China as the source of civilization

From Massive 500-Year-Old Distillery Found in China is on Industrial Scale by Ed Whelan. Does this cement the Chinese claim to be the seat of civilization?

Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a massive distillery in China that dates to the Ming and Qing dynasties. The discovery is believed to be the largest of its kind ever made in China, stretching across some 190,000 square feet (18,000 square meters)! The distillery would have been capable of producing spirits on an industrial scale.

Xinhua reports that the distillery was unearthed by chance by construction workers, in Suixi County, Anhui Province, which is in eastern China. Archaeologists were amazed at the size of the find.

Chen Chao a researcher with the Provincial Institute of Heritage and Archaeology, stated that “three distillation stoves and more than 30 fermenting tanks” have been found, reports Xinhua.net. However, so far, only 3,000 square meters out of the 18,000 have been excavated, so many more may yet be discovered.

Among the other items that have been uncovered during the dig are drinking vessels , bottles, and even cigarette holders. The specific artifacts found at the ancient distillery suggest that the site was in operation for many centuries.

Researchers believe that the distillery dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). There is evidence that it was also making spirits in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). This was the last dynasty to rule China.

This is only one of a handful of ancient distilleries discovered in the People’s Republic of China. Chen states “This is the fourth ancient distillery workshop ruins found by Chinese archaeologists” according to that Xinhuanet.

Two of these ancient distilleries were unearthed in southwest China and one in the eastern province of Jiangxi. These sites are over a large geographical area and show that distilling was very important in ancient China.

Drinking spirits was very popular in ancient China. CNS reports that “in ancient times, many learned people believed that the beauty of the moment of writing and reciting poetry must be accompanied by the drinking of fine liquor”. Drinking high-quality alcoholic beverages was seen as part of a refined and cultivated lifestyle. However, drinking to excess and drunkenness was not socially acceptable.