Kaoliang
Encyclopedia
Kaoliang jiu (literally "sorghum liquor"; often called simply kaoliang or sorghum wine) is a strong distilled liquor, made from fermented sorghum
(which is called gāoliáng in Chinese
). It is made and sold in both mainland China
and Taiwan
, and also popular in Korea, where it is called goryangju (hangul
: 고량주; hanja
: 高粱酒). Kaoliang is an important product of the islands Kinmen
and Matsu
which are under the jurisdiction of Taiwan
. Kaoliang ranges between 38 and 63 percent alcohol by volume.
玉山高粱酒 (Hanyu Pinyin: yùshān gāoliáng jiǔ) is produced by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation. It is named after the highest mountain in Taiwan, Yushan/Jade Mountain. One of the most notable products in the range is an "X.O." kaoliang aged for five years in tanks before bottling.
八八坑道高粱酒 (Hanyu Pinyin: bā bā kēngdào gāoliáng jiǔ) is produced by the Matsu Distillery on the island of Nankan, part of the Matsu archipelago. The name is derived from the name of an abandoned military tunnel which the distillery took over as storage space for their kaoliang and aged rice wine. It means "Tunnel 88 kaoliang". All of the distillery's aged kaoliangs are stored in the tunnel for at least five years.
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
(which is called gāoliáng in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
). It is made and sold in both mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and also popular in Korea, where it is called goryangju (hangul
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
: 고량주; hanja
Hanja
Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...
: 高粱酒). Kaoliang is an important product of the islands Kinmen
Kinmen
Kinmen , also known as Quemoy , is a small archipelago of several islands administered by the Republic of China : Greater Kinmen, Lesser Kinmen, and some islets. Administratively, it is Kinmen County of Fujian Province, ROC. The county is claimed by the People's Republic of China as part of its...
and Matsu
Matsu Islands
The Matsu Islands are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County , Fujian Province of the Republic of China . Only a small area of what is historically Lienchiang County is under the control of the ROC...
which are under the jurisdiction of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. Kaoliang ranges between 38 and 63 percent alcohol by volume.
Famous Taiwanese brands
金門高粱酒 (Hanyu Pinyin: jīnmén gāoliáng jiǔ) is one of the most popular brands of kaoliang in Taiwan. The name simply means 'Kinmen kaoliang' (jinmen/kinmen means Golden Gate). As the name indicates, it is produced on the island of Kinmen. The mainstays of the range are the standard 58 percent and 38 percent alcohol bottlings.玉山高粱酒 (Hanyu Pinyin: yùshān gāoliáng jiǔ) is produced by the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corporation. It is named after the highest mountain in Taiwan, Yushan/Jade Mountain. One of the most notable products in the range is an "X.O." kaoliang aged for five years in tanks before bottling.
八八坑道高粱酒 (Hanyu Pinyin: bā bā kēngdào gāoliáng jiǔ) is produced by the Matsu Distillery on the island of Nankan, part of the Matsu archipelago. The name is derived from the name of an abandoned military tunnel which the distillery took over as storage space for their kaoliang and aged rice wine. It means "Tunnel 88 kaoliang". All of the distillery's aged kaoliangs are stored in the tunnel for at least five years.
In popular culture
- The 1987 Zhang YimouZhang YimouZhang Yimou is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. He is counted amongst the Fifth Generation of Chinese filmmakers, having made his directorial debut in 1987 with Red Sorghum....
film Red SorghumRed SorghumRed Sorghum is a 1987 Chinese film about a young woman's life working on a distillery for sorghum liquor. It is based on a novel by Mo Yan....
(紅高粱; Pinyin: Hóng Gāoliáng) is set in a rural kaoliang distillery in the ShandongShandong' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
province of China. - The fictional characterFictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
Li KaoLi KaoLi Kao is a fictional character in Barry Hughart's novels Bridge of Birds, The Story of the Stone, and Eight Skilled Gentlemen. He is a brilliant scholar, con artist, and detective who lives in China during the seventh century C.E. At the time the novels take place, his age is unknown, but he...
, from Barry HughartBarry HughartBarry Hughart in Peoria, Illinois, is an American author of fantasy novels.- Background :Hughart was born in Peoria, Illinois on March 13, 1934. His father, John Harding Page, served as a naval officer. His mother, Veronica Hughart, was an architect.Hughart was educated at Phillips Academy...
's award-winning novels Bridge of BirdsBridge of BirdsBridge of Birds is a fantasy novel by Barry Hughart, first published in 1984. It is the first of three novels in the The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox series...
, The Story of the Stone, and Eight Skilled GentlemenEight Skilled GentlemenEight Skilled Gentlemen is a novel by Barry Hughart, first published in 1990.It is the third, and final, part of a series set in a version of ancient China that began with Bridge of Birds and The Story of the Stone.-Plot summary:...
, is named after kaoliang; his mother died in childbirthChildbirthChildbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
while requesting a last drink, and the abbot attending the birth mistook the syllables "Kao...li...kao..." as her intended name for the child. In Bridge of Birds, while telling the story of his birth, Li Kao describes kaoliang as "the finest paint thinnerPaint thinnerA paint thinner is a solvent used to thin oil-based paints or clean up after their use, although all such solvents have other uses. Commercially, "paint thinner" is usually a name for mineral spirits.Products used as paint thinners include:*Mineral spirits...
and worst wineWineWine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
ever invented." - Kaoliang is an important catalyst of the action in the story "New Year's Eve" in Taiwanese writer Bai Xianyong's short story collection Taipei PeopleTaipei PeopleTaipei People is a collection of 14 short stories written by Pai Hsien-yung in the 1960s, published in 1971. The length and art of each story is different, but all these short stories are about people who came from Mainland China to Taiwan in the 1950s, and about their life in Taipei...
.