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BeijingRoast Duck - s; l: b! G w+ o: t& o% i
Beijing Roast duck is thought to be one of the most delicious dishes all over the world; most visitors coming to Beijing will never forget to have a try. 5 g+ L. e1 Z, n( m( W6 L: Z
The two famous Restaurant that serve Beijing Roast Duck are Bianyifang Roast Duck Restaurant and Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, both of which have a history of over one hundred years. They represent two different schools of roasting duck. Bianyifang, founded in 1855, makes use of a close oven and straw as the fuel, which won't make flames go directly onto the duck. Before being put into the oven, a duck is filled with specially-made soup to make it possible to roast the duck outside and boil it inside at the same time.
4 ^1 B1 Q1 l T9 a+ k" `3 hQuanjude, a better known one, founded in 1864, uses an oven without a door. After a kind of dressing being spread all over a duck, it will be hooked up in the oven over the flame coming directly from the burning of the fruit-tree wood and it will be done in forty minutes.
9 k$ R% {/ @ L3 Z6 j X/ cWhen roasted and dried, the duck will look brilliantly dark red, shining with oil and with crisp skin and tender meat. Because of its appearance, few people could resist the temptation of it. , b) z: `- J( M) ^
Now it's time to serve it! First, the chef will show you the whole duck. Then, he will slice it into about one hundred and twenty pieces with both skin and meat for each. Usually the duck is served together with special pancakes, hollowed sesame bun, green onions and sweet sauce. Dinners can wrap duck slices, onion, and sauce in a pancake or a sesame bun with their bare hands. Sometimes people would like to put in mashed garlic and cucumber or carrot strips as well. Some young women like to dip slices into white sugar directly. Other parts of the duck will be served as either cold dishes with its livers, wings, stomach, webs and eggs, or hot dishes with its heart, tongue and kidneys. The bones can even be decocted together with Chinese watermelon and cabbage. 9 P" L* d5 j6 i4 C1 a5 O
Imperial Court Cuisine
3 F1 [- o5 h0 h8 lImperial Court Cuisine, another important part of Beijing Cuisine, originates from royal kitchens where dishes and food were only cooked for the royal family. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Imperial Court Cuisine began to be popular among the common people with its original features that the raw material and the ingredients are carefully selected and the dishes are exquisitely prepared and delicately decorated in different colors with light taste and sufficient nutrition.
8 P/ B4 [0 q0 g8 GMany Restaurant serve Court Cuisine in Beijing today, such as Fangshan Restaurant and Tingliguan Restaurant being the most famous ones. : ]: y# f8 M2 Z3 x L
Fangshan Restaurant is in Beihai Park and the most famous dish of it is Man-Han Banquet (a dinner of Man and Han national food) which includes "eight treasures from the mountains", "eight treasures on land" and "eight treasures from the sea", such as bear's paws, humps and shark's fins, and lots of rare things, but some of them are not available on table today. There are so many dishes (one hundred and thirty four hot ones and forty eight cold ones, besides many desserts) that you have to have them in six different meals in several days.
7 o: s8 G& Q9 L1 ?$ Y4 a' a3 PTingliguan is in the Summer Palace and it used to be the place where Empress Dowager Ci Xi enjoyed her opera, which, of course, is as beautiful as a painting. It is famous for its "All-Fish Feast" of over fifty kinds and this is the only one in China. When the fish is served on the table, its mouth can be still opening and closing and its gills flapping. Sometimes the fish's mouth keeps moving even when it has been eaten to bones. But you don't have to be frightened; it is just falsely alive. You want to know its secret? Just go and try it! ' Q2 ?" x5 K- A3 U+ K* w9 c7 L2 f7 m
@) u; K" z- F9 j& _6 DImperial Official Cuisine and Medicinal Cuisine / b8 u. h/ j7 r6 u' \
In the past, feudal officials were quite picky about their food, so their bland cuisine is usually exquisite and its material is always carefully selected. Tan Jia Cuisine and Hong Lou Cuisine are known as Imperial Official Cuisine. [3 w* q3 m+ a6 U* p: N1 k" r
Tan Jia Cuisine, coming from Tan family, is especially famous. Today it is a local authorized dish only served at Beijing Hotel. Hong Lou Cuisine, the one that was described in Dream of Red Mansion, is served at Beijing Grand View Garden Hotel, Jinglun Hotel and Zhongshan Park. 7 \) v+ W$ ]9 h4 U1 A& e. D
Medicinal Cuisine is also special in Beijing. Its dishes are made with rare ingredients such as ginseng, antlers, bear's paws, soft-shelled turtles etc. It is not only valuable in terms of traditional Chinese medicine but also nourishing in terms of delicacy.
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1 V( D6 x6 M9 x% T% DBeijingSnacks ' r0 m; L- ]5 g: b4 j* T
Beijingsnacks, combining varied flavors from different nationalities like Han, Hui, Meng, Man and court snacks from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), include many kinds and form the characteristic of their own. " G; V/ t2 k2 K) K# T4 n
It is said that there are over two hundred kinds of snacks in Beijing, including dishes going with wine, such as Quick-Fried Tripe (Bao Du), Boiled Sheep's Head (Bai Shui Yang Tou), Flour-Pastry desserts, like Pancakes with Meat-Fillings (Rou Mo Shao Bing) and some other snacks for breakfast or as midnight snack, like Sticky Rice with Sweet Fillings (Ai Wo Wo) and Rolling Donkey (Lu Da Gun). What local Beijing people, especially elder ones like most are Mung Bean Milk (Dou Zhi), Fried Liver (Chao Gan) and Filled Sausage (Guan Chang).
: f$ G# [, o3 Z# Y9 m( NThere are also lots of famous Restaurant selling snacks. Fangshan Restaurant sells Sticky Rice with Sweet Fillings and Pea-Flour Cake (Wan Dou Huang); Donglaishun Restaurant sells Cream Fried Cake (Nai You Zha Gao). In many Restaurant you may find some other things special.
8 U6 _# z3 m$ t3 JIn fact, there are too many places for snacks in Beijing for you to make a decision which one to go to. So my suggestion may be helpful for you to save some time. Generally speaking, there are four places popular of this kind. One is Duyichu Restaurant, sitting at 36 Qianmen Dajie, Chongwen District. It was opened in 1738, and is famous for its Shao Mai, which has both attractive appearance and delicious taste. Another is Nanlaishun in Xuanwu District, where you can find about seventy kinds of snacks. The third place is Longfu Temple (Longfu Si) Snacks Restaurant which mainly sell Islamic Snacks. The fourth one is Evening Market Snacks Street near Donghuaemen, Wangfujing. It is a place where most common people go to have snacks. Fangshan Restaurant is a place where snacks of royal family are available.
^3 k1 s& U, r' M0 |Apart from what are mentioned above in fixed places, you can find many other kinds along roadsides. For example, Sugar-Coated Haws on a stick (Bing Tang Hu Lu), which is sold everywhere in cold days and is one of the daintiest snacks. It looks brightly red, bearing a little sour and sweet. You can also try Roast Sweet Potato (Kao Hong Shu or Kao Bai Shu). Eat it when it is still hot, it is fragrant and sweet. I bet you will never forget it. / j8 V: O L7 Q4 c' R
Shish kebab (Yang Rou Chuan) is another good choice. Xingjiang Shish kebab is a snack that is popular not only in Beijing but all over the country. Mutton is strung together on a skewer and roasted over a charcoal. It is continually turned and when it is done, salt, pepper and zi ran, which is a special Xinjiang seasoning, are sprinkled over it. It is a little salty, a little hot but hasn't any unpleasant taste. ) g* a4 M% p e f
If you have enough time you may saunter around and drop in small Restaurant, especially when the bigger ones have closed. You will find that it won't cost you much for your dinner, which is really good. You will find steamed bread, steamed dumplings, dumplings, noodles, and family-style dishes, which you probably couldn't see in bigger ones.
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Other Cuisines from Different Regions
) ^ A2 c+ p1 @" Z4 ?& \$ LAhuge chunk of Chinese culture is devoted to food and drink. There are hundreds of different dishes, and each region has its own distinctive flavor. The majority of Chinese Restaurant in Beijing feature what is known as "family style dishes" (jia chang cai), which are basically the most common types of food that any self-respecting Chinese can make at home. These dishes are usually a combination of the spicy Sichuan style (chuan cai) and the more hearty Shandong style (lu cai). True Sichuan style Restaurant have a special type of tea called Eight Treasures Tea. This tea is poured from a kettle with a yard-long spout, which the boy (it's usually a boy) wields skillfully. Aside from jia chang cai Restaurant, there are also many places that are devoted to a certain type of food. Specialty Restaurant include such classics as Donkey Flesh King, Dog Meat City and Fat Sister's Meat Pies.
; { v0 s/ t2 {$ |( O: c4 vShanghai style (Shanghai cai) tends to be sort of sweet and features lots of seafood. Shanghai Restaurant have been quite popular for some years now. Guangdong eaters have a reputation for eating "everything with four or more legs except for the table, and everything that has wings except for airplanes." All of the really funky dishes you hear about like live monkey brains and raw rat babies are Guangdong (Cantonese) style dishes (yue cai). However, there are lots of excellent, non-scary Guangdong dishes, and the seafood is especially tasty. Northeastern dishes (dongbei cai) are usually composed of large quantities of meat in thick, fairly salty sauces. Potatoes also feature heavily in dongbei cai. This is a great style of food to have in winter. Other famous schools of Chinese food include Huaiyang and Shanxi styles. There are also a number of regional minority cuisine. # l' _5 V* X. O; D" q" b
Uygur Food
; I6 ~" H! P& Y1 \The Uygurs are a Muslim minority from Xinjiang Autonomous Region in the Northwest. There are Uygurs all over the city selling lamb shish kebob, but there are two places where they are fairly concentrated together, one is tempted to call them ghettos. These two locations, Weigongcun and Ganjiakou, abound with Uygur Restaurant. If you are walking by around dinner time, prepare yourself to get accosted by "grabbers", sort of like "greeters" at other Restaurant, except these guys tugs on your sleeve and try to drag you into their place. Nothing hostile, just very persistent. The best thing at these Restaurant is the roast fried spicy mutton (chao kao rou), square noodles in tomato sauce (chao pian'r), and the round nang bing, a type of bread which is scrumptious when piping hot, and hard as a rock when cool. There is also a smaller, fatter type of round bread which can satisfy a bagel-craving. The roadside shishkabob can be delicious, too, but is not always the paramount of sanitary foodstuffs.
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Foreign Cuisine
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After tasting so many kinds of Chinese food, you might miss cuisine of your own country. Don't worry, you can find any type you want in Beijing. If you like fast food you can find that big yellow M in many places, or maybe you like KFC or Pizza, or whatever famous fast food Restaurant in your country, such as DICOS, Dunkin' Donuts, Pizza Huts, A&W Root Beer and Kenny Rogers' Roasters, the only fast food place where smoking is allowed and beer is served, they are available here. 0 h. L' v0 K' P @: W! Z- m
Since Beijing is a charming city, it has attracted many foreign Restaurant. You can find all kinds of cuisine from France, USA, Italy, Russia, Japan, Korea, and many other countries. So it is also a good chance to come to Beijing and enjoy the food from all over the world.
8 U. F) h& U$ d E" AFrench cuisine has always been favored by the world. It is thought to be the best cuisine in European and many chefs are proud of being able to cook French cuisine. In all dishes, raw materials are widely selected and finely cooked. Goose's liver and snail are the best ones of French dainties. Meat like beefsteak and gigot are usually half done and oyster is always eaten uncooked. Different wines are used as seasonings in different dishes to bring various tastes. / c, t9 R! U' O; K. K
If you cannot resist the temptation, go and find Justine at Jianguo Hotel, the best French restaurant here.
9 a- H$ u3 c$ D. I2 r- NIf you are an American or if you like American food, go and find the best American restaurant Louisiana at Beijing Hilton Hotel.
, C. D$ w+ H$ J3 ^If you prefer Italian food, go to Pinocchio Pizzeria in Holiday Inn Lido Beijing (Beijing Lidu Jiari Fandian) or go to Seasons in Kempinski Hotel (Kaibinsiji Fandian) in Beijing. Kempinski Hotel is also the most popular one where people enjoy German beer. 1 L7 B' m% g9 ]
In recent years Korea barbecue has become one of Beijingers' favorite. You can find traditional Korea Restaurant at Beijing Landmark Towers (Beijing Liangmahe Dasha), Lufthansa Center Sorabol Restaurant (Salaboer Canting).
% K/ F4 L8 p/ _There are many other hotels that are famous for their foreign cuisines, such as China World Hotel (Zhongguo Dafandian), Kunlun Hotel (Kunlun Fandian), and the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel (Xilaideng Changcheng Fandian) etc. You have many choices.
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Chinese Tea
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According to Lu Yu, the writer of the book Tea Classics in the Tang dynasty, Chinese tea enjoyed a more than 4000 years history. 4 W2 f: e1 Y% g* H' s) P. V( r
Tea was used as offerings in the West Zhou, vegetables in the Spring and Autumn period, and medicine in the Warring period. Later in the West Han dynasty, it became a main commodity. During 300 years between the Three Kingdoms period and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, especially latter, Buddhism was popular and Buddhists applied tea to relieve sleep in Za-zen, so tea trees spreaded along valleys around temples. That is why people say tea and Buddhism accompanied each other in their development. Till the Tang dynasty tea became popular in ordinary people. In the Ming dynasty, tea trade began to play an important role in the government economy, the "Tea and Horse Bureau" was set up to supervise the tea trade.
* k" e4 }, G3 K: \In the 6th century, a Buddhist monk introduced tea to Japan and in the 16th century to Europe by a Portuguese missionary. And tea became an international drink. # t- E, O, Z# I
Now in China, tea family not only consists of traditional tea, but also tea beverage, tea food, tea medicine and other tea products. ; ~, r' U: c4 K d: m! v8 T0 \
Hereunder tea classification gives you a silhouette of tea categories. , r) F7 {5 m- \1 U( V9 p* s- E
Tea wares exhibits various artistic tea wares.
+ h9 h$ m% m& s6 H0 PTea culture explains Chinese people's attitudes and customs. % d* Q* X1 R( l7 m8 i
Last you will get some useful hints on how to select excellent tea.
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, x+ o4 H& R. s9 VChinese Tea-- Tea Classification -- * i; j. M. E+ g* }8 o! R$ M
( Appendix: Best Ten Chinese teas ) ' Y d4 L& h- r2 f3 m( g- f4 Z
Although there are hundreds of varieties of Chinese tea, they can be mainly classified into five categories, that is, green tea, black tea, brick tea, scented tea, and Oolong tea. 5 d% C! J1 f# T) J& V$ E
With its natural fragrance, green tea, as the oldest kind of tea, is widely welcomed by different people. It is baked immediately after picking. According to the different ways of processing, it can be divided to many kinds. Among various green tea, Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea around the West Lake in Hangzhou, HuangshanMaofeng Tea from Mt. Huangshan, Yinzhen (Silver Needle) Tea from Mt. Junshan and Yunwu (Cloud and Mist) Tea from Mt. Lushan are most famous.
3 E0 h9 M" S. G3 j4 F9 RBlack tea is much more favored by foreigners. Different from green tea, black tea is a kind of fermented tea. After the fermentation, its color changes from green to black. The most famous black teas in China are " Qi Hong (originated in Anhui), "Dian Hong"(originated in Yunnan), and "Ying Hong" (originated in Guangdong).
2 J7 w- H2 e2 W6 S* F! @0 fOolong tea, with an excellent combination of the freshness of green tea and the fragrance of black tea, become popular with more and more people. It has a good function in helping body building and dieting. Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan are the major producing areas of this kind of tea. Oolong tea grows on cliffs, the hard picking process make it the most precious tea.
$ ^8 W( g; D: m7 s" jScented tea, which is very popular in Northern China, in fact is a mixture of green tea with flower petals of rose, jasmine, orchid and plum through an elaborate process. Among this type, jasmine tea is common. , s2 T' u/ @* Q( T s G. [4 q
Brick tea, usually pressed into brick shape, is mainly produced in Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Brick tea is made from black tea or green tea and is pressed into blocks. This kind of tea is popular with minority people in border regions. The most famous one is "Pu'er Tea" made in Yunnan province.
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7 U" {8 ?- h3 J+ w* p1 RChinese Tea-- Tea Wares -- ( O j6 a" l1 y" i, t! `
In China, people think different teas prefer different tea wares. Green tea prefers glass tea ware, scented tea porcelain ware while Oolong tea performs best in purple clay tea ware. # k F: ?! `( e- Z: b" X
In its long history, tea wares not only improve tea quality but also by-produce a tea art. Skilled artisans bestow them artistic beauty. " _0 I2 E# r* S6 K' d! _: G
Tea wares consist of mainly teapots, cups, tea bowls and trays etc. Tea wares had been used for a long time in China. The unglazed earthenware, used in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces for baking tea today, reminds us the earliest utensils used in ancient China. Tea drinking became more popular in the Tang dynasty when tea wares made of metals were served for noblesse and civilians commonly used porcelain ware and earthenware. In the Song dynasty tea bowls, like upturned bell, became common. They were glazed in black, dark-brown, gray, gray/white and white colors. Gray/white porcelain tea wares predominated in the Yuan dynasty and white glazed tea wares became popular in the Ming dynasty. Teapots made of porcelain and purple clay were very much in vogue during the middle of the Ming dynasty. Gilded multicolored porcelain produced in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and the bodiless lacquer wares of Fujian Province emerged in the Qing dynasty. Among various kinds of tea wares, porcelain wares made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province and purple clay wares made in Yixing, Jiangsu Province occupied the top places. ! a/ P# E, m; ?% X5 x3 h' H
Nowadays, tea wares made of gold, silver, copper, purple clay, porcelain, glass, lacquer and other materials are available. }1 Z2 N. J) |0 C$ h0 i
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Chinese Tea-- Tea Culture -- , P4 J. ^5 y2 L
Just as coffee in the West, tea became a part of daily life in China. You can see teahouses scattered on streets like cafes in the west. It has such a close relationship with Chinese that in recent years, a new branch of culture related to tea is rising up in China, which has a pleasant name of "Tea Culture". It includes the articles, poems, pictures about tea, the art of making and drinking tea, and some customs about tea.
7 w4 n4 k! t$ I! [In the Song dynasty, Lu You, who is known as "Tea Sage" wrote Tea Scripture, and detailedly described the process of planting, harvesting, preparing, and making tea. Other famous poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu and Bai Juyi once created large number of poems about tea. Tang Bohu and Wen Zhengming even drew many pictures about tea. 2 W }5 L* j% t0 {
Chinese are very critical about tea. People have high requirements about tea quality, water and tea wares. Normally, the finest tea is grown at altitudes of 3,000 to 7,000 feet (910 to 2,124m). People often use spring water, rain and snow water to make tea, among them the spring water and the rainwater in autumn are considered to be the best, besides rainwater in rain seasons is also perfect. Usually, Chinese will emphasis on water quality and water taste. Fine water must feature pure, sweet, cool, clean and flowing.
& B w0 _8 ?6 h9 U( rChinese prefer pottery wares to others. The purple clay wares made from the Yixing, Jiangsu province and Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province are the best choice.
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Chinese Tea-- How to Select Excellent Tea --
. G3 g# n* `1 bSelecting tea is a subject of knowledge.
~ J W, F4 a: VAside from the variety, tea is classified into grades. Generally, appraisement of tea is based on five principles, namely, shape of the leaf, color of the liquid, aroma, taste and appearance of the infused leaf. 4 ^8 i5 T! a7 S. r( L' i6 e- ~
Speaking of the shape of the leaf, there are flat, needle-like, flower-like, and so on. The judgment is usually made according to the artistic tastes of the tea tasters.
# r0 u6 n! v& \2 ?2 jThe evenness and transparency of the leaf will decide the color of the liquid. Excellent liquid should not contain rough burnt red leaves or red stems. 5 N s' e6 M3 s7 j* Z4 V2 L& E6 c6 M
Aroma is the most important factor in judging the quality of a kind of tea. Putting 3 grams leaves into 100 milliliters boiled water, people can judge the quality of the tea by the smell from the liquid. 1 [5 P+ c' z- e
The judgment should be completed through the taste of the liquid and the appearance of the infused leaves.
) o* u' b: N- u4 X" y) [. A- a2 ?Chinese Alcohol 7 e- u+ A& X* R. A
Alcohol is part of Chinese folklore. In modern China, alcohol remains its important role in folklore despite many social vicissitudes. It still appears in almost all social activities, and the most common circumstances are birthday party for seniors, wedding feast and sacrifice ceremony in which liquor must be the main drink to show happiness or respect. ! N: w, R; E2 p- |7 r4 d
In ancient China, since alcohol was regarded as sacred liquid only when people made sacrificial offerings to the Heaven and the Earth or ancestors was it used. After the Zhou dynasty, alcohol was deemed as one of the Nine Rites and every dynasty put much emphasis on alcohol administration to set up special ministries to manage alcohol producing and banqueting. Later, along with the development of zymotechnics and brewery, alcohol became ordinary drink. Thus, many customs concerning alcohol formed and evolved which had and have various relationships with our daily life. & w n) S+ ~& s- ]% \8 q
Hereunder classification will give you an idea of Chinese alcohol family.
$ n$ ^% q- {3 I# V9 i/ p1 FAlcohol and social activities enables people of different cultural backgrounds to understand Chinese alcohol culture and folklore.
% I/ }1 r2 B8 S' pDrinking game (Jiuling) is a very traditional Chinese game. Learning about the cultural facts of the game may interest your drinking in China. It is much more interesting than dicing. 6 }. h/ \& P+ S
The splendid drinking vessels Chinese people made across centuries enable people to appreciate a few exquisite crafts and acquire tips of drinking along the trace of alcohol.
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1 R# B( D. A$ q! zChinese Alcohol-- Classification --
+ T: w* b# r4 Z$ x& s! |Alcohol always accompanies delicious dishes either when people first meet or when old friends have a reunion. China produces liquor, beer, wine, yellow wine, and fruit wine. However China mainly produces liquors distilled. The most famous Chinese liquor is Maotai, a 55-percent spirit made of wheat and sorghum that, for centuries, has been produced in Maotai Town, Guizhou province. Besides, Wuliangye and Erguotou are also popular among people. ; [; S) ?5 U! Z" p6 V' c
In ancient times, wine seldom dominated, although there are evidences suggesting it had a long history. Wine and its brewing technology were once introduced from the neighboring regions in the Han, Tang and Yuan dynasties. During the Tang dynasty, wine was popular and was highly praised by many famous poets. It was served as the designated offerings for the Royal Ancestral Temple during the Yuan dynasty, since the ruler was addicted to it. 7 ~: ~4 F1 \) R* d& y
The amber colored yellow wine is unique product of China and is deemed as one of the three ancient alcoholic beverages in the world. 1 ]) a2 p: R9 z! Q- D `
Alcoholic beverage like today's beer called li, was produced long ago, very little although. When maiden were to become adults, they would drink li to celebrate the time. 4 B# t) h0 |6 x( ^
Chinese Alcohol-- Alcohol and Social Activities --
+ y }. W8 b: D3 nAlcohol and arts ! P; R% M( R+ K$ L
Alcohol had great impact on Chinese artists than any other ones, since many of them produced their peak-of-perfection masterpieces drunken, right after drinking. Being drunk and into the state of free production was and is the important tip Chinese artists resort to free their artistic creativity. Many famous poets, such as Li Bai and Du Fu, had excellent performance and left us surprisingly marvelous poems after drinking the mysterious liquid. Not only poem but also painting and calligraphy were raised to higher level by the aid of alcohol. Wang Xizhi, Chinese famous calligrapher respectfully called Calligraphy Saint, retried dozens of times to overwhelm his most outstanding work, Lantingxu (Orchid Pavilion Prologue) which was finished when he was drunken, and he failed. The original one was the best.
1 e9 }, \" @9 m& c' cAlcohol and health 1 u8 {& z4 D/ T& T# _4 w# U2 h2 y
Chinese people do believe that moderate drinking of alcohol is good to health and excessive drinking will jeopardize physical constitution. As a result, few Chinese, although there are some, will cling to bottles. However, many Chinese do sip a little alcoholic beverage at intervals to keep them fresh and healthy. Some even soak traditional Chinese medicine into liquor to achieve better effect, which was proved to be successful. 5 m# p9 Y+ @, C8 r8 A2 n! o+ N
Alcohol and sociality
! t ~' ^) k8 S" XIn China, alcohol has internal connection with sociality. Drinking provides more chances for one to make more friends as the old saying says, "Frequent drinking makes friends surrounding". Moreover, alcohol also serves effectively to deepen and strengthen friendship. Since it shows one's friendliness alcohol is always used to relieve misunderstanding and hatred which no matter how strong is. ' t0 C2 }6 p) K) u. v8 `
Alcohol and business
) S7 `9 V8 a8 X% y" {Banquet, is the place where businessmen hunt business chance and slightest rip and change can be discovered and their rivals' business information may be on your hand and help you take the rein, thus greet your success. Certainly, banquet will form, strengthen and consolidate business partnership and alcohol, of course, plays a very important role. 3 z+ Z+ D) v! G! c1 v8 N
Chinese Alcohol-- Alcohol and Social Activities --
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Alcohol and entertainment
' C$ q0 V( K7 w* I, d# [2 T) GMost people have alcohol just for entertainment. It is used to add to the fun during festive times to highlight the happy and exciting moment due to its inciting effect. Surrounding tables and playing drinking games, with glass clinking, people will soar up both physically and mentally. Unfortunately, there are always some drunk after too much consumption.
; g% T$ _, ^, C) y# v) H6 {2 O. n" a3 bAlcohol and military + X" J9 e. s" X/ ~- `
In the vicissitudes of dynasties, wars followed all the way. Alcohol was the only entertainment of the military in the time of cold weapons. It was used as stimulants and rewards for the army men. The stimulating agent can make cowards brave and stir up the exhausted and heighten the morale of the army. Therefore it was the most important and effective material resorted to raise morale before and in the campaign and reward the triumphant military after. According to history records, in the Warring States period, Qin Mugong of the Qing kingdom, poured the insufficient liquor into the Yellow River and drunk with his soldiers. There were many stories like this, and generals who did this always won their wars. In historical novels, alcohol and battles frequently cohabited. Such as in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu, the Chinese Ares, chopped Hua Xiong's head off while his wine was still warm; Zhang Fei, pretending drunk, captured his enemy's fortress easily. In the novel, almost every chapter associates with alcohol. & b' c) J) H3 w4 P
Alcohol and its use in China ! T% v; X3 N$ V9 ^6 s6 W" L1 ?
Sacrifice ceremony - first and still remaining use of alcohol to show respect to ancestors and gods. % Q1 T5 k1 W5 k+ A5 A
Warrior foy - Chinese usually will toast for their warriors' victory before their departure. + X3 H+ K( H/ T4 h8 f' V2 S
Triumph celebration - military tradition held after victory. * f; q! `1 f' a8 R! K' C
Banquet - alcohol appears on the state banquet, business banquet and family feast. 9 Z6 L. X( `6 p& m
Cold resisting - Chinese people have used it to resist cold for thousands years.
3 w9 i4 y1 V; R5 [% DChinese Alcohol-- Alcohol & Drinking Game (Jiuling) -- ! j+ o- X; Z/ r
At the very beginning, alcohol was mainly a beverage in the ceremonial rites. The drinking games, Jiuling called in Chinese, were just aids for drinking. Certainly there were other aids for drinking, such as archery, chess playing and arrow pitching. Aimed to restrict overdrinking to keep drinkers be gentlemen and preserve courtesy of the time, there were even special designated officials to manage these aids for drinking. Later, drinking games which added entertainment to rites, gradually became artifice to persuade, wager and force overdrinking. Jiuling is a unique part of Chinese culture.
% g1 W/ L7 b! Y) T, m. d+ dNow Jiuling has many forms, depending on the drinker's social status, literacy status and interests, which can be classified into three categories - general game, contest game and literal game. ( l0 i( v( h8 p
General game includes those games every body can play, such as joke telling, riddling and Chuanhua (passing flowers one by one). This category usually appears on banquet for ladies. + A9 ^6 X. @! V9 s
Contest game consists of archery, arrow pitching, chess playing, dicing, finger guessing and animal betting. Among these, the latter two are common.
' E: A- R+ x5 U/ _6 E) ~& |In finger guessing, two players stretch out their right hands, with several fingers sticking out while the others closing to their palm and at the same time, each of them, usually roars a number from nil to ten. If fingers sticking out adds up and the sum equals to a player's number, then he wins and the loser will have to drink. There are many differences in different regions.
- E- u$ j) z. I/ I9 Q( sAnimal betting is a very interesting game every Chinese can play. In the game, one uses his Chopstick to tap the other player's chopstick and at the same time speaks out one of four terms. The other does the same. There are four terms: stick, tiger, cock and insect. The regulations are simple: Stick beats tiger; tiger eats cock; cock pecks insect; insect bores stick.
2 x7 ^- Q4 H9 ~+ L! zLiteral game is mainly popular in bookworms since they receive good education and have refined knowledge and know the essence of Chinese traditional culture. Intellectuals sometimes play the other two category drinking games too, however they consider those games vulgar. Beaux-esprit and cultured ladies prefer the elegant game, literal game.
$ }1 n2 u/ y( f, \7 D1 m4 x* |Usually literal game is unique and artful literal contest, which requires superior wisdom, broad knowledge sphere and fast response. In order to animate atmosphere, players will do their best to produce original, novel, unpredicted and extremely fine literal pieces improvitori, with quotations from scriptures, history, poems, proverbs, and fairy tales embedded. Many Jiulings of this category, very artistic, are pleasingly worthy of literary appreciation. Bai Juyi, one of Chinese greatest poets, even thought elegant Jiuling was much more interesting than music accompaniment. ; c0 X+ m$ [; j: [' }! \- a
Chinese Alcohol-- Alcohol and Drinking Vessels --
2 H/ Q( j1 A5 r7 j2 }5 \5 `Like tea wares, drinking vessels have a long history as a part of Chinese alcoholic culture. All the way, drinking sets witnessed formation and development of it. 5 ]+ N5 Z8 ?& k# j8 M. K
According to history record and archeological discovery, there were dozens kind of vessels except cups we use today. The earthen wares archeologists discovered in Shaanxi province in 1983 were authenticated to be the oldest drinking vessels revealed. During the Shang dynasty and the Zhou dynasty, bronze vessels were popular in the north while porcelain vessels with figures carved debuted in the south. Vessels further developed between the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, from pottery to porcelain with thin coat of enamel. Later in Qin and Han, glass vessel and whelk vessel appeared, and gold and silver cups decorated banquets of the despots. Till the Northern and Southern dynasties, drinking vessels became more delicate and tasteful since intellectuals liked drinking that time. During the Sui dynasty and the Tang dynasty, porcelain pots and cups were common. Then after the Song dynasty, drinking vessels had a big family, consisting of porcelain vessel, bronze vessel, tin vessel, gold vessel, silver vessel, cloisonne vessel and rhinoceros horn vessel. Chinese drinking vessel won a lot of appraisals. Great poets like Li Bai, Wang Changling and Wang Han all wrote poems about liquor of taste and vessel of finesse.
, \3 i' F- u4 v! R+ l5 M% AIn ancient China, people had strict request for drinking vessels for different liquors. Here are some choices from an ancient researcher for you.
; `% H3 g' Q* dRed wine: if you want to enjoy life, you are suggested to use Luminous Cup which is made of jade produced in Qilian Mountain. It is said that in the cup the liquid looks like blood and reflects moonlight. 8 j( M) O$ ?& a# z% f/ _; y& [
Fenjiu (liquor produced in Shanxi): Fenjiu in jade cup looks like amber. 8 Z |4 K1 }4 ^0 `3 H
Guanwai liquor (liquor from regions outside of Shanhai Pass): rhinoceros horn cup will enrich fragrance of the liquor. ' v h- L/ r9 P. k7 J! ?# q
Kaoliang spirit: Chinese believe it is the oldest liquor, so that it should be drunk in bronze Jue (drinking vessel in ancient dynasties) to feel ancient life.
* @$ m2 f. B. }! A7 IHerbs wine: since it is made by marinating various kinds of herbs in wine with natural fragrances, it is recommended to use ancient rattan cup to strengthen and enjoy the ancient flavor. | 
发表于 2009-4-3 16:15:00
楼主
发表于 2009-4-15 00:36:00
