????茅臺(tái)酒是不會(huì)輕易放低姿態(tài)的,，無(wú)論是在股市還是在其他方面。茅臺(tái)酒醇香馥郁、清冽甘爽,，歷史可回溯到中國(guó)宋代,。但最近這個(gè)備受歡迎的白酒品牌已經(jīng)陷入困境。

????它的遭遇始于去年11月末,，當(dāng)時(shí)有報(bào)道稱,，另一家較小型白酒生產(chǎn)商——酒鬼酒——所生產(chǎn)的高粱酒中發(fā)現(xiàn)有毒污染物?？偛吭O(shè)在廣州的報(bào)紙《21世紀(jì)經(jīng)濟(jì)報(bào)道》（ 21st Century Business Herald ）的相關(guān)報(bào)道促使中國(guó)食品監(jiān)管部門展開了調(diào)查,，證實(shí)酒鬼酒的幾種白酒產(chǎn)品塑化劑鄰苯二甲酸二丁酯含量超標(biāo)。消息傳出后,，白酒類股股價(jià)大跌 ,。

????到了12月初,，開始有傳言稱,，貴州茅臺(tái)酒股份有限公司（Kweichow Moutai Co.，簡(jiǎn)稱：貴州茅臺(tái)）也在處理類似的污染問題,。按市值衡量,，該公司是中國(guó)最大的白酒 生產(chǎn)商。一位新浪博客在網(wǎng)上公布的測(cè)試結(jié)果（這些測(cè)試結(jié)果還沒有被官方監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)證實(shí)）顯示茅臺(tái)酒含塑化劑,?？偛吭O(shè)在仁懷市的貴州茅臺(tái)針對(duì)上述傳聞做出了霸氣十足的回應(yīng)，但并沒有打消外界的質(zhì)疑,。貴州茅臺(tái)的一位代表在公告中稱：“貴州茅臺(tái)不會(huì),、也完全沒有必要送產(chǎn)品去做檢測(cè)?！?

????貴州茅臺(tái)股價(jià)迅猛下跌,，到12月中旬不得不停牌。去年7月份觸及峰值以來,，這家公司的股價(jià)已經(jīng)累計(jì)下跌了28%,。

????貴州茅臺(tái)是中國(guó)餐飲界眾所周知的 “國(guó)酒”，是高級(jí)別國(guó)宴用酒,，并且仍然是人們饋贈(zèng)給政府官員的首選禮品,。在高檔場(chǎng)所，如北京麗思卡爾頓酒店（Ritz-Carlton ）,，一瓶50年茅臺(tái)陳釀的價(jià)格高達(dá)78,888元（約合12,700美元）,。在當(dāng)?shù)氐臒熅频辏械投说娘w天茅臺(tái)酒價(jià)格約為每瓶1,500元（約合240美元）,。

????就像幾乎所有奢侈品牌一樣,，貴州茅臺(tái)憑借它與眾不同的光環(huán)而區(qū)別于競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手,。茅臺(tái)的神話可以追溯到當(dāng)年紅軍長(zhǎng)征途徑貴州省山區(qū)期間。當(dāng)時(shí)紅軍在茅臺(tái)鎮(zhèn)扎營(yíng),，品嘗了當(dāng)?shù)氐母吡痪?。但是，茅臺(tái)酒作為奢侈品的魅力主要還是由1955年至1993年期間人們沒有得到滿足的欲望所催生的,。當(dāng)時(shí),，在計(jì)劃經(jīng)濟(jì)體制下，人們只能通過分配到的購(gòu)物票證購(gòu)物,。

????其中,，糧票很少能用來買酒。城市居民動(dòng)則需要排隊(duì)數(shù)小時(shí)用現(xiàn)金和票證換取食用油和糧食等必需品,。有些單位最多可能會(huì)額外提供節(jié)日購(gòu)物票證用于購(gòu)買西瓜子,、咸花生和帶魚等。茅臺(tái)從未列入必需品的清單,。

????因此,，當(dāng)貴州茅臺(tái)面對(duì)持續(xù)的質(zhì)量質(zhì)疑，股價(jià)暴跌以及銷售放緩等問題時(shí),，公司迅速求助于它最有力的伙伴們,。

????在12月中旬的一個(gè)經(jīng)銷商會(huì)議上，貴州茅臺(tái)推出了設(shè)定價(jià)格下限的市場(chǎng)配額政策,。例如,，這家公司要求，53度飛天茅臺(tái)的零售價(jià)不能低于1,519元每瓶,。公司一位代表在會(huì)議上稱,，違規(guī)的經(jīng)銷商將面臨罰款或取消合同等處罰。

????政府終于介入此事,。貴州茅臺(tái)于1月16日稱,，將收回“保價(jià)令”。此外,，國(guó)家發(fā)展和改革委員會(huì)（the National Development and Reform Commission,，簡(jiǎn)稱：發(fā)改委 ）也就有關(guān)貴州茅臺(tái)不公平做法的投訴展開了調(diào)查。

????與此同時(shí),，中國(guó)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層最近出現(xiàn)的調(diào)整可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致貴州茅臺(tái)核心消費(fèi)者——政府官員——數(shù)量下降,。由于習(xí)近平計(jì)劃推進(jìn)反腐敗議程，人們猜測(cè)貴州茅臺(tái)可能會(huì)在未來 數(shù)年遭受重大打擊,。幾十年來,，貴州茅臺(tái)標(biāo)志性的白色陶瓷瓶已經(jīng)成為公款吃喝的代名詞。的確,，中國(guó)“三公消費(fèi)”（ 指政府部門人員在因公出境經(jīng)費(fèi),、公務(wù)車購(gòu)置及運(yùn)行費(fèi),、公務(wù)招待費(fèi)產(chǎn)生的消費(fèi)）經(jīng)常能看到茅臺(tái)的身影。中國(guó)中央軍事委員會(huì)（China's Central Military Commission）在2012年12月發(fā)出通知,，要求在接待工作中不安排豪華宴請(qǐng)、不飲酒等,。各省級(jí)政府也發(fā)布了類似公告,。

????可以肯定的是，過去旨在減少政府官員奢侈消費(fèi)的舉措都以失敗告終,，但一些分析人士堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為,，這次政府是認(rèn)真的。華泰證券（Huatai Securities）1月30日發(fā)布報(bào)告稱,，預(yù)計(jì)房地產(chǎn),、奢侈品和白酒行業(yè)將受到中國(guó)中央政府新一輪反腐敗斗爭(zhēng)的沖擊。

????因此,，貴州茅臺(tái)在蛇年里還會(huì)繼續(xù)苦苦掙扎嗎,？也許吧，但只有這家國(guó)有企業(yè)愿意做一些改變,，才可能脫離困境,。不過，現(xiàn)在看來,，它不會(huì)放棄前進(jìn)的沖動(dòng),，正如它現(xiàn)在的狀態(tài)一樣。談及該公司最近的困境時(shí),，貴州茅臺(tái)董事長(zhǎng)袁仁國(guó)在一月下旬的一個(gè)省政府會(huì)議上稱：“雨過總會(huì)天晴,。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：默默

????Maotai is one liquor that refuses to go down easy -- on stock exchanges or otherwise. It is big-flavored and bracing, with a history that reaches back to China's Song dynasty. But recently, the popular Chinese spirit has fallen on hard times.

????It began with the discovery of toxic contaminants in other sorghum-based liquors at the end of November made by a smaller producer, Jiugui Liquor. A report in the Guangzhou-based newspaper 21st Century Business Herald led to an investigation by China's food safety regulator, which confirmed excessive levels of the plasticizer dibutyl phthalate in several of the company's products. The liquor industry in China took a beating in the stock market in the wake of the news.

????By early December, rumors began to circulate that Kweichow Moutai Co., China's biggest liquor producer by market value, was also dealing with similar contamination problems, based on test results posted by a blogger on Sina.com (these results have not been confirmed by official regulators). The Renhuai-based company took a high-handed tone in addressing the rumors, which did little to smooth things over. "Moutai does not have the obligation to, nor does it intend to, test the products in question," said a company representative in a statement.

????Kweichow Moutai's share price slid so fast that it suspended trading of its stock in mid-December. The company has seen a 28% share price drop from a peak last year in July.

????Kweichow Moutai, which is known as the "national liquor" in restaurants across China, is imbibed at high-level state banquets and still holds currency as a preferred gift for government officials. At upscale locations such as the Ritz-Carlton in Beijing, a 50-year vintage goes for $78,888 yuan (about $12,700 USD) per bottle. A bottle at a local liquor shop for the lower-end Feitian can go for roughly $1,500 yuan ($240 USD).

????Like just about any luxury brand, Kweichow Moutai differentiates itself from competitors through its aura of exclusivity. Maotai's mythical roots go back to the hillsides of Guizhou Province, when the Red Army made camp in the eponymous township during the Long March and sampled the local sorghum brew. But much of the liquor's luxury power has been fueled by unsatisfied desires stemming from a centrally planned economy that issued ration coupons for purchases from 1955 to 1993.

????The tickets, called "liangpiao," seldom covered liquor. Urbanites would wait in line for hours to exchange cash and ration tickets for staples like cooking oil and grain. At best, a work unit might add coupons for dried watermelon seeds, salted peanuts, and a ribbonfish for the holiday dinner table. Maotai never made it to the list of essentials.

????So when Kweichow Moutai came face-to-face with persistent questions over quality, a plummeting stock price, and slower sales, the company quickly leaned on its most potent associations for assistance.

????At a distributor's conference in mid-December, Kweichow Moutai rolled out market allocation policies in the form of a price-fixing plan. Among other restrictions, the popular 106-proof Feitian could not fall below 1,519 yuan per bottle at retail shops, the company decreed. A company representative stated at the conference that non-compliant dealers would be punished with either fines or cancelled contracts.

????The government finally stepped in. On January 16, Kweichow Moutai said it would retract its base price requirements. And China's top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, launched an investigation into complaints of unfair practices by Kweichow Moutai.

????Meanwhile, recent changes among China's leadership may lead to a decline in Kweichow Moutai's core consumers: government officials. Xi Jinping plans to pursue an anti-corruption agenda, which has raised speculation that the Kweichow Moutai could take a major hit in the years to come. For decades, the iconic white ceramic bottle has been synonymous with long, boozy dinners paid for by the state. Indeed, Maotai falls under what is called the "three publics," a reference to expenditures by officials that include overseas visits, government vehicles, and entertainment. China's Central Military Commission announced in December that it would seek to cut down on entertainment expenses by banning expensive liquor at banquets, and provincial governments have since made similar announcements.

????To be sure, initiatives to cut down on luxury spending by government officials have failed in the past, but some analysts are adamant that the government means business this time. Brokerage firm Huatai Securities issued a report January 30 stating it expected the real estate, luxury goods, and liquor industries to take a hit amid the renewed anti-corruption campaign by China's central government.

????So will Kweichow Moutai continue to struggle during the year of the snake? Perhaps, but only if the state-owned company is willing to make some changes. For now, though, it looks like the company won't be abandoning its urge to push forward, just as it is. On the company's recent woes, Kweichow Moutai Chairman Yuan Renguo said at a provincial government meeting in late January, "After the rain always comes the sun."