In China, wine is not a necessity, but it plays an irreplaceable role in social life. From behind the wine, we can know all aspects of China society, and China's politics, economy, agricultural production, commerce, history and culture can all find valuable information in the wine culture.
As a special cultural form, wine culture has its unique position in China traditional culture. In the history of civilization for thousands of years, wine has almost penetrated into all fields of social life. First of all, China is a country based on agriculture, so all political and economic activities are based on agricultural development. Most of the wines in China are brewed from grain, and wine is closely linked with agriculture and becomes a part of agricultural economy. The prosperity of grain production is a barometer of the rise and fall of wine industry. According to the grain harvest, the rulers of various dynasties regulated the production of wine by issuing or opening bans, thus ensuring the people's food. Conversely, the rise and fall of wine industry also reflects the situation of agricultural production, and it is also one of the clues to understand natural and man-made disasters in history. In some places, the prosperity of wine industry has played a positive role in improving the living standards of local society. Alcohol is closely related to social and economic activities. Since the implementation of the national liquor monopoly policy in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the liquor monopoly fee or special tax collected from the brewing industry has become one of the main sources of national fiscal revenue. Wine tax revenue is also related to the military expenditure and war in history, which is directly related to the life and death of the country. In some dynasties, wine tax (or monopoly revenue of wine) was also related to corvee and other tax forms. The rich profits of wine often become the fat meat that countries, businessmen and rich people compete for. The alternation of different wine administrations reflects the comparative changes in the strength of all walks of life. The release of wine orders is often related to the change of dynasties, emperors and some major royal activities. As a special commodity, wine adds rich colors to people's lives. The ancients in China divided the functions of wine into three categories: wine for treating diseases, wine for providing for the aged and wine for giving gifts. For thousands of years, the function of wine is not limited to these three things, at least it also includes: wine can make you happy, wine can forget your troubles, wine can make you brave, wine can also make you indulge, degenerate and harm your health. In history, many monarchs were addicted to alcohol, which led to the disaster of national subjugation. In a word, wine is a symbol of social civilization. To study the history of social civilization, we must study the history of wine culture. The rich connotation of Chinese wine culture will bring fun and enlightenment to people.
In China, grain-brewed wine has always been in a dominant position, while the share of fruit wine is very small. Therefore, the origin of brewing is mainly to explore the origin of grain brewing.
The legend of the origin of brewing
In ancient times, the origin of wine-making was often attributed to the invention of someone, who was described as the ancestor of wine-making and became an orthodox view because of their great influence. For these views, Song &; lt； & amplt； Wine spectrum &; gt； & ampgt； I once questioned that "it is not enough for textual research, but redundant." Although this is not enough to verify, as a cultural identity phenomenon, it may be listed below. There are mainly the following legends.
1 brewing in one place
According to legend, during the Xia and Yu Dynasties, Yidi invented wine making. History books of the second century BC. lt； & amplt； Lv Chunqiu &; gt； & ampgt； Cloud:&; Quot Yidi Brewing &; quot。 Editor Liu Xiang in Han Dynasty &; lt； & amplt； Warring States policy &; gt； & ampgt； Then further explain:&; Quot before, the emperor's daughter ordered Yidi to make wine and be beautiful. When she entered jade, jade drank it and was willing to drink it. This day:' There will be countries that drink in the future. Therefore, I will be impolite and let my mind drink & quot (Emperor Yu Chao) & quot.
2 Du Kang Brewing.
Another legend holds that wine-making started in Du Kang (also from Xia Dynasty). Eastern Han Dynasty & lt & Explain the word &; gt； & ampgt； Explain. Wine quot has:&; Quot Du Kang makes wine. & ampquot& amplt； & amplt； shiben & amp； gt； & ampgt； There is the same saying.
Wine-making began in the period of the Yellow Emperor.
Another legend shows that people began to make wine in the era of the Yellow Emperor. Written in the Han Dynasty &; lt； & amplt； Huangdi Neijing. #8226; Su Wen>；; & ampgt； It recorded the scene of Huangdi and Qi Bo discussing wine making. lt； & amplt； Huangdi Neijing. & ampgt； It also mentioned an ancient wine-fermented cheese, which is sweet wine made from animal milk. Huangdi is the common ancestor of the Chinese nation, and many inventions and creations appeared in the period of Huangdi. & amplt； & amplt； Huangdi Neijing. & ampgt； This book is actually the work of the Yellow Emperor by later generations, and its credibility needs to be verified.
4 wine and heaven and earth at the same time
A more mythical saying is that "there is a wine star in the sky, and wine is also made, which is in harmony with heaven and earth."
Although these legends are different, they generally show that wine-making existed as early as the Xia Dynasty or earlier, which is credible and has been confirmed by archaeologists. The Xia Dynasty was about four years ago. At present, wine-making utensils dating back to five years have been unearthed. (& amplt； & amplt； Xinmin Evening News &; gt； & ampgt； 65438+August 23rd, 0987 & The oldest writing in China was found in Juxian. Quot The subtitle is&; Quot Five years ago, we discovered the apparatus for making wine. quot)。 This discovery shows that wine-making in China began at least five years ago, and the origin of wine-making was of course before this. In ancient times, people may first come into contact with some naturally fermented wines and then imitate them. This process may take a long time.
Second, archaeological data prove the origin of brewing
The two premises of grain brewing are brewing raw materials and brewing containers. The following typical Neolithic cultural periods have certain reference function to the origin of wine making.
(1) Pei Ligang cultural period (5000-6000 BC)
② Hemudu Cultural Period (4000-500 BC)
In the above two cultural periods, there are pottery and crop remains, both of which have the material conditions for wine making.
(3) magnetic mountain culture period.
From 7355 to 7235, magnetic mountain culture had a developed agricultural economy. According to the statistics of relevant experts, what was found in the ruins &; Quot Grain accumulation 100m3, equivalent to 50000kg &；; Quot also found some pottery similar in shape to later wine vessels. Some people think that during magnetic mountain culture's time, it was very possible to make wine with grains.
(4) Sanxingdui Site
The site is located in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, and the buried objects are relics from 4800 BC to 2870 BC. A large number of pottery and bronze wine vessels, such as cups, jars and pots, have been unearthed in this site. Its large shape is also rare for prehistoric cultural relics.
(5) Dawenkou Cultural Tomb of Lingyin River in Juxian County, Shandong Province
During the period of 1979, archaeologists excavated a large number of wine vessels in Dawenkou cultural tomb of Lingyin River in Juxian County, Shandong Province. It is particularly noteworthy that there is a combined wine vessel, including a large pottery figurine for brewing and fermentation, a leaky jar for filtering wine, a pottery urn for storing wine, and a cooker pottery tripod for cooking materials. All kinds of drinking utensils/kloc-more than 0/00 pieces. According to the analysis of archaeologists, the owner of the tomb may be a professional winemaker (Wang Shuming:&; Quot was brewed in the late Dawenkou culture &; quot，& amplt； & amplt； China Cooking &; gt； & ampgt； , 1987.9)。 There is also a picture engraved on the wall of the unearthed pottery cylinder, which is analyzed as a wine filter.
During the Longshan culture period, there were more wine vessels. Domestic scholars generally believe that wine-making in Longshan culture period is a relatively developed industry.
The above archaeological data confirmed that the brewing industry did exist in the period of the Yellow Emperor and Yu Xia in ancient legends.
Three Modern Scholars' Views on the Origin of Brewing
1 wine is a natural product.
Recently, scientists discovered that in the long universe, some celestial bodies are made of alcohol. The alcohol contained in it, if made into beer, can be used by human beings for hundreds of millions of years. What does this mean? It can just be used to show that wine is a natural product of nature. Man didn't invent wine, he just discovered it. The main component of wine is alcohol (scientific name is ethanol, molecular formula is C2H5OH), and many substances can be converted into alcohol in many ways. For example, glucose can be converted into alcohol under the action of enzymes secreted by microorganisms; As long as certain conditions are met, some substances can be converted into alcohol. Nature fully possesses the foundation of these conditions.
Jiang Tong of China Jin Dynasty &; lt； & amplt； Wine & gt；; & ampgt； Written in:&; Quot The prosperity of wine originated from emperors, or from Yunyi Emperor and YunDu Kang. The food is inexhaustible, the rest is empty, and the taste is stagnant and the gas is fragrant for a long time. This is due to this, which is not surprising. Here, the ancients put forward the view that leftovers naturally ferment into wine, which accords with scientific truth and actual situation. Jiang Tong was the first person to put forward the theory of grain natural fermentation in the history of China. In a word, people began to brew cereal wine not by invention, but by discovery. Mr. Fang gave a concrete description of this:&; Quot Before and after the emergence of agriculture, the methods of storing grain were extensive. Natural grains will be moldy and germinate when they are wet, and the remaining cooked grains will also be moldy. These moldy and germinated grains are natural tillers in ancient times. After they are soaked in water, they will ferment into wine, which is natural wine. People have been in constant contact with natural tillers and natural wine, and gradually accepted that natural wine is a drink, so they invented artificial tillers and artificial wine, and over time, they invented artificial tillers and artificial wine " Modern science explains this problem in this way: under the action of enzymes secreted by microorganisms existing in nature, the starch in the leftovers is gradually decomposed into sugar and alcohol, which naturally becomes wine with rich aroma. In ancient people's food, the collected wild fruits have high sugar content and are easy to ferment into wine without liquefaction and saccharification.
Fruit wine and milk wine-the first generation of beverage wine
Man's conscious winemaking begins with imitating the masterpieces of nature. There are many records about the natural fermentation of fruit into wine in China ancient books. For example, Zhou Mi in the Song Dynasty was&; lt； & amplt； Miscellaneous knowledge &; gt； & ampgt； According to records, Yamanashi was stored in a clay pot and turned into pear wine. Yuan Haowen in Yuan Dynasty &; lt； & amplt； Pu Tao is rich in wine &; gt； & ampgt； In the preface, it is also recorded that the peaches piled up in the jar by a mountain man have also turned into fragrant wine because of their refuge in the mountains. There are also so-called &; Quot Ape Wine & quot Of course, this ape wine is not consciously brewed by apes, but naturally fermented fruit wine collected by apes.
As early as the Paleolithic, people lived by gathering and hunting, and fruit was naturally one of the staple foods. Fruit contains more sugar (such as glucose, fructose) and other ingredients. Under the action of microorganisms in nature, it is easy to naturally ferment into a fragrant and delicious fruit wine. In addition, the milk of animals contains protein and lactose, which can be easily fermented into wine. Ancestors who lived by hunting may also get milk wine from the retained milk by accident. At & lt& amplt； Huangdi Neijing. & ampgt； There is a kind of&; Quot Milk cheese quot is the earliest record of milk wine in China. According to ancient legends and brewing principles, the most primitive wine varieties consciously brewed by human beings should be fruit wine and milk wine. Because fruit and animal milk are easy to ferment into wine, the required brewing process is relatively simple. 3. Did grain wine-making start in farming time or before farming time?
To explore the origin of grain brewing, there are two questions worth thinking about: when did grain brewing originate? What is the oldest cereal wine in China? The latter question is introduced in the beer part of Chapter 5.
There are two diametrically opposed views on when grain brewing began.
The traditional view on the origin of wine-making is that wine-making developed after farming. This view was as early as the Han Dynasty when Liu An was in < < Amplt; Huainanzi; & ampgt； English:&; Quot The beauty of Qing Ang begins with Lei&; quot。 Many modern scholars hold the same view, and some even think that wine-making began when agriculture developed to a certain extent and there was surplus grain.
Another view is that grain brewing preceded the farming era. For example 1937, China archaeologist Mr. Wu Qichang once put forward a very interesting point:&; Quot Our ancestors first planted millet for brewing, not cooking. Eating is really brought out by drinking. This view is very popular abroad, but there has been no evidence. Half a century later, anthropologist Solomon of the University of Pennsylvania &; amp#8226; Dr. Katz published a paper and put forward a similar view. He believes that people originally planted grain for the purpose of brewing beer. People first discovered that the collected grain could be used to make wine, and then began to consciously plant grain to ensure the supply of raw materials for wine making. The basis of this view is that in ancient times, the staple food of human beings was meat, not grain, that is to say, the staple food on which human beings lived was not grain, so the explanation of human planting grain may be another way. It is found abroad that people in ancient times began to brew cereal wine as early as 10 thousand years ago, when people were still living a nomadic life.
To sum up, there are two main views on the origin of grain brewing, that is, before the farming era and after the farming era. It is of great significance for the origin and development of wine and the development of human society to put forward new viewpoints and re-explore traditional viewpoints.