109 years ago today, on August 12, 1916 (July 14, 1916, the 1916 lunar calendar), Zhang Bishi, the "father of China wine", passed away. Zhang Bishi (1841-1916.08.12) was a pioneer in the industrial production of wine in China and a legendary figure worthy of writing in the history of China's wine industry. In 1892, the famous overseas Chinese industrialist Zhang Bishi established the Changyu Grape Winery Company in Yantai. He changed the wine storage container and urn to oak barrels commonly used in the West; introduced excellent European wine-making Portuguese varieties and opened up purebred vineyards; and adopted European modern wine-making technology to produce high-quality wine. It should be said that the establishment of Changyu Company pioneered the industrial production of wine in my country. Decades later, Taiyuan, Qingdao, Beijing and Tonghua successively established modern wineries. Zhang Bishi, a native of Dapu County, Guangdong Province, traveled alone in Nanyang when he was 18 years old. He is intelligent and astute. He is able to bend and stretch when things happen, can develop and withdraw, is good at adapting, is benevolent and tolerant to others, and often enjoys the right time and the right people, and his career has achieved amazing success. At his peak, his capital reached 8 million Dutch guilders and he was known as a billionaire. In the tenth year of Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty (1871), Zhang Bishi was invited to attend a reception at the French Consulate in Jakarta. The first-class French wine he drank was fragrant and continuous, which was indeed unbearable. During the banquet, the French consul inadvertently described the wild grapes in Yantai and other places, and the wines made from these grapes were unique. The speaker may have no intention, but the listener has the intention. Since then, the idea of establishing a wine company came into Zhang Pishi's mind. Although Zhang Bishi has tens of thousands of wealth, he does not have the official status of the Qing court and has never had a way to invest and set up a factory in China. In the 16th year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1890), Gong Zhaoyuan, the envoy of the Qing Dynasty to Yingqin, was ordered to inspect the way to rich countries in Europe and the United States. On his way back, Gong visited Zhang Bishi specially. Zhang Bishi's management strategy, wisdom in dealing with things, and tolerance and magnanimity were deeply praised by Gong. Due to Gong's recommendation, Zhang Pishi was promoted to the Qing court. He was first appointed as the first consul of the Qing Dynasty in Penang, Malaysia, and later promoted to Consul General in Singapore. This is tantamount to issuing Zhang Bishi a pass to invest and set up factories in China and prosper the country with industry. In 1892, Zhang Pishi received the support of Sheng Xuanhuai, who was one of the most popular people in the Beiyang Trade New Deal, and was also cared for by Li Hongzhang, the powerful Beiyang Minister. He not only issued a license to Changyu Company, but also enjoyed special treatment of tax exemption for three years and patents for 15 years. Changyu Company was in full swing for a while. Zhang Bishi is both a courageous industrialist and a smart doer. Wine is a traditional Western product with thousands of years of production experience. If Changyu wants to produce famous wines as soon as possible, learning from Western experience from a high starting point is a shortcut. With this in mind, when selecting the location of the wine grape plantation, Zhang Bishi chose Yantai, which is close to mountains and sea, has no severe cold in winter and no severe heat in summer, and has a climate and soil that are very suitable for high-quality grape production. He introduced internationally famous wine grape varieties from France and Italy, cultivated them, tested them, domesticated and bred them, eliminated and finally built the most famous grape base in the country. It took Changyu Company 10 years and three renovations to finally build the only underground wine cellar in Asia with a constant temperature of 11 degrees Celsius. The selection, treatment and production of wine storage oak barrels are carried out strictly in accordance with traditional craft requirements. The winemakers hired by Zhang Bishi were also people who came from a wine family and systematically mastered the technology of making famous wines. After more than 20 years of hard work, Changyu Liquor won four gold medals at the Panama International Exposition in 1915. This was the first time that China's wines were famous at home and abroad. Overseas Chinese proudly called Changyu Liquor the "National Soul Wine." Today, Changyu Liquor has become the wine with the highest share in the domestic market, and the Changyu trademark has become the only well-known trademark in China's wine industry.