Baijiu Proficiency Exam
Reading list
For the exam and beyond: classics, national standards and books from China and abroad for a structured understanding of baijiu.
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Chinese classics
Qimin Yaoshu (Essential Techniques for the Welfare of the People)
Jia Sixie, Northern Wei (6th century)
One of the earliest surviving works to describe making qu and brewing in detail.
Beishan Jiujing (The Northern Mountain Wine Classic)
Zhu Gong, Northern Song
A key early treatise on qu-making and brewing.
Tiangong Kaiwu — “Ferments”
Song Yingxing, Ming (1637)
The Ming encyclopedia of technology; its chapter on ferments describes making qu.
Compendium of Materia Medica — “Shaojiu”
Li Shizhen, Ming (1578)
The source of “shaojiu began in the Yuan” — a key text on the origins of distilled spirits.
Three Hundred Tang Poems
compiled by Hengtang Tuishi, Qing
Many of the great drinking poems of Li Bai, Du Fu and Wang Wei — the classic way into poetry and wine.
Standards and professional works
GB/T 17204 Terminology and classification of alcoholic beverages
National standard of China
The official terms and categories for alcoholic drinks, including baijiu.
GB/T 15109 Terminology of the baijiu industry
National standard of China
Standard terms for baijiu raw materials, processes, products and tasting.
GB/T 10781.1 Quality requirements for baijiu — Part 1: strong aroma
National standard of China
Sensory and analytical requirements for strong-aroma baijiu.
Baijiu Production Technology (in Chinese)
ed. Shen Yifang · China Light Industry Press
A comprehensive professional reference on how each aroma style is made.
Books in English
Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 6, Part V: Fermentations and Food Science
H. T. Huang · Cambridge University Press, 2000
The volume of Joseph Needham’s great series on Chinese fermentation, brewing and qu.
Baijiu: The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits
Derek Sandhaus · Penguin, 2014
An accessible guide to baijiu’s styles, regions and drinking.
Drunk in China: Baijiu and the World’s Oldest Drinking Culture
Derek Sandhaus · Potomac Books, 2019
Chinese drinking culture and the baijiu industry, told through history and travel.
Uncorking the Past: The Quest for Wine, Beer, and Other Alcoholic Beverages
Patrick E. McGovern · University of California Press, 2009
The archaeology of alcohol, including the 9,000-year-old fermented drink found at Jiahu in China.
The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails
David Wondrich & Noah Rothbaum (eds.) · Oxford University Press, 2021
An encyclopedia of the world’s spirits, baijiu included — useful for comparison.
For study only; Qifu has no commercial connection with these titles.
