Wine Culture: Drinking Etiquette in China
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In the history of Chinese civilization for thousands of years, the Confucian theory has been regarded as the orthodox view of governing the country and keeping the country safe. Even the custom of drinking is also influenced by the Confucian cultural view. Confucianism pays special attention to and emphasizes the word "wine virtue", which means that drinkers should have noble virtue, and they can't subvert Quede's lack of wine like Zhou Wang, a heartless and ill-fated monarch.
On China's Wine Virtue and Wine Ceremony
Confucianism's wine virtue is embodied in the following aspects: drinking only sacrifices, drinking only at the time of sacrifice, no drinking, not drinking often, usually drinking less to save food, drinking only when sick, and drinking in groups. It is forbidden for ordinary people to gather to drink, to indulge in it and to drink too much. In fact, Confucianism is not opposed to drinking, and it is a virtue to sacrifice to god and serve the elderly.
With regard to China's ancient wine ceremony, in China, drinking, as a kind of food culture tiger, formed a set of etiquette that everyone must abide by in the distant ancient times. Sometimes, this etiquette is very complicated, but if it is not observed on some important occasions, it is suspected of committing an insurrection. Because of excessive drinking, it is impossible to make self-control and it is easy to cause chaos. Therefore, it is very important for rulers to make drinking etiquette out of the need of rule.
Drinking in ancient China has the following etiquette.
When the host and guests drink together, they should bow down to each other. When the younger generation drinks in front of the elders, they are called waiters. Usually, they should bow down first and then sit in the second seat. Only when the elders order the younger generation to drink, the younger generation can raise their glasses. If the wine in the elder's glass has not been finished, the younger generation can't drink it first.
There are about four steps in the etiquette of ancient drinking: paying homage to a pawn. It is to bow down first to show respect, then pour a little wine on the ground to thank the earth for its fertility, then taste the wine and praise it to make the host happy, and finally drink it up.
At the banquet, the host makes a toast to the guests for reward, and the guests will ask the host to make a toast in return, and they will also say a few toasts when toasting. Guests can also propose a toast to each other, which is called travel reward, and sometimes they have to propose a toast to others in turn, which is called wine. When toasting, both the toasting person and the toasted person should stand up from the table, and the ordinary toast is three cups. Among all ethnic groups in China, drinking customs of all ethnic groups have their own unique styles.