Reviewed by:

• Soju: A Global History by Hyunhee Park
• John M. Frankl

Hyunhee Park's Soju: A Global History is the first book of its kind in English, and, it is safe to say, there is also nothing quite like it in Korean or any other language for that matter. While the work is centered on soju, Korea's national spirit, Park does a remarkable job of solidly situating the drink in world history, more specifically the cultural, scientific, economic, and political histories of the premodern, modern, and contemporary eras not only in Asia and Europe but all the way to Africa and Mexico. Equally impressive is the fact that Park is able to present this ambitious and meticulous historical study in such clear and approachable language, something increasingly rare in current academe.

Soju: A Global History begins with a thoroughgoing Introduction that clearly lays out the goals and organization of the work overall. It is then divided into six chapters, followed by a Conclusion that both effectively summarizes the entire work and provides constructive and optimistic suggestions for future avenues of research. Chapter 1 examines the history of distilled liquors, to include both technological and linguistic innovations and exchanges, throughout Eurasia in order to provide a broader historical context for the more focused examination of soju to come. In Chapter 2, Park explores the appearance and rise of distilled alcoholic beverages on the Korean peninsula, with particular focus on the interactions between the Mongols and the Koryŏ [Goryeo] dynasty (918–1392). This section also importantly emphasizes the need to move beyond certain current and limited domestic debates regarding the origins of soju by widening both the scope and sources of research.

Chapter 3 seamlessly picks up where the previous chapter leaves off by [End Page 215] narrowing its focus to the intimate political relations and prolific cultural-technological exchanges between the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) and Koryŏ during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It presents the transfer of distilled alcohol—known then both as arak and soju—to the Korean peninsula, which prior to this period appears to have produced only fermented alcohol, as part of a much larger exchange of material and intellectual culture throughout premodern Eurasia. In Chapter 4 soju's development and popularization during the Chosŏn [Joseon] dynasty (1392–1910) are examined using a variety of documentary sources. Official court records, privately written medical texts, and aristocratic family cookbooks all testify to a flourishing of soju production and regional diversification as the drink spread throughout the peninsula, as well as to islands such as Cheju [Jeju] and Chinju [Jinju], through a vibrant home brewing and distilling culture.

Chapter 5 explores soju from the early twentieth century to the present day. The Japanese colonization of Korea brought with it many disruptions, which included wholesale changes in distillation technology. Soju rapidly went from being a grain-based, home-produced spirit to an industrially-distilled alcohol made from tapioca or potatoes, and diluted with water and flavored artificially. Traditional soju was largely absent from Korea's liberation in 1945 until the 1980s, when new governmental support for traditional Korean culture began to support it as a minsokchu, or national folk liquor. Even following such support, however, it is the inexpensive, factory-produced soju that has continued to grow in popularity both in Korea and, more recently, around the globe. Finally, in Chapter 6, the book makes an unconventional yet highly commendable move: examining of the histories of distilling, to include both technology and consumption, in Japan and Mexico in order to establish a platform for the future exploration of soju. Both countries, like Korea, possess rich traditions of distillation based on unique combinations of interactions with neighbors, often quite distant, as well as indigenous traditions and innovations.

Soju: A Global History has much more to recommend it than can be contained in a simple book review. That said, and as mentioned above, Park's prose style and extended argument demonstrate an admirable balance between academic rigor and approachability. Many writers in the humanities would do well to adopt this model. The sheer scope...

审核人：

• 烧酒：朴贤熙的全球历史
• 约翰·M·弗兰克尔

Hyunhee Park 的《Soju: A Global History》是同类书籍中的第一本英文书籍，而且，可以肯定地说，在这方面，韩文或任何其他语言中也没有任何东西能与之媲美。虽然作品以韩国的民族精神韩国烧酒为中心，但朴槿惠在世界历史上，更具体地说，在前现代、现代和当代的文化、科学、经济和政治历史中，做出了卓越的工作，不仅在亚洲和欧洲，但一直到非洲和墨西哥。同样令人印象深刻的是，朴槿惠能够以如此清晰、平易近人的语言呈现这一雄心勃勃、细致入微的历史研究，这在当前学术界越来越少见。

烧酒：全球历史以详尽的介绍开始，清楚地列出总体工作的目标和组织。然后分为六个章节，然后是一个结论，既有效地总结了整个工作，又为未来的研究途径提供了建设性和乐观的建议。第 1 章考察了整个欧亚大陆的蒸馏酒的历史，包括技术和语言的创新和交流，以便为将来更集中地研究烧酒提供更广泛的历史背景。在第 2 章中，Park 探讨了朝鲜半岛蒸馏酒精饮料的出现和兴起，特别关注蒙古人和高丽 [高丽] 王朝 (918-1392) 之间的互动。

第 3 章无缝接续了前一章的内容， [完第 215 页]将焦点缩小到 13 和 14 世纪蒙古元朝（1271-1368 年）和高丽王朝之间密切的政治关系和多产的文化技术交流。它展示了蒸馏酒精的转移——当时都称为阿拉克和烧酒——到朝鲜半岛，在此之前，朝鲜半岛似乎只生产发酵酒，这是整个前现代欧亚大陆更广泛的物质和知识文化交流的一部分。在第 4 章中，朝鲜王朝（1392-1910 年）烧酒的发展和普及使用各种文献资料进行了研究。官方法庭记录、私人撰写的医学文本和贵族家庭食谱都证明了烧酒生产的蓬勃发展和地区多样化，因为这种饮料遍布整个半岛，以及济州 [济州] 和晋州 [晋州] 等岛屿，通过充满活力的家庭酿造和蒸馏文化。

第 5 章探讨了从 20 世纪初至今的烧酒。日本对朝鲜的殖民化带来了许多破坏，其中包括蒸馏技术的大规模变革。烧酒迅速从一种以谷物为基础的自制烈酒转变为一种由木薯或土豆制成的工业蒸馏酒精，并用水稀释并人工调味。传统烧酒在 1945 年的韩国解放中基本上没有出现，直到 1980 年代新政府对韩国传统文化的支持开始支持它作为一种民俗酒，或民族民间酒。然而，即使在这样的支持下，廉价、工厂生产的烧酒在韩国以及最近在全球范围内继续流行起来。最后，在第 6 章，本书提出了一个非常规但非常值得称赞的举措：考察日本和墨西哥的蒸馏历史，包括技术和消费，以便为未来的烧酒探索建立一个平台。与韩国一样，这两个国家都拥有丰富的蒸馏传统，这些传统基于与邻国互动的独特组合，通常非常遥远，以及本土传统和创新。

烧酒：《全球历史》比简单的书评要推荐的要多得多。也就是说，正如上面提到的，朴的散文风格和扩展的论点展示了学术严谨性和平易近人之间令人钦佩的平衡。许多人文学科作家最好采用这种模式。范围之广...