What are the stories about Huangjiu in Shaoxing?

Today, the "Facing the City" team of the CCTV international channel came to Shaoxing. It's quite pleasant to meet my former colleagues. The topic of Shaoxing is definitely Huangjiu. Thus, Let me tell the stories of Shaoxing City and Huangjiu, which are also the concern of the TV audience.

We can say that every inch of land in Shaoxing is full of the fragrance of Huangjiu, because the city has been closely connected with Huangjiu since it was built.

Let me tell the stories from ancient times to the present. The first story is about Gou Jian (the king of the Yue State) and the Toulao River. More than 2500 years ago (475 B.C.), when Gou Jian was going to fight the Wu State, the local people contributed Huangjiu to the king, wishing him victory in the battle. Gou Jian went down on his knees, poured the wine into the upstream of the river and shared it with soldiers by drinking the water from the river. The soldiers thought of the kindness of the king, and defeated the enemy with high morale. And the ten years of hard work of Gou Jian paid off. Someone may asked if Xi Shi also drank the wine. And my answer is that Xi Shi went to the Wu State before the battle, and she may brought Shaoxing Huangjiu to the Wu State. The time runs off in a hurry, but the TouLao River is still in the south of Shaoxing City. And the beautiful school beside the river is Jishan middle high school.

The second story is about Ma Zhen (a prefect of the Eastern Han Dynasty) and Jianhu Lake. There is a body of water in the ancient Jianhu Lake site outside the city. However, it is different from the original one which was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and it looks like a river now. The area of Jianhu Lake in the Eastren Han Dynasty was 206 square kilometers. It stretched from Cao`e River in the east, Qianqing River in the west, Kuaiji Mountain in the south, and a lake embankment of more than 60 kilometers in length in the north. Jianhu Lake is a artificial lake which was built by Ma Zhen, then the prefect of Kuaiji county. Shaoxing City at that time was in the center of Jianhu Lake. After Jianhu Lake was built, Shaoxing became a land of fish and rice with clear water and the foundation of wine making. Unfortunately, Ma Zhen dammed to build the lake, which violated the interests of the local rich and powerful families (it was said that their ancestral graves were submerged in the lake, which violated the filial piety). Therefore, Ma Zhen was falsely accused and killed with resentment.

The third story is about Lu You and Shenyuan Garden. As we all know, Lu You was a famous poet in the Southern Song Dynasty. He was born in Shaoxing and his home was near Jianhu Lake. Many of his poems are well-known, and even pupils can recite several poems, such as [Chai Tou Feng" which mentioned in the eighth question. Lu You is not only a "poet saint", but also a "wine saint". Lu You wrote more than 1,000 poems which mentioned wine, and wrote more than 400 poems which were written specifically about wine. In addition, Lu You is known as the [god of longevity". He lived to a ripe old age of 86. When he was young, he even killed tigers. Lu you was 27 years old when he wrote [Chai Tou Feng" (1115). He lived in Yunmen temple in Pingshui town of Shaoxing City. One day, he came to the downtown and met his former wife Tang Wan in Shenyuan garden. Tang Wan was a talented woman, but Lu You divorced her because of his mother. There were many reasons for divorcing, and the most likely reason was that Tang Wan failed to give birth. Anyway, Lu You still loved Tang Wan, so he wrote the poem. The Huangteng wine in the poem is a kind of high-quality official wine sealed with yellow paper.

The fourth story is about the emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty and Jiuwu Bridge. After the toppling of the Northern Song Dynasty, the emperor fled to the South and Shaoxing became the temporary capital. The move of the royal family promoted economic growth and the brewing industry. In the period of LiZong in the Southern Song Dynasty, Shaoxing Jiu developed rapidly. There were many wine warehouses in Shaoxing City from Jiuwu Bridge to the northwest of Wolong Mountain. In order to strengthen the monopoly management of the deal, production and tax of wine, the local government set up a Yamen (an official organization) in the southeast of Jiuwu Bridge. This is the origin of name [Jiuwu (businesses of wine)" and the name has been used up to now.

Of course, there are many other stories about Shaoxing City and Huangjiu, and it will take a quite long time to narrate. I will tell you later.