The birthplace of millet vinegar in China?

Founder of Xiaomi Vinegar —— Wangcun Vinegar Shandong Intangible Cultural Heritage Center

Pioneer of millet vinegar

-Wang Cun vinegar.

In August, 2009, "Traditional Brewing Techniques of Wangcun Vinegar" was listed in the list of "Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage of Shandong Province", because Wangcun Vinegar is quite different from Shanxi's sorghum mature vinegar and Jiangsu Zhenjiang's rice fragrant vinegar in raw materials and traditional brewing techniques, which has the originality, uniqueness and vividness of intangible cultural heritage and has a distinct cultural inheritance function.

Wangcun vinegar is the earliest vinegar brewed with millet as the main raw material, and it is the pioneer of millet vinegar.

Zibo Wangcun is a famous historical town. As early as the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the vassal state of Jiang was established here, and the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were the territory of Qi. It is one of the birthplaces of Qi culture in Shandong. The geological and geographical environment of Wangcun is complex, and it is a typical landform of "two mountains and one valley" (one is a ravine, and the north is the Changbai Mountain range. South Yitaiyi Mountains). It is very suitable for planting millet with high nutritional value (commonly known as red valley millet by locals). Wangcun vinegar, a specialty of Shandong, is produced with this kind of millet produced in mountainous and hilly areas as the main raw material.

During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Jia Sixie recorded 24 kinds of vinegar making methods in Qi Yao Min Shu. Records of Jiajing County: According to the Records of Zichuan County by Ming Jiajing, there was a saying in Wang Village during Jiajing that "wine mixed with vinegar at the vernal equinox". At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Bi, a noble from Zixi, Shandong Province, had seven sons, and his sixth son Bi Mu had eight sons. That's why the saying "seven old has eight branches and fewer doors" came into being. There are two scholars in the "Eight Shaomen", one is a juren, the other is a Gong family, and the other is a scholar, among whom Bi Guan went to the Ministry of Commerce to study. Bi's second son, Bi, is the owner of Wangcun Vinegar Workshop, and his brand "Jingquanju" (1956 National Industrial and Commercial Public-Private Partnership Transformation) was merged into Wangcun Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Pu Songling was invited by Bi to sit down. In Pu Songling's anthology "Chapter 4 of Diet", it is recorded that "the five flavors of the banquet should be comprehensive, fennel and dill should be powdered and glutinous, the shoulder blades should be burned in vinegar sauce, and the head and hoof tweezers should be brushed before cooking". During Pu Songling's teaching, there is a jingle that has been passed down to this day: "Mr. Pu, three meals, sour pancakes, two and a half, fried tofu and garlic with onions." It is the development of Bi's official family and the appearance of Pu Songling, a great writer, that makes the vinegar industry in Wangcun prosperous day by day. According to legend, when Qianlong went down to the south of the Yangtze River, he tasted the millet vinegar and yellow wine in Wangcun, and greatly appreciated the vinegar in Wangcun. Since then, Wangcun vinegar has entered the capital as a tribute and become a famous Shandong specialty.

Wangcun vinegar is fermented at room temperature with millet as the main material and yellow wine as the auxiliary material. Its color is elegant, fragrant and pure, and it is widely welcomed by Shandong people. Because of its uniqueness and long history, Wangcun Vinegar was awarded the title of "Shandong Famous Trademark" and "Shandong Time-honored Brand" in 2007. In August, 2009, "Traditional Brewing Techniques of Wangcun Vinegar" was listed in the "List of Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage of Shandong Province" (traditional techniques category VIII-53).