Topic

Wine and Wine Culture

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Wine, liquor, and ale (all of which are the same word in Chinese) are simply beverages, yet, they can be an integral part of rituals, usually as sacrificial offerings. They can also be used as symbols of moral degeneracy as well as its converse, uprightness. At banquets, wine amuses the guests and diminishes estrangement amongst them. Drinking moderately can cultivate self-control and decorum. Wine makes a person healthy and joyful both mentally and physically.   

 

There are many theories about the origin of wine. Some believed that wine was invented by one or the other of two legendary figures, Yi Di(儀狄) and Du Kang(杜康). However, the most credible origin story comes from a passage in Jiang Tong’s (d. 310) “Jiu gao” (Proclamation on wine). “When there was left-over cooked grain, it was dumped at Kongsang (hollow mulberry) Mountain. The accumulated leftovers formed a pleasant aroma, and after long storage, they became even more fragrant. So, it is from the [spoiled] food and not from some uncanny method that wine originated.” This passage suggests that ancient people were inspired by the aroma of wine coming from the fermented leftovers and from this gradually figured out wine-making methods.

 

Wine shops were already in existence before the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) and from this we know that alcohol was commercially available relatively early in Chinese history. Commerce flourished and in Tang metropolises the wine shops were happy gathering places, providing entertainment for their guests. Earlier, though, the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) government once tried to monopolize the production and selling of wine, but were unsuccessful. However, during the Song dynasty (960–1279), the imperial court was successful with their plans for state control of wineries and shops. Wine mainly was produced at state-run wineries, and wine shops in the cities purchased wine from state warehouses and resold it. During  the Ming and Qing dynasties (ca. mid-fourteenth–early twentieth centuries), the number of privately run wine shops steadily increased. Even today, some world famous and revered names in wine belong to wine shops which were first established in the Ming and Qing periods.

 

Wine is important in our life. It is not a necessity, but it is a “must have” for improving the quality of one’s life—when cooking without wine, food is not as flavorful as it can be; and medicinal wine is used as an excipient for medical treatment. It is especially useful for treating injuries or invigorating blood circulation to remove blood stasis. When treating this type of patient without alcohol in the medicine, the curative effect is not as good as it could be.

 

Although wine has always played an important part in ceremonies, it can also ruin them, and even destroy a person’s reputation. In ancient China, the downfall of the Xia (ca. 2100–1600 BCE) and Shang (ca. 1600–1100 BCE) dynasties was each attributed to excessive drinking. When the Zhou (ca. 1100–256 BCE) conquered the Shang, the Duke of Zhou announced his “Proclamation against Wine,” in which drinking was strictly prohibited. In fact, it was not unusual in the past to impose draconian laws against drinking. Guan Fu (d. 131 BCE) of the Western Han was an example of wine’s dangers. He courted his own destruction by drinking excessively and railing against other court officials. He was executed. There are many books of family instructions exhorting the importance of moderation in drink. Religions, such as Buddhism and Daoism, also offer some instructions about drinking.

 

In China, wine has played an important role as a catalyst for writers to put their thoughts to paper. Literati sometimes drank as a way to forget their pains. Examples are Cao Cao(曹操) (155–220) who wrote a renowned poem titled “Short Song” in which he wrote “How to assuage one’s sorrow? / There is nothing but Du Kang” (the legendary first distiller of alcohol as well as a byword for it); and Li Bai(李白) (701–762) in his poem “Bring in the Wine!”—My dappled horse, / My thousand-cash worth of furs, / Call the boy to take them out to trade for fine wine, / With you we shall dispel ten-thousand years of sorrow.

 

Numerous talented scholars were known for their drinking. In the late years of the Wei state during the Three States period lived the “Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove”—Ruan Ji(阮籍) (210–263), Ji Kang (嵇康)(224–263), Shan Tao(山濤) (205–283), Liu Ling(劉伶) (?), Ruan Xian(阮咸) (?), Xiang Xiu (向秀)(ca. 223–ca. 275), and Wang Rong(王戎) (468–494). They all had one thing in common: they loved to drink. The most memorable image of a tippling scholar is that of Tao Yuanming(陶淵明) (365–427) as described by Du Fu(杜甫) (712–770) when he wrote that “his simple and unaffected mind can be seen when he drinks.” As for of Li Bai, known as the “Wine Immortal,” wine not only gave him a personality like a Daoist transcendent, it also helped him create magnificent poems. Ouyang Xiu(歐陽修) (1007–1072), was known as the “Old Drunkard” and had a clear understanding of wine: “Eating rosy clouds can prolong one’s life; / Drinking indeed will harm one’s health” (from the poem “Improvisation”). Su Shi’s(蘇軾) (1037–1101) poetic writings are well known. Although, he yearned to savor fine wines, in the end he became tipsy. In a poem he wrote, “Although I do not know the meaning of drinking, / I am fully satisfied by holding the cup” (“My same-age fellow clansman, the Magistrate of Lin’an, and I drink to our hearts’ content”). Inspired by the heritage of an age-old drinking culture, he obtained the pleasure of drinking even if he did not do so.

Last updated:
2019-08-22