酒

By Edmund Lai, Wang Xiaoke

酒

By Edmund Lai, Wang Xiaoke

酒 (“jiǔ”) is the Chinese character for wine or alcohol. The actual components in the character itself are quite simple—on the left is the radical氵(“sān diǎn shuǐ”, literally “three droplets of water”) which indicates that this character is associated with water or the liquid state; and on the right is酉 (“yǒu”), which is the original character for wine since it depicts the shape of a wine bottle in ancient China. (And酉 is also the tenth of the 12 Earthly Branches—十二支 or “shí 'èr zhī”, which corresponds to the “rooster” in the 12 Chinese zodiac signs.)

酒is widely available in China no matter which street corner you are on. Whether it is白酒 (“bái jiǔ”, Chinese white wine), 啤酒 (“píjiǔ”, beer), 紅酒 (“hóngjiǔ”, red wine), or藥酒(“yào jiǔ”, Chinese herbal wine, often with a sweet aroma and said to have health benefits such as improving sexual stamina), they are all usually available within walking distance in a small convenience store.

However, the culture of酒in China is quite different from that of the West. Most Chinese people prefer to drink at dinner parties rather than at bars. A variety of food is prepared to be served only as companion of wine (the Chinese phrase of which is下酒菜,“xià jiǔ cài”). During a toast, everyone would cheerfully shout out 干杯 (“gān bēi”, cheers) as they clink glasses, inducing a lively atmosphere. While doing so, everybody would try to keep the tip of his/her glass lower than the tips of the other glasses; this implies the other people as being superior to him/herself, and is a sign of respect. While this is not strictly enforced as no one would try to analyze the exact positioning of the clink, it is still customary to make an observable effort during a toast.

In fact, many Chinese people take alcohol as an unavoidable part of social life. This is especially true for men in business settings who often get drunk in an effort to entertain their business clients. Similar sentiments can be found across China, anywhere there is a future father-in-law to please, or a prof i table connection to maintain. In such cases, 酒 becomes a tool, a key; much like a cunning move in chess, this is a banner of valiancy and wisdom on the battlef i eld of the dining table.

Still there are those who simply seek the pleasure of drinking. Friends drink together to make sure everyone is equally happy. An old man drinks alone and immerses himself in the past, his golden days. Some fighters believe that the more they drink, the better skills they can acquire. The famous Tang dynasty poet Li Bai loved this “thing in cups” so much that he would willingly be drunk forever in“this grand dream which we call life,”and finally fell off his boat trying to catch the moon’s ref l ection in the river and drowned.

After all, in the vicissitudes of the long history of China, 酒 has been one of the most conceivable consolations common people could have. And we have no reason to doubt that the role of this “thing in cups,” as Li Bai would call it, would be any different in this even crazier modern dream world. Liberation, hope, danger, no matter what酒 brings, Chinese people, or all peoples, I presume, are unlikely to break up with this old friend of ours.

Oracle Bone Script

Seal Script

Regular Script

World Cultural Heritage Taoist Holy Place National Geological Park National 5 A-class Tourist Area

Wudang Mountain, also named Taihe Mountain, located in Shiyan City, Hubei Province, is famous for its natural beauty, ancient building complex, Taoist culture and Wudang kung fu.

Wudang Mountain