1) Yidi Brewing
According to legend, during the Xia and Yu Dynasties, Yidi invented wine making. The history book Lv's Spring and Autumn Annals in the second century BC said, "Yidi makes wine". The Warring States Policy, edited by Liu Xiang in the Han Dynasty, further explained: "In the past, the emperor's daughter ordered the righteous emperor to make wine beautiful, enter it, drink it, and be willing to drink it, saying,' If you drink it, someone will die'. Therefore, I will spare no effort to make wine. " During the Three Kingdoms period, Qiao Zhou, a scholar of Shu and Han Dynasties, wrote a Textual Research on Ancient History, which also said that "there is old cheese, and Yidi made wine in", and Yidi was considered as the inventor of wine.
Many scholars don't believe the saying that "Yidi began to make wine mash". There are also many records in ancient books that define the "beginning" of emperor's wine making. Some books think that there was wine in Shennong era, while others say that there was wine in Yaoshun era. Shennong, Huangdi and Yaoshun all started brewing earlier than Yu Xia, so it is doubtful that Yidi started brewing. The original wine was never brewed intentionally, but was discovered by accident. The invention of brewing method can't be accomplished by one person.
2) Brewing in Du Kang
Another legend is that wine-making started in Du Kang. The most popular theory is "Du Kang makes wine". Except for some literati, this statement is particularly popular among the people, especially thanks to the promotion of Cao Cao's Yuefu poem "A Short Song", which says: "Generous and unforgettable; How to solve the problem is only Du Kang. " Here, Du Kang is synonymous with wine, but people regard Du as the founder of wine making.
What era did Du Kang come from? One is the era of the Yellow Emperor, and the other is the era of Yu Xia, some from the Zhou Dynasty and some from the Han Dynasty. Gao Cheng, a Song Dynasty man, said in his book Jiyuan Things: "I don't know who Du Kang is, but people in ancient and modern times have said a lot about wine-making from the beginning." Who is Du Kang, there has been no conclusion. "Shuo Wen Jie Zi"-The book says, "Shao Kang and Du Kang are also." Shao Kang was the fifth monarch of the Xia Dynasty, which was the first dynasty in China established by his son Qi. Zhang Hua, a native of Jin Dynasty, recorded in Natural History that Du Kang was the satrap of Jiuquan in Han Dynasty. According to folklore, he is a skilled winemaker. Actually, the surname Du appeared after the Zhou Dynasty, so Du Kang was born too late to be the initiator of the wine.
However, in the book "Shiben", which compiled the genealogy of ancient emperors in Qin and Han dynasties, "Yi Di started wine and became five flavors; Shao Kang makes wine. " Record. There is also an entry explaining the word "wine" in Shuo Wen Jie Zi in the Eastern Han Dynasty: "Du Kang made wine". The "broom" clause also said: "Shao Kang, an ancient man, first made dustpans and brooms and made wine. Shao Kang and Du Kang also explicitly mentioned that Du Kang was the original author of Qiang Wine. Sorghum, that is, sticky sorghum, is also a general term for sorghum. Accordingly, Du Kang may be the founder of sorghum brewing. Before Du Kang, even if there was wine, no one used sorghum to make wine. Sorghum is rich in starch and contains a small amount of tannin, which is the main source of aromatic substances in wine, making sorghum a good raw material for wine making. Du Kang creatively used sorghum to make wine on the basis of his own understanding of sorghum and summing up the previous experience in wine making. Perhaps because of his superb craftsmanship and the waiting of sorghum, the wine brewed is delicious. Once people taste this kind of wine, they think it has a unique flavor, so the name of Shekangshan brewing comes up. After a long time, it was released as the earliest brewer.
3) Brewing began in the period of the Yellow Emperor.
Another legend shows that people began to make wine in the era of the ancient Yellow Emperor. Su Wen in Huangdi Neijing of Han Dynasty recorded the scene of Huangdi and Qibo discussing wine making. Huangdi Neijing also mentioned an ancient wine-fermented cheese, which is sweet wine made from animal milk.
There are many differences in the records of wine in ancient books. Confucius Cong was written by Confucius in the Western Han Dynasty (this book was also compiled by later generations, which is not very reliable). It records the words of Zhao, Zhao Sheng in the Warring States Period: "In ancient times, Yao and Shun took a thousand points ..." Both Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun were people before Dayu. I lived before Yidi, so there was wine before Yidi.
As for Shennong Materia Medica, it was compiled in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty at the latest, and it already contained the flavor of wine. If you believe this, then wine has existed as early as the legendary Shennong era.
4) wine and heaven and earth at the same time
A more mythical saying is that "there is a wine star in the sky, and wine is also made, which is in harmony with heaven and earth."
Although these legends are different, they generally show that wine-making existed as early as the Xia Dynasty or earlier, which is credible and has been confirmed by archaeologists. The Xia Dynasty was about four years ago. At present, wine-making utensils dating back to five years have been unearthed. This discovery shows that wine-making in China began at least five years ago, and the origin of wine-making was of course before this. In ancient times, people may first come into contact with some naturally fermented wines and then imitate them. This process may take a long time.
2. Archaeological data on the origin of China wine.
Around 5000- 10000 BC, mankind gradually completed the transition from the Neolithic culture period to the large stone culture period of planting crops. From 3000 to 5000 BC, agriculture was highly developed.
Among the existing pre-Qin ancient books in China, there are few books that do not involve wine. China's oldest characters, Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jinwen, all have the word "wine". The ancient Chinese characters are simple, and the word "wine" is written as "unitary", just like a clay pot. Therefore, brewing raw materials and brewing containers are two prerequisites for grain brewing.
The following typical Neolithic cultural periods have certain reference function to the origin of wine making.
(1) Pei Ligang cultural period (5000-6000 BC)
② Hemudu Cultural Period (4000-5000 BC)
In the above two cultural periods, there are pottery and crop remains, both of which have the material conditions for wine making.
③ magnetic mountain culture stage.
From 7355 to 7235, magnetic mountain culture had a developed agricultural economy. According to the statistics of relevant experts, the "grain accumulation is 100 m3, equivalent to 50,000 kg" found in the site, and some pottery similar in shape to later wine vessels were also found. Some people think that during magnetic mountain culture's time, it was very possible to make wine with grains.
④Xi 'an banpo village Site.
In the pottery unearthed about 7,000 years ago, there have been jars with the word "one" similar to Oracle Bone Inscriptions or inscriptions on bronze.
⑤ Sanxingdui Site
The site is located in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, and the buried objects are relics from 4800 BC to 2870 BC. A large number of pottery and bronze wine vessels have been unearthed in this site. Their shapes include cups, pots and kettles. Its large shape is also rare for prehistoric cultural relics.
⑥ Dawenkou Cultural Tombs of Lingyin River in Juxian County, Shandong Province
During the period of 1979, archaeologists excavated a large number of wine vessels in Dawenkou Cultural Tomb of Lingyin River in Juxian County, Shandong Province (4000 years ago). It is particularly noteworthy that there is a combined wine vessel, including a large pottery figurine for brewing and fermentation, a leaky jar for filtering wine, a pottery urn for storing wine, and a cooker pottery tripod for cooking materials. All kinds of drinking utensils/kloc-more than 0/00 pieces. According to the analysis of archaeologists, the tomb owner may have been a professional winemaker before his death. There is also a picture engraved on the wall of the unearthed pottery cylinder, which is analyzed as a wine filter.
⑦ Longshan culture period
About 5000 years ago, more wine vessels were unearthed in the tombs of Longshan culture period. Domestic scholars generally believe that wine-making in Longshan culture period is a relatively developed industry.
The above archaeological data confirmed that the brewing industry did exist in the period of the Yellow Emperor and Yu Xia in ancient legends.