China Popular Itineraries |
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The Etiquette of Chinese Banquet |
There were some rules about the ancient Chinese feast. For example, the mouth of the wine pot should be directed toward the senior; one should drink1 it completely, otherwise he would be fined; the junior were not supposed to drink before the senior drank and so forth. In the Tang Dynasty, the person who was in charge of the rewards and punishments at the banquet was called Jiujiu or Jiulushi, who was dignified, upright and strict. He insisted on the punishment even at the woman banquet. After the Song Dynasty most of the Jiujiu were prostitutes.
Of course, some of the ancient wine drinking customs were different from that of today. First, in the Han Dynasty it was not the waitress or servant who poured wine. At the banquet the ancient people poured wine not only for himself but also for others even if he was with a high social status. Secondly, the ancient people did not drink any wine until they finished their dinner.
At the banquet the ancient people sat in a circle on the ground. How they were arranged were unknown, but it is certain that they must be arranged in a certain order. It was recorded that the most honourable guest sat facing the east, the secondary one sat facing the south, the third sat facing the north and the last sat facing the west.
In the Ming and the Qing dynasties people were more fastidious about the arrangement of seats at the banquet.
Even today at the formal banquet people are also arranged in a certain or-der but the arrangement of seats is different from each other in different areas (see Figure 2, 3, 4). At the round-table banquet the host sits facing the door, the one who sits on his right is the most honourable guest, the one who sits on his left is the secondary one, the one sitting facing the host is the vice host, the one sitting on the left of the vice host is the third guest, and the one sit-ting on his right is the fourth guest.
In Chinese wine culture, drinkers' wager game was very interesting. It was a game of which one person was in charge and the others obeyed him and would be punished if he violated the rules. It had been very popular since the Tang Dynasty. The drinkers must first drink up his cup of wine completely before they were qualified to play the game. It was reflected clearly in A Dream of Red Mansions:
"Listen," put in Pao-yu . "If you drink so fast, you will soon be drunk and we shan' t have any fun. Suppose I empty a goblet first and we play a new game of forfeits? Anyone who doesn ' t do as I say will have to drain ten goblets in succession and leave the table to wait on the others."
When they all agreed to this, he picked up a goblet and drained it.
"Now, " he said, "you must all make four lines about a girl ' s sorrow, her worry, her joy and her delight, explaining the reason for each. Then you must drink a cup of wine, sing a new popular song, and recite either a line from an old poem or couplet, or a saying from the Four Books or the Five Classics connected with some object on the table."
Before he had finished Hsueh Pan was on his feet protesting.
"I'm not doing that. Count me out. You just want to make fun of me. " Yun-erh stood up to push him back on his seat.
"What are you afraid of?" she teased. "Don ' t you drink every day? Aren ' t you even up to me ? I' m going to join in, if you do all right, well and good; if not, it won't kill you to drink a few cups. Or would you rather refuse and have to drink ten globlets and wait on the rest of us?" All clapped their approval and Hsueh Pan had to subside.
Pao-yu began :
"The girl ' s sorrow : Youth is passing but she remains single. "
"The girl ' s worry : Her husband leaves home to make his fortune ."
"The girl ' s joy : Her good looks in the mirror in the morning."
"The girl ' s delight : Swinging in a light spring gown. "
(Taken from A Dream of Red Mansions Chapter 28)
As soon as the party was seated the Lady Dowager proposed, "Let' s be-gin with a few cups of wine. It would be fun to play a drinking game."
"I know you' re good at drinking games, madam, " chuckled Aunt Hsueh . "But how can we play them ? If you just want to get us drunk, let's simply drink a few cups more apiece."
"How modest you are today! " retorted the Lady Dowager. "Do you find me too old for this company?"
"I ' m not being modest I' m afraid of getting laughed at for giving the wrong answer. "
"Even if we can ' t answer, " interposed Lady Wang, "it only means drinking an extra cup. And anyone feeling tipsy can go and lie down. No one will laugh at us.
" Very well then, " Aunt Hsueh agreed. "But you must start off with a cup, madam. "
ˇ°Of Course . "
The Lady Dowager drained her cup.
Hsi- feng stepped forward to propose, " If we' re to have a game, let Yuan- yang take charge ."
The whole party agreed, knowing that it was always Yuan-yang who made the rules for the old lady' s drinking games. So Hsi-feng made her join them.
"If you ' re joining in, there' s no reason why you should stand, " said Lady Wang. She then ordered a young maid to fetch a chair and put it by Hsi-feng' s or Li wan ' s table.
After making a show of declining, Yuan-yang took the seat with thanks and drank a cup, after which she announced :
"Drinking rules are as strict as martial law. Now that I' m in charge I'll be no respecter of persons -- anybody who disobeys me must pay a for-feit. "
The others smiled and Lady Wang said, "Of course. Hurry up and tell us the rules."
But before Yuan-yang could speak Granny Liu left her seat, waving one hand in protest.
"Don' t make fun of me like this. I' m leaving, " She declared.
"That won ' t do, " chuckled the others. Yuan-yang ordered some maids to drag Granny Liu back to her table. They did so, giggling, while she pleaded to be let off.
"Anybody who speaks out of turn again will be made to drink a whole pot of wine, " warned Yuan-yang.
At this the old woman held her peace.
"I shall use three dominoes," announced Yuan-yang. " We'll start with the old lady and go round in turn, ending with Granny Liu. For ex-ample, I' ll take a set of three dominoes and read out what ' s on each of the three in turn, ending with the name of the set. You must say either a line of classical poetry, a proverb or an adage after each ; and they must rhyme.
A cup of wine is the forfeit for any mistake. " Laughingly they all approved and begged her to start.
"Here's a set, " said Yuan- yang . "On the left is the'sky.'"
"The sky is blue on high, " responded the Lady Dowager.
"Bravo! " applauded the others.
"In the centre' s a 'five and six, '" Yuan-yang continued.
"Six bridges with the scent of plum admix."
"The last piece is ' six and one. ' "
"From .fleecy clouds rises a round red sun ."
"Together they make a 'ghost distraught. '"
"By his leg the ghost-catcher he' s caught. "
While the whole party laughed and cheered, the Lady Dowager tossed off a cup of wine. Then Yuan-yang resumed, "Here's another set. The one on the left is a ' double five. '" Aunt Hsueh responded: "Plum blossom dances when soft winds ar-rive. "
"A ' double five' again here on the right. "
"In the tenth month plum blossom scents the height. "
"In the middle ' two and five' make seven. "
"The weaving Maid and Cowherd meet in Heaven."
"The whole : O ' er the Five Peaks the young god wends his way."
"Immortal joys are barred to mortal clay." I
All applauded Aunt Hsueh ' s performance and she drank a cup.
"Here' s another set, " said Yuan-yang. "On the left ' two aces' com-bine. "
Hsiang-yun capped this: " The sun and moon on earth and heaven shine. " Yuan-yang continued, "On the right ' double aces' are found."
"The idle flowers fall, noiseless, to the ground. "
"In the middle, a 'four and a one. '"
"Red apricot leans on clouds beside the sun ."
"Together: The cherries ripen nine times in all."
"Birds in the palace orchard make them fall."
Her turn finished, Hsiang-yun drained her cup.
"Next one, "said Yuan-yang. "On the left is a ' double three. '"
Pao-chai responded, "Paris of swallows chirp merrily."
"Another ' double three' upon the right. "
"The wind-trailed weeds seem belts of malachite. "
"In the middle, ' three and six ', make nine. "
"Three hills across the azure sky incline. "
"Together : A lonely boat moored by a chain ."
"The wind and waves bring sorrow in their train ."
In conclusion Pao-chai drank her wine.
Yuan-yang resumed, "The sign of 'heaven' on the left."
Tai-yu answered, "A fair season, a season bereft."
Pao-chai turned to dart her a glance, but for fear of a penalty Tai-yu ignored her. Yuan-yang continued, "In the middle a ' screen ' finely wrought."
"No maid a message to the gauze window has brought."
"That leaves only eight, by ' two and six' shown. "
"Together they pay homage at the jade throne. "
"Combined : A basket in which to gather posies."
"On her fairy wand she carries peonies. "
Having finished her turn Tai-yu took a sip of wine. Yuan-yang went on, the left, 'four and .five' make nine." Ying-chun responded, "The peach blossom is heavy with rain. "
"Fine her! Fine her! " cried the others. " That doesn ' t rhyme. Be-sides, why peach blossom ?" Ying-chun smiled and took a sip. The fact is that Hsi-feng and Yuan-yang were so eager to hear Granny Liu make a fool of herself that they had urged the others to give wrong answers, so that all were fined. When it came to Lady Wang's turn, Yuan-yang answered for her. Then it was Granny Liu ' s turn.
"We country folk sometimes get together and play this when we've nothing better to do, said the old woman. "Mind you, our answers aren't so fine-sounding as yours. Still, I suppose I must try.
"It' s easy, " they assured her. "Just go ahead, it doesn ' t matter. " Smiling, Yuan-yang announced, " On the left, ' four and four ' make a man. " Granny Liu thought this over, then suggested, "A farmer?" The company roared with laughter.
"Good, " the Lady Dowager encouraged her. "That' s the style. "
"We country people can only talk about the things we know, " said Granny Liu, laughing herself. " You mustn ' t make fun of me." Yuan-yang continued, "' Three and four, ' green and red, in the cen-tre.
"A big fire burns the hairy caterpillar." The others chortled, " That ' s right. Go on in your own way. "
Yuan-yang said, "On the right a really fine ' double ace. ' "
"A turnip and heard of garlic in one place. " Giggles broke out again. Yuan-yang went on, "They make up ' flowers' in all. " Gesturing with both hands Granny Liu responded, "And a huge pump-kin forms when the flowers fall ." The others were shaking with laughter when they heard a commotion outside. What had happened will be told in the next chapter.
(Adapted from A Dream of Red Mansions Chapter 40)
"Just feasting quietly is no fun. Let ' s play some drinking games," Pao- yu proposed. All the rest agreed, and suggested different games.
"Let ' s write down the names of all sorts of games and draw lots to de-cide which one to play, " said Tai-yu.
This met with general approval and writing-brush, inkstone and fancy note-paper were sent for.
Now Hsiang-ling had been learning to write poetry and practising her calligraphy every day. When the brush and inkstone arrived, she could not resist getting up at once and offering to act as amanuensis. As the others thought of and called out the names of a dozen games, she put them down on separate slips of paper, which were rolled into spills and put in a vase. Then Tan-chun told Ping-erh to take one. Ping-erh stepped forward to mix the lots and picked one out with her chopsticks. When she unfolded it, she found written there "Sbe-fu conundrums."
"You' ve picked the ancestor of all drinking games," chuckled Pao-chai. "It was played in ancient times, but the original rules have been lost now. What we have is a later version, more difficult than all other drink-ing games. Half of us here wouldn ' t be able to play it. Better scrap this and pick one to suit all tastes."
"As this has already been picked," Tan-chun objected, "how can we scrap it ? Pick another as well, and if that one' s more popular let the others play that while we play this first one."
She told Hsi-jen to draw another lot, and this proved to be the finger-guessing game.
"This is simple and quick, it suits me! " chortled Hsiang-yun. "I shan' t play conundrums ; that ' s too boring and depressing. I shall guess fingers. "
"She' s broken the rules, " cried Tan-chun . "Quick, Cousin Pao-chai, make her drink a cup as a forfeit."
Pao-chai laughingly forced Hsiang-yun to drain a cup.
"I' m taking charge so I' ll drink a cup too," said Tan-chun.
" There' s no need for any announcement, just do as I say. Fetch a dice-bowl and throw the dice in turn, starting with Pao-chin , when two people throw the same number they must play conundrums. "
Pao-chin cast a " three "; Hsiu-yen and Pao-yu threw different num-bers; and Hsiang-ling when it came to her turn threw another "three."
"We must stick to objects in this room," said Pao-chin . "If things out-side were chosen, we wouldn ' t have a clue. "
"Right," agreed Tan-chun. "Anyone who makes three wrong guesses must drink a cup. Now give her a conundrum to guess."
Pao-chin thought for a moment then said "Old."
Hsiang-ling, who was unfamiliar with his game, looked round the room and feasters but could see nothing fitting a classical allusion containing the word "old." But Hsiang-yun on hearing the clue had started staring around too. Catching sight of the name Red Fragrance Farm over the door, she realized that Pao-chin had in mind the line "I am not as good as the old gardener." As Hsiang-ling could not guess the answer and they were beating the drum to hurry her, she quietly tugged at her sleeve.
"Say ' peony, ' " she whispered.
Tai-yu saw this and cried, "Quick, punish her ! She' s cheating. " That gave the game away and Hsiang-yun, forced to drink a cup of wine, in a huff rapped Tai-yu's knuckles with her chopsticks. Then Hsiang-ling had to drink a cup as a forfeit too.
Now Pao-chai and Tan-chun threw the same number, and Tan-chun gave the word "man. "
"That' s too general, " protested Pao-chai .
"I' ll add another word then, " said Tan-chun . "Two clues for one co-nundrum can't be considered too vague." This time she gave the word "window. "
Pao-chai thought this over and, seeing chicken on the table, remem-bered the allusion ˇ°cock-windowˇ± and ˇ°cock-manˇ±, so she answered with the word ˇ°roostˇ±. Tan-chun knew that Pao-chaz had guessed right and had in mind the allusion "Chickens come home to roost. " Smiling at each other both girls took a sip of wine.
Meanwhile Hsiang-yun, too impatient to, wait, had started playing the finger-guessing game with Pao-yu, shouting three or five at random. Madam Yu and Yuan-yang, facing each other across the table to play the same game, were shouting now "seven " now " eight." Ping-erh and Hsi-jen had paired off together too, and were indicating the numbers they guessed with their fingers, which set their bracelets tinkling. Hsiang-yun, beating Pao-yu, was entitled to make him pay forfeits before and after drinking.
She announced, "Before drinking, the loser must quote one line from a classical essay, one from an old poem, one domino' s name, one name of a. melody, and one line from the almanac. All these together must make up a sentence. The forfeit after drinking is to name some sweetmeat or dish and link it with human affairs."
The others hearing this laughed.
"Her forfeits are always more pernickety than other people ' s ; still, they' re fun, " they remarked, then urged Pao-yu to speak up quickly.
"We' ve never done this before. Give me a chance to think first," he begged.
Tai-yu offered, "Drink an extra cup and I'll do it for you."
So Pao-yu drank while Tai-yu recited :
"Sunset clouds float with the lone wild duck,
The wild goose cries through the sky above wind-swept river ;
A wild goose with a broken leg,
Its crying fills all hearts with sorrow.
Such is the wild goose' s return. "
Amid general laughter the others commented, "Stringing lines together like this is rather fun."
Then Tai-yu picked up a hazel-nut to pay the after-drinking forfeit and said :
"Hazel-nut having nothing to do with neighbourhood washing-blocks Why with them comes the sound of clothes beaten by ten thousand house-Holds?"
After these forfeits had been paid, Yuan-yang and Hsi-jen who had al-so lost each recited a proverb alluding to "long life," which we need not re-peat.
(Taken from A Dream of Red Mansions Chapter 62)
Overall, drinkers' wager game not only added fun to the drinkers at the banquet but also promoted the spread of Chinese wine culture. Nowadays wine culture is still one noticeable aspect of Chinese life.
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