Drinking Village Chronicle - Chinese Alcohol Culture

Author: Wu Guoqun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: The wine induces association, giving birth to "Xinghui" wine not only has a perceptual allergenic effect but also has the ability to activate association, allowing the old neural connections formed on the cerebral cortex by sensitive perception to recombine and form new neural connections of "endless association." The magic of wine lies in its gradual stimulation of the drinker's nerves, and this slow process of action is perfectly accompanied by the aesthetic appreciation of the color, aroma, and taste of the wine, gradually evolving. Often, it is in the aesthetic enjoyment of pleasant wine color, mellow fragrance, delicate and refined taste, refreshing without thirst, and overall gentle comfort that one enters the stages of perceptual allergenicity and association activation. The great Tang poet Yuan Zhen once wrote a long poem of over 200 lines titled "Ten Poems on Wine," detailing the process of drinking and associating freely throughout a long day from "The rooster crows at dawn" to "The sun is about to set." From the creation of the universe, the separation of heaven and earth, the formation of land and sea, the movement of the sun and moon, the creation of writing, the emergence of Yao, Shun, Tang, and Wu, to the chaos of the Warring States and the Qin and Han dynasties, to the sudden changes of nature, the blooming and withering of flowers and trees in the four seasons, and the mysterious wonders of nature, until heartfelt wishes for peace in the heavens and earth, health and prosperity for the people, and heaven following human desires. It can be considered an extreme of association, a continuous "Heavenly Questions." Lu You was quite proud of his cursive script, and he often found inspiration for it through the flight of association after drinking: "Pouring thousands of stones of wine to drown my endless sorrows, today, with drunken eyes like lightning, I lift my brush and survey the narrow sky and earth. Suddenly, I sweep and brush without knowing it, as if the wind and clouds enter my embrace, and heaven lends me strength. The divine dragon fights in the wild, the mist is foul, the strange ghosts crush the mountains in the darkness of Taiyin. At this moment, I drive away all sorrows in my chest, beat the bed, and wildly shed my hat. Wu paper and Shu silk do not please me, so I give them to the high wall three feet high." (Song of Cursive Script) This extraordinary ability of wine to activate association was not only true in ancient times but also even more so in modern times. Even during the difficult wartime of the War of Resistance, a group of writers from eastern Zhejiang established "Lu Xun Wind" in the Shanghai concession of the occupied area. At that time, Ko Ling, Qu Yi (Wang Renshu) and Feng Zi (Tang Su) often gathered for meals at the old Zhengxing Restaurant: When they talked and drank until they were warm in the ears, they were full of excitement, almost breaking the spittoon. In those years of heavy pressure from the national crisis, if it weren't for wine, where would such enthusiasm have come from? Yu Dafu, who was always misunderstood despite his integrity and talent, loved Shaoxing wine very much. The famous writer Sun Xizhen, jokingly called "Poet Child" by Lu Xun, once recalled an encounter with the unknown Yu Dafu during his student days, when he was invited to Zhengyanglou to eat crabs and talk about poetry. With authentic Shaoxing wine and crabs, the two old friends talked at length about poets from home and abroad, from Daosheng to Huang Zhongze and Su Manshu, immersed in resonance (Sun Xizhen, "Remembering Yu Dafu"). Yu Dafu often began drinking to relieve his sorrows and ended with floating thoughts, composing fine verses. Many of his outstanding classical poems, which stood out among modern writers, were born after drinking. Wine was not only related to Yu Dafu's life and creation but also closely linked to his sacrifice. In 1942, when Yu Dafu sought refuge on the island of Batu Pahat in Sumatra, Indonesia, to aid cultural refugees fleeing from Singapore, he raised 500 guilders from the overseas Chinese to open a winery, brewing with glutinous rice, which earned hundreds of guilders in profit each month. This winery...