Alcohol-----a Metaphor in the Chinese Culture  酒----中华文化的暗喻

Ladies and gentlemen:

   Good morning!

   Our traditional culture has enjoyed a high level of civilization , all visitors to our country are impressed by its 3000 years of cultural treasures.

   Alcohol, ”Jiu” in Chinese, has occupied a very important status in Chinese traditional culture since ancient times. Our ancestors used it as a libation to their forefathers to express their yearning , or enjoyed it while writing poetry. Until now, as the old Chinese saying goes, ”Frequent  drinking makes friends surrounding. ” Alcohol always goes together with delicious dishes on the occasions when relatives and friends have a beer during a feast. Alcohol he is intimately connected with the life of most Chinese people.

   There are various accounts in ancient Chinese books regarding the origin of alcohol. Among those stories, most of which are probably not credible in a historical senses, but the most well-know one is “Du Kang Makes Alcohol”. Folk legend regards Du Kang, living in the Xia Dynasty as the God of wine. And today some Chinese still use his name to mean alcohol. Actually, there is archaeological evidence of alcohol production 7000 years ago in the agricultural communities along the Yellow river. On the basis of this, some archaeologists deduce that the earliest crops were cultivated for the brewing of alcohol rather than the purpose of food. However, the historical record clearly suggested that , in the Shang Dynasty of the 16^th through 11^th centuries B.C., the use of grain to make alcohol had become widespread; wineries were discovered in a recent archaeological expedition. The development of Chinese brewing technology accelerated after the 3^rd century A.D. New techniques were introduced from neighbors in the Han, Tang and Yuan Dynasties.

   Till the Wei, Jin and Tang Dynasties, drinking was popular and was highly praised by many famous poets. To me, it’s interesting that there are various relationships between drinking and Chinese culture. Being drunk and in the state of free creativity was important so that Chinese artists could release their artistic creativity. Wang Xizhi, famous Chinese calligrapher respectfully called ”Calligraphy Saint”, had tired dozens of times to surpass his most outstanding work, Langtingxu, which was finished when he was drunken, but he failed. The original one was the best.

   Not just calligraphy painting, but also poetry. Many medi outstanding poets such as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove were hearty drinkers. They had left us surprisingly marvelous poem after drinking the mysterious liquid. For example, Tao Yuan-Ming, the prominent Jin-era poet, had a great zest for alcohol. He drunk along, brewed his own wine, and recounted the enjoyment of wine tasting. Ian Newman says it best, “Tao’s poems are imbued with wine, and there was poet from his wine.”

Although alcohol has continually been regarded as a metaphor of happiness and congratulation, some Chinese still consider it as a disaster at the same time. They believe excessive drinking can cause health problem to the government will have to take measures to prevent the public from too much alcohol use. For example, the Han Dynasty imposed an alcohol tax and passed a variety of laws to laws to reduce consumption. The Chinese government today has chosen not to interfere with the traditional patters of alcohol use. There are no laws regulating the purchase, consumption, or selling of alcohol. Instead, alcohol use is to be controlled by culture, tradition, social pressure, and economy.

Actually, Chinese people do believe that moderate drinking is good for one’s health. As a result, many Chinese take a sip of alcohol to keep them fresh and healthy. Some even soak tradition Chinese medicine into liquor in order to achieve a better effect. This has proven successful.

The Chinese are used to drinking their wines at dinner, with food, rather than before dinner. If we are at banquet, we will turn to toast the host, raise our glass and say, “Gan Bei!” That means “Bottom up!”

At the end of my speech, I’m glad to give a piece of advice: just remember that the principle at dinner is eating, not drinking. “Too much drink numbs the palate, which means that all those delicious Chinese dishes just go to waste”. 

Thank you very much, ladies and gentleman!