1. From its founding in 1879 to the award-winning Panama International Exposition in 1915

At this stage, there were only two burning houses in Maotai Town, "Ronghe" and "Chengyi". Fahrenheit changed the name of "Chengyu Shaofang" to "Chengyi" to expand production. The annual output is only 1,500-2,500 kilograms. It is mainly sold in Maotai, and a small amount is shipped to Guiyang, all distributed by Yanhao. The boss of "Ronghe Shaofang" does not pay much attention to production, and the output is very low. The main sales location is Maotai, and rarely shipped to other places. At that time, Guizhou's economy was very backward and its social purchasing power was very low. The price of Maotai liquor is relatively expensive, selling for 2 yuan and 4 cents of silver per kilogram, which is 5-6 times higher than the 4 cents of silver per kilogram of ordinary sorghum liquor. Therefore, the main consumers are wealthy businessmen and dignitaries. At that time, Maotai liquor was generally not packaged in small bottles, but was distributed in large tanks that could hold 30-50 kilograms. In the past, merchants often bought 50-100 kilograms and shipped them to Chongqing, Gulin or various places in Guizhou. Due to limited output and limited sales, the competition between the two burning houses is not outstanding, and the maximum annual output is only about 5,000 kilograms.

2. From the award-winning Panama International Exposition in 1915 to the Anti-Japanese War in 1937

During this period, Guizhou was under the rule of warlords and suffered from successive civil wars. However, the production and sales scope of Moutai liquor was gradually expanding. . In 1915, Maotai liquor won an international award and became a world-famous liquor. Its reputation spread far and wide, and its sales increased significantly, which stimulated the two Shaoshuang to expand production. At the 1930 Guizhou Province Industrial Exhibition and the 1935 Southwest Province Materials Exhibition, Moutai liquor won the "Special Prize", further expanding its influence and sales scope. At that time, warlords, bureaucrats and wealthy businessmen in Guizhou all used Moutai liquor as banquets and social gifts. From 1924 to 1925, when Zhou Xicheng was the director of the Guizhou Military Affairs Council, he bought Maotai liquor and sent it to Guiyang and Beijing as gifts. After becoming the governor of the province, he even used Maotai liquor in political exchanges and sent thousands of bottles to the Nanjing government and military and political dignitaries in neighboring Sichuan, Guangxi and Guangdong every year. Therefore, there was such a couplet in the tabloids at that time: "For internal affairs policies, all officials are from Tongzi (Zhou Xicheng and his subordinates are all from Tongyouzi), and diplomatic etiquette cannot be done without wine or Moutai."

Zichuan After the opening of the Guizhou, Sichuan-Dian and Guizhou-Guizhou highways, Guizhou's connections with other provinces have been strengthened, which is very conducive to the transportation and sales of Moutai, and the market has expanded rapidly. "Ronghe" and "Chengyi" pay more attention to the production of wine and actively expand the scale. "Chengyi" has used all 12 pits, and its annual output has increased to about 15,000 kilograms; "Ronghe" has increased its pits from two to four, and its annual output is more than 5,000 kilograms. At the same time, Zhou Bingheng built the "Hengchang Shaofang" in Maotai, with an annual output of about 5,000 kilograms. The annual output of the three Shaofangs was more than 25,000 kilograms, five times that of 1915. The sales areas of Moutai liquor have changed significantly compared with before. The main sales place of "Chengyi Shao House" moved to Guiyang, and the main sales area of ??"Ronghe Shao House" expanded to Chongqing, and it entrusted a company to sell on behalf of Zunyi. "Hengchang Shaofang" has little capital and low output, and the quality of its wine is not as good as that of "Chengyi" and "Ronghe". Since there is no market in Moutai, it has no choice but to transport the wine to Guizhou and sell it directly to businessmen whom it has met. The price of Maotai liquor has risen from 1.4-1.6 silver yuan per kilogram to 2 silver yuan at this time, and "Hengchang" wine sells for about 1-1.2 silver yuan per kilogram. Since 1915, the packaging of Moutai has also been improved. In the early years of the Republic of China, purple pottery round jars were used to hold the wine, and the wine was packaged in small packages of 500 grams. The trademark was printed with black characters on a red background woodblock board, indicating Ganshaofanghui Shamao wine, and printed with the eight characters "genuine goods at reasonable prices, children and old men are not deceived" On the left and right sides of the word "Burn House". The seal of the bottle head is made of pig urine and is easily damaged. In the 15th year of the Republic of China (1926), the warlord Zhou Xicheng took charge of the government of Guizhou and ordered a large amount of Maotai liquor as a social gift. The "Chengyi" and "Ronghe" shabu houses broke the conventional packaging and switched to cylindrical small-mouth pottery bottles. , to facilitate shipping, and the shape is more beautiful than the round bottle.

The trademark is printed on Dowling paper with blue characters on a white background. The set is divided into three sheets, which are affixed to the front, back and bottle mouth. There are ears of wheat printed on both sides of the front, with the words "Huisha Maojiu" in the middle. The back explains how Moutai won the gold medal at the Panama International Exposition. "Chengyi Shao Fang" also adds Zheng Zhen's poem "Wine Crown Guizhou". People's country".

3. Period of the Anti-Japanese War

During the Anti-Japanese War, Guizhou became the rear area of ??the motherland, Chongqing became the capital of the Kuomintang government, and industrial and commercial enterprises across the country moved to the south one after another. The industry and commerce in Guiyang and Chongqing are booming. The demand for Maotai liquor has soared, prompting the three Shaofangs to continue to expand production. "Chengyi Shaofang" was rebuilt after the fire in 1944, and the number of wine pits was increased from 12 to 18. The output reached about 21,000 kilograms in 1947. "Ronghe Shaofang" added two large cellars at this time, with an annual output of more than 7,000 kilograms. "Hengxing Shaofang" has 17 pits, with an annual output of 32,500 kilograms, exceeding "Chengyi" and "Ronghe". The annual output of the three Shaofangs totaled about 60,000 kilograms, which became the heyday of Maotai liquor production.

During this period, the main sales points of "Chengyi" and "Hengxing" were both in Guiyang, so the competition between the two was fierce. "Hengxing Shaohuang" has successively set up three sales offices in Guiyang. Taking advantage of sufficient funds and large production volume, it can make small profits but quick turnover, and compete with "Chengyi" for the market. For example, take advantage of holidays to place large advertisements in newspapers and use the advertising slogan "buy one, get one free" to expand sales. Not to be outdone, "Chengyi Shaofang" maintains its superior position by relying on its time-honored signature, "Jiao Lao Jiuchun". The original main sales area of ??"Ronghe" was in Chongqing. At this time, it opened up sales in Guiyang and entrusted "Xinsheng Paper Number" to sell it on a consignment basis.

4. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War and the liberation of Guizhou

After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Lai Yongchu changed the Moutai trademark of "Hengxing Shaofang" to "Lai Mao" to strengthen the The image of "Hengxing" in the minds of consumers, and at the same time, 200,000 to 300,000 sets of trademarks were printed in Shanghai, making it appear more magnificent than "Chengyi" and "Ronghe". Regarding the trademarks of "Chengyi" and "Centennial Laojiao", Lai Mao specifically stated on the trademark that they are "brewed using the latest scientific methods." The "Chengyi" winery advertises heavily to promote the traditional characteristics of "Huamao", and the price of the wine has always been higher than that of Laimao, indicating that the quality of Huamao is higher than that of Laimao. Laimao raised its price, and Huamao also raised its price. There was a strange phenomenon of Moutai liquor competing to raise its price in the market. At that time, people used to call the wine produced by "Ronghe Shaofang" "Wangmao", so there were three Maotai liquors on the market, namely Wangmao, Huamao and Laimao.

In 1946, Lai Yongchu established Yongxing Company in Shanghai, which successively sold 10,000 kilograms of Laimao, and promoted Laimao through shops in Chongqing, Hankou, Guangzhou and Changsha. "Chengyi" Huamao is also distributed through the local agencies of Wentong Bookstore in Shanghai, Changsha, Guangzhou and Chongqing, and "Ronghe" Wangmao is sold under the "Daoxiangcun" number in Chongqing and Guiyang.

Moutai began to be exported to Hong Kong after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945. At that time, Lai Mao of "Hengxing House Burning" was on trial sale in Hong Kong. Due to the small quantity, it was quickly sold out.

When Moutai was booming, bureaucratic capitalists tried to use their political privileges and economic strength to intervene in the production of Moutai. At that time, He Jiwu, director of the Construction Department of the Guizhou Provincial Government, repeatedly tried to merge the winery through the Guizhou Enterprise Company he controlled and by using his wife Hua Shi and Hua Wenqu to join the family line. Hua Wenqu never gave in. After the annexation policy failed, He Jiwu tried every means to squeeze out the enterprises run by the Hua family. He Jiwu tried to forcefully buy the Hua family's Wentong Bookstore in Guiyang with 20,000 silver dollars. To this end, Hua Wenqu sent hundreds of bottles of Maotai liquor to He Yingqin (He Jiwu's third brother) through Mr. Lu Xinmin, asking him to help dissuade He Jiwu from buying it by force. He Yingqin accepted the gift and intervened in the matter, and He Jiwu gave up the idea of ??forced buying and short selling. However, it often sets up obstacles in other aspects, causing Huajia's other enterprises in Guiyang to fall into trouble. This also affects the further development of Moutai production.

On the eve of the liberation of Guizhou in 1949, three house-burning companies had 41 pits, including 18 in "Chengyi", 6 in "Ronghe", and 17 in "Hengxing". The annual output of Moutai About 60,000 kilograms of wine. There are 5 steamers used by the three families to bake wine, including 2 steamers each for "Chengyi" and "Hengguang", and 1 for "Ronghe". There are 11 stone mills, 4 each of "Chengyi" and "Hengyi", and 3 "Ronghe". There are 36 mules and horses used for grinding, 15 from "Chengyi", 9 from "Ronghe" and 12 from "Hengxing".

Because Moutai has good sales and high profits, many capitalists are imitating Moutai. The "Rongchang Winery" in Taihezhuang, Guiyang, the "Jiyi Winery" in Longkengchang, Zunyi, and the "Erlangtan Winery" in Jiachuan Gulin all went to Moutai to hire winemakers and even purchased wine grains in an attempt to imitate it. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, more and more imitators competed. For example, in Guiyang there were so-called "Jin Mao", "Ding Mao", "Wang Mao" and so on. But all failed. "Rongchang" and "Jiyi" both collapsed one after another. "Jinmao", "Wangmao" and "Dingmao" no longer exist. Only "Erlangtan Distillery" continues to produce and was renamed "Langjiu".