China’s Go-to Beverage中國最受歡迎的飲品

文/妮科爾·劉 譯/孫亞沖

By Nicole Liu

對很多西方人來說，喝白開水是很奇怪的。但大部分中國人（包括其他一些國家的人）也會覺得美國人喝冰水的習慣很奇怪，甚至有損健康。

[2]出身中醫家庭，我自己就特別喜歡喝熱水。

我早晨起來第一件事就是喝熱水，一喝就是一整天。甚至在夏天也是如此。在我出生的大家庭里，沒人敢喝哪怕是常溫的水——因為這樣做會遭到來自父母、嬸娘、兄弟姐妹以及爺爺奶奶一連串的呵責，他們幾乎會異口同聲地說：“喝涼水會肚子疼！”

[3]有人認為這種喝熱水的習慣可以追溯到1949年中華人民共和國成立初期，那時自來水水質比較差。

[4]“我記得小時候政府經常鼓勵我們喝白開水。”68歲的李振輝（音）說道。他是我最近在電影院認識的，當時他坐在那里一邊看電影一邊喝熱水。“當時，每個單位跟社區都有開水房，會有人挨家挨戶地送熱水。早晨一大早他們就過來，給你放在門口的瓶子里裝滿水。他們還會經常說，喝熱水不僅對身體好而且很衛生。”

For many Westerners, the idea of drinking plain hot water is odd.But most Chinese (among others) think Americans’ habit of chugging ice water is equally bizarre, and even unhealthy.

[2] As the daughter of a traditional Chinese doctor, I am a devoted hot water drinker.

I drink it the first thing in the morning, and throughout the day. Even in the summer. I cannot live without it. In the big family I was brought up in, no one would dare to pour even room temperature water—doing so would risk a chorus of criticism, with parents, aunts, cousins and grandparents chastising you almost simultaneously:“Cold water gives you cramps!”

[3] Some people trace the hot-water habit to the founding of Communist China in 1949, when tap water quality wasn’t high.

[4] “I remember the government promoted drinking boiled water a lot when I was a child,” said Li Zhenhui,68, whom I met recently at a movie theater, where he was sipping hot water while watching a film. “There were boiler rooms in every [workplace] and community, and people delivered hot water to each household. They would do it very early in the morning by fi lling the containers you left outside the door.They kept saying it was for our health and hygiene.”

[5] Under the precepts of Chinese medicine, balance is key, and hot or warm water is considered essential to balance cold and humidity; in addition, it is believed to promote blood circulation and toxin release.

[6] When I tried explaining this to my husband’s friends while on a trip to his ancestral homeland of South Africa,I was met with blank stares. But in fact,my husband has become a hot-water convert too.

[7] In 2013, while on a road trip from Scotland to England, I endured cold water for four days as we drove through the foggy countryside. On the fi fth day,my Chinese stomach could take it no longer, and I begged my husband to stop somewhere to have a proper glass of steaming hot water. My husband, a Brit who has been in Beijing for over fi ve years, readily agreed.

[5]從中醫的角度來講，平衡很重要，熱水和溫水都有助于平衡人體內的寒氣和濕氣；此外，熱水和溫水還有助于人體內的血液循環和排毒。

[6]有一次去我老公的南非老家旅行，途中我把這些話講給他的朋友們聽時，他們聽得目瞪口呆。不過，事實上我老公也已經養成喝熱水的習慣了。

[7] 2013年，我們有一次從蘇格蘭到英格蘭自駕游。當時我們開車穿過霧氣茫茫的鄉下，一連喝了四天的冷水，到了第五天我的胃實在撐不住了， 就央求著老公停下來，找個地方弄點熱水喝喝。老公欣然同意了，他雖然是個英國人，可在北京已經待了五年多。

[8]我們最后找了家當地的咖啡店，環境還不錯，接待我們的女服務員也很熱情。我心想還是要杯茶吧，省得要熱水還得解釋半天。當然，茶包不過是要杯熱水的幌子罷了。

[8] We ended up in a lovely local cafe and were received by a friendly waitress. I figured we should order tea rather than trying to explain our request.Of course, the teabag would just be a ruse to get a plain cup of hot water.

[9] But my husband insisted there was nothing to be ashamed of, and we should directly ask for “hot water only.”He cleared his throat and in a posh British accent said, “Can I have a glass of hot water?” He paused awkwardly,then added, “Please?”

[10] The waitress’ eyes widened and her mouth suddenly popped open, like a cartoon character receiving unexpected news. She was so confused she looked pained. She stuttered a reply: “To … to… to drink?”

After she puzzled over whether to serve our water in a tea cup or coffee mug, we eventually received the precious steaming liquid (in tea cups)but felt cold stares from every corner of the cafe.

[9]不過老公執意說沒什么不好意思的，我們就應該直接說“只要熱水”。他清了清嗓子，帶著濃濃的英式口音問道：“能給我來杯熱水嗎？”他有些尷尬地頓了頓，然后又說了一句，“可以嗎？”

[10]當時那個女服務員眼睛睜得老大，嘴也突然張開了，就像卡通人物突然聽到意外消息的樣子。她很困惑，也很郁悶，結結巴巴地應道：“用……用……用來喝？”

在她糾結完究竟該用茶杯還是用咖啡杯給我們倒熱水之后，我們終于得到了一杯（用茶杯裝的）寶貴的熱水，但能感覺到店里很多人都向我們投來了異樣的目光。

[11]在中國，到店里要杯熱水不僅不會讓你看起來像個外人，相反大家會覺得你是自己人。有一次，是在12月份，天很冷，那天我在首都機場，這里有很多熱水供應站。當時3號航站樓的一個飲水機前有五個人在不耐煩地排隊打水，其中兩個人手里捧著方便面桶，其他人手里提著水壺。雖然機器上有三種按鈕可供選擇（熱水、溫水、冷水），大家紛紛按了第一個。

[11] In China, requesting hot water doesn’t make you an outsider, but rather puts you in a welcoming club.On a chilly December day, I was at the Beijing airport, which has numerous water stations for passengers. Five people queued impatiently in front of one dispenser in Terminal 3. Two were carrying instant noodle cups, the others were toting water bottles. Although there were three options (hot, warm,cold), everyone pressed the fi rst button.

[12] “I can’t drink cold water in the winter,” said Chen Hui, 27, who was holding a red Tupperware-type of heatresistant water bottle. She was on her way to Thailand for a two-week holiday.“That’s why I chose Thailand. I fi gured if I don’t get to drink the hot water, at least it is so hot that my stomach can take cold water.”

[13] Flight attendants quickly learn Chinese passengers’ needs. A few years ago, on Emirates airlines I was served by a Lebanese fl ight attendant, Aaliyah Safaar. She spoke no Chinese, but could say “re shui” (hot water) surprisingly perfectly.

[12]“冬天我不能喝冷水，”27歲的陳慧（音）說道，手里拿著個紅色特百惠式的耐熱瓶。她正要前往泰國度假，在那里玩兩個星期。她說：“這就是我為什么會選擇泰國的原因，我想就算喝不到熱水，至少那里氣溫會很高，這樣哪怕喝冷水我的胃也能受得了。”

[13]中國人喝熱水的這種需求，也很快為各大航空公司的空乘人員所熟悉。幾年前，有一次我乘坐阿聯酋航空的航班，給我提供服務的是一位黎巴嫩的空姐，名叫阿莉婭·莎法， 雖然她不會說中文， 但re shui（熱水）這兩個字卻能說得驚人的標準。

“中國游客和其他國家游客一個很大的不同就是，中國游客會經常叫你倒杯re shui，而且很少有人喝酒。”阿莉婭·莎法說道。

[14] 2014年，在亞洲航空的飛機上還發生過一起因熱水而引發的惡性事件，當時一對中國夫婦將滾燙的熱水和面條潑在了一名乘務員的身上。這對夫婦本身就對座位安排及其他細節不滿，加之點熱水時被要求付錢而且找的零錢是泰銖，還不是人民幣，致使他們做出了上面的舉動。后來飛機為此返航，這對夫婦也被中國旅游部門列入了“黑名單”。

“One big difference between Chinese tourists and non-Chinese is you’ll be called dozens of times for ‘re shui,’ and fewer people drink alcohol,” she said.

[14] A dispute involving hot water turned violent aboard an AirAsia flight in 2014, when a Chinese couple threw the scalding liquid and noodles at a flight attendant. Upset about their seating arrangements and other details, the pair’s anger boiled over when they were forced to pay for hot water and received change in Thai baht instead of Chinese renminbi.The flight was diverted and they were later “blacklisted” by Chinese tourism authorities.

[15] Hotels overseas are getting hip to Chinese tourists’ needs, adding amenities like slippers, Chinese-language newspapers and, yes, teakettles.

[16] But there’s still a way to go.Before visiting Italy in 2013, I went on several tourist forums to prepare for my trip. “Bring a kettle!” was the heading of one of the most discussed topics on a popular travel website.

[17] These days, many Chinese have portable kettles. But Beijing still has a few boiler-room masters and re shui deliverymen, who fill and distribute thermoses.

[18] On a recent cold morning at the Tianyu market in northeast Beijing,50-year-old Li Mingquan was in the boiler room, busy loading his motorized tricycle with colorful plastic flasks to deliver to stall owners.

[19] The boiler is kept humming by a 62-year-old man surnamed Chen. The room is a relic left over from the days of the centrally planned economy, and used to be part of a state-owned company.

[15]國外酒店也開始熟悉中國游客的需求，在酒店里增加諸如拖鞋、中文報紙，以及，沒錯，燒水用的熱水壺之類的生活用品。

[16]但這還遠遠不夠。比如，2013年去意大利旅游之前，我瀏覽了幾個旅行論壇為出行做準備。其中一個很有名的旅行網站上的頭條就是“帶個燒水壺”。

[17]現如今很多中國人都有便攜式熱水壺。但北京仍然還有一些在鍋爐房燒水的師傅和熱水工，專門負責裝熱水、送熱水。

[18]最近，一個清冷的早晨，北京東北邊天宇市場的鍋爐房里，50多歲的李明泉（音）正忙著把五顏六色的塑料水瓶裝上機動三輪車，送給各個攤主。

[19]負責燒鍋爐的是62歲的陳師傅，這個鍋爐房還是計劃經濟時代留下來的，過去屬于國企的一部分。

[20]陳師傅每天早上8∶30左右上班，開門然后開始干活。“我干這個工作有些年頭了，所以很清楚每天該燒多少瓶水，主要還是看季節。”陳師傅說道。兩個小時后，陳師傅今天的當班就結束了，然后他用一把銹跡斑斑的黑色大鎖鎖好門。

[20] Chen arrives daily around 8:30 a.m., opens the gates, and gets down to business. “I’ve been doing this job for years, so I know how many containers of hot water I need to boil, depending on the season,” said Chen. Two hours later, his shift is over, and he secures the gates with a rusty black padlock.

[21] The job is a simple one, but Li says it’s part of the fabric of life.

“Some stalls are a bit far from here,people don’t want to walk in the cold with flasks filled with hot water, so I deliver these to them,” said Li, who charges about 75 cents to deliver each thermos. “They pay me for it. We all are happy. I have lots of customers. Most stall owners in that building need my service.” ■

[21]工作很簡單，但李師傅說這是生活的一部分。

“有的攤位離這兒有點兒遠，大冷天的，大伙兒不想提著個水瓶在外面走，所以我就給他們送過去。”李師傅說道。每瓶水他大約收7毛5。“他們付我錢。這樣大家都高興。我的客戶也不少，那棟樓里的大多數攤主都需要我給他們送熱水。” □