Abstract

According to the past few studies on the history of Maotai liquor, its presence at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition has become the focus of research. It was widely known that Maotai liquor won a gold award at the exposition, which was widely publicized. However, there is little comprehensive research on a range of questions: why Maotai liquor was selected as a product to represent China at that time, how it moved from a remote village to the world stage, what criteria did the Expo organizers use to make the awards, did Maotai liquor really win an award, on what basis did it wins the medal, and what was the follow-up development and impact. Based on the research methods of regional history of the French Annales School, this paper reveals the historical reasons why Maotai liquor became a famous local product during the period from late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic. I discuss changes in the location of Maotai liquor caused by major historical events, such as changes in the administrative system of the Maotai region during the Qing Dynasty, the dredging of the Chishui River to open it up for navigation, and the arrival of Sichuan salt in Guizhou. Then focusing on the historical facts of Maotai liquor’s expanding reputation during the period from 1915 to 1935, it can be confirmed that Maotai liquor was indeed selected as a product to represent China in the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, and won the grand prize. Later, investors were attracted to establish winemaking industries and opened up new markets in Maotai town, making Maotai liquor not only sell well inside and outside the province, but also play an important role in the National Goods Movement advocated by the national government. Through the study of this extraordinary history, this paper points out that the extension of Maotai liquor's reputation was not accidental. It was closely related to changes in its own historical location, regional environmental characteristics, and the lifeblood of national development, which contained the profound interaction between people and things, commodities and culture, material civilization and spiritual pursuit, demonstrating the important position of spirits in Chinese culture.