China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Moutai pays tribute to traditional Chinese culture with ritual ceremony
On June 3, Kweichow Moutai, an iconic baijiu distiller in Southwest China’s Guizhou province, held a wheat fete to showcase the customs of China’s baijiu industry during Dragon Boat Festival.
White liquor, or baijiu is a kind of distilled, high-purity liquor. To make high-quality baijiu, every year during Dragon Boat Festival, distillers will brew yeast with wheat.
The custom of the wheat fete is not only spiritual but a representative act of baijiu production. How to make the custom more tangible and visible to the public became one of the focuses when designing the ceremony.
The wheat fete, which was upgraded from a casual Dragon Boat Festival ceremony, has been held by the group for five years. By interpreting the mixed assembly of wheat, yeast, baijiu, Chinese people and the countryside, it showcases the inheritance of craftsmanship.
Through diverse activities and events like this, Moutai is presenting traditional culture in a novel and modern way, creating its signature liquor culture with Moutai characteristics and building a bridge that shares experiences with its consumers, the company said.
The event was held in Moutai national industrial heritage complex, the birthplace of Moutai liquor. Participants included chiefs and leaders from Moutai’s brewing division, tasting division and flavor division.
The production of Moutai liquor conforms to natural and seasonal laws. Dragon Boat Festival is close to mangzhong, or Grain in Ear, the ninth of the 24 solar terms. At this time, mature wheat provides the raw materials to kick off liquor production.
High-quality wheat is the main ingredient in Moutai-made distiller’s yeast. Rich in starch, protein, fat, minerals and vitamins, wheat can provide rich nutrients for microbial growth and reproduction.
Under suitable temperature and humidity conditions, a large num
ber of microorganisms, enzymes and flavor precursors required for liquor-making are generated.
Yeast-making is one of the five major techniques in Moutai liquor brewing.
After the ground wheat is manually trampled into a suitable density to yeast, it will be stored in the warehouse, fermented at a high temperature
and then stored at a constant temperature.
The finished yeast will play an important role in following fermentation. As such, it is known as baijiu’s “backbone”. Around the time of Dragon Boat Festival, the rainfall, temperature and humidity in the Chishui River area will all rise. Diverse microorganisms become
active. The conditions create a favorable period for the fermentation of distiller’s yeast. Therefore, Dragon Boat Festival is called a golden time.
“The event is a unique expression of Moutai’s gratitude for the gifts of nature, the inheritance of ancient techniques and the wish for the country’s peace and security,” said
Ding Xiongjun, head of Kweichow Moutai. Each guest at the ceremony held a bouquet of jasmine and walked along the streets, as if they had travelled from an ancient dynasty. They also experienced festive customs such as drinking liquor and enjoy the traditional snack zongzi, sticky rice dumplings wrapped in leaves.
Since its establishment in 1951, Kweichow Moutai has grown from a small workshop with 39 employees to a large modern enterprise with more than 40,000 employees. The brewing technology of Moutai liquor was included in the national intangible heritage list in 2006.
Ding said that Moutai has entered a new era as a high-quality enterprise. And it will hold fast to the ancient ways of liquor-making, inherit the wishes of the sages and follow the aspirations of the times, striving to contribute to people’s high-quality lives.
During Dragon Boat Festival, Moutai’s dealers across the country organized about 280 activities, such as zongzi tasting and dragon boat races to showcase traditional culture with customers and fans.
On June 2, Moutai liquor dealers in Shanxi province held a special tasting ceremony for Dragon Boat Festival and invited military veterans, representative anti-pandemic workers and painting and calligraphy experts.
Also on June 2, a Dragon Boat Festival-themed art activity was held at Shulin Street, Kunming, Yunnan province. Local art representatives and guests exchanged their understanding of traditional culture and artistic performances.
A self-run store in Bailu Lake, Zunyi, Guizhou province, invited customers to enjoy tea ceremonies and taste Moutai ice cream. In Henan province, Moutai liquor dealers held a Dragon Boat Festival-themed tasting ceremony. During the feast, customers dressed in ancient costumes and waved themed fans to feel the charm of traditional Chinese culture.
Dragon Boat Festival is one of the four Chinese sacrificial festivals and the origin of the humanistic spirit in China, said Li Bo, an expert from Nanjing Normal University.
At Moutai’s wheat fete ceremony, guests commemorated the sages, worshipped the heaven and earth, and prayed for the prosperity of the country, which showcased the social responsibility of an enterprise. These actions embody an innovative way to inherit and develop traditional Chinese culture, Li said.