Ningxia and Trier raise a glass in honor of city’s famous son Marx
The German city of Trier, birthplace of Karl Marx, is also famous for its renowned wine production in Germany, which the philosopher once used as an example to explain concepts of “labor value” and “composition of capital”.
A delegation from the Ningxia Hui autonomous region’s Grape Industry Development Bureau recently visited the city to pay homage to Marx on the 200th anniversary of his birth, which fell on May 5.
During the trip, the delegation received permission to introduce wines featuring a portrait of Marx label to Chinese consumers in memory of the man who has had a profound influence in China.
A local Marx-themed museum agreed to lend some of its exhibits for display at the Marx Wine Museum in Ningxia.
The delegation sent the book Xi Jinping, The Governance of China as a gift to the museum, which gives a German version of Das Kapital in return.
Wang Fang, secretary-general of the Yinchuan Wine Association, was a representative in the delegation. She said: “It’s more of a pilgrimage for us to seek ‘red’ gene of wine in the hometown of the great thinker.”
Cao Kailong, director of the bureau, said they are “excited” to know that Marx mentioned wine many times in his masterpiece.
“Wine brings the great thinker and Ningxia closer. Also, some of his theories became more comprehensible when using wine production as an example,” Cao said.
He added Marx once said wine is planted, picked, made and sold by people, so it should be enjoyed by the people, not only serve as a luxury product for the rich or noble class. He said that philosophy also enlightens how the wine industry should develop in Ningxia.
Ningxia in Northwest China experiences little rainfall and has a large temperature difference between day and night, which makes it ideal for the production of wine. It is home to 200 wineries, many of which are award-winning, and produces over 100 million bottles of wine every year.
Chinese late economists Yu Guangyuan wrote in his book Marx and Engels Wine Comments, that Ningxia has the terroir depicted in Das Kapital.
According to Wang, Ningxia and Trier had kept close relations in recent. Ningxia is building the Marx Wine Museum and will introduce grape varieties, Reisling and Pinor Noir, from Trier to grow in Ningxia to strengthen the tie.
Companies from Ningxia have signed agreements with wineries in Trier to introduce wines of Marx labels to China.
Growing up in Trier, being surrounded by winemakers and farmers had a profound influence on the way that Marx viewed the world.
“As a teenager, Marx witnessed the revolution of Europe,” Jens Baumeister, a local historian, said in a recent Xinhua News Agency report. “After he had left Trier, he still cared about those farmers and drew inspiration from them.”