Are there any customs about wine?

China is called "the state of etiquette". Since three generations, etiquette has become the universal principle and norm of people's social life. Ancient rituals penetrated into political system, ethics, weddings, funerals, customs and habits. And wine behavior is naturally brought into the orbit of ceremony, which produces the etiquette of wine behavior-wine ceremony, which is used to reflect the etiquette norms of honor, age and even various occasions in wine behavior. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, wine ceremony became the most strict etiquette. The Classic of Wine promulgated by the Duke of Zhou clearly pointed out that the purpose of making wine by Emperor Tiandi is not for people to enjoy, but to worship the gods and ancestors of heaven and earth. It is strictly forbidden to "drink in groups" or "worship drinking", and offenders will be sentenced to death. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, with the establishment and consolidation of the culture of rites and music, the color of "rites" in wine culture became more and more intense, and articles such as wine abstinence, wine police, wine koji, wine koji, wine proverbs, wine morality, wine politics and so on were everywhere, completely covering wine. In order to ensure the implementation of wine ceremony, there have been wine officials in past dynasties. Zhou has a wine owner, Han has a wine owner, Jin has a wine owner, Qi has a wine collector, Liang has a hotel owner, and Sui has a good planning department, which is why Tang and Song Dynasties.

If the ritual groups defined in the classic culture represent the interests of the ruling class in maintaining rule and protecting privileges, then the rituals mentioned by scholars reflect the aesthetic taste and cultural psychology of the literati class. For example, some people think that the ideal drinking object is "elegance, boldness, frankness, selflessness, bosom friend, old friend, jade man and keer", the drinking place is "flowers, bamboo forest, singing, painting academy, secluded pass, Qujian, Pingchou and Lotus Pavilion", and the drinking season is "spring suburbs, flowers, clear autumn, new green and rain". Some people think that the ideal drinkers are "those who pay attention to words but don't care, those who entertain themselves but don't care, those who care about things but don't care, those who know everything but don't ask questions, those who are good at joking but don't abuse, those who talk casually but don't complain, those who are happy and evil, and those who are arrogant and arrogant." The ideal state of drunkenness is to "spend a day drunk and attack its light;" Drunk snow is suitable for the night, eliminating its cleanliness; Drunk literati should abide by the rhythm rules, fearing that they will regret it; Drunk and handsome people should add a banner to help them be strong; Drunk building is suitable for summer, the capital is clear, drunk water is suitable for autumn, and it is also cold ... "(Yuan Hongdao's Wine Order) These can be seen that the literati class respects transcendence and pursues gentleness. Here, wine is poetic and elegant, from unruly "savage" to gentle and demure "lady".

Of course, for ordinary people, wine ceremony is not as much as that of the ruling class and literati, but it is not difficult to find the influence of "ceremony" on their respect for the elderly and love for the young, their tacit understanding of certain ceremonies, and their choice of drinking objects.

Foreigners are naturally curious about China's wine ceremony. Chekhov, a great Russian writer, said in his Travels of Sakhalin that when he went to a pub in the northeast, he saw China people drinking. "They drank one mouthful at a time, picked up their glasses every time, said' please' to their neighbors at the same table, and then drank it off. What a strange nation. "

Wine morality, that is, the morality of wine behavior, is complementary to wine ceremony. Mr. Gong Ruodong thinks: "If ceremony is the core of Chinese wine culture, then wine virtue is the shell of Chinese wine culture." This statement is very insightful. The ancients thought that there were two kinds of wine virtues: fierce and auspicious. "Biography of Confucius" said: "Those who regard alcohol as evil are called addictions, while those who regard alcohol as virtue are confused, and those who abstain from inheritance are called unlike them." Therefore, the Duke of Zhou, who first put forward the concept of "wine virtue" (thirteen classics note), opposed the wine virtue of excessive drinking and advocated "no wine" (Shangshu? The virtue of wine, the so-called "no drinking", is not to drink too much. How can I not drink too much? "Book of Rites" made a specific explanation: "A gentleman's drinking is also like a glass of wine, and the color temperature is like this. The second glass of wine, three glasses of wine rushed back. " Confucius, who was revered as a "saint" by later generations, once put forward that "it is better to be chaotic than to have endless wine". That is to say, there is no specific quantitative limit on how much each person drinks. This limit is that after drinking, his mind is clear, his body is stable, his qi and blood are calm, and everything is as usual. "It is better to be chaotic" is a standard of wine morality put forward by Confucius, taking history as a mirror, sizing up the situation and avoiding future generations.

In the pre-Qin period, Zhao Zheng, assistant minister of Huangmen in Fu Jian, witnessed Fu Jian and his ministers soaking in wine, so he wrote an exhortation song on wine virtue, which made him reflect and accept the exhortation. Wine virtue is more civilized and polite. Wu Bin, an ancient man, proposed in "Wine Administration" that drinking should be prohibited, such as "celebrating birthdays, staying up late, earnestly persuading people to drink, quarreling, avoiding drinking, teasing, spitting and pretending to be drunk." Cheng pointed out in Alcohol Police that drinking should be "scolded by the police, strictly ordered by the police, flattered by the police", "talked about by the police" and "spoiled by the police".

Ancient and modern medicine also strongly advocates wine morality from the perspective of health preservation. Bian Que, a famous doctor in the Warring States period, said: "Long-term drinkers will suffer from pulp collapse and steaming tendons, which will hurt their lives." Sun Simiao, the "drug king" in the Tang Dynasty, said: "Drinking on an empty stomach is more likely to cause nausea." Li Mingzhen, a celebrity in the Ming Dynasty, also said, "If you drink too much, you will die." .

The China people's drinking customs that have been passed down to this day are mainly embodied in "persuading wine" and "drinking orders".

When it comes to persuasion, some people have summed up the following ways: "Wen Jing", "Five Classics" and "Criminal Classics". These practices have their simple folk customs, but they also have some negative effects.

"Wen Jing" is a reflection of the traditional way of drinking, that is, to persuade people to be polite and cautious.

"Return the gift": The guest toasts the host.

"mutual respect": this is a "toast" between guests. In order to make the other person drink more, the toaster will find out all kinds of reasons why it is necessary to drink. If the toaster can't find any reason to refute, then he can only drink. And both sides are looking for arguments. The emotional communication between people has been sublimated.

"Replacing wine with wine": a way to avoid toasting without losing grace and disappointing the host and guest.

In order to persuade wine, there are many anecdotes at the banquet, such as "deep feelings, stuffy mouth, thick feelings, enough to drink" and "shallow feelings, lick it."

"Fajiu": This is a unique way of "toasting" in China. The reasons for "punishing alcohol" are also varied. Perhaps the most common is the "three glasses of wine" for those who are late for the party. Sometimes this is a joke.

Drinking regulations are a unique way for China people to entertain themselves when drinking. In the 40th episode of A Dream of Red Mansions, Yuanyang drank for an hour and said with a smile, "Wine orders are as big as military orders, regardless of rank, and I am the only one who is in charge. If you violate me, you will be punished. "

Generally speaking, alcoholic drinks are used to punish alcohol. However, the main purpose of implementing the wine order is to enliven the atmosphere when drinking. What's more, sometimes all the guests at the banquet are guests, and it is very common to not know each other. Orders act as catalysts to enliven the atmosphere at the party.

There are many ways to order wine. Literati and ordinary people naturally have different drinking orders. Literati often use poems or couplets to guess words or riddles, while ordinary people use some simple methods without making any preparations. The most common is "guessing boxing", that is, the gestures of several fingers represent a certain number. After two people have dealt, they add up to a certain amount. At the same time, everyone reported a number. If the sum of the figures mentioned in A is exactly the same as the sum of the figures added, it is considered as the winner and the loser has to drink. If two people say the same number, try again regardless of the result. In addition, there are parcels: this is a lively and nervous way to punish alcohol, but it is mostly used for female guests. This scene, for example, is vividly described in A Dream of Red Mansions.