Liquid Tradition and Authenticity: Fen Alcohol Making as Intangible Cultural Heritage in China

This research examines liquid tradition and authenticity in global, national, and local contexts in China. The concept of “liquid tradition” is inspired by Zygmunt Bauman's theory of “liquid modernity”, highlighting the fluidity, flexibility, temporariness, and inclination to constant change of foodways. My ethnographical case study is on fenjiu or Fen Alcohol, one of the most well-known Chinese baijiu (white liquors) made from grains, produced in Xinghua Village, Fenyang City, Shanxi Province. I combine historical methods with ethnography to study the long process of fenjiu making in Shanxi, the role of different actors in producing and promoting fenjiu alcohol from the local to the global, and the dynamic process of tradition making and authenticity claiming on the ground.