Ethanol was invented in that country?

China,ethanol is wine China is one of the world's earliest wine-making countries, wine-making history is very long. So, when did wine in China start? People from ancient times to the present love to drink wine, about wine also has all kinds of legends. I. The Origin of Wine In ancient times, the origin of winemaking was often attributed to the invention of a certain person, who was said to be the ancestor of winemaking. On the origin of wine, the ancient books have several different sayings: Yidi brewed wine, "Strategies of the Warring States", "Shiben" and other books recorded that Xia Yu's Yidi invented wine. In the second century B.C., the historical book Lu Shi Chun Qiu (The Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu Shi) says: "Yi Di made wine." The "Strategies of the Warring States" edited by Liu Xiang in the Han Dynasty further explains: "In the past, the emperor's daughter made Yidi make wine, which was beautiful, and gave it to Yu, who drank it and sweetened it, and said: 'In the future generations, there will be people who will drink wine and have their own country.' He said, 'The next generation will be the ones who drink wine and the country.' So he spared Yidi and cut off the purpose of wine (Yu was an emperor in the Xia Dynasty)". Another legend suggests that people began to make wine in the time of the Yellow Emperor. In the Han Dynasty, the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine (Huangdi Neijing - Suwen) recorded a discussion between the Yellow Emperor and Dibo about brewing wine, and the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine also mentioned an ancient kind of wine - lilu cheese, a sweet wine made from animal milk. The Yellow Emperor is the ****same ancestor of the Chinese nation, and many inventions appeared during the Yellow Emperor's time. The book "Huangdi Neijing" is actually the work of a later generation of Huangdi, and its credibility remains to be proven. Dukang made wine Dukang made wine, widely rumored, legend has it that winemaking began in the Xia Dynasty era of Dukang. Things Chronicle" has "Dukang made wine"; the Eastern Han Dynasty "Shuowen Jiezi" in the explanation of the word "wine" in the entry: "Dukang made broomcorn millet wine". The Shiben also has the same statement. But Du Kang is actually what era of people, even the ancients are difficult to figure out. Song Dynasty, Gao Cheng in the "things Jiyuan" also said: "I do not know what Dukang people, and ancient and modern said that the beginning of its wine-making also". Perhaps Du Kang was a master brewer, or perhaps he was the founder of brewing with sorghum. There are many sites where Dukang brewed wine: Yichuan, Ruyang and Baishui County, and all of them are still producing Dukang wine. II. The most primitive wine The most primitive wine is supposed to be made from the natural fermentation of sugary fruits. Some people call it fruit with wine flavor, but not winemaking. The oldest written record of wine is the wine made from animal milk (natural fermentation) in the nomadic era. Some books call it the first generation of artificial beverage wine. It is said that there is still the habit of brewing milk wine in the minority areas of Inner Mongolia and Tibet. III. Grain Brewing What we call wine nowadays generally refers to grain brewing. When human society entered the agricultural society, grain gradually more and more, but due to the limitations of the storage methods at that time, the grain inevitably germination mold, then as long as the moisture is appropriate, it is possible to fermentation. After continuous imitation and exploration, grain brewing was "born" (probably 7000 years ago). Han Dynasty, Liu An, King of Huainan, "Huainanzi": "the beauty of clear brewing, began in Lei?ê," that is, the origin of grain brewing is almost the same time as the beginning of agriculture. Shandong Taian "Dawenkou culture" site found in the pottery wine, at least four or five thousand years ago. This discovery shows: China's brewing industry at least five thousand years ago began. Four. Wine brewing The original grain brewing is to use the germination of moldy grains as a song. In the primitive society, grain due to improper storage, moisture will be moldy or germination, moldy or germinated grain can be fermented into wine. Therefore, these moldy or sprouted grains were the most primitive wine compositions, which were also the raw materials for fermentation. It is possible that for a period of time, moldy grains and sprouted grains were not distinguished from each other, and so, in ancient times, there were two kinds of things that could both be used to make wine. Moldy grains were called querns and sprouted grains were called tillers. In the middle and late agrarian era, people kept experimenting and finally made artificial qu, and the qu and tiller were separated. "In ancient times, qu made wine, tiller made sweet, later generations tired of sweet taste thin, so lost, and tiller method also died" (China's "beer" has not been developed since then) Brewing with the qu is the ingenuity of China's working people. The emergence of qu is the greatest invention of fermentation technology in ancient China; and has brought a very far-reaching impact on modern industry. With the qu, it is only from the tiller saccharification (ethanol is very low) to the bilateral fermentation (double fermentation) of the side saccharification and fermentation until today's brewing industry. It is said that until the nineteen nineties, the French from China's wine song to isolate a strong sugar generation and can play the role of wine generation of molds used in alcohol production, a breakthrough in the Western brewing saccharification agent must be malt can not be the situation. In addition, the grain brewing is also a good way to preserve microorganisms with solid cultures. Some people believe that the brewery should be treated as one of the five major inventions together with the four major inventions. V. Origin of Distilled Spirits China's baijiu, one of the world's famous six distilled spirits. The above mentioned wine, now it seems, should be among the yellow wine, liquor, must break through the steam this pass. About the origin of distilled spirits, there are many kinds of claims. 1, distilled spirits were created in the Yuan Dynasty, the earliest to put forward this point of view is the Ming Dynasty medical doctor Li Shizhen. He wrote in the Compendium of Materia Medica: "boiled wine is not an ancient method, since the Yuan Dynasty. Its method of thick wine and bad, steam steam, with a device to take the drip dew, where acid bad wine, can be steamed and burned". Yuan dynasty literature has been distilled alcohol and distillation equipment records. Such as "drinking food is about to be", made in 1331. Therefore, the early fourteenth century, China has distilled alcohol. But whether created in the yuan dynasty, the historical data are not clearly stated. 2. Song dynasty has been distilled alcohol Song dynasty has been distillers is one of the most important basis to support this view. The Southern Song Dynasty Zhang Shinan in the "Tourist Records" Volume V recorded a case of distillation, used to distill the flower dew. The Song dynasty's book Dan Fang Zhi Zhi also contains a drawing of a distilling apparatus from that time. The term shochu appeared more frequently in the literature of the Song Dynasty, and it is presumed that the shochu referred to was distilled shochu. Such as the Song Dynasty Song Ci in the "Wash the Book" Volume IV records: "venomous pit vipers hurt people,......, so that the mouth contains rice vinegar or soju, sucking injuries in order to suction dialing its poison". The soju referred to here, some people think it should be distilled soju. Sufficient evidence to prove that the Song Dynasty has been similar to today's still, 75 years Hebei unearthed a set of Jin Shizong era of copper shochu pot, its structure, principle and our traditional distillers are very similar (according to the evidence, casting age not later than 1161). Distilled spirits and brewing alcohol compared to the manufacturing process, more than one distillation process, the key equipment is the still. Therefore, the invention of the distillation apparatus is the origin of distilled spirits preconditions, but the emergence of the distillation apparatus is not the absolute conditions of the origin of distilled spirits. Because the still can not only be used to distill alcohol, can also be used to distill other substances, such as spices, mercury and so on. 3. Tang dynasty first distilled spirits Tang dynasty whether distilled soju, has been the focus of attention. The term "soju" first appeared in the Tang Dynasty literature. For example, Bai Juyi (772-846) "Lychee newly ripe cockles color, the first opening of the amber amber wine fragrance". Tao Yong (Dahu Dazhong, Tang Dynasty) wrote "Since Chengdu is ripe with soju, I don't want to go to Chang'an". Li Zhao in the Tang "State History Supplement" in the list of some of the famous wine, "Jiannan's burnt spring". Therefore, some people in modern times think that the mentioned shochu is distilled shochu. However, from the Tang Dynasty's "cast barren miscellany" recorded by the method of shochu, is a kind of heating to promote the aging of the wine method. As recorded in the book: "the South drink 'both burned', that is, the real wine full of urns, mud on it, with the fire cooked, or not in the drink". Obviously this should not be the distillation operation of wine. In the Song Dynasty "North Mountain Wine Jing" in this operation is also known as "fire forced wine". Therefore, the Tang Dynasty has been distilled soju is difficult to establish. 4. Distilled spirits originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty In recent years, in the Shanghai Museum found the Eastern Han Dynasty bronze stills. The age of the still, after the bronze expert identification is the Eastern Han Dynasty early or mid-products, with this still for distillation experiments, steamed out of the alcohol degree of 26.6-20.4. of distilled spirits. And in Anhui Chuzhou Huangni Township also unearthed a seemingly identical bronze still. The construction of the Eastern Han bronze still is also similar to that of the Jin Dynasty still. The distiller is divided into two parts: the retort body and the kettle body. The kettle body is 53.9cm in height, and there is a part of the kettle body that stores liquid or solid spirits, and a condensation chamber. Condensation room has a pipe interface, can make the condensate out of the distiller outside, in the upper part of the kettle body has an entrance, about anytime to add material with. The idea that distilled spirits originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty is not widely accepted at present. This is because it is difficult to explain the problem by relying only on a distiller whose use is unknown. In addition, no trace of distilled spirits can be found in the many historical materials of brewing unearthed in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and there is a lack of supporting textual information. Regarding the origin of distilled spirits, modern scholars at home and abroad are still collecting data and researching on this issue. With the enrichment of archaeological data and the query of ancient literature, people's understanding of the origin of distilled spirits will gradually deepen. Because it not only involves the distillation of alcohol, but also involves the epoch-making significance of the still.