Alcohol and health
Chinese people believe that moderate drinking of alcohol is good for one’s health and excessive drinking will jeopardize one’s physical constitution. As a result, few Chinese, although there are some, will cling to bottles. However, many Chinese do sip a little alcohol at times to keep them fresh and healthy. Some even soak traditional Chinese medicine in liquor to achieve better effect, which has proven effective.
Alcohol and sociality
In China, alcohol has internal connection with sociality. Drinking provides more chances for one to make more friends as the old saying says, "Frequent drinking makes friends surrounding.” Moreover, alcohol also serves effectively to deepen and strengthen friendship. Since it shows one's friendliness alcohol is always used to relieve misunderstanding and hatred which no matter how strong is.
Alcohol and entertainment
Most people drink alcohol just for entertainment. It is used to add to the fun of festive times, to highlight the happy and exciting moment with to its inciting effect. Sitting at tables and playing drinking games, with glasses clinking, people will soar up both physically and mentally with the aid of nature’s most precious medicine: alcohol. Unfortunately, there are always some drunk people after too much consumption.
Alcohol and the military
In the vicissitudes of dynasties, wars followed all the way. Alcohol was the only entertainment for the military in the time of cold weapons. It was used as a stimulant and reward for the army men. The stimulating agent could make cowards brave, stir up the exhausted and heighten the morale of the army. Therefore it was the most important and effective material used to raise morale before and during the campaign, and the reward for a triumphant military. According to historic records, in the Warring States period, Qin Mugong of the Qing kingdom poured liquor into the Yellow River and drank with his soldiers. There were many stories like this, and generals who did this always won their wars. In historical novels, alcohol and battles frequently cohabited. For example, in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Guan Yu, the Chinese Ares, chopped Hua Xiong's head off while his wine was still warm; Zhang Fei, pretending to be drunk, captured his enemy's fortress easily. In the novel, almost every chapter has something to do with alcohol.
Alcohol and its use in China
Sacrificial ceremony - first and still observed use of alcohol to show respect to ancestors and gods. Warrior foy – The Chinese usually will toast to their warriors' victory before their departure. Triumph celebration - military tradition held after victory. Banquet - alcohol appears on the state banquet, business banquet and family feast. Cold resisting - Chinese people have used it to resist cold for thousands years.
Drinking Game (Jiuling)
Drinking game (Jiuling) is a very traditional Chinese game. Learning about the cultural facts of the game may interest your drinking in China. It is much more interesting than dicing.
At the very beginning, alcohol was mainly a beverage for ceremonial rites. The drinking games, called “Jiuling” in Chinese, were just aids for drinking. Certainly there were other aids for drinking, such as archery, chess playing and arrow pitching. Aimed to restrict overdrinking to make drinkers stay gentlemen and preserve courtesy of the time, there were even special designated officials to manage these aids for drinking. Later, drinking games which added entertainment to rites gradually degenerated into a kind of artifice to persuade, wager and force overdrinking. Jiuling is a unique part of Chinese culture.
Now Jiuling has many forms, depending on the drinker's social status, literacy status and interests, which can be classified into three categories - general games, contest games and literary games.
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