The wine crowns the Qian people's country, and the salt climbs the Chibi River. Where does it come from

“The country of Guizhou is crowned with wine, and the red river is covered with salt.” This poem comes from “Maotai Village” written by Zheng Zhen, a famous scholar and poet in the Qing Dynasty.

Zheng Zhen (1806-1864), a scholar and poet in the Qing Dynasty. His courtesy name was Ziyin, his later nickname was Chai Weng, and he was a native of Zunyi, Guizhou. Daoguang Juren, once served as a lecturer in Libo County. He studied primary school and Confucian classics, and was a poet of the Song Dynasty School of Poetry at that time. His works include "Private Notes on Rituals", "Chao Jing Chao Ji", etc.

The whole poem of "Maotai Village": A native of Linjun who traveled far away, gathered in Potuo in ancient times. The crown of wine is in the Guizhou people's country, and the salt is on the Chibi River. It’s rainy in autumn, and there are many mountains in Shu on the other side. No boat arrived on the water, so I spent two days in sorrow.

Creative background

In the 23rd year of Daoguang (1843), Zheng Zhen, a writer and poet from Zunyi, Guizhou, known as the great Confucian of the Southwest, went from Zunyi to Renhuai Hall to visit the original poet. Pinghan, the prefect of Zunyi, passed by Maotai Town and saw that Maotai is surrounded by mountains and rivers and has lush vegetation. It is really a geomantic treasure land for wine making. The locals told him, "Taking natural gas and extracting the spirit from the ground can make people clean, the cellar can make it old, and the fire can be slowed down. There is nothing else."

After hearing this, Zheng Zhen admired the wisdom of Moutai people and praised their superb brewing technology. Therefore, it is recorded in "Zunyi Prefecture Chronicle": "Maotai Village in the west of Renhuai City is ranked first in Guizhou Province. The ingredients are pure sorghum, followed by miscellaneous grains. The preparation method, cooking ingredients and music are immediately stored in the cellar. In the middle of the month, it is roasted out of the cellar. The koji is made of wheat, which is called Baishui koji. People in Guizhou call it Daqu wine, and it is also called Maotai Shao."