What is shochu? Erguotou? White wine? Or rice wine?

Soju refers to all kinds of transparent and colorless distilled liquor, commonly known as white wine, and there are other nicknames in various places, such as white dry, old white dry, knife-burning wine, pot wine, steamed wine, dew wine, dew wine and so on.

The Origin of Soju in China

A saying about shochu originated in the Tang Dynasty. In the literature of the Tang Dynasty, the names of shochu and steamed wine have appeared. Li Zhao (A.D. 806) wrote in A Supplement to National History: "Wine has a sword to burn spring in the south" (wine is generally called "spring" in Tang Dynasty); Tao Yong (AD 834) said, "Since I went to Chengdu to make soju, I have not considered going to Chang 'an. "Visible, in the tang dynasty, the name of shochu has been widely circulated. Tian wrote "Qu Ben Cao" and said: "Siam wine is burned with shochu, which is full of exotic fragrance. Each altar is painted with more than ten kilograms of sandalwood smoke, then filled with wine, sealed with wax and buried in the soil for two or three years. Never burn gas, take it out for use. "Zhao Xiyu's" Tune Collection "said:" If you are drunk, peel off the ribs with mung bean powder and send the powder down the throat with cold water, which is safe "(Volume 2); He added: "Ginger should not be used with soju. Drinking white wine and raw leeks can make people sick. Drink white wine and avoid all sweets "(Volume 3).

Are the "shochu", "distilled liquor" and "white wine" mentioned in the above quotations today? From the same name alone, there is no conclusion. Some people think that Chinese people have been intimate for a long time, and they call steamed wine Shaoguo, and the wine produced by Shaoguo is Jiu Shao. However, when the name of the cooking pot originated remains to be verified. Therefore, liquor originated in the Tang Dynasty, and its arguments are still insufficient.

Another way of saying this is that it was introduced from abroad in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).

In Yuan Dynasty, China had convenient transportation, frequent exchanges and more cultural and technical exchanges with West Asia and Southeast Asia. Some people think that "Jicoo" liquor is distilled liquor, which was imported from India. Others said: "The original name of shochu is' Archie'. When it was collected in Western Europe in the Yuan Dynasty, the liquor law was introduced to China through Achebe. " Zhang Mu wrote "Differentiation of Diet" and said: "Soju, also known as Huojiu,' Sun Yun Dry Valley'." "Gu" is also a dialect. It has been found that "Sun Yun dry valley", "Sun Yun dry wine" and "Sun Yun dry gas" are transliteration, referring to a distilled wine brewed from palm juice and rice, which was introduced to China in the Yuan Dynasty.

Another way of saying this is that Li Mingzhen (15 18- 1593), a pharmacologist in the Ming Dynasty, wrote in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Jiu Shao is an ancient law, which was founded in the Yuan Dynasty. Its method is to use the steam of strong liquor and inferior liquor and take dew from a vessel. Whenever it is sour, it has only been steamed with glutinous rice or millet or glutinous rice or barley recently and steamed in a fermentation tank for ten days. As clear as water, it tastes very strong and it is covered with wine. " This passage not only shows that China's shochu originated in the Yuan Dynasty, but also briefly describes the brewing and distillation methods of shochu, so people think it is credible.