Lu Liquor

Lu Liquor

　　 Lu Liquor, named after its place of origin, Luzhou (now Changzhi City), has a production history dating back to the Tang Dynasty or even earlier. The Shanxi General Annals lists it among "the finest ancient liquors," noting that "Fen and Lu distilled spirits were widely popular." The term “widely popular” refers to a flourishing commercial status, which was likely a harbinger and early sign of the rise of the Luzhou merchants. By the mid-Tang period, Lu Liquor had developed a distinct regional style. In the first year of the Jinglong era during Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji’s reign, while serving as the Vice Governor of Luzhou, the region enjoyed consecutive years of bumper harvests, and the people lived in peace and contentment. Such a tranquil environment naturally fostered indulgence, and over fifty distilleries sprang up across Luzhou’s counties. After ascending the throne, Emperor Li Longji visited Luzhou three times. On these occasions, local officials and gentry presented Lu Liquor at banquets. The emperor, mingling joyfully with the people, drank until "strangers met on the road, many of them drunk." He exempted Luzhou from taxes for eight years on two separate occasions, enabling the people to live in prosperity. As a result, drinking culture flourished, and the number of breweries in the area grew to nearly one hundred.

　　 By the Song Dynasty, Lu Liquor’s brewing techniques had largely been standardized, and its own marketing network had taken shape. It traveled northward through Dongyang Pass into Hebei, southward via Tianjing Pass into Henan, eastward through Xiaonantian into Shandong, and westward out of Yicheng through southern Shanxi into Shaanxi. These key transportation routes were the main channels through which the Taihang Mountains connected with the outside world. Given the transport conditions of the time, Lu Liquor was carried entirely on the shoulders of merchants. Along rugged mountain paths, these liquor-laden porters spread the aroma of the brew through the grass, foliage, and sky, earning Lu Liquor the praise: “Once Lu Liquor passes Xiaonantian, its fragrance drifts for miles, intoxicating half the hills.” During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Luzhou merchants spread all over China. Wherever they went, they carried Lu Liquor as a token of homesickness. During holidays or under the moonlight when longing for home, sipping a taste of their native drink became a way to express love and good wishes for family. Thus, specialty shops selling only Lu Liquor began to appear. According to Sichuan’s Fuzhou Zhi Wupin Zhi (Annals of Fuzhou Products), “In the sixth year of the Daoguang era (1826), people from Shanxi came to Fuzhou to sell Shanxi’s Lu Liquor.” Sichuan is home to renowned liquors like Wuliangye and Luzhou Laojiao, yet Lu Liquor managed to carve out a place for itself there. This not only reflects the superior quality of Lu Liquor but also speaks to the extensive reach and diverse business scope of the Luzhou merchants.

　　 During the warlord conflicts of the 1930s, after Feng Yuxiang and Yan Xishan achieved a minor victory in their campaign against Chiang Kai-shek, they requisitioned large quantities of fine Shanxi liquors to “boost morale” among frontline troops. In the midst of severe winter, neither Fen Liquor nor Lu Liquor froze during transport. A single match could ignite the spirits, and once the flame died, not a drop remained — a testament to the exceptional purity and quality of the liquor. Hence the folk saying: “Lu Liquor from Shangdang — rare and unmatched under heaven.”