Here, I will reveal this little-known secret to you, and tell you the legendary life story of Deng Zijun, the founder of Wuliangye, the twelfth generation successor of Chen's Secret Recipe, which plays a link between the past and the future in the development of Luzhou-flavor liquor!
May I ask, what is Deng Zijun's virtue and ability? Concise and to the point: without Deng Zijun, who is diligent and studious, there would be no glorious birth of Wuliangye; Without Deng Zijun, who has a deep understanding of righteousness and selfless dedication, there would be no today's glory of Wuliangye!
If you want to know how Mr. Deng Zijun, based on Chen's secret recipe, made continuous exploration and painstaking efforts on the basis of the traditional brewing technology of miscellaneous grains wine, and finally created the "Wuliangye" as a nectar after untold hardships, and selflessly dedicated his lifelong experience and achievements to the motherland and people, you can't help but understand Mr. Deng Zijun's arduous life path and related major historical events:
Talking about Yibin's "Wuliangye"
The legendary "Chen's Secret Recipe" originated from the first year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (AD 1368). It was the earliest manuscript that recorded the brewing techniques of various crops. According to this, the Chen family from Shaanxi brewed Chen's "miscellaneous grains wine" in Yibin. It was "spoiling food" to use white rice (rice, wine rice) to drink wine in an era when people were in poverty. It was to be investigated by the government and cursed by the people, and superstition was to be "thundered" and "never again". Therefore, production was not continued later. The "secret recipe" is just a word of mouth from Chen's father and son, master and apprentice. Chen San, the tenth descendant of the Secret Recipe, had no descendants, and he couldn't bear to ruin his ancestors' hard work in his own hands. Therefore, he broke the ancestral motto of "pass it on inside but not outside" and passed the Secret Recipe on to Zhao Mingsheng, a disciple with another surname. Before Zhao Mingsheng died, he passed this "secret recipe" to his beloved disciple Deng Zijun.
according to Nanyang Deng's genealogy, Deng Zijun's family belongs to Fu Gong clan of Deng's lineage.
Fu Gong, the 98th ancestor of Nanyang Deng family, was born in Ming Dow. Born in the seventh year of Jingtai in Ming Dynasty (AD 1456), he died at noon on June 17th in the twelfth year of Zhengde in Ming Dynasty (AD 1517). His son moved to Jingwei Township, Xinning County, Hunan Province from Xin 'an Township, Xinchang County (now Gao 'an City), the capital of Ruizhou County, Jiangxi Province in the 17th year of Jiaqing in Ming Dynasty (AD 1538).
in the 35th year of Kangxi (AD 1696), Sun Dengshen, the 7th Fu Gong, moved from Jingwei Township, Xinning County, Hunan Province to Xianlin Township, Nanxi County, Sichuan Province, and was honored as the ancestor of Sichuan.
Deng Zi was named Ju 'an, the 15th ancestor of Nanyang Deng's family, who entered Sichuan in the 1th generation, and belonged to the word "Yong" of the ancestor school. After entering Sichuan, the word "An" was newly assigned.
1. Teenagers and hard apprentices in bad karma
On the fifth day of May, 1876 (Duanyang Festival). Born in a poor peasant family of six in hu jia wan, Xianlin Township, Nanxi County, Sichuan Province, Deng Zijun was a child bride, sister Deng Ergu and younger brother Deng Houan for a family named Song since childhood.
when Deng zijun was 15 years old, his mother Chang died in childbirth, and soon his younger brother Deng houan was killed again. after his father Deng Jingcheng died under the double blow, his younger sister Deng ergu was adopted by his uncle, and Deng zijun made a living by picking coal, doing short-term jobs and carrying.
In 1895, Deng Zi, a young man at that time, was not willing to live a worse life, and decided to go out of the mountain village and make a breakthrough. So I took the only old quilt back to the pawnshop in Nanxi county and walked to Yibin for 6 pence as a toll. Introduced by Uncle Zhao Fuzhou, he became an apprentice to Sun Ronghe (Sun Wangshan's grandfather), who owns a "great auspicious" dry and fresh shop and a "all-Heng Chang" liquor workshop. Deng Zijun was an apprentice in "Da Jixiang" fresh and dried food store for three years, and then worked as a teacher in "Quan Heng Chang" liquor workshop for three years, and then as a teacher for two years. In the meantime, Zhao Mingsheng, the chief baker of the Ten Trousers (the eleventh descendant of "Chen's Secret Recipe"), was taken back to learn brewing techniques for his disciples.
In 193, 27-year-old Deng Zijun began to travel alone, joined the caravan porters of the South Silk Road "Wuchi Road", started from Xufu, passed through Nanguang, Yuejiang, Gaoxian and Junlian to Zhaotong, and traveled between Yibin and Zhaotong. First, salt, department stores and other commodities were transported to Zhaotong, then Zhaotong brought mountain products and medicinal materials back to Yibin, and then accumulated some money to start a small business, and accumulated the original capital for starting a business in a few years.
Second, it's hard to start a business and forge ahead
In 195, 29-year-old Deng Zijun became a shareholder in Jichang Shaojiu House. In order to obtain high profits and change the situation that Jichang Shaojiu House only produces "distilled liquor" (also known as "local liquor"), Deng Zijun started to produce "Daqu liquor" under the guidance of Zhao Mingsheng.
Deng Zi is dutiful, studious, honest and trustworthy, and friendly to others. He highly respects Zhao Mingsheng, the chief baker of Shijiacao Workshop in Yibin (the 11th descendant of the "secret recipe" of miscellaneous grains wine). Deng Zijun's character and filial piety deeply touched master Zhao Mingsheng. Before his death, Zhao Mingsheng passed on the "secret recipe" of miscellaneous grains wine handed down by Chen San's baker to Deng Zijun, becoming the twelfth generation inheritor of the "secret recipe" of miscellaneous grains wine.
The quality of Chen's "miscellaneous grains wine" brewed by the secret recipe for more than two years is not ideal because the cellar pool used in Jichang Shaojiu House is newly built.
In 198, it was learned that the "Wendeng Feng" trough workshop, which owned the old cellar of the Ming Dynasty, had operational difficulties and had to be transferred. Deng Zijun saw the opportunity, and was introduced to Landengsan and Xiao Jianfan, a big landlord in Heshi Township, Yibin County, Landengsan. Xiao Jianfan was a native of Fushun Zhaohua Town. He was literate and knew how to go to court. The three men discussed: Landengsan contributed, Xiao Jianfan handled foreign affairs, and Deng Zi was in charge of production and operation, and the "Wendeng Feng" trough workshop was jointly owned, and the money earned was divided equally among three shares. After the transfer of the trough workshop was completed, Deng Zijun officially renamed the "Wendeng Feng" trough workshop as "Lichuan Yongdaqu Workshop".
historical opportunities gave Deng zijun. In his later brewing career, Deng Zijun inherited and improved the "secret recipe" of miscellaneous grains wine. At first, from the original nine kinds of miscellaneous grains: sorghum, rice, glutinous rice, corn, buckwheat, millet, soybean, mung bean and cucurbit bean, the oily soybean and alkaline cucurbit bean were removed first, and the experiment was successful in a small cellar for three years. Later, on the basis of many experiments, the "secret recipe" was improved again, and five kinds of grains, sorghum, rice, glutinous rice, corn and buckwheat, were selected, and the ratio of various grains was adjusted in combination with climate change, forming a unique brewing technology and "five-grain formula". The success of "Five Grains Formula" was inspired and helped by Sun Woshan, a famous doctor in Yibin. Dengzi has been continuously improved according to the principle of addition and subtraction of medical formula, combined with the four seasons climate and the quantitative factors of koji. Chen's Secret Recipe was formally compiled: buckwheat is half millet and half millet, rice and glutinous rice are 2% each, red grains in southern Sichuan make up enough, and dregs are mixed and steamed in a pot. With new formula, new technology and new technology, a new era of five-grain Luzhou-flavor liquor-Deng's "miscellaneous grains wine" was born.
In 199, Deng Zijun adopted the suggestion of Yang Huiquan, a juren in the late Qing Dynasty, and renamed Deng's "miscellaneous grains wine" as "Wuliangye". As the raw material of Wuliangye contains "rice and wine" as the staple food, it is afraid of being cursed by the people and investigated by the government, but it is only produced in small quantities for its own enjoyment and a few friends, and the name of "miscellaneous grains wine" is still used externally.
Third, God-given opportunity to lay the foundation
In 1915, by historical coincidence, Lichuanyong's "Miscellaneous Grains Liquor" won the opportunity to participate in the Panama International Expo, and Deng Zijun submitted his "Miscellaneous Grains Distilled Liquor-Wuliangye" to the China delegation through the Shanghai Lichuandong firm, which won the first prize in one fell swoop and won the gold medal.
In 1915, Deng Zi, who had a successful career, was nearly 4 years old before marrying Gong. In 1917, Gong gave birth to Deng Longguang, who died of illness. In 192, following Luo Guangyu, there were three daughters: the second son Deng Shouzhi, the third son Deng Defu, Deng Xulin, Deng Xulun and Deng Xuqun.
In 1916, Xiao Jianfan, a partner, took the initiative to quit because he was unable to repay the money borrowed from the "trough workshop". Langdon was afraid of losing his capital as an excuse that his family was in urgent need of money. In the following year, he recovered most of his current assets, converted his fixed assets to Deng Zijun, and withdrew from the enterprise by recovering his investment in installments (it was not paid off until the eve of liberation). Deng Zijun took over the empty shell "Lichuanyong" and started his own business with the help of friends in the industry. At that time, China was in a period of shuddering and people's misery. Deng Zijun was sued because of his lack of political background. In addition, coal factories and rice mills invested in solving the problems of coal and chaff shells necessary for production were in trouble, which caused financial constraints. Therefore, although "Wuliangye" won the gold medal, it has been producing a small amount of wine in small pits for its own consumption or for the use of friends and relatives, so its good name has not been spread in the market.
In 1929, Jiang Bainian, the son-in-law of Liu Wencai, a big landlord and warlord in Sichuan, and the president of Yibin Chamber of Commerce, was a native of Niuhuaxi, Wutong, Leshan, and a leading figure in the business circles of Qianwei and Xufu. He liked to drink Maotai all the year round, and for a while he ran out of it. One day, Jiang Bainian got together with Sun Wangshan (the grandson of Sun Ronghe), a famous businessman in Yibin, at Jiang Bainian's residence in Guanying Street, South Gate, Yibin. Jiang asked Sun: Is there any good wine to drink in Yibin? Sun replied: My brother Deng Zijun has recently brewed a delicious wine. Jiang immediately sent for Deng Zijun (the second son, Deng Shouzhi, accompanied him, from Deng Shouzhi's memoirs. ) came to the "Jiangfu". Jiang asked Deng Zi if he could make good wine. Deng replied: wine can make good wine, because there is no money, it has only been done in a small cellar, but not in a big cellar. Jiang asked, it costs a lot of money to make two cellars for me. Deng replied: 2 taels of silver is enough. Jiang Bainian said, "Shit, I didn't tell you about the money. Somebody, bring him half a box of silver." And he said, "You do it, and the wine is on me, no matter how good or bad it is."
In the early 198s, Sun Wangshan wrote in Yibin Literature and History: "At that time, Deng's enterprise was feeling short of funds, and its business came to a standstill. Closing this business was tantamount to trading without capital. I was very happy and immediately started production. The wine baked for the first time has a strong aroma, but the tail taste is astringent, which means there are many buckwheat seeds. After repeated baking, the result was no astringent taste, but the wine was dry, and it was thought that there was more corn. After research, I prepared to bake it again for three times. Before baking, I invited Sun Woshan, a famous doctor in Yibin at that time, to study it. According to the principle of addition and subtraction of medical formula, Mr. Sun put forward suggestions for improvement, combined with the four seasons and the quantitative situation of koji, and then carried out the third trial production. The results were not astringent and dry, and the fragrance was positive. Jiang Bonian is very satisfied. "
thanks to the support and protection of the upper class in Yibin, this kind of "Wuliangye", which was successfully brewed from five kinds of grains according to the scientific proportion and under the unique conditions of old pits, climate and water quality in Yibin, has been put into large-scale production in Lichuanyong after more than ten years of experience and precipitation, and the expansion of output has made "Wuliangye" go out of Yibin and Sichuan. Up the Minjiang River to Qianwei, Jiading, Jiajiang, Hongya and Ya 'an, and down the Yangtze River to Luzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan, Nanjing and Shanghai are highly recognized.
Fourth, it is famous all over the world.
In 1931, Shanghai Lichuandong company came to Yi again, bought 5 picks (about 14 kg each) of "loose wine" in Lichuanyong, repackaged it and shipped it to Honolulu, San Francisco and other places in the United States for sale, which made a lot of profits and returned home with a good reputation. For this reason, Lichuandong specially made a horizontal plaque with exquisite colored satin, which is famous all over the world. The first paragraph is "Suzhou Lichuanyong" and the next paragraph is "Shanghai Lichuandong". Beating gongs and drums made a special trip to congratulate "Lichuanyong", which shocked the brewing industry in Yibin. After that, the "miscellaneous grains wine" brewed with five kinds of grains also started production in some troughs in Yibin, which promoted the development of Yibin's brewing industry and laid the foundation for Yibin's status as a wine capital in the country.
in 1932, in order to protect the Wuliangye brand he founded from infringement, so as to occupy a larger market and gain greater benefits, Deng Zijun formally applied to the government of the Republic of China under the name of Wuliangye and successfully registered the trademark of Wuliangye, and printed the "First Generation Wuliangye Trademark" in Tieshizhai, Zhongshan Street. The reputation of "Wuliangye" has since appeared in the world. With the brand "Wuliangye", the business of "Lichuanyong" Caofang liquor industry is booming, and the money earned is also used to purchase fields in Nanxi hometown and Yibin Caiba.
5. The current situation is turbulent, keeping a low profile
However, things are unpredictable. In October 1939, after Japan's full-scale war of aggression against China began, crazy Japanese planes began to bomb Yibin, and Deng Zijun had to take refuge in Nanxi countryside with his family. "Lichuanyong" was leased to Zhong Sanhe, the owner of Caofang, to operate Qu liquor, and the production and operation of Wuliangye came to a standstill.
According to the selected edition of Nanxi Literature and History, Deng Zijun returned to Nanxi with his family during the bombing of Yibin by Japanese planes during the Anti-Japanese War. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Deng Zijun returned to Yibin with his family, took back Lichuanyong and handed it over to Deng Defu, the fifth man, to continue his business.
In 1948, Deng Defu, the third son of Deng Zijun, graduated from Waijiang Middle School (now No.2 Middle School in Yibin County) and helped his father to compile the Secret Book of Wuliangye Brewing (later generations revised it to Wuliangye Brewing Essentials). Also in this year, under the leadership of his father, Deng Zijun, the division of production was carried out. Deng Shouzhi and Deng Defu officially took over the "Lichuanyong" trough workshop and began to preside over the resumption of production and operation. The eldest son, Deng Longguang, was assigned to the fields in the countryside of Caiba to farm with his family.
The information left by Deng Shouzhi and Deng Defu shows that Yibin was just liberated, and once bandits were rampant, traffic was not smooth, and export was difficult. All the troughs had inventory accumulation problems, and all the nine troughs in the city felt difficult to operate. In order to find a way out, they put forward the idea of joint operation. In the second half of 195, they were jointly operated by Lichuanyong, Changfasheng, Zhong Sanhe, Heng Chang, Zhang Wanhe, Liu Dingxing and others. At the end of 1951, the "Three Anti-five evils" movement began, and no one cared about the management, so the "Yibin Daqu Associates" died.
In 1952, the state-owned distillery of Yibin Monopoly Company was established, and the production of Wuliangye was resumed. It was also in this year's "Three Anti-five evils" movement that Deng Shouzhi was labeled as a "big tiger" because of the related business of Yibin Daqu Associates. Duan Yangchun, a brewery worker, was originally an employee of Lichuanyong. He took the opportunity to lead several brothers to hold Deng hostage and return to Deng's home, forcing Mr. Deng Zijun to hand over the so-called "secret recipe". The "Lichuan Yong" trough workshop was also forced to be leased by Deng to "Yibin State-owned Twenty-four Winery" at the monthly rent of 3 yuan, which caused a serious shadow in the heart of Mr. Deng Zijun.
during the period of socialist transformation, nine troughs, such as Lichuanyong, were successively leased to the state, and Yibin State-owned No.24 Distillery was established. Duan Yangchun, who thought he had many years of experience in Wuliangye production, directed the winery to invest more than 8, kilograms of grain to start brewing Wuliangye. However, because the workers did not master the key technology of "Wuliangye" wine brewing, the input grain could not produce wine. Brewed wine is really chaotic, not wine, water is not water, and all the winemakers in Yibin at that time could not solve it. As a last resort, Duan Yangchun accompanied Jia Shanbao, the factory director, to Deng's house with newly brewed "wine" and asked for a solution. Mr. Deng Zijun replied: "I am old, my eyes can't see clearly, and my mouth tastes bad." I politely refused. Later, leaders of relevant departments in Yibin City personally went to Deng's home for advice many times, and they were all Deng.