【Figure Profile】
According to folklore and historical records, Du Kang, also named Shao Kang, was a native of the Xia Dynasty. He was the fifth king of the Xia Dynasty, China's first slave-based state. According to "Records of the Grand Historian: The Chronicles of Xia" and other historical documents, during the reign of the fourth king of the Xia Dynasty, Emperor Xiang, a coup d'etat took place in which Emperor Xiang was assassinated. At that time, his wife, Lady Hou Mian, who was pregnant, fled to her hometown, "Yu," where she gave birth to a son. She named him Shao Kang, hoping he would achieve greatness like his grandfather Zhong Kang. As a young boy, Du Kang made a living as a herdsman, often hanging his meals on trees, which he frequently forgot to eat. After some time, Shao Kang found that the leftover food hanging on the tree had changed flavor, producing a juice that tasted unusually sweet. This sparked his interest, so he repeatedly studied and pondered it, eventually discovering the principle of natural fermentation. He then consciously imitated the process and continuously improved upon it, finally forming a complete set of brewing techniques. Thus, Du Kang became known as the founding patriarch of Chinese brewing, and the wine he created was named "Du Kang Wine" (as noted in "Shuowen Jiezi": "Du refers to the hawthorn tree").