The originator of millet vinegar—Wangcun Vinegar Shandong Intangible Cultural Heritage Center

The originator of millet vinegar

-------- --Wangcun Vinegar

In August 2009, "Wangcun Vinegar Traditional Brewing Technique" was included in the "Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage of Shandong Province" list. This is because Wangcun Vinegar has everything from raw materials to traditional brewing techniques. It is greatly different from Shanxi's sorghum mature vinegar and Jiangsu Zhenjiang's rice balsamic vinegar. It has the originality, uniqueness and vitality of intangible cultural heritage, and has a distinct cultural inheritance function.

Wangcun Vinegar was the first vinegar brewed with millet as the main raw material, and is the pioneer of millet vinegar.

Zibo Wangcun is a famous historical town. As early as the Yin and Shang Dynasties, the Pang Kingdom, a vassal state with the surname Jiang, was established here. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was a territory of the Qi State. It is one of the birthplaces of Qi culture in Shandong. The geological and geographical environment of Wangcun is relatively complex, with a typical landform of "two mountains sandwiching a valley" (one is an intermountain valley, the north is the Changbai Mountains, and the south is the Taiyi Mountains). It is very suitable for growing millet with high nutritional value (commonly known as red millet by locals). Wangcun vinegar, a specialty of Shandong, is produced from this millet produced in mountains and hills as the main raw material.

During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Jia Sixie recorded 24 vinegar-making methods in "Qimin Yaoshu". Jiajing County Chronicle records: According to the Jiajing "Zichuan County Chronicle" of the Ming Dynasty, there was " There is a saying about making wine and vinegar on the vernal equinox. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Bi Yanzuo of the Bi family in Zixi, a prominent family in Shandong, had seven sons, and his sixth son, Bi Mu, had eight sons. Therefore, there is a saying of "the old seven branches and the young eight families". Two of the "young eight families" won the Jinshi One Juren, two tribute scholars, and two scholars, among whom Bi was from Yanguan to Hubu Shangshu. Bi Ziyan's second son, Bi Jiyou, is the owner of Wangcun Vinegar Workshop. His brand name "Jingquanju" (reformed as a national industrial and commercial public-private partnership in 1956) was merged into Wangcun Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Pu Songling sat in Bi's house at Bi Jiyou's invitation. In "Food and Drink Chapter 4" of "Pu Songling Collection", it is recorded that "the five flavors of the banquet should be comprehensive, fennel and dill should be mixed with powder and glutinous rice, the elbows and elbows should be roasted and added with vinegar sauce, and the head and feet should be brushed with tweezers before cooking." When Pu Songling was teaching, there was a jingle that has been passed down to this day: "Mr. Pu, three meals, sour pancakes, two and a half, stir-fried tofu with green onions, vinegar and garlic." It was the development of the Bi family of officials and the emergence of the great writer Pu Songling that made Wangcun vinegar industry more and more prosperous. According to legend, Qianlong tasted Wangcun’s millet vinegar and rice wine when he went to the south of the Yangtze River, and highly praised Wangcun vinegar. Since then, Wangcun vinegar has entered the capital as a tribute and has become a nationally famous Shandong specialty.

Wangcun vinegar uses millet as the main ingredient and rice wine as the auxiliary ingredient. It is fermented at room temperature. It has a light color and pure fragrance, and is widely welcomed by Shandong people. Because of the uniqueness and long history of Wangcun Vinegar, it was rated as a "Famous Trademark of Shandong Province" in 2007 and also won the title of "Time-honored Brand of Shandong Province". In August 2009, "Wangcun Vinegar Traditional Brewing Technique" was listed in the "Shandong Province Famous Brand". Level Intangible Cultural Heritage List" (Traditional Skills Category VIII-53).