---
title: "The Divine Water of the East: Moutai Falls from Its Pedestal!"
description: "In 2013, Shanghai Securities News reported on a Moutai investor who analyzed monthly sales data from Shenzhen supermarkets and found an anomaly: prices were soaring while sales were declining month over month. He concluded that large quantities of Moutai were hoarded by wholesalers or speculators, not reaching consumers. Despite his sophisticated analysis, Moutai's stock price decupled within five years, and the brand's myth persisted, with Moutai becoming an investment vehicle and a symbol of Chinese consumption upgrade."
author: "你兽爷"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2018-10-31"
language: "en"
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---

# The Divine Water of the East: Moutai Falls from Its Pedestal!

> In 2013, Shanghai Securities News reported on a Moutai investor who analyzed monthly sales data from Shenzhen supermarkets and found an anomaly: prices were soaring while sales were declining month over month. He concluded that large quantities of Moutai were hoarded by wholesalers or speculators, not reaching consumers. Despite his sophisticated analysis, Moutai's stock price decupled within five years, and the brand's myth persisted, with Moutai becoming an investment vehicle and a symbol of Chinese consumption upgrade.

In 2013, Shanghai Securities News reported on a Moutai investor who analyzed the monthly sales data of Kweichow Moutai in Shenzhen supermarkets and discovered an anomaly: while Moutai prices were soaring, monthly sales were declining month over month.
He inferred from this:
>  _**A large quantity of Moutai is settling in the hands of wholesalers or speculators, not flowing into the hands of real consumers.**_
This brilliant investor applied all his knowledge of finance, accounting, marketing, and big data to conduct a detailed analysis of Moutai, and finally concluded that Moutai was experiencing false prosperity, so he liquidated his Moutai stocks.
Less than five years later, Moutai's stock price was ten times what it was when he sold.
The cry of "bubble" has been shouted for ten years, but it has turned Moutai into a scarce item. Every National Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Spring Festival, Moutai has to open the floodgates, using an increase of six to seven thousand tons to keep prices stable.
After 2015, Moutai's ex-factory price and retail price gradually recovered, and the subsequent rise was seen as a symbol of China's consumption upgrade and the rise of the middle class, even though the price of 1,499 yuan was higher than the minimum wage in most Chinese provinces.
The investor who sold his Moutai stocks was right about one thing: Moutai had long become an investment product. People found that in this era of inflation, the only constant seemed to be Moutai's annual production of 35,000 tons in its brewing pools. This golden reservoir would not be over-issued on a large scale, and it was stably distributed through 3,000 distributors.
Even if it is intercepted, stolen, or smuggled, it will eventually flow to ordinary people, who scramble to buy a Moutai myth that has been refined for years and gilded layer by layer at a price of at least 1,499 yuan.
1
The deification of Moutai is best exemplified by two stories: winning the gold medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition and being the main liquor at the "First State Banquet" after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
These two stories can be debunked with a little investigation.
An investigation by "Look at History," which focuses on uncovering historical truths, found that Moutai only won an ordinary fourth-class silver medal at the time. The highest award for baijiu went to three sorghum liquors selected from Shanxi, Zhili, and Henan, among which Fenjiu was the only one with a name.
Moutai itself seems unclear about what prize it won. "Changjiang Business Daily" once said:
> _**In 1954, the back label of Moutai bottles read "Second Place in World Famous Liquors at the Panama Exposition";**_
>
>  _**In 1984, the back label changed to "Awarded Medal and Certificate at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition."**_
>
>  _**It was not until 2003 that the back label included the claim "Won the Gold Medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition."**_
In response, an important veteran of Moutai explained: Because we are later generations, the medal and certificate are gone. The distillery tried every possible way to find them but failed.
As for the main liquor at the "First State Banquet," a few years ago, Fenjiu Group, in a fit of pique, found Premier Zhou Enlai's instructions on state banquet liquor, found the notes of Yang Hansan, the then head of Fenjiu, and found witnesses at the time, using more powerful and abundant evidence than Moutai Distillery to prove that "the liquor used at the state banquet was Fenjiu."
But so what? Moutai's brand story has already taken root in people's hearts.
After 1949, Fenjiu had always been the leader of Chinese baijiu, for a relatively simple reason: it did not waste grain. Moutai had small production and suffered continuous losses.
At the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau in 1958, Moutai encountered its turning point of fate.
The great leader asked Zhou Lin, the secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee:
>  _**"What divine water is Moutai made from? It's so fragrant and so beautiful."**_
When the Long March passed through Moutai Town, the great leader watched his soldiers use Moutai to treat wounds and rub their feet.
Zhou Lin replied, it is made with the water from your Four Crossings of the Chishui River during the Long March.
>  _**"Are you sure it's the Chishui from 'The Red Army fears not the trials of the Long March, and regards a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers as nothing. The Five Ridges wind gently like ripples, and the majestic Wumeng roll by like mud balls. The Jinsha River's clouds and cliffs are warm, and the Dadu Bridge's iron chains are cold. Even more delightful is the snow of Minshan for a thousand li, and after the three armies pass, all faces are bright'?"**_
>
>  _**
> **_
>
> _**"Sure."**_
The great man was very pleased. With so much water, let's produce 10,000 tons a year! This is the need of the people.
Back in Guizhou, Zhou Lin transferred his wife from the Provincial Industry Department to work at Moutai. From then on, whether he was in a cowshed or as the party secretary of Peking University, he always kept in mind that the people needed 10,000 tons of Moutai, but he never achieved it until his death.
In October 1963, at the Second National Liquor Appraisal Conference, strong-aroma liquors swept the venue. Zhou Henggang, a towering figure in the Chinese baijiu world, rated Moutai fifth.
At that time, Premier Zhou was visiting Africa. When he toasted with Moutai, he said, "Today I am entertaining everyone with China's best liquor." A foreign journalist immediately cited a report from "Ta Kung Pao" saying that China had just rated the best liquor as Wuliangye.
It is said that the Premier lost his temper. After returning to China, the Ministry of Light Industry found Zhou Henggang, who was sweating with fear. After repeated blind tastings, they found that Moutai's quality really had problems. The minister and Zhou stayed up all night writing a report to the Premier. Premier Zhou drew a circle around Zhou Henggang's name with a red pen and marked two horizontal lines:
>  _**Whoever rated it down, let them rate it up!**_
When Zhou Henggang parted with his wife, he said,
>  _**"The Ministry of Light Industry said that if Moutai's quality doesn't improve, my children and I won't come back from Guizhou."**_
More than a hundred young technical personnel went to Guizhou with Zhou. It is said that their contract also stipulated: no going home.
It was then that Ji Keliang, a university graduate, walked through the gates of the Moutai factory, and later became Moutai's leader and greatest contributor.
2
In 1942, during the height of World War II, Coca-Cola Chairman Robert Woodruff demanded: "No matter where American troops are, and no matter what it costs our company, we will ensure that every soldier can buy a bottle of Coca-Cola for only five cents."
Coca-Cola employees began to follow the U.S. military on campaigns, wearing U.S. military uniforms and being called "Coca-Cola Colonels." Following the footsteps of the U.S. military, Coca-Cola sold worldwide.
In 2003, Moutai's production exceeded 10,000 tons for the first time. Moutai's leader Ji Keliang said this was the happiest moment of his life.
That year, Moutai did another thing that had a more far-reaching impact than mass production: it launched the "military-enterprise co-construction" condolence activity. It is said that Ji Keliang saw soldiers drinking erguotou and was determined to change that situation.
Military-enterprise co-construction became a Moutai tradition. Every year from July to August, senior executives would go out in full force, leading teams to directly affiliated units of the Central Military Commission, various branches of the armed forces, provincial military districts, and armed police forces to carry out "support the army and offer condolences" activities.
Later, distributors also joined. In the most recent public report, before Army Day in 2018, distributors in Guangxi purchased farmers' aquaculture products and sent them into military camps along with Moutai.
That's why an old leader wrote an inscription for Moutai:
>  _**Moutai has excellent quality and has made many contributions to military construction.**_
In the National Liquor Culture City inside the Moutai factory, visitors, after hearing about how Moutai "played a significant role in China's political, economic, and diplomatic work," can visit the liquor warehouse, where some liquors reserved for special supply units are stored.
It is not difficult for a person to do one good deed; the difficult thing is to do good deeds all one's life. After 2006, Moutai finally turned around commercially. Before that, it had been suppressed by Wuliangye, with revenue and market value often only half or even less than Wuliangye's.
Since then, Moutai's terminal price and market share have left others in the dust. In the high-end market, especially the segment above 1,400 yuan, Moutai holds about 90% of the share, achieving near monopoly.
At that time, many people thought the sauce-aroma Moutai tasted strange. A gold medal analyst and Moutai fan explained it this way:
>  _**Don't think that things with a strange taste are bad. Once you start drinking something with a strange taste, your loyalty becomes quite high, and drinking other things will feel unaccustomed.**_
3
The concept of "Drink Kweichow Moutai, drink your way to health" gradually took root in people's hearts.
To prove Moutai's health benefits, Ji Keliang created many theories, including the "Moutai liver protection theory." He said that statistics show that compared with people who drink other liquors, those who drink Moutai almost never have liver disease, while those who drink the same amount of other liquors do.
Ji Keliang said that in 1997, Guiyang Medical College and seven research institutions in Beijing and Shanghai conducted a scientific study, and the conclusion, signed and approved by many liver experts across the country, was that Moutai truly protects the liver.
These claims began appearing in the media in 2002, and of course, the first release was on Moutai's official website.
Interestingly, Tang Zhaoyou, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a famous liver disease expert listed by Moutai as an endorsing expert, said that the appraisal committee never easily promised that Moutai would not harm the liver or resist cirrhosis:
>  _**It is common sense that alcohol is harmful to the liver.**_
Professor Zhai Weirong from Fudan University's Shanghai Medical College, who was also roped in by Moutai, was even more agitated: "I knew nothing about the writing process of the paper, and my consent was not obtained before publication. I declare that I bear no responsibility for this paper."
Wang Guochun, chairman of Wuliangye, almost threw his cup in anger: "Saying that drinking Moutai is good for health and prevents liver cancer is without evidence. Moutai's promotion of its liquor as liver-protecting and liver-nourishing is highly unethical."
Besides protecting the liver, in Ji Keliang's words, Moutai could also cure diseases. He claimed to have drunk two tons of Moutai in 20 years.
In an interview in 2018, he also said that Moutai could cure stomach problems and colds. Previously, he had also said that a foreign consumer drank two glasses of Moutai and cured his long-term deafness.
Moutai's global medical tour reached its climax with Moutai fan Dan Bin:
>  _**Drinking Moutai can let you do it eight times a night, and my wife can testify.**_
To commemorate this great achievement, he hung two characters "正下" (meaning "right down") above his bed.
4
In 2010, glass king Cao Dewang took a reporter from China Business Network to visit his mansion on the outskirts of Fuzhou. The camera captured unopened cases of Moutai stacked against an entire wall. Cao Dewang said helplessly:
>  _**I keep this liquor at home, and the price has risen terribly.**_
Eight years later, when he appeared on TV again, President Cao advised young people to be open-minded and not rush to buy houses. Little did President Cao know that if he opened those Moutai cartons, they could comfortably house a family of three.
Of course, people later learned that compared to General Xu, who used Moutai boxes to store money, and General Gu, who had over a thousand cases of Moutai at home, Cao's stock was nothing.
Drinking vintage Moutai, eating delicacies from land and sea, tasting Lafite red wine, and collecting jade and calligraphy have become standard in court verdicts.
True experts hoard Moutai specialty stores. At current market prices, the smallest specialty store has an annual profit of over 3 million yuan.
After a leader of a municipality directly under the central government fell from power, the organization discovered that his actual assets included a Moutai specialty store. After all, at current market conditions, one ton of Moutai yields a net profit of at least 1 million yuan. Moutai's chaos thus attracted attention. Later, civil servants in Guizhou filled out forms for self-inspection one by one to see if they held Moutai specialty stores or helped family and friends open Moutai specialty stores. Cadres at or above the division level in the Moutai Group were also individually summoned for talks.
While others were hoarding Moutai, Uncle Bao, a friend of Brother Beast, was queuing to buy salt, and the market was actually turned into a salt shortage by Uncle Bao and his ilk. Seven years later, Moutai's price has multiplied several times. Yesterday, Uncle Bao finally announced joyfully:
>  _**The salt hoarded in 2011 has finally been eaten up!**_
Moutai's soul figure Ji Keliang officially stepped down this year. From a corporate perspective, he was great: half-year revenue of 33.4 billion yuan, gross margin of 91%, and after deducting all costs, a net profit of 15.8 billion yuan. Guizhou's 2017 provincial GDP was 1.35 trillion yuan, and Moutai, whose market value repeatedly exceeded one trillion yuan, could account for nearly 70% of that.
After Li Baofang took over as chairman of Moutai, the military-enterprise co-construction work stalled. Under the general policy of strict party governance and strict military governance, health products were no longer a necessity.
In August 2018, Wang Jian, chairman of BGI Genomics, which claimed to be able to achieve "eternal youth," visited Li Baofang at Moutai.
This news was announced on the same day as Wang Shi's appointment as chairman of BGI Genomics. Moutai needed a health concept, and BGI needed Moutai's blessing even more.
Sure enough, after the pilgrimage to Moutai, BGI Genomics rose for two days.
Wang Jian said that BGI planned to establish a medical health big data center in Guizhou, and one of the important research topics was "the relationship between Moutai and health."
In fact, this topic does not require BGI researchers to rack their brains. Brother Beast has long been able to use Moutai to prolong life. When Uncle Bao turned 20, he asked me how to live to 100. I told him:
>  _**Drink one liang of Moutai every day, persist for 80 years, and you will definitely live to 100.**_
Source: Sales Office (ID: ishoulc)
-END-


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