As an important part of Handan’s food culture, wine culture has penetrated into almost every field of social life for thousands of years, and has contributed to the development and prosperity of Handan’s food culture. Handan's long wine-making history can be traced back to the Neolithic Cishan Culture period 8,000 years ago, and is one of the sources of Chinese wine culture. As far back as the beginning of the Warring States Period, winemaking from spring water in the Shili Liquor Building in the west of Handan City has begun to take shape. The quality of the wine is sweet, clear and mellow, and it is famous all over the world. Sima Qian's "Historical Records" and "Biographies", Zhuangzi, "Huainanzi" and other famous ancient books all record the historical stories of Handan wine making and the feudal princes fighting for hegemony and forming blood alliances. The famous "Lu wine is thin and The allusion of "Handan Siege" is a good story about Handan wine that has been passed down through the ages. The famous poets of the Tang Dynasty, such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Wang Changling, etc., came to Handan many times to explore the ancient times and drink the fine wines, leaving behind eternal masterpieces praising Handan's fine wines. The "Handan Fengqu Liquor" in Zhang Nengchen's "Liquor Names" of the Song Dynasty is a typical representative of distilled liquor at that time. The rise of "Zhen Yuan Zeng Shao Fang" in the Ming Dynasty shines with the glory bestowed by Wanli and Qianlong emperors in the Ming and Qing dynasties. When Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty was drinking and having fun at his palace in Congtai, he impromptuly wrote the poem "Shooting Hulu and waiting for Luo Qi/I will never return after being drunk with ten thousand fine wines". Zhenyuan Zeng Liquor, now inherited and brewed by Handan Congtai Liquor Company, is currently the only famous liquor in Hebei Province that has been awarded the "Chinese Liquor Culture Classic Brand".
Drinking rules are also an important part of Handan wine culture.
Among the many drinking rituals, guessing is undoubtedly the most popular and ostentatious one. In Handan, guessing boxing is generally called boxing and matchmaking. But I saw two people with red faces after drinking, each holding out a hand and shouting at each other. The number of fingers kept changing, trying to make the other lose punches, and then drink. This is punching. In fact, punching is relatively simple. Two people each use one hand, and then stretch out their fingers. At the same time, they have to guess the number of the other person's fingers. If the sum of the number of the two people's fingers is the same as the number they shouted, even if It was a winning punch.
Boxing is very technical. The so-called technique, on the one hand, is to be good at grasping the pattern of the opponent's punches, that is, habitually counting the fingers outstretched. On the other hand, you must make corresponding changes in your own punches, and strive to guess the result. In this way, the number to be guessed is from 0 to 10***11. Moreover, each number has a unique name: 0 means "Dui Bao Hammer", also simply called "Dui" or "Hammer"; 1 means "One Heart Respect", also simply called "One Match"; 2 means "One Heart Respect", also simply called "One Match"; For the sake of "brothers' good", we simply call them "two". This is also used when "meeting" is started when punching. The two people hold out their thumbs at the same time and shout "Hello, brothers", just like two players in the boxing ring gently touch their gloves before the official start of the game, which represents a unity. kind of etiquette; 3 is "Three Taoyuan", simply called "three" or "three"; 4 is "four seasons wealth", simply called "four"; 5 is "five chiefs", simply called "kui" or "kui" "Leader"; 6 is "Six Lian Shun", simply called "Six"; 7 is "Qiao Qi Match", simply called "Qi" or "Qiao"; 8 is "Eight Horses", simply called "Eight" "; 9 means "almost there", and is simply called "nine" or "quickly", which means that 10 is almost there; 10 means "all are there", and is also simply called "ten", which means that the fingers of two people are adding up. The largest number together. When punching in Handan, the Handan dialect is used and simple shouting is used. Because the pronunciation of Handan dialect lacks the second and third tones, the sound of punching sounds straighter, shorter, louder, and bolder. Moreover, Handan boxing pays attention to continuity. "Two matches and one drink" means that after losing two matches, you have to drink a glass of wine. When there is no loss of wine in the middle, there is usually no pause. If you win the opponent's hand in a row, you must quickly shout "yours" or "win" and then continue rowing without pausing. Most of the people who drink in Handan are good at fisting. This kind of fisting sounds unique and looks like a scenery.
Of course, if friends from out of town drink together, sometimes they have to follow the Handan people's punches when they get excited. However, due to my lack of proficiency, not only did I lose more than I won, but I also often lost the match, and I also struggled when guessing and calling. The so-called loss of match is generally divided into two situations. One is that the number is shouted out, but it is impossible to get this result even if the number of fingers stretched out by oneself plus the opponent's five fingers at most is reached; the other is that the number one shouts out is too small. , even if the other party didn't lift a finger, the number of fingers he stretched out already exceeded the number he shouted. Losing the match not only fails to win, but also ruins the scenery. However, the hospitable Handan people generally do not care about these.
The biggest disadvantage of punching is that the sound is too loud. If you drink in your own home, once a fistfight is started, the whole village or whole building will know who owns the drinking place. If you are dining in a restaurant, if there are several tables with guests shaking hands, the entire restaurant will become noisy, seriously affecting the dining of other guests. Therefore, due to popular demand, the sound of Handan boxing is slowly disappearing now.
The disappearance of one old thing often creates opportunities for the emergence of another new thing. Although there are fewer punches, there are still many drinking games in Handan. In recent years, a drinking game called "bluffing the leopard" has become popular. Of course, the "leopard" is not the beast in the zoo, but a dice. It is this kind of small plastic cube with numbers 1-6 engraved on it that made Handan's drinking ceremony enter a relatively silent era from sound.
The game of bluffing the leopard probably originated in bars in Guangdong and Hong Kong. Two people each hold a cup with five dice in each. After shaking it, they guess the number of a certain number in it. Different from guessing the numbers with punches, bluffing leopards is reflected in the word "bluff". Because the opponent cannot see the situation of his own dice, he can tell lies. The purpose is to lead the opponent astray by misleading and make him guess wrong. Drink afterwards. However, it is not easy to find a special cup for bluffing leopards when drinking in Handan. Therefore, a small bowl is usually used instead. When throwing the dice into the bowl, quickly cover the mouth of the bowl with your hand to prevent the other party from looking. arrive. When you put the dice into the small bowl, the dice will make a crisp and pleasant "clatter" sound, becoming a new beautiful scenery on the wine table.
The way to play dice is not only "bluffing the leopard", but also "throwing dice", "laying mines", "picking dust", "drilling holes", "big and small points", etc. etc.; there are "one-on-one" "one-on-one" competitions, and there are also "group activities" in which a table full of people participate. In short, the small dice adds endless fun to the wine table.
Drinking order is a custom and a culture. While enjoying the wine culture, Handan people are also creating culture and constantly injecting new elements into the wine culture. Drinking rules make the wine mellow, fragrant and pure, and also make the drinker simple, relaxed and happy. If you have the chance, be sure to go to Handan and enjoy the pleasure of drinking among the various alcoholic drinks.