DRINKING WINE BY THE BUCKETLOAD

The verse (seen left) is from warlord Cao Cao’s “Duange Xing,” a short song ballad. The exact creation background of the poem is unknown, but in the “Romance of Three Kingdoms,” a 14thcentury novel with legendary and mythical elements by Luo Guanzhong, Cao composed the soul-stirring poem on a ship when he was en route to fight the Battle of Chibi against the allied forces of Sun Quan and Liu Bei after pacifying the north in Chapter 48. So, what is this Du Kang wine?

Du Kang is not a type of wine but a person who’s believed to be Shao Kang, the sixth king of the Xia Dynasty (c. 21st century-16th century BC) in ancient China. He’s credited as the legendary inventor of wine in Chinese mythology and known as the “God of Wine.”

The legend is also what inspired the creations of modern Dukang liquor labels from Shaanxi and Henan provinces. There are also other legends regarding the creation of wine in China, but the Du Kang tale was so popular that it became a cultural phenomenon.

Throughout history, winemaking and liquor distilling has greatly evolved. The wines people know and drink in ancient times were very different from the modern beverages.

The early wines

Chinese winemaking originated over 5,000 years ago from naturally fermented wine, and archeologists believe it thrived in the Longshan Culture (2500-2000 BC).