For many people, wine is the gift of God, it enriches life and liberates spirit. China has a long history of wine drinking and a distinctive drinking culture. Here in China, you may find that people drink on many occasions. In different situations, alcohol represents good wishes, welcomings, apology, gratitude, celebration, or even farewell. Sometimes, compared with the wine itself, when and how people drink is more important and interesting.

喜酒 (happiness wine)

In China, when people invite you to dinner, they sometimes say “invite you to drink wine”. Usually it doesn’t matter if you have to refuse the invitation. But, please keep in mind if somebody tell you that he would like to invite you to “drink happiness wine (喝喜酒)”, it is more than just an ordinary dinner. The “happiness wine” refers to a wedding dinner.

Chinese people consider weddings to be one of the happiest events in life. Just like many other joyous occasions, wine is usually indispensable. As a guest, you are not required to drink too much, but when the newlyweds come to make a toast, you will need to raise your glass, express your best wishes, and drink up.

As for newlyweds, wine drinking is part of their ceremony. Since the Pre-Qin Period, drinking “cross-cupped wine (交杯酒)” has been an important step in weddings. The new couple needs to hold a cup respectively, cross their arm with each other, and drink the wine in the cups at the same time.

满月酒 (full month wine)

The birth of a baby undoubtedly deserves celebration. In China, when the infant is one month old, his or her family will hold a party to celebrate with relatives and friends. Traditionally, one month is a meaningful time mark for a baby. If they remain healthy until then, it should be celebrated. On that day, visitors bring gifts for the baby and the baby’s parents should hold a banquet. The banquet is called “满月酒 (full month wine)”. People have dinner and drink wine on that day and give their best wishes to the baby. In some areas, the baby’s maternal grandmother will send rice wine and red eggs as gifts to friends.

寿酒 (longevity wine)

Celebrating birthdays of the elderly is called “祝寿” in Chinese, literally meaning “wish longevity”. The birthday dinner is called “寿酒 (longevity wine)”. Usually, these are held at landmark ages such as 60, 66, 70, or 80. At the dinner, guests and family make toasts to the birthday person, wishing him or her health and happiness. Of course, people can also celebrate young people’s birthdays, but usually the celebration is not called “祝寿”.

节日酒 (festival wine)

Almost every festival in China has something to do with wine. Different wines are served during different festivals. Chinese New Year is the most important traditional festival. Dinner on that day is “团圆酒 (reunion wine)”. Family members get together to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new spring. In ancient times, people drank Tusu Wine (屠苏酒), a wine made with herbals, on that day, to pray that all family member avoid diseases the next year.

For the Dragon Boat Festival, Realgar Wine(雄黄酒), baijiu, or huangjiu with some realgar powder in it, used to be drunk. People believe that such wine can exorcise evil spirits and diseases. But apparently it is not scientifically been proven. Realgar contains heavy metals, and excessive ingestion can contribute to a wide range of health problems. Now, this custom has been almost abolished.

Osmanthus Fragrans Wine (桂花酒) is the recommendation for Mid-Autumn Festival. Since the festival is celebrated during the flower season of Osmamthus fragrans, people usually admire the glorious flowers and drink such flower-made wine at the same time.

Chrysanthemum can also be made into wine. Chrysanthemum Wine (菊花酒) usually appears on the Double Ninth Festival as one of those long-time customs. It is believed the wine can improve eyesight, treat dizziness, control down blood pressure, as well as a variety of other healing effects.

However, you have to name the specific flower when you mention such flower-made wine, because in Chinese, if you just say “drink flower wine (喝花酒)”, it means to “go to brothels”.

践行酒 (farewell wine)

Not only happy occasions need wine. In times of sadness, wine can also promote the atmosphere. Farewell wine (践行酒) is always accompanied by sentimental feelings. When a friend is going to leave for a long journey, people hold their cups to say goodbye. Famous poet Wang Wei, in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a famous line describing such a scene: Please drink one more cup of wine, once you leave Yangguan, there will no old friends then (劝君更尽一杯酒，西出阳关无故人).

As for soldiers who are going to the war, they also drink wine with families and friends. In this case, the wine is usually called “壮行酒”, meaning wine for boosting morale before journey.

祭祀酒 (sacrificial wine)

During worship, wine is necessary as one of the sacrifices. Of course, it is not for drinking here. Considered precious, wine is supposed to be offered to the heaven, the god, and the ancestors first. In some traditional families, you may see memorial tablets, with the names of their ancestors engraved on them. In front of these tablets, wine is always served with other foods. Sometimes, worship is performed in the graveyard, where people often pour the wine onto the ground.

 

Whatever wine you are drinking, please keep in mind that in China wine drinking is more of a kind of social connection. It seems that drinking together can strengthen the bond between people or create friendship. So, you should always do the right thing when drinking.

Perhaps you hear people say “先干为敬 (I drink first to show my respect to you)” or “我干了，你随意 (I drink all of this cup, you can drink as much as you like)”; You may also have seen people compete to hold their glasses lower than the others when clinking glasses; or somebody comes late and drink three cups in succession as an apology. Don’t be confused about such Chinese drinking etiquette, that’s exactly what Chinese people do.