Article丨Liu Dong
Chinese wines with different origins and inheritances form a huge series with various flavors and tastes, telling people the continuous history of the Chinese nation. Long-lasting, and vast inhabiting area. People only need to take a look at the alluring wine names throughout the ages, such as Jiannan Shaochun, Hangzhou Qiulubai, Shanxi lamb wine, Luzhou pearl red, Xiangzhou broken jade, Xijing golden mash? Their appetite will be whetted, and there may even be a few Very drunk. Fortunately, despite thousands of years of wind and rain, many of the famous wines have not been lost. Like the Dukang wine in Cao Cao's saying "How can we relieve our worries, only Dukang"? The Lanling wine in Li Bai's saying "Lanling fine wine tulips, jade bowls filled with amber light"; Du Mu's saying "May I ask where the restaurant is? The shepherd boy points to the apricot The Xinghuacun Fenjiu in "Flower Village" is still emitting a poetic aroma, making people drunk.
In terms of texture and taste, these long-standing traditional wines, as well as many contemporary wines that have come from behind, of course have their own characteristics and advantages. Daqu Maotai-flavor Maotai and Langjiu; Daqu light-flavor Fenjiu and Xifeng Liquor; Daqu strong-flavor Wuliangye, Jiannanchun, Luzhou Laojiao, Gujing Gongjiu, and Yanghe Daqu; medicinal-flavor Zhuyeqing, and rice wine Shaoxing rice dishes, Huadiao dishes, etc. are among the best. But it is a pity that even if the author is the best taster of taste, it is impossible to describe in words the wonderful taste enjoyment I have when tasting these fine wines, so as to invite readers to enjoy them. Therefore, the focus of this article is rather on the unique "wine culture" formed by Chinese people when they drink. It is no exaggeration to say that this special behavioral pattern and cultural atmosphere surrounding the contents of the cup has a more authentic Chinese taste than the unique taste of Chinese wine. Moreover, the occurrence and development process of drinking culture is also a microcosm of the ever-changing history of Chinese civilization.
The reason why drinking methods can be incorporated into different cultural paradigms and given different cultural meanings with the evolution of history is actually related to the characteristics of wine itself. There are two interpretations of the word "wine" in "Shuowen": one is "Jiuye" - "relating to the good and evil of human nature"; the other is "Zuoye" - "caused by good and bad luck". This is certainly not enough to explain the true origin of the word "wine", because the word "wine" was first connected to the character "you", and its shape in oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions show a close relationship with pottery pots. However, in terms of the nature of "wine" itself, Xu Shen's above explanation is quite reasonable. The so-called "good and evil in human nature" contains the following meaning: wine is a kind of entertainment. It cannot change people's original mentality, but can only enhance this mentality by stimulating the central nervous system. . When you are happy, you will feel that "you have to drink too much to sing during the day" (Du Fu: "Hearing that the Army Recaptured Henan and Hebei"); when you are depressed, you will feel that "raising a glass to relieve your sorrow will make you even more sad" (Li Bai: "Xuanzhou Xie?"). When you are energetic, you can "wine with Han Shu" like Su Shunqin; when you are decadent, you can hang up your seal and hide in wine like Tao Qian. As for the so-called "the cause of good and bad luck", we can borrow the following statement from the medicine sage Li Shizhen as a footnote - "Wine is the beauty of heaven. Drinking the wine with curd face, if you drink less, it can harmonize with the blood and move the qi, strengthen the spirit, protect you from the cold, and eliminate sorrow. It stimulates excitement; drinking too much will hurt the mind and consume blood, damage the stomach and kill the essence, causing illness and irritation. Shao Yaofu's poem says, "Drinking good wine will teach you to be slightly drunk." If a man indulges in excessive indulgence and takes it for granted that he is drunk, it may lead to illness, loss of behavior, or even death of his country and family. The harm is beyond words! "Although a person's alcohol capacity varies, modern medicine has proven that when it is in the blood, When the alcohol concentration reaches 0.05%-0.1%, it will excite the human central nervous system, making people euphoric and relaxed. When the alcohol concentration in the blood rises to 0.2%-0.3%, it will have an inhibitory effect on the person. It makes people drunk, and no one can escape this rule. Precisely because wine can have such complex and changeable effects on people, it can serve as a cultural information carrier with multiple interpretation possibilities to adapt to the different needs of various stages of human civilization.
It is difficult to confirm who invented Chinese wine. The ancestors worshiped by the traditional wine industry are generally Du Kang and Yi Di. As stated in Jiang Tong's "Jiu Gao" of the Jin Dynasty: "The rise of wine originated from the emperor. Or Yun Yi Di, one is called Du Kang." However, upon closer inspection, It seems that most of the above statements are false. Gao Cheng's "Shi Yuan" of the Song Dynasty already said: "I don't know who Du Kang was, but many people in ancient and modern times said that he was the first to make wine." Based on Xu Shen's "Shuowen" of the Han Dynasty, "In ancient times, Shaokang first made brooms and wine. Shaokang, According to the theory "Du Kang Ye", this Du Kang was only the fifth generation king of the Xia Dynasty. He was much later than Yidi who paid tribute to Xia Yu for "zhijiu", and could not be the inventor of wine at all. Furthermore, Yi Di, who lived at the same time as Yu the Great, only lived about 4,000 years ago. Compared with the early wine vessels of the Longshan Culture more than 5,000 years ago, they were more than a thousand years later and equally different. May be the originator of wine. As soon as it dates back to more than 5,000 years ago, readers will naturally think that there were no written records at that time. Therefore, no matter who invented wine, future generations will never know. What can be roughly inferred is: considering that the discovery of wine is not difficult (for example, the "Jiu Jing" says that "drinking from empty mulberry trees, brewing with millet and wheat to make a mellow mash, is the beginning of wine"), and considering that "wine" The relationship between the prototype of Chinese characters and pottery pots shows that the birth of Chinese wine cannot be too late than the emergence of primitive pottery industry, and should be at least 6,000 years ago.
Fortunately, for the purposes of this article, it is not important to find out the exact year when sake began. What is really important is that we can still accurately know that once wine was formed, it had a huge impact on the character of the Chinese nation. Questions about alcohol and national character have attracted the attention of cultural anthropologists. Ruth Benedict even divided primitive civilizations into two categories in "Cultural Patterns" - "Dionysian" and "Apollinian"; she said that in Dionysian civilization, "People ceremonially attained that state of grace which was to them the most religious by drinking fermented prickly pear juice." In their customs and their poetry, drunkenness and religious belief are synonymous. Drunkenness can confuse hazy dreams with insight. It makes the whole tribe feel an excitement related to religious belief." By this standard, the initial stage of Chinese civilization can be said to be a "Dionysian stage." The remaining historical materials show that merchants were quite superstitious about primitive witchcraft, and this popular witchcraft style was inseparable from the drinking style. According to research by Luo Zhenyu and others, the words "sacrifice", "libation", "ritual" and other words related to the practice of witchcraft in oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions are all derived from the word "wine". The reason for this is as Zhang Guangzhi speculated in the article "Witches and Witchcraft in the Shang Dynasty": "Wine is also for ancestors and gods to enjoy, and it may also be for wizards to drink to help wizards achieve a spiritual state. "Because of this, in the minds of later generations, the Xia and Shang dynasties, especially the latter, were both superstitious dynasties and a dynasty in which life and death were intoxicated, and there was a logical internal connection. According to legend, Jie, the conquered king in late summer, tried to build a "wine pond" for fun. The wine pond could transport boats and the dike could be seen for ten miles ("New Preface: Cishe"). The conquered king of the late Shang Dynasty, Zhou, built a "meat forest" to provide for "long nights of drinking", "making men and women chase each other naked, is it for drunkenness and lewdness?" ("Lunheng·Yuzeng"). What's more, "Shang Shu·Jiu Gao" says that not only the king of Shang "was shy about drinking wine", but also the subjects "the common people drank wine themselves", so that the fishy smell spread to the sky, "therefore the sky mourned the Yin people" ". Whether the Yin Shang Dynasty ruined the country purely because of wine seems to be open to discussion. However, it is not a problem that this country in the "Dionysian stage" is in a state of madness and obsessed with primitive religion, and thus lost to another country that was more sober and rational - Zhou Dynasty.
Because "Yin's lessons are not far away", the Zhou people who were deeply aware of worries and hoped to match heaven with virtue were less obsessed with the religious realm that required fanatical experience, and more concerned about the need to deal with it calmly. personnel. For this reason, to use Max Weber's terminology, the "witchcraft" has been greatly "dispelled". It was in the transformation of this way of thinking that Duke Zhou's "making rituals and making music" inevitably emerged. From then on, since the emphasis was placed on using the rationality, norms, and moderation contained in "ritual" to govern "le", the perceptual joy contained in the word "le" no longer meant indulgence, intoxication, and indulgence in free whims, but meant harmony, Neutralize and follow the heart's desires without exceeding the rules. Li Zehou once pointed out in "Chinese Aesthetics": "Even if the 'ritual and music' tradition is not said to be of the Apollinian type, at least it is not of the Dionysian type." During the Yin and Zhou dynasties, this transition from "Dionysian type" to "non-Dionysian" The transformation of "god-like" is a sudden change in the cultural genes of Chinese civilization. It has changed the spiritual outlook of the Chinese nation to a great extent and shaped many characters that are now regarded as "the reason why Chinese people become Chinese." feature. However, who would have thought that this earth-shaking change in cultural types was inseparable from the change in people's attitude towards small drinks at that time.
It is recorded in "Warring States Policy·Wei Ce II" that the King of Lu (first Duke of Lu) said during the banquet: "In the past, the emperor's daughter ordered Yi Di to make wine and it was beautiful. After entering, Yu , Yu drank it and enjoyed it, so he sparse Yi Di and ordered the wine, saying: "In the future, there will be people who will destroy their country with wine."" The content of this story is probably false. As the founder of the country, Dayu also It is unlikely to have the historical experience of "subjugation". However, the story told by Lu Jun itself can be read as an anecdotal history, because it does conform to people's general vigilance towards wine after the "Dionysian stage". In the "Jiu Gao" just mentioned, Zhou Gong clearly asked people to "no Yi wine" and "drink only to worship". He hoped that the wine that used to destroy people's thinking and willpower would be strictly limited to specific occasions where sacrifices were held, so that Incorporate people's behavior and even their thoughts and feelings into the norms of etiquette. Starting from this spirit, the Zhou Dynasty developed the drinking ritual, as stated in the Book of Rites and Music: “The use of pigs for wine is not considered a disaster, but as prison lawsuits become more frequent, the flow of wine will also bring disaster. This is why the previous king prepared for the disaster of drinking because of the wine ceremony. The guests and hosts bowed a hundred times as a gift, and drank all day long without getting drunk. "To this day, through the provisions of "Ritual Rituals: Drinking Ceremony in the Village", we can You can still vaguely see the complete process of holding this "one-off ceremony". According to Yang Kuan's article "A New Exploration of "Country Drinking Ceremony" and "Feasting Ceremony", it is divided into six stages: first, seeking guests (discussing the ranking of guests), warning guests (informing guests), and speeding guests (reminding guests) Inviting guests), the etiquette of welcoming guests; the second is the etiquette of presenting guests (the host and guest toast each other); the third is making music (divided into four stages of rising songs, sheng playing, interlude songs, and combined music); the fourth is traveling rewards (according to the order of honor and inferiority) Repay each other in turn); the fifth day is about no calculation of honors and no calculation of pleasure (constantly drink and have fun, and then stop drunk and have fun all the time); the sixth day is about seeing off guests and paying thanks in the future. This ancient custom of rural drinking ceremony has been passed down by scholar-bureaucrats for a long time, so much so that we can still see such a scene in Wu Jingzi's "The Scholars" in the Qing Dynasty.
Ordinary people may think that it is just a big set of red tape. But according to legend, the great philosopher Confucius saw through the two interdependent points behind it at a glance: the first is to be able to clarify the hierarchical order of "noble and humble" and "younger brother"; the second is to be able to make people "harmony" "But not flow", "An Yan is peaceful but not chaotic". Taken together, these two are almost the entire essence of "ritual and music culture". Therefore, Confucius also said, "I look at the countryside (drinking rituals), and I know how easy the king's way is" ("Book of Rites, Township") Drinking Righteousness"). From the perspective of this article, what is particularly noteworthy is that once the drunken cultural model of the past was negated with the progress of civilization, wine itself was given new value connotations to perform new cultural functions. The euphoric illusion of separation between form and spirit caused by it is no longer used to seek communication between humans and gods, but is instead used to resolve the barriers and differences between humans. Although the hierarchy is strict and the etiquette is rigid, as long as the rules are followed, people can drink and have fun together in peace and have a good time. Here, moderate alcohol is still enough to bring happiness to people, but it has become a happiness within rational limits rather than irrational happiness.
Readers will be amazed by the wide adaptability of wine to various cultural requirements. However, what is even more amazing is that even within the same civilization structure, or even on the same occasion, as long as the context changes, the meaning of wine may be completely different. The most extreme example of this is the seemingly uncontradictory provision in the Zhou Rites - the duty of a rural official is to examine people's virtues and conduct every three years and hold a rural drinking ceremony to honor the elected officials. Pay tribute to the wise and capable; and Lu Xu's duty is to punish those who are disrespectful with wine (or even whipping) during such rituals. In the blink of an eye, the taste of the wine magically changed. It seems difficult to understand that wine is given such two completely opposite meanings at the same time. However, upon closer inspection, it is not difficult to find that the reward and punishment functions of wine are derived from the same logic of ritual and music civilization. The key to the problem is: on the one hand, the etiquette stipulates that when showing respect, "Xuanjiu (wine mixed with water) must be served", and "only barbarians order wine (mellow wine)"; on the other hand, the etiquette and law also stipulates that toasting The smaller jue is used when drinking wine, and the larger one is used when drinking wine as a punishment (according to "Kaogongji", "Shiwen", etc., the capacity ratio of the two wine vessels is 1 liter: 5 buckets or 1 liter: 7 liters). It turns out that from the perspective of those who make rituals and music, since maintaining rational restraint and vigilance against the temptations and harms of wine is actually a sign of civilization, then forcing a person to use a large bowl specially designed to hold wine will seem to future generations. Drinking too much strong wine with a drinking vessel (Rong Geng holds this view) makes the person savagely exceed the standard of moderation in behavior, which is nothing more than a humiliating punishment. On the special occasion of the village drinking ceremony, this kind of physical and mental pain caused by being punished does form a sharp contrast with others happily sipping light wine in small cups.
Shang Binghe once listed the use of wine as a punishment and punishment in "Book of Rites", "Yanzi Chunqiu", "Huainanzi", and "Shishuo Xinyu" in "A Study of Social Customs of the Past Dynasties" example, and said in confusion: "My husband drinks alcohol, which is liked by others, and is punished for it. If he meets someone who is addicted to drinking, wouldn't he become more satisfied with drinking instead of punishment? However, this trend has not ceased. This kind of habit cannot be explained." "But now, with the above analysis, we already know that this custom of "respecting someone for drinking and punishing someone for drinking" is actually a unique ancient custom of the Chinese people derived from the tradition of ritual and music, and is related to their vigilance and respect for alcohol. Related to moderation. Of course, the practice of using alcohol as punishment gradually disappeared in the future. However, due to its popularity, the Chinese people in later generations developed the habit of exchanging drinks with each other. Precisely because everyone has to maintain moderation in drinking, they have to be too attentive to each other, and even persuade each other to drink, both soft and hard, to see who will break through the defense line and make a fool of himself due to the excessive drinking. This little prank aimed at making people laugh is the legacy and accumulation of the ancient ritual of using wine as punishment, and it is also the most Chinese cultural complex (imagine if there is a Russian at the same table, he will definitely play into his heart) Please take this as a good intention). Needless to say, this kind of drinking habit often turns into incestuous drinking, drinking, and drinking fights, which can cause serious harm to harmony, and has become a uniquely Chinese bad custom. However, this somewhat compulsive way of drinking has also yielded a variety of interesting drinking orders. Archery, pot throwing, guessing, chess, poetry, couplets, jokes, riddles, etc. have all become games to entertain and drink. Of course, this kind of playful scene can be divided into refined and vulgar ones. The former is like Li Bai's "If the poem fails, the fine will be three buckets of gold, grain and wine", and the latter is like Xue Pan's "Daughter's Music" in "A Dream of Red Mansions". But in any case, the serious and solemn ancient rituals have turned into a relaxed and noisy carnival here, although the loser will still be willing to be "floated (punished) with a big white (cup)" in the midst of laughter.
It is a pity that just before this "feast that lasts", the ancients sighed again and again, how limited and short-lived the joyous gatherings in life are - "Singing over wine, how many things are there in life, like morning dew" , There will be more suffering in the past.” For this reason, it is precisely out of attachment and persistence to the joys of the floating world that the Heideggerian existential theme has been forced out in Chinese history. Coincidentally, due to the wide adaptability of wine itself, this awareness of life caused by concern for death is closely connected with it:
"Taking it to seek immortality" , Most of them are caused by medicine, it is better to drink fine wine and be taken in Wan and Su" ("Nineteen Ancient Poems")
"Be generous with generosity, worry will be unforgettable."
The only way to relieve worries is Du Kang. " (Cao Cao's "Dan Ge Xing")
"The five-flowered horse and the golden fur will be exchanged for fine wine, and I will sell the eternal sorrow with you. "(Li Bai's "About to Enter the Wine")
"My motherland wanders in my mind, I am so affectionate that I should laugh at me, and I will be born early. The world is like a dream, and one statue still shines in the moonlight. " (Su Shi's "Niannujiao·Chibi Nostalgia")
After the Han and Wei dynasties, the same tone that has been revolving in these famous sentences is very complex - both because of the joy brought by wine and lamenting the joy of life. The connotation of wine in Chinese cultural history has been greatly deepened. In the Xia and Shang dynasties, it was mainly used to strengthen the relationship between humans and gods. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, it was mainly used to strengthen the connection between people. Then, after the discovery of literati in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, its main function was to help experience the relationship between people and oneself. The reason why wine can encourage people to break away from all kinds of social bonds and gain a free mentality is as what Zhang Han from Jin Dynasty said, "It is better to have a glass of wine than to make me famous." Or as Li Bai said, "The emperor can't come on board, so he calls himself." "I am an immortal in wine." That is not necessarily because he was anesthetized by alcohol and had the Zhuangzi-style illusion of transcending the world to be seen, but because he was inspired by drinking and realized the authenticity and irreplaceability of individual life. Let us Let’s quote two more poems:
“Who can have a day’s leisure when he disturbs the famous? I am here without a partner, drinking wine against the green mountains. "(Han Yu's "Wine Wine")
"Those who have endless days are only limited in their bodies.
If it's not in a glass of wine, how can you express your innocence? "(Li Jingzhong's "Persuading Drinking")
If you drink like this, you can really say that the more you drink, the more sober you become!
This article is selected from "Chinese Civilization Reader", the original title is "Drinking Culture" "
Yilin Publishing House "Chinese Civilization Reader"
Ge Zhaoguang, Yan Buke, Gao Minglu, Chen Pingyuan and other 60 literary and historical masters
81 interpretation articles
An Encyclopedia of Chinese Civilization
Chief Editor: Liu Dong
Price: 88
Publication Year: 2017-05< /p>
ISBN: 978-7-5447-6898-6