Chinanews.com, Guangzhou, September 3rd, title: Guangzhou Zengcheng Lychee Liquor Production Skills: Innovation and Polishing of "Intangible Cultural Heritage" Signs
Author Cheng Jingwei Huang Liping
As the hometown of litchi in China, Guangzhou Zengcheng litchi distilled liquor has a history of over a hundred years.
The reporter learned from the Zengcheng District Government on September 3 that in May this year, the production techniques of litchi distilled spirits in Zengcheng were included in the sixth batch of representative projects of district-level intangible cultural heritage in Zengcheng.
Freshly distilled Zengcheng lychee wine (data map) courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Zengcheng District Committee of Guangzhou City
Zengcheng has always been known for its lychee production, especially after the Ming and Qing Dynasties, led by literati such as Qu Dajun and Chen Gongyin, it set off a wave of lychee culture in Zengcheng.
However, because the lychee itself is not easy to preserve, it can only be made into dried lychees except for direct consumption, which seriously affects the interests of fruit farmers.
In order to solve the problem of lychee preservation and create greater benefits, Zengcheng people have repeatedly searched for solutions.
The Chen family in Qiaotou Village, Licheng Street, Zengcheng, has been working hard and studying hard since they settled in the Song Dynasty.
They used the hills and mountains behind the village to plant a large number of lychees with various varieties, and also cultivated the unique variety "Beiyuan Green" lychees.
Chen Guanlan, a descendant of the Chen family who was born in the reign of Guangxu, has learned crafts in a winery since he was a child and mastered superb winemaking techniques.
During the experiment, Chen Guanlan found that distiller’s yeast had the greatest impact on the brewing of lychee wine, so he kept experimenting and improving the formula of distiller’s yeast, slowly exploring and combining the local geographic and climate characteristics of Zengcheng, and boldly improving the brewing skills of lychee wine. The lychee wine with clear body, rich fruit aroma and mellow taste was obtained.
Litchi wine bottles in Zengcheng during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty (data map) Courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Zengcheng District Committee of Guangzhou City
Chen Guanlan sells lychee wine in his own Hexinglong Distillery in Huixianfang (now Xiangjiang Road) in Zengcheng, which has promoted the production of Zengcheng lychee wine.
According to historical records, Zengcheng Lychee Winery was once opened on Huifu West Road in Yuexiu District, Guangzhou. Since this place is adjacent to the No. 13 Guangzhou Branch, Zengcheng Lychee Wine was not only sold domestically, but also sold to overseas regions such as the United Kingdom through foreign trade.
Under the influence of his father Chen Guanlan, Chen Jinzhang, who was born in 1907, has also developed a keen interest in the brewing techniques of litchi wine since he was a child, and has become the second-generation heir of Chen's litchi distilled wine production techniques in Zengcheng.
On the basis of inheriting his father's lychee wine brewing skills, he is more interested in brewing different flavors of wine from different lychee varieties in Zengcheng.
He used his free time to study the characteristics of Zengcheng lychee by planting different lychee varieties, and improved the ratio of koji according to different varieties, and continuously improved the technology to brew lychee wine with different flavors.
Later, he also compiled his own knowledge of lychee varieties and planting experience, "Zengcheng Lychee Genealogy".
After the Chen family passed on from generation to generation, to the generation of Chen Zhengyang, the craftsmanship of litchi distilled liquor in Zengcheng has been better inherited and developed.
He combined new technology and equipment, using high-quality Zengcheng litchi (Beiyuan green, hanging green, osmanthus, glutinous rice cake, Jinfeng, Huaizhi) as raw materials, adding a certain proportion of special koji and pure natural mountain spring water, and fermenting for 18 days to Distilled in 20 days, brewing more distinctive Zengcheng Lychee Liquor.
In 2014, Chen Zhengyang established an agricultural company and re-established a lychee winery.
"In the future, we will continue to excavate and improve the technology of litchi distilled liquor, and while inheriting traditional craftsmanship, we must also introduce new ones." Chen Zhengyang said that in the new era, more attention should be paid to the promotion and publicity of "Zengcheng Lichee Distilled Liquor" to further polish the "intangible heritage". "The golden sign.
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