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Traditionally, Chinese drink wine only
when eating. It is believed that alcohol
should be consumed slowly to enhance the
pleasure. Drinking in China has long been
associated, moreover, with establishing
new friendships or personal, political
or business relations. When drinking,
Chinese often play drinking games. The
goal is not to get drunk, but for fun.
The aim is to heighten drinking atmosphere.
One popular game is finger guessing. Typically,
Chinese do not frequent Western-style
bars, and public drunkenness rouses look
of disapproval and displeasure from others.
At a formal dinner, it is not polite
to drink wine or liquor by oneself. Hosts
and guests usually exchange toasts and
speeches. Liquor may be served for toasts.
Beer and soft drinks are also available
for the same purpose. At the beginning
of a formal dinner, the host is likely
to make a short speech to welcome the
guests and propose a toast in their honor.
At this time, the guests need only accept
these gestures graciously. Towards the
end of the meal, the senior guest should
give a return speech of gratitude for
the hospitality and propose an appropriate
toast. Usually before the meal ends, the
host thanks the guests for coming or offers
a final toast. As a rule, toasts are necessary
at banquets. If you really can’t
drink, you can fill your wine glass with
tea instead. If you happen to be the “object”
of numerous toasts, it is perfectly acceptable,
moreover, to raise your glass to your
lips and lick the wine lightly. Ganbei
is a popular toast tern in China, which
means “empty your glass” or
“bottom up”.
This
article by Yang Tianqing and Daniel Kister.
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