Chinese liquor - Chugokushu

Alcohol made in China or using Chinese methods. With a long cultural history, China is a vast country and many types of alcohol have been handed down using traditional methods. They can be broadly categorized as follows: (1) Yellow wine (Huangjiu): A fermented alcoholic beverage, such as Shaoxing wine (Shaoxingjiu). It is yellow or brown in color. Matured alcohol is called Laojiu (Laojiu). (2) Baijiu (Baijiu): A distilled alcoholic beverage. It is colorless and transparent. (3) Grape wine (Putaochiu): Wine. (4) Beer (Pichiu): Beer. (5) Yaochiu: Medicinal wine.

Yellow wine is made from grains, mainly glutinous rice and millet, and brewed with koji, which is a type of malt. Shaoxing wine, produced mainly in the Shaoxing region of Zhejiang Province, is famous. There are said to be around 50 factories that produce yellow wine. There are said to be over 350 factories that produce baijiu, a distilled alcoholic beverage. The most common is gaoliang wine, which is made from sorghum, but there are also some that use corn and other ingredients. For the koji, rice cake koji, made by kneading wheat and red bean flour, is used. Recently, bran koji has become more commonly used. The mash is almost solid, and is fermented in a sealed cellar using a method unique to China, which gives it its distinctive strong aroma. Representative examples include Maotai liquor (Guizhou province), Fenjiu (Shanxi province), and Dajiu (Sichuan province), which are strong at around 60% alcohol but are drunk straight. Grape wine is said to have a history spanning 2000 years, and is mainly produced in Beijing and Shandong province, with many varieties being sweet. There are also a variety of other types, such as dew wine, which is made by infusing fruit juice, fruit peels, and flowers into fruit wine or distilled alcohol, and anther wine, which is made by infusing Chinese herbal medicines.

The eight great liquors selected by the Chinese government at the first National Wine Appraisal Conference in 1953 were Shanxi Fenjiu (Shanxi Province), Guizhou Moutai (Guizhou Province), Luozhou Laojiao Te Jiu (Sichuan Province), Shaanxi Xifeng Jiu (Shaanxi Province), Shaoxing Wine (Zhejiang Province) for yellow wine, Yantai Red Grape Wine (Shandong Province) for wine, Yantai Weimeisi (Shandong Province) for liqueur, and Jinzhang Bailandi (Shandong Province) for brandy. At the third Wine Appraisal Conference in 1979, 18 great liquors were selected.

[Yuichi Akiyama]

"Chinese Liquor" by Sosuke Otani (1974, Shibata Shoten)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国産の酒、またはその製法によりつくられた酒。長い文化の歴史をもち、広大な中国には各種の酒が昔の作り方のままで伝えられているものが多い。次のように大別される。（1）黄酒(ホワンチウ)　紹興酒(シャオシンチウ)に代表される醸造酒。黄色ないし褐色を呈する。熟成したものを老酒(ラオチウ)という。（2）白酒(パイチウ)　蒸留酒。無色透明である。（3）葡萄酒(プータオチウ)　ワイン。（4）啤酒(ピーチウ)　ビール。（5）葯酒(ヤオチウ)　薬酒。

　黄酒は穀類おもに糯米(もちごめ)、糯粟(もちあわ)を原料とし、麹(こうじ)にあたる麯子(きょくし)とで醸造する。浙江(せっこう)省紹興(シャオシン)地方主産の紹興酒が有名である。黄酒の工場は約50あるといわれる。蒸留酒の白酒の工場は350以上あるといわれる。コウリャンを原料とする高粱酒(カオリャンチウ)がもっとも多く、ほかにトウモロコシなどを用いるものもある。麯子には麦や小豆(あずき)の粉をこねてつくる餅麹(へいきく)が使われる。最近では麬麹(ふすまこうじ)が多く使われている。もろみは固形に近い状態で、穴蔵の中で密閉状態で発酵を行う中国独特の手法がとられ、このため特有の強烈な香りがある。茅台酒(マオタイチウ)（貴州省）、汾酒(フェンチウ)（山西省）、大酒(ターチユイチウ)（四川(しせん)省）が代表的で、アルコール分は60％前後と強いが、ストレートで飲む。葡萄酒は2000年に及ぶ歴史があるとされ、北京(ペキン)市や山東省が主産地で、甘口のものが多い。このほか果実酒や蒸留酒に果汁、果皮、花を漬けた露酒(ルーチウ)、漢方薬を浸した葯酒など多様である。

　中国政府が1953年第1回全国評酒会議で選出した八大銘酒は、白酒では山西汾酒（山西省）、貴州茅台酒（貴州省）、濾州(ルウチォウ)老窖特酒(ラオチィアオトーチュイチウ)（四川省）、陝西(せんせい)西鳳酒(シーフォンチウ)（陝西省）、黄酒では紹興酒（浙江省）、ワインでは烟台紅葡萄酒(イエンタイホンプータオチウ)（山東省）、リキュールでは烟台味美思(イエンタイウエイメイスー)（山東省）、ブランデーでは金奨白蘭地(チンチヤンパイランテイー)（山東省）などであった。79年の第3回評酒会議では18銘酒が選ばれた。

［秋山裕一］

『大谷惣助著『中国の酒』（1974・柴田書店）』

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