Abstract: Wine utensils are the most primitive carrier of wine culture. Wine utensils include containers for holding wine, drinking utensils for drinking, and even early tools for making wine. Wine utensils include many types, not only ancient wine utensils, but also ceramic wine utensils, glass wine utensils, etc. There are many types of wine glasses with different shapes. This is due to historical, regional and other reasons. At the same time, it also reflects a certain degree of science and artistry. Let the editor briefly introduce the relevant knowledge about the development history of drinking utensils in detail. The development history of Chinese wine utensils. What types of wine utensils are

Wine utensils include containers for holding wine, drinking utensils for drinking, and even early tools for making wine. With the wine set, before the wine enters our stomach and intestines, it has a poetic anchor, a quantitative friendship, and a feast of "deep feelings, a sip" and "shallow feelings, a lick". Only with the common sayings of the time can we have the elegant events of Orchid Pavilion such as "luxuriant forests and bamboos" and "windows of flowing water", the unique sentiments of "jade bowls filled with amber light" and "golden bottles of fine wine fighting for ten thousand", and also the interpretation of " Li Bai wrote hundreds of poems about drinking wine, but the emperor couldn't get on the boat because of his call."

Wine can be divided into rice wine and shochu. Wine has different materials such as gold, stone, jade, porcelain, rhinoceros horn and exotic wood. It also has bottles, pots, cups, cups, cups and buckets. Type classification. The quality of drinking utensils can reflect the different identities of drinkers; the evolution of drinking utensils can reflect the changes of the times.

The development of drinking utensils

Ancient times

In ancient times, people drank hair and blood, and the use of fire brought an end to this primitive way of life; the use of agriculture The rise gave people the food they needed to survive, and the excess grain was used to make wine. The emergence of pottery gave people cooking utensils. Starting from cooking utensils, specialized drinking utensils were developed. It is difficult to determine when the earliest special drinking utensils originated. Liquor in ancient times was unfiltered mash (this kind of mash is still very popular today), which was pasty and semi-liquid. This kind of wine was not suitable for drinking, but for eating. Therefore, the drinking utensils used for drinking should be ordinary tableware, such as bowls, bowls and other large-mouthed utensils. The materials for making wine vessels in ancient times were mainly pottery, hornware, bamboo and wood products, etc.

As early as the Neolithic culture period more than 6,000 years ago, pottery shaped like wine vessels appeared, such as the pottery from the Peiligang culture period.

⑴The pottery from the Hemudu Culture period in the south can also remind people that the drinking utensils from the Shang Dynasty should have a long historical origin.

⑵The development of the brewing industry and the noble status of drinkers made it possible for wine utensils to be differentiated from ordinary eating utensils. The quality of wine utensils often becomes one of the symbols of the drinker's status. Professional wineware makers emerged as the times require. In a tomb from the Dawenkou Culture period in present-day Shandong, a large number of wine vessels (brewing utensils and drinking utensils) were unearthed. According to the analysis of archaeologists, the deceased may have been a full-time wine utensil maker during his lifetime. In the late Neolithic period, especially represented by the Longshan Culture period, the types of wine vessels increased, their uses were clear, and they were very similar to the wine vessels of later generations. These wine vessels include: jars, urns, bowls, bowls, cups, etc. There are many types of wine glasses, including: flat-bottomed cups, ring-foot cups, high circle-foot cups, high-handled cups, slanted-wall cups, curved-belly cups, and goblet-shaped cups.

Bronze wine vessels of the Shang and Zhou dynasties

In the Shang Dynasty, due to the development of the brewing industry and the improvement of tin and bronze production techniques, China's wine vessels reached unprecedented prosperity. Among the professions at that time, there were also clans such as the "Long Shao Clan" and the "Wei Shao Clan" who specialized in making drinking utensils. Although the drinking culture of the Zhou Dynasty was not as good as that of the Shang Dynasty, the wine vessels basically followed the style of the Shang Dynasty. In the Zhou Dynasty, there were also "Zi people" who specialized in making wine sets.

Bronze ware originated in the Xia Dynasty. The earliest copper wine vessels discovered are Jue from the Erlitou Culture period of Xia. Bronze vessels reached their peak in the Shang and Zhou dynasties and declined in the Spring and Autumn Period. The uses of wine vessels in the Shang and Zhou dynasties were basically Be dedicated. According to the "General Theory of Bronze Wares of the Yin and Zhou Dynasties", the bronze wares of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties are divided into four categories: food vessels, wine vessels, water vessels and musical instruments. There are fifty categories, of which wine vessels account for 24 categories. According to the purpose, they are divided into wine boilers, wine containers, drinking vessels, and wine storage containers. There are also ritual vessels. The shapes are rich and varied. But there are also basic combinations. The basic combination is mainly jue and gou. They have the same shape, but their appearance and style also bear the imprint of different historical periods.

A wine utensil is a container used to hold wine and prepare it for drinking.

There are many types, the main ones are as follows:

Zun, pot, district, 卮, plate, jian, dendrobium, gong, urn, gourd, yi

Each type of wine vessel has its own unique characteristics. There are many styles, including ordinary ones and animal-shaped ones. Taking Zun as an example, there are Elephant Zun, Rhino Zun, Ox Zun, Sheep Zun, Tiger Zun, etc.

The main types of drinking vessels are: goblet, goblet, horn, jue, cup, and boat. People of different status use different drinking utensils. For example, the "Book of Rites: Ritual Utensils" clearly stipulates: "For sacrifices in the ancestral temple, the venerable ones raise their gourds, and the humble ones raise their horns."

Wine warmer is used to heat the wine before drinking. It is equipped with a ladle to facilitate taking the wine. Some wine warming vessels are called zun, which was popular in the Han Dynasty.

The bronze mirror in the tomb of Zeng Hou Yi in Suizhou, Hubei can be placed on ice to store wine, so it is also called an ice mirror.

Lacquer wine vessels in the Han Dynasty

After the Shang and Zhou dynasties, bronze wine vessels gradually declined. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, lacquer wine vessels became popular in southern China. Lacquerware became the main type during the Han, Wei and Jin dynasties. The shape of lacquer wine vessels basically inherits the shape of bronze wine vessels. There are wine vessels and drinking utensils. Among drinking utensils, lacquered ear cups are common. 114 lacquer ear cups were unearthed from 11 Qin tombs in Suihudi, Yunmeng, Hubei Province, and 90 ear cups were also unearthed from Tomb No. 1 in Mawangdui, Changsha.

In the Han Dynasty, people usually drank wine while sitting on the floor. The wine bottle was placed in the middle of the floor, with a spoon for drinking wine inside. The drinking utensils were also placed on the ground, so they were shorter and fatter. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, enthronement became popular, and drinking utensils became slimmer and longer.

Porcelain wine vessels

Porcelain appeared roughly around the Eastern Han Dynasty. Compared with pottery, the performance of porcelain exceeds that of pottery, whether it is wine brewing utensils, wine serving utensils or drinking utensils. The shape of wine glasses in the Tang Dynasty was much smaller than in the past, so some people believe that distilled liquor appeared in the Tang Dynasty. Tables appeared in the Tang Dynasty, and some drinking utensils suitable for use on the table also appeared, such as Zhuzi, which the Tang people called "Pianti". Its shape is like today's wine pot, with a beak and a handle, which can hold wine. , and you can pour wine into the wine glass. Thus replacing the previous bottles and spoons. The Song Dynasty was the peak period of ceramic production, and there were many exquisite wine vessels. People in the Song Dynasty liked to drink rice wine after warming it. Therefore, the matching combination of injection bowl and injection bowl was invented. When in use, place the pouring glass containing wine in the pouring bowl, and pour hot water into the pouring bowl to warm the wine. Porcelain wine vessels are still in use today. The most distinctive porcelain wine vessels of the Ming Dynasty are blue and white, doucai, and sacrificial red wine vessels. The porcelain wine vessels of the Qing Dynasty include French langcai, plain three-color porcelain, blue and white exquisite porcelain, and various antique porcelains.

Ming and Qing Wine Sets

The Ming and Qing Dynasties were the heyday of the development of ancient Chinese porcelain wine sets.

The porcelain industry in the early Ming Dynasty was at its peak during the Yongle and Xuande years, with both quantity and quality exceeding those of the previous generation. Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province became the center of the ceramics industry, and its white-glazed and blue-and-white porcelains are quite famous. They are not only well-known domestically, but also become a major commodity in foreign trade. In addition, the "Doucai", "Wucai" and "Holly" produced here are all new varieties and are also quite famous. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, a new craft appeared, namely "cloisonné" created during the Jingtai period. Cloisonné products were mostly used as tableware and wine vessels by emperors, generals, ministers and noble dignitaries, becoming a new wonder in the development history of ancient Chinese wine vessels.

During the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty, the porcelain industry experienced unprecedented development, and the various types of wine glasses produced were even more advanced and were known as "Cheng Kiln wine glasses". The blue and white porcelain at this time is also eye-catching, especially the pattern painted is integrated with the art of ancient Chinese painting, giving people a light and elegant feeling with clear light and dark. There are many blue and white wine vessels handed down from generation to generation, such as various types of blue and white plum vases, blue and white goblets and blue and white hand cups. They are all art treasures and represent the extremely high life cultivation and artistic realm of the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty.

During the Qing Dynasty, due to the preference of the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong generations for porcelain, China's porcelain industry developed further. In addition to blue and white, doucai and holly porcelain, "pastel", "pastel" and "pastel" were also created. Varieties such as "enamel color" and "bronze color" are really "colorful, dazzling, purple and red, and beautiful".

There are quite a few exquisite porcelain wine vessels that have been handed down in the world during the Qing Dynasty. The most common shapes include plum bottles, ewers, goblets, hand cups and small cups, such as Jingdezhen enamel ribbon holders. Jue cups, Kangxi Doucai He Zhizhang drunk wine cups, blue and white landscape figure cups, colorful December flower cups and various colorful figure hand cups, etc., are all exquisite porcelain wine cups of the Qing Dynasty, well-known at home and abroad, and some have been sold at high prices. in the international auction market.

In addition to porcelain wine vessels, the emperors and dignitaries of the Ming and Qing Dynasties still had an unabated love for gold, silver and jade wine vessels.

The Wanli Imperial Jade Cup, Jintuo Jinjue Cup, and Golden Arrow Pot unearthed from the Dingling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty, the handed down Lu Zi Gang Jade X and He Ning Jade Cups, and the Lotus White Jade Cup unearthed from the Tomb of King Minglu in Zouxian County, Shandong, etc., are all from the Ming Dynasty. Among the excellent wine vessels, even the Wanli Emperor Xiaojing and Empress Xiaojing were buried with a gold wine-warming pot in their coffin, which shows that people at that time attached great importance to the health-preserving effects of drinking.

The Qing Palace had a "manufacturing office", which was specialized in manufacturing various items for the royal family. The gold, silver and jade works under it were important workshops for making gold, silver, jade and jewelry. At present, many of the original Qing palace wine vessels stored in the Forbidden City, such as Yongzheng's double-eared jade cups, Qianlong's double-eared jade cups, and "Jinou Yonggu" gold cups, were made in the manufacturing office. In addition, there are also a lot of gold, silver and jade wine vessels imported from other places.

The flat peach is a legendary fairy peach that can lead to immortality if eaten. Throughout the ages, flat peaches have been used to symbolize longevity and have become a common auspicious pattern in paintings. This understanding was quite popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are also many peach-shaped wine vessels unearthed or handed down from ancient times. For example, in December 1982, 7 flat peach silver cups and necklaces were unearthed from the silverware cellar in Tongtong Dong Autonomous County, Hunan Province. The peach-shaped purple sand cup of Shengsi is similar. The peach cup is set off with branches and leaves. It combines cleverness and nature. It is both beautiful and practical. They are both rare art treasures.

Bitong drinking has been popular in China since the Three Kingdoms period, that is, drinking from lotus leaves with connected stems and leaves. Later, influenced by the Bitong drink, craftsmen in the Tang and Song dynasties used gold, silver, jade, porcelain, amber and other materials to imitate lotus leaves and made various wine glasses, commonly known as "lotus leaf cups." Lotus leaves and lotus flowers belong to the same family, and both have the effects of clearing away heat, cooling blood, and strengthening the spleen and stomach. The lotus jade cup in the picture may have evolved from the lotus leaf cup. The Song Dynasty poem "Winning the wine cup to hold the lotus leaf, the lotus boat is swinging, red waves are always rising in the cup, the fragrance of the flowers and the fragrance of the wine are brewed together", which is vividly reproduced It depicts the scene of drinking from lotus leaves and lotus cups.

The wine vessels made of porcelain, gold, silver and jade in the Qing Dynasty have an obvious feature, that is, they are mostly antique vessels. For example, the double-eared jade cups used by the Qing Palace, jade cups with dragon patterns, enamel ribbon cups, bronze animal-eared statues, various types of porcelain statues, double-eared porcelain pots, and sky-blue glazed double-eared large bottles are all antique wine vessels from the Qing Dynasty. . The popularity of antique wine vessels in the Qing Dynasty may be related to the alcoholism of the three emperors Kang, Yong, and Qian.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, despite the constant intrusions from foreign Japanese, wine culture as an important branch of Chinese culture continued to develop. Wine vessels, as the carrier of wine culture, also demonstrated their inherent strength to the world. With its immortal artistic connotation and brilliant achievements, perhaps this is the charm of wine culture with Chinese characteristics.

Other wine vessels

In Chinese history, there are some wine vessels with unique materials or unique shapes. Although they are not very popular, they have high appreciation value, such as gold and silver. Wine vessels made of , ivory, jade, cloisonne and other materials.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties and even after liberation, tin wine warmers were widely used. Mainly wine warmer.

Luminous Cup

Jade Bamboo Tubular Cup

A famous poem by Wang Han, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, said: "Luminous cup of grape wine". Luminous cups are made of jade. The wine glass made in China has been successfully imitated in modern times.

Backflow pot

In the Shaanxi Provincial Museum there is a backflow porcelain pot produced by Yaozhou kiln in the Northern Song Dynasty. The pot is 19cm high and 14.3cm in diameter. Its lid is a dummy and cannot be opened. There is a small hole in the center of the bottom of the pot. The bottom of the pot is upward, and the wine is poured into the small hole. The small hole is connected with the central riser, and the upper hole of the central riser is higher than the highest wine level. When the wine pot is placed upright, the lower hole will not leak wine. There is also a water separator under the spout so that the wine does not overflow when the wine is poured. The design is quite clever.

Yuanyang incense pot

A pot used in the imperial palace of the Song Dynasty. It can pour two kinds of wine in one pot.

Jiulong Justice Cup

Produced in the Song Dynasty, the top is a cup with a carved dragon with its head raised upward. There are eight dragons painted on the wine set, so it is called Kowloon Cup. Below is a disc and a hollow base. When pouring wine, if it is moderate, no wine will leak. If it exceeds a certain limit, the wine will be sucked into the base through the siphon effect of the "dragon body", so it is called a fair cup. .

Dushan Jade Sea

A jade urn specially used to store wine. It is carved from a whole piece of variegated ink jade, with a circumference of 5 meters. It is surrounded by sculptures that appear and disappear in the waves. The sea dragon, a sea beast, is vivid in image and majestic. It weighs 3500 kilograms and can store 30 stone of wine. It is said that this large jade urn was brought from other places by Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, in the second year of the Yuan Dynasty (1256 AD) and placed on Qionghua Island. It was used to serve wine and entertain heroes. It is now preserved in front of Beihai Park in Beijing. Tuancheng.

The ancients were elegant and very particular about the use of wine vessels. This can also be seen from Mr. Cha Liangyong's description of Zu Qianqiu's talk about wine utensils in "The Swordsman". In order to make a bet with the Six Immortals of Peach Valley, Zu Qianqiu displayed his wine utensils one by one and introduced them: mutton-fat white jade cup - "You must pay attention to the wine utensils when drinking wine. Use what kind of wine cup you want to drink. Use it when drinking Fen wine." Jade cups, there is a poem in the Tang Dynasty: "The jade bowl holds amber light." It can be seen that the jade bowl and the jade cup can enhance the color of the wine."

Emerald cup - "Then you should use an jade cup to drink this pear wine?" Bai Letian's poem about spring in Hangzhou goes: "The red sleeves and silk damask praise the persimmon leaves, and the green flag sells wine to take advantage of the pear blossoms." Think about it, Hangzhou restaurants sell this pear blossom wine, and they hang green flags that look like drops of green, which reflect the pear blossoms. The wine is particularly spirited, and when you drink this pear blossom wine, you should drink it from an emerald cup.”

Rhinoceros Horn Cup—“This jar of Guanwai Baijiu tastes great, but it’s a pity that it’s missing a bit. It is best to use a rhinoceros horn cup to drink the fragrant aroma, and it will be extremely mellow. It should be noted that the jade cup enhances the color of the wine, and the rhinoceros horn cup enhances the aroma of the wine. The ancients do not deceive me. ”

The ancient vines. Cup - "This hundred-herb wine is made from hundreds of herbs and soaked in the wine. Therefore, the wine is fragrant, just like walking in the spring suburbs, making people drunk before drinking. To drink this hundred-herb wine, you must use an ancient vine cup. A century-old ancient vine is carved into a cup for drinking Baicao wine greatly increases the aroma."

Bronze Jue - "As for this sorghum wine, it is the most ancient wine. In the time of Xia and Yu, Yi Di made wine, and Yu drank it. This is sorghum wine. To drink this sorghum wine, you need to drink it with a bronze wine cup. As for the rice wine, the best rice wine has a beautiful taste, but it lacks sweetness and is a little thin. It should be drank with a big bucket. "Luminous Cup -" As for drinking wine, of course you must use a luminous cup. An ancient poem said: "If you want to drink grape wine from a luminous cup, you must drink it immediately." When men of our generation drink it, they will not be arrogant enough. After the grape wine is poured into the luminous cup, the color of the wine will be the same as that of blood. Drinking is like drinking blood. Yue Wumu's poem goes: "The ambitious eat Hulu meat when they are hungry, and drink the Xiongnu when they are thirsty." "Blood', isn't it magnificent!"

Glass cup - "You should use a glass cup to drink this jade dew wine. There are fine bubbles in the jade dew wine, so drink it in a transparent glass cup." This shows its beauty."

Ancient porcelain cup - "Drink this Shaoxing champion red beard from an ancient porcelain cup. It is best to use a Northern Song Dynasty porcelain cup. The Southern Song Dynasty porcelain cup is barely usable, but it has deteriorated. Yuan porcelain is inevitably vulgar."

The elegance of ancient literati can be seen here. And this kind of elegance can only remain in our imagination and sigh!

Contemporary wine vessels

Modern winemaking technology and lifestyle have had a significant impact on wine vessels. After entering the 20th century, due to the rapid development of the brewing industry, the method of brewing for own use that has been passed down for thousands of years is gradually being eliminated. In modern brewing factories, the main packaging methods of liquor and rice wine are: bottles and jars. For beer, there are bottles, barrels, cans, etc. Before the 1970s and 1980s when living standards were low, in most rural areas and some urban areas, if wine was sold in jars, you generally had to bring your own containers. However, bottled wine became popular in a relatively short period of time, so the wine storage and wine containers commonly used in common people's homes disappeared, while drinking utensils are eternal. Of course, in some areas, the method of brewing wine for one's own consumption is still retained, but it is no longer the mainstream of society.

The types of alcohol consumed by the people have undergone major changes in recent decades. More than ten years ago, high-alcohol liquor has always been the most consumed in both rural and urban areas. Yes, rice wine is common in the southeast. Before the 1980s, beer production was very small. However, after the 1980s, the production of beer developed rapidly and became the largest variety of alcoholic beverages. Consumption of wine, brandy, whiskey, etc. is generally smaller. The consumption characteristics of alcohol determine that the wine of this period has the following characteristics:

Small wine glasses are more popular. This kind of wine glass is mainly used for drinking liquor. Wine glasses are mainly made of glass, porcelain, etc. In recent years, they are also made of jade, stainless steel and other materials.

Medium-sized wine glass, this kind of cup can be used as a tea set or a wine set, such as a drinking vessel for beer and wine. The material is mainly made of transparent glass. In order to promote the sales of wine, some factories design wine containers into wine glasses, which are loved by consumers. After drinking the wine, it can also be used as a cup. Due to the improvement of living standards, canned beer is becoming more and more popular, which is also a typical example of the combination of packaging containers and drinking vessels.

Foreign wines were introduced to China from the late Qing Dynasty, and drinking methods and drinking utensils were also introduced to China. When Westerners drink wine, they must choose appropriate wine glasses when drinking different wines on different occasions and cannot use them casually.

Foreign wine and wine sets are used in some higher-end catering establishments. Catering establishments are divided into high, medium and low levels. Since most of the wine sold in high-end catering establishments is foreign wine, the drinking utensils have Western characteristics. With the improvement of people's living standards, the drinking utensils used in these high-end places have gradually gained certain recognition among the people, but they are not popular.

The drinking utensils in catering establishments are more standardized in star-rated hotels or restaurants. Any establishment above a two-star hotel must have a bar. The higher the star rating of a hotel, the larger the bar, the more complete and luxurious the facilities, and the higher the price of the wine. Of course, its drinking utensils are more complete and standardized.

Currently, most of the wines sold in bars are foreign wines. The main varieties include brandy, whiskey, rum, gin, Odek, champagne, liqueur, etc. Cocktails are also relatively common. Different wines require different glasses. This is the basic common sense of bar staff.

There are many types of wine glasses with different shapes. This is due to historical and regional reasons. At the same time, it also reflects a certain degree of science and artistry. In foreign exchanges, it is very important to use wine glasses correctly.