1. “The Use and Abuse of Wine
in Ancient China”
by Mu-Chou Poo
Non-Western Approach to the World
By Irina Saakyan

2. The Use and Abuse of Wine in
Ancient China
Author examines wine use and abuse in China through:
• Archeological and literary evidence
• Wine manufacturing in ancient China
• Use of wine in rituals and festivals
• Use of wine in secular ceremonies
• Government control of wine production and
consumption
• Wine in Daily Life

3. The Use and Abuse of Wine in
Ancient China
• The inventor is unknown
• Compare to the rest of the world for the ancient China
most important alcoholic drink was not fruit wine, but
grain wine (wheat and millet)
• Debate: “whether the production of grain wine was
possible only when there was a considerable amount
of grain surplus, and when the society had entered a
stage of "class society” wherein only the chiefs who
controlled the surplus grain had the means of wine
production”

4. The Use and Abuse of Wine in
Ancient China
• Some scholars believe only during Neolithic
Lung-shan period (c. 4500 B.C.E.-1000 B.C.E.)
grain production was more effective and due
to formation of more stratified society the
production of wine became possible
• However, existence of vessels for
fermentation and filtering purpose give the
evidence of earlier period wine use

5. Pottery wine vessels

6. The Use and Abuse of Wine in
Ancient China
• The production of grain wine was related to
agriculture
• For primitive minority tribes of southwest
China the production of wine at the expense
of staple food was common
• In ancient time the fermented residue of grain
was usually mixed with the wine and was
edible

7. The Shang dynasty
(c. 1750-1100 B.C.E.)
• Wine vessels were important funerary
objects, even for the poor
• Large portion of potteries were designed for wine
• Wine-related vessels and wine itself were very
important items in this life-and the life thereafter
• Contemporary and historical evidence suggests
that the Shang people were heavy drinkers
• Wine drinking became a social disease and finally
caused the collapse of the Shang dynasty

8. The Chou dynasty
(c. 1100 B.C.E.-221 B.C.E.)
• Couldn’t forbid the abuse of wine and through
implementation of rituals the society was
differentiated and was regulated according to political
status
• Scarcity of wine vessels shows the change in the
perception of wine use in the afterlife
• The textual evidence of wine drinking are relatively
abundant: wine-drinking was a normal social activity
• The increase in the variety of wine indicates the use of
wine was becoming more sophisticated which also
indicates changes and complexity in the society

9. The Production of Wine
• The most ancient two kinds of wine: li and ch'an
• Li: cook germinated grain and then mix it with steamed rice
and water and then allowed to ferment until it became
wine. Japan: “chewed-grain,” the rice was chewed and
after put in a wooden bucket and allowed to ferment for
some day
• Ch’an: was brewed using certain fragrant grasses mixed
with steamed grain
• The most common method of making wine in ancient
China, was to utilize molds
• Non of the methods of wine-making involves distillation

10. The Use of Wine
• Wine is used to invite the blessings of the royal
ancestors and to pray for rain or good harvest
from the gods of mountains and rivers
• Only the offering of wine uses the character
“wine” to distinguish the offering itself
• The reason of the wine importance in religious
purposes lays in intoxicating effect caused by
alcohol

11. Secular Ceremonies
• The drinking of wine became part of a program of political-ethical control
• The ideal state contains “wine-director” and other officials. In the
“Drinking Ceremony of the Countryside” wine drinking is a strictly
ritualistic activity or behavior prescribed by Confucian moral ideals
• The ceremony to celebrate friendship with the help of wine was a symbol
of social solidarity and amity among participants
• The wine became a tool of social interaction and distinguisher of the
social status
• Han dynasty: wine is part of court ritual: performed with the expectation
of reforming social morality; toasts from ranked officials
• The purpose of ritual was not at enjoying wine but at restricting
excessive drinking

12. The Control of wine Production in the
Han Empire
• Emperor Wu announced government monopoly on wine
production to control the development of state
economy, like salt and iron control
• Wine nationalization was one of the series of economic
measures to solve financial problems caused by military
operations
• Wine was considered a profitable industry due to mass
consumption.
• Sales tax was applied to the private brewers and
restrictions were applied when natural disasters occurred
since in case of drought grains better be used for food
rather wine production

13. The Use and Abuse of Wine in Daily
Life
• The medical qualifications of wine were known in China from very early period:
direct link between wine and medicine; antiseptic medicine and cure to ease
urination
• In Taoist tradition wine refers to longevity elixir. Wine was also used as a royal gift
in a political sense with high value, indicating a special drink quality. Various
games where wine drinking was treated in special way in banquets were created:
social interaction.
• Wine intoxication was a spiritual harmony with nature: Taoism philosophy
• The use or abuse of wine was a tool of social protest and self-protection. Wine
was an escape of real world of politics for some officials in trouble times
• Juan Chi was drinking into a stupor to avoid the interaction in political affairs and
“to ward off undesirable and uncontrollable political intrigues.” Drinkers sought
liberation from the prevailing social norms by creating their own norms and
isolate themselves from the ruling authority

14. Conceptions of Wine
• Social behavior toward wine drinking reveals the nature of the society as a whole.
Like in Egypt, wine occupied an important niche in cultural structures with
religious symbolism. However, in China wine didn’t have mythological
associations, but it was a prestigious drink derived from its use in the offering
rituals and food of immortals
• Wine in China can be categorized into 2 kinds: positive and negative- to conform
to the good and evil nature of man
• The drinker will decide whether wine is healthy and auspicious and this attitude
reflects the idea held by Confucius
• Use of wine an all kinds of social and religious occasions were rarely questioned
• Analogy to the concept toward life and death: private and public. Publicly it was
advocated a middle way by giving advice in moderation or prohibition.
Privately, the standard of drinking was different: to resolve sorrow and enjoy life

15. Discussion
• Does the evidence suggest wine is an important and
significant segment in Chinese culture and socio –
economic status?
• Why is it important to examine the history of wine
production and consumption?
• Duality: while alcohol can be misused, it has clearly
proved to be part of past and present life. Should the
use and abuse of wine be legally controlled?
• Would you agree wine plays a significant role in
modern society?