China has a long history of wine-making. Verses about wine-making can be found in the Book of Songs, th
e first collection of poems in China's history. However, there are many contradictory views about when and by whom the first wine was made.
Dou Ge (AD 960-1279), author of the History of Wine, said in his book that wine was not created by one individual. People from generation to generation gradually mastered the technique of wine-making.
In the beginning, wine was made because of the needs of religious ceremonies. Three thousand years ago people realized that wine could be made with years and sprouted grains. In a tomb of the Warring States period unearthed in Pingshan County, Hebei Province in 1974, a bottle containing wine made 2,200 years ago was discovered. A sweet smell permeated the air when the bottle was opened.
The aother view thinks a person named Du Kang once invented wine . It is believed that Du Kang once put some leftover rice into the hole in a tree by accident. The rice fermented later and the nice smell flowed here and there. Du Kang thus invented the way of making wine. This story was recorded in many historical books. The theory was accepted by most people, including Cao Cao who wrote “nothing but Du Kang can alleviate one's sorrow”.
(Du Kang)
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