The Journey of a Jar

The Journey of a Jar

In the eyes of Shaoxing craftsmen, every Huadiao jar has a story, and the old wine in every jar has life.

Text & Photos by Wang Yuanchang & Yuan Yun Translation by Sonia

壇內(nèi)乾坤

在紹興匠人眼中，每一個(gè)花雕壇背后都有故事，每一壇的老酒都在呼吸。

Huadiao by Jars

At the south of the Yangtze River and among the Chinese communities around the world, there is the custom of giving away Huadiao Rice Wine on special occasions such as weddings, having newborns, moving to new houses, celebrating the seniors' birthdays, worshipping the gods, praying for blessings, and so on. After the wine is flnished, the jars are kept as decorations in the house. As time passes, there is faint aroma of wine which fllls the whole room.

To this day, the name “Huadiao” represents more than a rice wine or a jar – it is a folk culture and an art.

I got to know Wang Yuelong, the inheritor of the Intangible Cultural Heritage“Shaoxing Huadiao,” through The Orchid Pavilion, masterpiece of famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi (303-361) on the wine jar. Wang Yuelong was the head of the Designing Offlce of winemaker Gu Yue Long Shan. It took him two months to realise the concept of demonstrating the art of Chinese calligraphy through Huadiao jars.

The raw material of Huadiao craftsmanship is from various minerals. Selfformulated clay is used to create a handmade sculpture on the surface of the jar. Artistic relief is made, followed by painting, depicting, and colour matching. Every Huadiao jar is completely handmade from the pottery coming freshly out of the oven to the flnished item. There are 6 major stages and over 20 steps, including sanding, base coating, powder sieving, sculpting, reflning, colouring, etc.

According to Wang Yuelong, patterns like the character “fu” (blessing), the hundred forms of “shou” (longevity), and the four blessings “fu shou xi lu”are the most popular on Huadiao jars during the holidays or on celebrating the birthdays of the elders. When it comes to being the “national gift” given away to other countries, the patterns adopted are mainly traditional Chinese attractions like the Great Wall, the four representing plants (plum blossoms, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum), and so on. The Huadiao jars he exclusively designed for state banquets take the cloisonné element: the four representing plants are created on the base colour of blue.

“The colour of pottery jars is the same originally. However, the sculptures vary because the devoted sculptors have different characteristics. Thus, every Huadiao jar is one of a kind,” says Wang Yuelong.

花雕論“壇”

中國江南乃至世界華人地區(qū)，結(jié)婚、生子、喬遷、拜壽、祭祀、祈福等都有送花雕酒壇的習(xí)俗。酒喝完，酒壇卻保存下來，作為裝飾擺放于屋中。久而久之，酒香便時(shí)常若有若無地飄散在整個(gè)房間。

時(shí)至今日，花雕已不僅僅是酒名、酒壇名，更是一種民俗文化和藝術(shù)珍品。

與非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)“紹興花雕”項(xiàng)目代表性傳承人王岳龍結(jié)識(shí)，是緣自王羲之的《蘭亭序》。時(shí)任古越龍山紹興酒花雕廠設(shè)計(jì)室主任的王岳龍，當(dāng)時(shí)歷經(jīng)兩個(gè)月，實(shí)現(xiàn)了用花雕酒和花雕壇來展現(xiàn)中國書法藝術(shù)的構(gòu)想。

花雕工藝原料取于礦物質(zhì)，用自行配制的油泥作為堆塑的原料，在酒壇上進(jìn)行手工堆塑雕刻，形成立體型高浮雕藝術(shù)風(fēng)格，然后進(jìn)行漆色描繪配色。每個(gè)花雕壇，從一個(gè)剛剛出爐的裸陶壇到最終成型，都是百分之百手工制作，并經(jīng)過打磨、上色、瀝粉、堆塑、精雕、彩繪等六大步驟20多道工序。

據(jù)王岳龍講，逢年節(jié)、祝壽，花雕酒壇上多描繪“福” “百壽圖” “福壽喜祿”等圖案，再刻上祝福的話；而作為“國禮”用于國家之間的禮儀往來時(shí)，圖案則主要以中國傳統(tǒng)名勝如長城、傳統(tǒng)名花如梅蘭竹菊等為主要元素。在他設(shè)計(jì)的專供釣魚臺(tái)的花雕黃酒中，就融合了景泰藍(lán)的元素，以藍(lán)色為底色，創(chuàng)作出梅、蘭、竹、菊四君子的圖案。

“陶壇的顏色原本是一樣的，但全身心投入創(chuàng)作的花雕師性格的不同，所雕出來的圖案也不盡相同。所以，每一個(gè)花雕壇都是獨(dú)一無二的?！蓖踉例堈f。

Secrets of the “Wine Brains”

In Shaoxing, “Wine Brain” is the nickname for the brewers. One can feel the slippery and sticky texture in the air when getting to Tian Jiaben's home at the origin of Jian Lake located in southern Shaoxing. The rich aroma hits you in the face and one can get drunk without drinking.

68-year-old Tian Jiaben showed us his backyard, where pottery vats and jars are all over the place and several ceramic jars stand by the wall. Straw mats used to cover the vats were placed vertically at the corner of the wall; lotus leaves for sealing the jars were thoroughly scrubbed. Old pottery jars fllled with new wine were painted with lime powder water on the outside for sterilisation. Standing by a homemade wooden winepress at the centre of the yard, Tian's brothers were putting bags of fermented wort into the press. Tian walked up to spread the wort evenly in the press and turned to us, “When pressing the wort, the wort has to be placed evenly in the press, so the pressing can be done thoroughly and more liquid will come out of it.” That was when clear, light amber-coloured liquid dripped down from the bamboo tube at the side of the winepress into the heat-sterilised jar on the ground. Tian bent to catch a bowl of freshly pressed yellow rice wine and took a sip. “A taste of new wine allows me to judge how this making went and how long the wine can be preserved,” he said.

Tian Jiaben, born in a brewer family, has been making wine at Jian Lake Wine Factory since he was in his teens which was over 50 years ago. With all the brewing knowledge and technique, he is one of the “Wine Masters” at Shaoxing. According to Tian,“The climate, water and glutinous rice are all different each year, and the combination is even more complicated. The best yellow rice wine still rely on the experience of the “Wine Brains” and excellent ingredients – this once-a-year experience is way too valuable. The masters pass down the knowledge through verbal instructions. It must take ten, twenty years' expertise to make top-grade wine.”

“酒頭腦”秘笈

在紹興，“酒頭腦”是釀酒師傅的代稱。來到位于紹興城南鑒湖源頭的“酒頭腦”田家本家時(shí)，立刻感覺到空氣中有種滑膩膩的觸感，濃厚的香氣撲面而來，人未醉而神先迷。

68歲的田家本帶我們來到他家后院，只見一地的陶缸、陶罐，墻邊立著幾個(gè)大瓷壇。蓋缸的稻草簾子整齊地立在墻角，封壇口的荷葉被洗得干干凈凈。裝新酒的老陶壇外面還被涂上了一層起著殺菌效果的白灰水。院中央一個(gè)自制的木質(zhì)傳統(tǒng)榨箱旁，田家本的兄弟正在往榨箱里裝一袋袋已經(jīng)發(fā)酵好的酒醪。田家本上前將榨箱里的酒醪鋪勻，回頭告訴我們：“榨酒時(shí)，裝料一定要均勻，壓榨時(shí)才能榨得徹底，多出酒?！敝灰娗宄和该鞯牡晟后w，緩緩地從榨箱旁圓竹管里流到地上的經(jīng)加熱殺菌過的壇子里。田家本彎下腰，接了一碗剛榨出來的黃酒，小抿一口?！皣L嘗新酒的味道，判斷一下這次釀得怎樣，能存多久。”他說。

出身于釀酒世家的田家本十幾歲就在鑒湖酒廠釀酒，至今已有50多年了，深諳釀酒技巧精髓的他在紹興屬“酒師級(jí)”人物了。據(jù)他講，“每年的氣候、水、糯米都不一樣，組合起來就更加復(fù)雜了，最好的黃酒還是靠‘酒頭腦’們的經(jīng)驗(yàn)和優(yōu)良的原料，這些一年只能積累一次的經(jīng)驗(yàn)實(shí)在太珍貴了。需要師傅對(duì)徒弟的口授相傳，若要釀得上乘的好酒，非十年二十年的功夫不可。”

Wine Masters' Expertise釀酒師的真功夫

1 Mindset: From the stage of making brewing yeasts to that of steaming wine and sealing the jars, the masters have to remain mellow and calm. The mentality determines the level of the wine.

心功：從做酒藥起，至煎酒封壇，都要保持心平氣和。心態(tài)決定酒的“境界”。

2 Sense of touch: The craftsmen are able to tell the fermentation temperature with one finger, like Chinese medical doctors feel a pulse, and never make any mistakes. Although most of the brewers nowadays cannot work without thermometers, old craftsmen are still used to thrust their index fingers quickly into fermented liquid to feel.

指功：工匠們?nèi)缤嗅t(yī)把脈，憑借一根手指，就可感知發(fā)酵溫度，決不會(huì)有絲毫偏離。現(xiàn)在雖然更多的釀酒人離不開溫度計(jì)，但老匠人還習(xí)慣將食指迅捷地插進(jìn)發(fā)酵的漿液中去感知。

3 Sense of taste: At the initial fermentation stage, the brewers watch closely the growth and chemistry among different yeasts 24/7. Changes like sugar content and acidity can be instantly grasped by their tongues.

舌功：黃酒前發(fā)酵階段，釀酒師要24小時(shí)調(diào)控各菌種生長和相互作用，憑借舌尖，可以快速感知把握糖度、酸度等變化。

4 Observation: In the initial fermentation stage, popping sounds keep coming out of the vats, and bubbles of all sizes burst. Colours and features are constantly changing. Learning the fine progression along the way via scientific methods, craftsmanship starts with the eyes.

眼功：十年甚至二十年方可學(xué)到手的釀酒秘笈，就是善于用眼觀察。前發(fā)酵階段，缸中咕咕嚕嚕作響，大大小小冒泡，顏色、特征不斷變化，科學(xué)把握細(xì)微的漸進(jìn)，匠心盡在眼中。