing, which has won praise from consumers.
Today's Site Liquor is not only a liquor brand, but also an important representative of Chinese liquor culture. From ancient sacrificial ceremonies to modern enterprise management, Site Liquor has witnessed great changes in Chinese society. Its story is a living history of the development of Chinese liquor.
Looking forward to the future, the people of Site Liquor are full of confidence. They believe that as long as they adhere to the traditional craftsmanship and continue to innovate, Site Liquor will be able to continue to shine in the fierce market competition and write a new glorious chapter for China's liquor industry.