Commencement of the Chinese Ancient Liquor Festival Cultural Activity, a Decade of Cycles Blazes the Path of the Chinese Liquor Cultural Renaissance

LUZHOU, China, Feb. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 27, on the verge of the Chinese lunar calendar's "second day of the second month, rise of the dragon's head," the Chinese baijiu circle's event of the year - Luzhou Laojiao 2017 Guojiao 1573 Seal and Cellar Ceremony, welcomed its grand commencement in the city of Luzhou.

Luzhou Laojiao is one of China's oldest and most renowned baijiu producers and has always preserved the tradition of paying tribute to the heaven and earth, and paying respect to ancestors on the Chinese lunar calendar's "second day of the second month". This custom eventually transformed into Luzhou Laojiao's annual event, commonly referred to as "Seal and Cellar Ceremony," and this year marks the tenth anniversary since Luzhou Laojiao pioneered the first of such Seal and Cellar Ceremony back in 2008.

Inheriting Ancestral Wisdom, Paying Tribute to Ancestors

Paying Tribute to Ancestors and Society, Matters of National Significance

The tradition of ceremonial offering in China has had historical and cultural accumulation of over 5,000 years. Liquor distillation embodies the technical essences crystallized in the process of labor and production of the ancestors, and is the natural product of farming culture. Using liquor as a form of tribute to ancestor has become the main medium through which Chinese traditional heritage relies on for its inheritance and future extension. Thus, the mysterious and stately ceremony is both a festival for the common folks and a symbol of Chinese farming culture. People inject the wishes for national peace and bountiful harvest into their sentiments, and the ancient and solemn agricultural ceremony was held in devoted fashion one generation after another, turning this ritualistic scene and custom into a vital method of expression of farming culture. 

At this edition of the Seal and Cellar Ceremony, Luzhou Laojiao again presented to the world a grand tribute and celebration that exemplified the essences of baijiu culture. The event incorporated the three major ceremonies of paying tribute to the ancestors of Guojiao, sealing and cellaring of the spring batch of Guojiao 1573, and launch ceremony of the Prosperous Golden Rooster - 2017 Guojiao 1573 Spring Release special edition. Furthermore, the event proceeded through a series of activities based on the traditional Chinese calendar including showing appreciation and praying for fortune, cleaning hands and displaying sincerity, burning incense and calming the heart, welcoming the arrival of ancestors, chanting ceremonial scriptures, offering incense and praying ancestors, using achievements to pay respect to ancestors, reciting lessons and trainings of ancestors, and worshipping ceremony, which together represents Luzhou Laojiao's heart of respect and awe for the Chinese way of liquor and perseverance in the spirit of liquor distillation heritage.