Comparison of the Difference between Chinese and Western Drinking Culture

Wine culture is a culture between material and spirit. It takes the material as the carrier and it contains profound spirit in material life. China has a deep and long source of drinking culture, which has a complete seepage into the different domains of human life. As a special way of culture, drinking culture has a unique status in Chinese traditional culture. Today, the West's wine drinking culture, to a large extent, has an impact of China's liquor drinking culture. This article analyzes and compares the drinking culture between the East and the West, including the relation between the drinking culture and literature, art and wine games etc, pointing out that the difference of the drinking culture between the East and the West is actually a way of different thinking. China's drinking culture mainly show the humanistic dimension, with the poetry and literature and a long history of wine games etc, while western drinking culture is only to the respect and appreciation of the wine itself. For Chinese and the West, a different understanding of the drinking culture, the key is to make the best wine culture develop, and better for human service, which requires the integration of Chinese and Western wine culture. Therefore along with the globalization of world economy, the drinking culture is day by day boiling the head monopoly with its unique charm in cultural communication of the world. Comparing the difference between Chinese and Western drinking culture can perform the unique charm of Chinese wine culture, as well make more and more people in the world understand the wine culture and enjoy the wine culture.


The difference of drinking custom between Chinese and the Westerners
China is an ancient nation standing erectly in the world and it is also the liquor kingdom.The liquor drinking culture can be traced back in its history several thousand years ago.China has so many kinds of liquor, with different shapes and multicolored luster.The abundance of the output may be called crown of the world.China is also the liquor persons' paradise, place no matter north and south, people old and young, race Han or other minorities, drinking liquor with the years passing by never fading.China is the heyday place of liquor culture.Drinking liquor outdistances the significance of the physiology expense.In many situations, it takes a cultural mark and a culture expending, expressing one kind of etiquette, atmosphere, sentiment or mood.What's more, numerous Chinese famous liquor not just gives the human spiritual enjoyment, moreover gives the human enlightenment of beauty and the strength inspiration.Each kind of famous wine's development contains workers' exploration and struggle, also their heroic devotion generation by generation, therefore the famous wine spirit and the pride of nationality are closely linked as well as with the dauntless spirit.This is Chinese nation's liquor soul!Just the same as "the Bacchus" flaunted in Europe.And we may believe that only had the famous wine, the Chinese repast has then been able to sublimate the diet culture to be shown off in the world.
The etiquette of Chinese liquor drinking culture manifests the respect for human beings.Masters and the guests have a fixed seats and a fixed order of toast.Proposing a toast must start from the master, then others do follow.A chaotic order would be given a penalty.And proposing a toast must certainly start from the most honored visitor and the wine glass must be full, expressing respect to the visitor.The younger generation must propose a toast initiatively to the elder, also the subordinate to the higher authority.They usually drink to the bottom first showing their respect.While the emerging of the wine-drinking etiquette such as the wine games, finger-guessing game can make people drink more liquor and enjoy themselves.Obviously, Chinese liquor drinking culture influenced deeply by the Chinese traditional ethical culture of the proper formalities between young and old, in the liquor drinking process people set the person who is drinking in the most important position.
However the rituals of wine drinking in the West reflect the respect for alcohol itself.The appraisal of wine is to observe its color and feel its fragrance, then taste, transfer each kind of sense organ to enjoy the good wine.In the drinking order, drinking the white wine first, then the red wine, the light wine first then the rich wine, the short-time wine to the long year storage, according to the sense of taste's change, enjoying gradually and thoroughly the flavor change of wine.To wine vessels' choice, also according to what the drinker's request of enjoying the wine fully, such as the curcuma odor type stem glass which has the fragrance gathering rim, and even to grasp the wine temperature, but for the thermometer which designs specially, all manifesting the westerners' respect to the wine, their etiquette and culture of wine-drinking are for better appreciating the delicacy to formulate.(Du Li, 2004) In China, the liquor is frequently regarded as one kind of tool, so-called having ulterior motives.Wine in the eyes of the Chinese people is more as a communication tool, therefore in China's liquor culture lack scientific and systematic analysis and evaluation for the liquor itself, Chinese people care about the wonderful function brought by drinking liquor.In the West, the goal of drinking wine is often very simple.They drink to appreciate and enjoy the wine and alcohol.Of course, wine and alcohol in the West also have the function of communication, but it's more pursuing how much of the flavor of wine to enjoy.
The Western civilization originated from the ancient Greece, however the ancient Greeks had the Bacchus worship exactly.As early as in the 7th century B.C., in every March of the year the ancient Greeks held "the big Bacchus festival", expressing the worship to the Bacchus Dionysus, having the performance of "song of praise to the Bacchus", several world great pictures described the revelry scene of Bacchus having spread until now.The researched scholar said: The mental connotation of Bacchus worship is equality, freedom and revelry.According to the fable cups-bumping is also stemming from the ancient Greece, the ancient Greek people noted when raised glasses for revelry, human's five senses may share the wine pleasure, the nose could smell the fragrance, the eyes could see the color, the tongue could distinguish the taste, only then the ear was removed beside this enjoyment.Therefore the ancient Greeks found out means of bumping glasses mutually before drinking, the glasses-bumping gave the clear sound passing to the ears.
People in some European countries are addicted to taking alcohol.There are also all kinds of drinking customs.The British people's affection to the alcohol may be in the extreme situation, where in the main street and small alley innumerable bars cause the English to arrive at to be able to drink any time.Some people have drawn the analogy: If delicacies and a bottle of nice alcohol are put in front of a British and let him choose, the British will choose the alcohol without hesitation.This view is a little exaggeration unavoidably, but if you were together with the English for a while, you will discover that they were really addicted to alcohol as if it is their life.In Britain, each meal people must have alcohol on the dinner table, before eating, there is "the aperitif", while eating there is "alcohol along with the food", after the meal, they must drink "alcohol after meal".In a word, they take alcohol as water to drink.There is a bar counter in each restaurant, of cause the Chinese restaurant is not exceptional.But the English people drink actually with very civilization, while drinking, they are rather in "the wine-tasting".Alcohol's degree in Britain is not high, even liquor without ethyl alcohol, no wonder in Britain, no matter old and young can raise one's wine cup and take alcohol as water to drink.There are really so many types of alcohol in Britain, such as specially the wine to the senior citizen, the low ethyl alcohol or the non-ethyl alcohol drink which specially supplied to the drivers.What the British people want is the feeling to drink.They will usually go to the bar to drink a cup in their idle hours.When they have happy matter, they will invite a friend to drink a cup; or they meet with something sad, they will drown worries in drink.In brief they cannot leave the drink.But they do not urge others to drink, friends do not push the cups each other, nor raise cups to bump.Even if in the official situation they need to raise cups and shouts loudly "CHEERS", also "the routine business", and it is not necessary to toss down after clinking cups.
British people also hold Beer Festival every year.The British Beer Festival in London began from 1978.Every year the beer festival once started, the Olympia exhibition center is sea of people, all around are platforms displaying 200 more the beer brewing workshops and over 450 kinds of fine-fermented beer.Before each session of beer festival the beer manufacturers will arrange attentively their booths elegantly, and show their plant emblems on the conspicuous place, looking around, just like international exposition.An important program of British Beer Festival is to visit the traditional wine plants and understand Britain's bar culture.Originally, during 1970s CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) was established which impelled Britain to the reform of alcohol law.It activated hundreds of traditional wine plants and expedited the element infiltrated to the English lives at the present --bar development.
The wine in France is famous in the world, the French people drink wine universally just like the American drinking cola.When you arrived in France you would have no way not to be affected by this kind of omnipresent wine culture.Many people have experience to pick grapes in busy farming season, the fresh students of red wine school must work first in the vineyard for one month, from picking grapes personally to the grind grapes by feet, experiencing the process of wine-manufacturing, only then can they enter school formally.Every year there is "Wine Sharon" in Paris to recommend specially all kinds of wine conducts, the admission charge is also expensive.At that time French regional wine merchants gather together.Everyone there given a wine glass, different kinds of color liquid are uninterruptedly poured into the wine glasses.After a circle everyone 's face has become flushed.There are many personal underground wine cellars in south France.Often in the wild mountains and plains forest people set upright a sign with Someone's Wine Cellar on it.It is cool and comfortable inside, equipped with small bar counter.Visitors are welcome to taste each kind of wine and select to buy any kind if they like, the master puts on carefully characteristic papers for each bottle of cellar with a written statement "the pure home-brewed" and so on.So many genuine bibbers in spite of great distances will drive to follow fragrance to come.It is true that "good wine will be found no matter how deep the lane is".
Topics on the French dinner table also often connect with wine.To the French, the wine can slow down the dining speed and add spice to the conversation on dinner table.From the medicine angle, proper drinking of wine can suitably promote the stomach digestion and absorption, fat resolution, keep the unimpeded blood circulation, and it can reduce the cardiovascular disease.In Chinese ancient book it also had the records of wine possibly to warm the waist, preserve youthful looks, enrich the blood and have cold resistance.The French may be called the champion of wine quantity drinking in the world.They regard the wine as common drink and they drink whenever they want, no matter day and night.
Strolling on the streets of Spain, you may also discover taverns here and there, even taverns on some whole street.Not in the cities, the countryside is not so exceptional, even if a remote and small mountain village, entire village less than 20-30 families, there is certainly a small tavern.These small taverns are not only places for drinking wine, also places for chatting and getting together for the entire villagers.Taverns in Spain, crowded visitors shuttle in and out.Therefore, most of them stand drinking, very few people sit down, even there are no chairs in some taverns.(Jiang Nan, 2005) The Russian people usually drink quite casually, somewhat like Kong Yiji in China described by the great writer LU Xun who wore the long unlined close-fitting gown and stood drinking.So long as they want to drink, the Russian may sit in the bar or the ballroom on the stage drinking.Or a person may also alone stand against some urban wall drinking; even may walk on the side of an avenue with a beverage bottle in hand, walking and drinking.As for food that goes well with wine, it is also not fastidious, may be a piece of bread or a section of sausage, perhaps a sauce cucumber and so on.It's not strange for people to meet with a staggering walking drunkard on the avenue who cannot find way home.And in winter it is not something new that a drunkard is discovered frozen to death in the snowy area.In the official situation, the Russian people pay particular attention to wine sets.Ordinary families have special wine cups for vodka, beer, brandy and so on.Usually, the liquor is only 2/3 of the cup.The first cup is usually drunk together by people all present, later each will pour the alcohol according to one's own will.If people participate in home party, last cup must be in any event given to the master, expressing thanks of the guests.
In American history people are once worldwide known to be fond of drinking strong liquor.But afterward the custom has been changed, namely from the fierce deep color liquor to non-fierce tinted liquor, more and more people like drinking beer, wine and ratafia.Statistics indicated that in 1975, the consumption of the British whisky reached 13.6% in US, and it was reduced to 11% in 1985.On the contrary, in the recent 20 years, the sales volume of low-proof liquor in American actually rose approximately 30%.The American thought generally that "the tinted liquor is more beneficial to health than the deep color liquor".This change has impacted the drinking custom of the world, and it has reflected the general drinking trend.Moreover the Americans usually do not propose a toast mutually on the dinner table, everybody usually drinks respectively each.Only in certain specific occasions, people together will only then raise glasses.Such time is usually after a person's speech, everybody crosses a toast, praying for heaven blesses somebody, or showing congratulations for somebody or something.
In the long process of human history of culture the wine exists not only as one physical objective, but as one cultural symbol, namely symbol of Bacchus spirit.Think carefully, it can be found that the Chinese take seriously to drink is the human, they think lot of drinking with whom, and they want to drink with the atmosphere; in the West people take great importance to drink wine, depending on what wine to drink.It is necessary to be full enjoyment and delicacy of the wine.The liquor, to the Chinese, is not one kind of drinks, but a friend.The friends are divided into close friends or common friends, and it is also very interesting to the names of liquor, they can be divided into the respectful designation, for instance in Chinese Qiongjiang, Yuyi(both show fine liquor), but also the interesting modest name and the general name.It is unique in the world, particularly the foreigners will incautiously fall into "the trap" of the drinking culture.
Compare the following translation versions from the Chinese classical novel A Dream of Red Mansions: Yesterday when the courier gave notice of your arrival, I prepared a humble entertainment to celebrate your homecoming.Will the Imperial Kinsman graciously condescend to take a cup of wine with his handmaid?(David Hawkes, 1973) (David Hawkes, 1973) Your handmaid, bearing yesterday that your exalted carriage would return today, prepared some watery wine by way of welcome.Will the Imperial Kinsman deign accept it?"(YANG HSIEN-YI and GLADYS YANG:1978) (Yang Hsien-yi & Gladys Yang, 1978) In Yang's version, there was watery wine, actually it was only wine.
The world culture phenomenon has the astonishing similarity.In China, the Bacchus spirit was takes from the Taoism philosophy as a source.ZHUANG Zhou (Note 1) advocated identity of object and self, harmony between man and nature, unifying of life and death.ZHUANG Zhou stood for the absolute freedom, and the initiative "touring while the thing", "touring outside in the world", "not long to have the township".He would rather freely be the turtle which was pleased in the rotten bog, but would not be the swift horse holding up the head to take big strides which was fettered by the human.Pursuing absolute freedom, putting behind the life and death, benefits of rank and salary and the honor or disgrace, are the essence of the Chinese Bacchus spirit.The western spirit of wine god represented in grape production by the symbol of Bacchus or Dionysus, to the ancient Greek tragedy, the Western Bacchus spirit was promoted to the theoretical level, the German philosopher Nietzsche's philosophy enabled this kind of Bacchus spirit to sublimate, Nietzsche believed that Bacchus spirit has an oracle of emotional reaction, and it is the survival experience to have abandoned the traditional fetter to return initial state of the humanity, in the despairing wail of pain with individual evanishment and the world unite man can obtain fresh with enormous pleasure.(Yang Li, 2005)

The drinking culture and the poem
Talking about China's fine tradition of wine culture, wine and poetry had mentioned the close relationship.Between the wine and poetry there were given a new interpretation of the source of origin so that the culture of wine in a long, and is deeply rooted.From ancient time number of scholars have written fine poems to express one's good or bad feelings and a lot of beautiful scenery, having passed down until today.Such as the scenery of "grape wine and cups at night ", the passion of "100 poems while drinking ", the analogy of "what's the life like when facing the wine as a song, do not make the gold goblet empty to the moon".The joy of "a thousand cups are less to close friends ", and the conception of "non-intoxicating liquor but one intoxicates oneself ", the fine metaphor of "the drunkard has ulterior motives", no alternation of "today's wine I drink today, the more he drank, the more depressed he got ", the sorrow of "shepherd boy pointed Xinghua Chun, the suffering of "red-hand, yellow wine tie up " , the happiness of "getting drunk ", as well, the boldness of " toast song ", the roughness of "The Divine Comedy wine," … (Yang Ting, 2004) Liquor heroes were also given to the extraordinary feat, given the strong cultural flavor of life, CAO Cao was discussing who was hero while cooking wine, LI Bai toasted with the invitation of moon, XIN Qiji enjoyed his arrow in his drunk, SU Dongpo asked blue sky with the liquor cup in his hand, LI Qingzhao deeply slept because of liquor.YUE Fei determined to swig (A famous general of anti-Jin in the early years of Southern Song Dynasty, was once drinking too much and made a mistake.Emperor ZHAO Gou and YUE's mother tried to let him quit drinking, and he listened to the advice and immediately stopped drinking.However, he has made the vows: "fight into Huang Long (the capital of Jin) and wassail with soldiers!"In which " wassail with soldiers " was full of hero pride.)In fact, no matter happiness or sorrow, those who drink the wine in the pursuit of free life, forgetting the life and death and the honor, being a real oneself in the wine.Perhaps that is what most people understand for the essence of the wine spirit.
Angelo Poliziano, Italy renaissance poet, wrote a famous poem "Bacchus Festival": Let me drink a cup first./Bacchus, let everybody follow you./I have drunk up the liquor in the sharp foot cup, /please give me that Magnum, /I only feel that the mountains moving and the earth turning up, /my head shaking and my brain not obeying my directing, /each person is running fro and back, /just like you see my being without change./Bacchus, let everybody follow you./I am awfully sleepy, / am I drunk, or clear-headed ?/My foot cannot be straight, cannot be straight again./I have been drunk, this I know clearly./Let everybody take my road, /let everybody wash like me….
The poem "Liquor" written by Chinese poet Ai Qing gives liquor an incisive description: "She is lovable/has the disposition of fire / contour of water; she is the happy demon./Where it has the jubilation/ has her presence.She will really be teasing/can let you say what the truth is/will pull out your heart.She will cause you/to forget the pain/having happy expression.Drink, for winning /drink, for the friendship, /drink, for love.You may probably be careful /happy you are /she may steal away your rationality.Do not think that she is the water/which can suppress your worry/she is the oil poured on the fire.She will cause those who are intelligent more intelligent/and cause those who are stupid to be stupider.(www.qingshi.net)Not only the poem, in the drawing and in the Chinese unique art calligraphy, the Bacchus demon is lively multifarious." The painter WU Daozi, who was called picture Saint, before painting, must drink heartily then began to take up the brush.After being drunk, he could wield a brush and soon finished a picture.HUANG Gongwang, one of the "Great four of Yuan" was also "not drawing before being drunk".WANG Xizhi, "the great calligrapher" wielded a brush and wrote "the Foreword of Orchid Pavilion " after being drunk, and his sober time "dozens of books, none of them better than it".ZHENG Banqiao's (Note 2) calligraphy and painting could not be easily obtained, therefore people took the dog meat and the good wine cordially, asked the calligraphy and painting in ZHENG Banqiao's feeling of being drunk and they usually could get.ZHENG Banqiao also knew their tricks, but he could not bear the enticement of good wine and dog meat, composing a poem self-ridiculed: "looking at the moon might as all persons gone, facing the moon only hating the wine to come late; laughing at those who wanted my calligraphy and painting, waiting until the master being deadly drunk."(Jiang Yanfeng, 2006)

The drinking culture and the literature
The Chinese drink liquor pursuing for entering the boundary of being a little drunk, namely being half drunk and half awake, also becoming half aware and half confused, really half imaginary, paragenesis of passion and illusion, absent minded with intelligent apprehension all in one kind of quite marvelous self-satisfied boundary.On the present's bar or party, people also mostly choose such a way to be drunk.In ancient time Chinese might not be like this.In the first chapter of "A Dream of Red Mansions" had such a section carefully described the entire process of drinking: "At first they sipped slowly, but their spirits rose as they talked and they began to drink more recklessly.The sound of flutes and strings could be heard from all the houses in the neighborhood; everywhere was singing; and overhead the bright moon shone in full splendour.The two men became very merry and drained cup after cup.Yu-tsun, eight-tenths drunk, could not suppress his elation.He improvised a quatrain to the moon and declaimed it: … " (Yang Hsien-yi & Gladys Yang, 1978) There was also one fable in Britain about Shakespeare: Shakespeare was magnanimous when he was young.Once, he had heard that in a small town named Pettavo near Stratford people were very able to drink.He went there to dispute with them.He asked a herdsman of the town: "Where is the man who can drink?"The herdsman said: "No one can drink here, only one can sip the beer."As soon as the two men came up then drink the beer to heart's content, finally, this lightweight's person let young Shakespeare drink to collapse completely.Shakespeare rose and left Pettavo town with the step limps.On the way, Shakespeare keeled over drunk in roadside under a sour apple tree with green cloudy-like covers, afterward this tree was called "Shakespeare's awning".
First they drank slowly but actually gracefully, "but their spirits rose as they talked and they began to drink more recklessly".It indicated this time vividly, the drinking entered the happiest extent, and they started to drink to their hearts content!This time, drinking in the environment, "the sound of flutes and strings could be heard", the light song was melodious, the bright moonlight on the sky pleasant, in such exquisite environment like poem like picture, "the liquor to the cup" people start to be stuffy, from the happiest extent to the drunk boundary.Therefore JIA Yu-tsun, got drunk and pulled the moon to recite a poem.This Chinese drunkard who pulled the moon to recite a poem and the British drunkard who was deadly drunk to rest under an apple tree, one was lovable, the other was sincere.One would make people shake the head and laugh in heart, the other let the human laugh loudly.That was entire difference between the two kinds of wine cultures from the East to the West.According to the Chinese, how can one drink to heart's content without having music, bright moonlight and the poetry?But the westerner may think it is not the graceful matter to write poems after being drunk, only being in drunken brawls.

Chinese interesting wine games
Finger guessing: Two people sit at the same table, using one hand simultaneously stretch out fingers (several fingers stick out, while the others are close to the palm) and shout out a number between 1 and 10.If a player guesses right, and says the total number of fingers extended by both players, he /she wins.The loser then has to take a drink.If both players guess right or wrong, the game continues.If a person accidentally shouts a number that is less than the number of fingers he/she has stretched, he /she has to take a drink, too.
A little bee: Chinese have their own version of "scissors, rock and cloth" game.It is a game for two.First, the players sing a little verse: "two little bees fly to the flowers, fly and fly."After singing, each player imitates either scissors rock, or cloth with his/her hand.The winner( the one who showed a sign that beats the other player' s sign ) must pretend to slap the other player, while saying "Pya Pya".The loser must pretend to be slapped, while saying "Ah Ah"!Of course, this has to be done as quickly as possible.The first to say the wrong sentence or does the wrong action must take a drink.
Word game: There were so many word games in the famous novel "A Dream of Red Mansions ", For instance the word games of girls in Chapter 28.Like the shadow of peaks, her grief is never gone; Like the green stream it flows for ever on.
All cried "Good!" again except Hsueh Pan, who shook his head.Pao-yu drained his cup and picked up a slice of pear from the table."Rain buffets the pear blossom and the door is closed," he quoted.(Zhang Xiling, 2008)

Conclusion
Goethe once said: "If anything is more national it is more of the world."The explanation generally is: If a nationality demonstrates its own culture on the world stage, it can also receive other nation's affection in the world.In endless and perpetual flowing human culture history, liquor/wine is not only one objective of physical existence, it is a symbol of culture.For people who have some cultural level, drinking is the culture to a certain extent, being psychological satisfaction, the appeal and the esthetic aspect demand.In a different cultural background and different walks of life, even different frame of mind, different people have different ways to understand the extent.For Chinese and Western culture, a different understanding of wine drinking culture, the key is to make the best wine culture development, better for human services, which requires the integration of Chinese and Western cultures of wine.Today, the West's wine culture to a large extent, the impact of China's liquor culture, particularly in the tasting the mood in the West tends to be more.
Comparison of wine culture between the East and the West, it can be found, the difference between the wine cultures is actually a way of different thinking.Whether boozing in China or wine-tasting in the West, people hope that wine culture can bring out all that the next time a relatively more and better wine, wine culture can be developed and inherited, so that more and more people can understand the wine culture and enjoy the wine culture!
All clapped their approval and Hsueh Pan had to subside.Pao-yu began:"The girl's sorrow: Youth is passing but she remains single.The girl's worry: Her husband leaves home to make his fortune.The girl's joy: Her good looks in the mirror in the morning.The girl's delight: Swinging in a light spring gown."All cried "Good!" … She accompanied Pao-yu on the pipa as he sang: Like drops of blood fall endless tears of longing, By painted pavilion grow willows and flowers untold; Sleepless at night when wind and rain lash gauze windows, She cannot forget her sorrows new and old, Choking on rice like jade and wine like gold, She turns from her wan reflection in the glass; Nothing can smooth away her frown, It seems that the long night will never pass;