I especially like to say “raise a glass” recently. In fact, I myself am a person who doesn’t like to drink and has a bad drinker. One year when I was having dinner with friends in Beijing, a documentary film director friend was very curious about how bad my alcohol consumption was. So I performed his unconscious stunt with a glass of beer on the spot. Since then, he has never asked me to drink. The reason why I like to say “a drink” is entirely because I am interested in the culture of dinner. Especially searching for some meal rules can always give people a magical feeling.
These rules are not deliberately disseminated, but they are the same everywhere. For example, if you toast the leader, the wine glass must be pressed very low. I don’t know who invented it first. The graduation season is approaching, and many new professionals want to devote themselves to various meals. So today I will talk about the dinner culture in my eyes.
01
I think the main reason why the meal exists is that the Chinese love to eat.
I saw someone on Zhihu before asking what is the racial talent of the Chinese. Some people answered [farming], I don’t think it is. I think our racial talent is to eat. There is a popular saying: There is no problem that can’t be solved by one barbecue/hot pot. If it doesn’t work, there are two meals. On the surface, it means that even if you are in a bad mood, just eat a few barbecue and hot pot meals. But the actual meaning of this sentence is that any problem can be solved at the dinner table.
The core of the Chinese meal complex is that no matter what you do, you must first have a meal together. All kinds of activities and meetings must be climaxed with a meal, and most things must be negotiated at the meal. Between coveted and intertwined, there are all favors and conflicts. This kind of culture is even reflected in the film and television works. If you think about it, you will find that most of the drama conflicts in Chinese movies occur in “dinners.”
In traditional martial arts stories, pubs and inns are important venues for drama conflict. In a small inn, you can usually gather several forces, eat and drink on the surface, and secretly carry ghosts. When the time is right, they will start to fight and fight. “Longmen Inn” is one of the representatives.
Especially the “Infernal Affairs” series and other gangster movies and gunfight movies, which have suffered serious infections from the atmosphere of the rivers and lakes. In “Infernal Affairs 2”, Han Chen ate a box lunch in front of Sir Huang amicably. In the middle, Ni Kun’s four major men ate hot pot and conspired to rebel. Ni Yongxiao commemorated his father and Tiaozi at the late night stall to commemorate the conflict, and ended at the late night stall Ni Yongxiao. Being killed is an impressive round. This way of creating drama conflicts is simply not too much in Chinese film and television works:
A group of people was eating, but another group rushed in and chopped it; a group of people toasted wine and suddenlyBut when they couldn’t agree, they drew their guns and confronted each other; a group of people raised the table before ordering food…
So, what is drama conflict? It’s just eating hot pot and singing songs, and you’re suddenly robbed by gangsters. Of course, singing is boring. You have to eat hot pot and drink small wine, and the atmosphere will rise. It is not the patent of the Chinese to like to create conflicts at the dinner table or in the pub, but it is still very rare for the Chinese to shape the scene conflicts with such a quagmire and romantic feelings.
In addition to the romantic atmosphere of the rivers and lakes, the Chinese also particularly like to give the dinner a humanistic feeling. For example, “Diet for Men and Women” uses several family dinners to metaphorically change the relationship and push the story forward until the last dinner, pushing the plot to a climax.
02
The term “dining game” in Chinese originated in the Song Dynasty. “Game” first referred to chess game, and later it was extended to mean “party” and “conspiracy”. If you have a meal with your family and have a drink, no one would call such a dinner party or a wine board. With a social purpose, “rice” can become a “game.” The dinner occupies an important position in Chinese history.
In the dinner, [wine] is an important element that cannot escape. Famous dinners in history, from Hongmen banquets, to cooking wine and talking about heroes, to drinking wine to release military power, rarely hear people talk about the dishes, the few dishes and the soup, but the wine is the key to promoting the plot. In my opinion, wine is a kind of functional beverage with strong context. The wine in the meal often plays a role in catalyzing group emotions and strengthening emotions.
Therefore, these historical stories all follow a similar story model: conflicts are launched through the wine bureau, and through the catalysis of wine, the relationship between people changes, and a new relationship is finally established. To some extent, the traditional wine bureau is the carrier of interpersonal relationships. Since the meal is not for dinner, it is for interpersonal relationships. So what is drunk at dinner is not wine, but social currency.
Personally, I am very opposed to the dross “culture” of various wine bureaus, but when we disassemble them in depth, we will find that the gold content of traditional dining rituals is actually “essence”, the essence of alcohol.
In Chinese shopping malls, there has always been a saying “Smoke builds bridges, wine opens the way.” In the field of traditional politics and business, if you do not do anything, then most of the things will not be done properly. Someone once did a study and found that if China’s infrastructure investment grew strongly year-on-year in a certain month, the stock price of a certain high-end liquor would often increase one or two quarters in advance. There is an amazing agreement between the two curves.
If wine is converted into social currency, then many confusing behaviors of wine bureaus can be easily solved. For example, Chinese men value “beverage” very much. Sales in traditional industries often require applicants to drink well and be able to fight in the wine bureau. It is precisely because those who can drink can have more social currency. Toasting, blocking wine, and persuading wine, these heady wine bureau cultures exist because the essence of the wine bureau is to exchange social currency. The routines of the wine bureau can effectively open up the contacts on the wine bureau, strengthen the sense of identity, and make a drink. With the effect of drinking three glasses of wine, social currency turns into commercial value, thus increasing value.
In some places, there is a wonderful tradition called “fish headliqueur”. The fish on the wine table is brought up, and the head of the fish should be aimed at the guest of honor or the elderly. Then drink according to the part of the fish. “Heads, three tails, four, ridges, five belly, six”, that is, whoever faces the four parts of the fish will have to drink a few glasses of wine. Whoever catches the fisheye will drink three glasses. This is called “a high look.” Those who eat fish gills are called “appreciating the face”, those who eat fish fins are called “Smooth sailing”, those who eat fish tails are called “beautiful”, and those who eat fish maw are called “Give the liver and gall.” These also correspond to drinking. After eating a fish, everyone in the room is full, and the auspicious words are almost the same, and the social currency has reached a full exchange.
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On the other hand, in a social event, if you don’t use the dinnerdn.com/article/content/202007/24/2231240935.jpg?imageView2/2/w/1000/format/jpg/interlace/1/q/85″ data-type=”jpeg” data-w=”1280″ style=””>
This is related to the habits of young people. In essence, young people hate this sense of ritual for the purpose of strong association and social interaction. For them, drinking and drinking are emotions, and talking about things is okay, but not necessary.
An obvious manifestation is that the Internet celebrity drinking method of liquor has become popular. for example. Jiang Xiaobai’s drinking method is strange. The “lover’s tears” that swept across the vibrato is Jiang Xiaobai mixed with Sprite, knocked on the table, and drank it while the glass was full of bubbles. It was just sweet in the mouth and a little sour in the middle. You will know it when you drink it. Why is it called a lover’s tears.
Prunes, dragon fruit, yellow peaches, grapes, and lemon slices are cut and placed in a large bowl. Several ladies pour Jiang Xiaobai into it, and come to a “ceremonial” pot of stew, Jiang Xiao The white fire is all over the Internet.
At such a fragmented time, playing games at home, reading comics, and teasing cats. Doesn’t it smell good? Speaking of this, I decided to do a sand sculpture operation of various company pit employees, and you are always welcome to send me private messages.
My friend told me one of her stories. Said that she was away alone, scolded by her boss, did not cry, broke up did not cry, moved house did not cry… Until one day she ate with a client, was filled with alcohol and drank to the hospital for gastric lavage. The doctor asked her: Do you have a family member to accompany you? She replied, no, and then tears came down. What I want to say is that young people do not hate the game, nor do they hate baijiu. What is really sad is the grievance that I have received at the dinner because of the wine.
We run around all day long, from one meal to another. You have to drink full moon wine at birth, a teacher appetite banquet for graduation, wedding wine for marriage, and funeral wine for funerals. But only in the dead of night, when you are alone and drinking quietly, that glass of wine is for yourself.