CHINESE FOOD

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People who can still keep their composure and their gentlemen or ladies’ charm, under the influence of alcohol, would be deeply respected. Confucian thinking emphasizes the “wine virtues” for which the drinker is to uphold. Confucianists do not oppose having alcohol; using wine to pay tribute to ancestors, to provide for the aged and pay respect to guests are all considered virtuous acts. But to save crop supply, one should constrain the amount of wine used. Being overly drunk and unable to tell real life from alcohol-produced illusions is not an attitude favored by the Confucianists, who abides by the strict rule of “wine to deal respect, to treat illnesses, and to bring joy.” On special occasions, wine is indispensable. However, it is viewed as an item of luxury, since without it, daily life would not be impacted. There also exists a popular belief that “wine can disrupt one’s nature.” Since wine is addictive, large amounts of consumption can cause inebriety, which often lead to stirring of trouble or harm to health. People therefore see it as the source of disorder. So from ancient times to the present day, there has never been a shortage of people who advocates drinking morals and manners, and who conducts alcohol education and advise against excessive drinking. In current times, some government agencies have clearly imposed restrictions against their civil servants from drinking during lunch hour on a workday. For other specialized profeeions, even more definite alcohol restrictions exist. Drivers who drink and drive will be prosecuted by law.

Chinese drinking courtesies and customs were born almost at the same time as wine was invented. Some customs have been kept until today. “Marriage wine feasts” have long been synonymous with weddings. To prepare for “marriage wine feasts” is the same as preparing for weddings. To drink “marriage wine” means going to attend a wedding. At a wedding banquet, the bride must propose toasts to the parents and guests. The newly weds must also have “arm-crossed wine” to imply “a hundred years of” happy marriage. On the third day after the wedding, the bride must take the groom back to her parents’ home. The bride’s family will host a banquet to welcome the guests; this is called “homecoming wine.” For a newborn baby, “month-old wine” or “hundredth-day wine” is popular banquets held for celebration according to Chinese tradition. When the baby is a month or one hundred days old, the parents of the child will put on a few tables of feasts for treating family and good friends. Most guests will bring gifts or will wrap money inside a small red paper envelope called a “red bag,” for the child’s family. “Longevity wine” is a birthday feast prepared for elders in the family. A senior of sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety or even a hundred years old can be called “da shou,” or “grand longevity.” Most times, the banquet is prepared by the elder’s sons or daughters, or the grandchildren; attendees include family members and dear friends.

Each of the several major holiday celebrations of the Chinese all has its corresponding wine feast and celebration. On Chinese New Year’s Eve, people drink “New Year’s Wine,” wishing for good health and closeness in the family in the New Year. On the fifty day of the fifth lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival, people will have changpu wine (wine made from Gladiolus hybridus, an aquatic plant from which fragrant oils can be extracted. Changpu wine is a compound drink made by taking changpu fluid as flavoring, or directly mixing it with yeast made from barley and pea, to make sorghum wine after immersion and soaking) to ward off evil and bring peace and security. For Mid-autumn Festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, whether it is uniting with family or meeting with dear friends, drinking while admiring the full moon is to be a part of the evening. This is also the time when sweet-scented osmanthus flowers are in full bloom. So drinking osmanthus wine is also a part of the Mid-autumn tradition. On the Double-Ninth Festival, the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, there has been the custom to climb to great heights and enjoy wine; many regions prefer having “chrysanthemum wine” on this day.

Westerners pay attention to having different kinds of alcohol on different occasions. Alcohol is sometimes the symbol of social status in the West. However, this practice is not suitable for China. Even though Chinese liquors have different grades from low to high quality, Chinese people select liquor by personal preference for the fragrance, taste and texture, and will seldom use the year of production, color and place of production as a basis of judgement.

Alcohol drinks not only fused with the daily lives of the Chinese, people even use it to communicate different feelings and thoughts. It can be said that wine is all-encompassing in reflecting actions and emotions of humans. The feelings, either sorrow and pain, or the joyous wonders, all reserved only for the drinker to experience.

The Chinese’s wine culture is of long-standing history and well established. Wine influenced the ways in which the Chinese live, and have shaped the personality of the Chinese. Particularly in recent decades, with accelerated developments in China’s economy, people’s lifestyles are becoming ever multi-faceted. With traditional winemaking techniques and drinking habits still earning the favors of the public, imported wines, beers and other types of liquor from foreign countries are also gaining popularity. When friends and family gather to enjoy a good drink, the selection of alcohol drinks has imperceptibly broadened. Thus drinking becomes more enjoyable and making China’s liquor-culture even more vivid. The bars and pubs springing forth around the country in recent years represent the spending preference of the younger generations. Many foreigners just setting foot in China are awed by the popularity of bars in China’s major cities. The bars’ internationalized styles also reflect the Chinese’s carefree and open lifestyle.

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Chinese food culture Chinese food culture, Wine