Drinking culture on different occasions

Answer 1

In China, different occasions had different drinking cultures:

** 1. A social occasion **
1. ** Henan's Fish Head Wine custom **
- In a banquet between friends, if there were Henan friends present, they might encounter the custom of "fish head wine". A single fish could give rise to many drinking games, such as "head three, tail four,""back five, belly six,""fish eyes drink three glasses,""fish gills drink three glasses," and other rules. Just this fish alone could make people drink many glasses of wine. Moreover, Henan also had the custom of "serving wine." The host's family would take turns to serve wine for the guests. The guests would drink while the host did not drink. This reflected the host's hospitality, but the guests would easily drink too much if they were not careful.
2. ** Banquet in Inner Mongolia **
- At the banquet in Inner Mongolia, everyone had to "lift" their glasses to start drinking. When the atmosphere of the banquet was getting stronger, the host would sing a song. At this time, someone wearing a blue hada would toast the guests. As long as the song did not stop, the guests had to drink non-stop. The people here often had a high alcohol tolerance, and drinking was like a "sea of wine."
3. ** Banquet in Shandong **
- The formal banquet was held around a round table, with four guests as the standard. Occasionally, small guests would join in. After enjoying four hot dishes, the guest of honor announced the start of the drinking ceremony. The main escort would toast three glasses of wine to each guest in turn, the deputy escort would toast three more glasses, and then the three escorts and four escorts would toast one glass each to complete a round of "three rounds". Each glass of wine had a specific meaning, such as the second glass of "good things come in pairs", the fourth glass of "peace throughout the four seasons", and so on. The serving of dishes was also crucial. If the host did not order, the banquet would continue, testing the host's ability to control the scene.
4. ** Banquet in Gansu **
- There was the Four Steps of Drinking in Gansu Province, which was to toast each other, pass the game with a fist, and propose to disperse the banquet. At the beginning, the owner raised his glass to three glasses of wine. If he could not finish it in one gulp, there was a rule of "three glasses of wine penalty". After three cups of wine, the host waited for everyone to eat. The official banquet began. The host first stood up and toasted each guest, and then the others toasted in turn. After that, everyone would play a game of "passing the game". Those who could drink less might be eliminated before the hot dishes were served.
5. ** Banquet of Miao people in Guizhou **
- The Miao people in Guizhou welcomed their guests with "Mountain and Water" wine, which was the highest courtesy to the guests.

** 2. Workplace (The reflection of drinking culture)**
- The situation at the workplace was more complicated. Some self-righteous leaders would rely on their status to let their subordinates accompany them to drink. A leader with good drinking habits might say,"I'll do it, you can do whatever you want" when they clinked glasses, but a leader with bad drinking habits might coerce his subordinates to drink. This was because in China culture,"face" was very important, and subordinates often had to drink.

** 3. Festivities **
1. Dragon Boat Festival
- There was a custom of drinking "calamus wine". Wine became an element of celebration, and people felt the festive atmosphere through drinking.
2. ** Double Ninth Festival **
- Drinking chrysanthemum wine was a part of the festival tradition. Drinking added to the cultural content of the festival.
3. ** New Year's Eve (Spring Festival)**
- Wine was an indispensable element in the New Year's Eve dinner. When family members gathered for the New Year's Eve dinner and kept vigil, they would drink to express their celebration of the past year and their expectations for the new year.

** 4. Sacrifice and Funeral Places **
1. ** Sacrifice to ancestors **
- Wine was regarded as an important item to offer to their ancestors. People used wine to express their nostalgia for their ancestors.
2. ** Funeral **
- During the funeral, a banquet would be held to commemorate and mourn the deceased. Moreover, the ancients would put wine in the tomb after the burial of the deceased, hoping that the deceased could enjoy drinking in the underworld.

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