Customs of Fujian (in essay format)

In Fujian, whenever there is a festival or guests come to the door, the host always sells wine to celebrate. There is an old proverb in northern Fujian that "no guest does not mention the pot" ("Customs" Volume 8 of "Nanping County Chronicles" of Jiaqing, Qing Dynasty) statement. Nowadays, there is still a custom in various places that "eating wine does not mean drinking", which means that drinking must be enjoyed to the fullest. Even if there are "old grudges and hatreds, they can be settled over a glass of wine" (Qing Dynasty Daoguang's "Xiamen Chronicles" Volume 15 "Customs").

Hospitality traditions exist in various places, and the generosity can also be seen in the wine utensils. Farmers in the mountainous areas of northern, eastern and western Fujian like to use "sea bowls" (i.e. big bowls) for drinking. Farmers along the coast, the so-called "sea drinkers", are also good at wine. Whenever guests come, they often serve wine in large bowls to entertain them. . People in Yongtai call going to a wine shop to buy a large bowl of wine and drink it all on the spot as "counter wine". Similar extensive styles of drinking are seen in other regions.

Fujian people drink rice wine, which is called "eating wine". They often like to put the wine in a pot and warm it in boiling or hot water. Especially in winter, warming the wine will dispel the cold and make people feel drunk. There is a custom of "persuading people to drink" at the wine table in various places. When drinking and having fun, it is good to make guessing and ordering to enhance the atmosphere. The guessing of drinking orders is similar to that in other parts of the country. Most of them are numerical orders, and they are combined with dialects and local tunes to make them more interesting. People in mountainous areas like to fill their glasses with wine for their guests, and they call it "manshang", which means that the person toasting the toast is sincere and the drinker must also put his heart and soul into it. In southern Fujian, there is a saying of "seven percent tea, eight percent wine", that is, when drinking, only pour eight percent, leaving some room. To toast with someone, you can’t “leave it blank” and you have to bottom out. Failure to do so will be considered disrespectful.

In the old days, wine flags were planted in Fujian to attract customers. In the 1930s, there were big books with the word "wine warehouse" outside Fuzhou hotels, calling sales "fagang". In the wine shop, the shouts of "Here comes the wine!" from the waiters are endless. These are rare nowadays.

In some places, when people drink alcohol, they do not forget the hard work of the cattle. When farming is busy or during festivals, the cattle are fed rice wine to harrow the cattle to nourish their bodies. People in Yongtai usually drink rice wine after working, which is called "beating the hard work". When the spring plowing is busy, giving wine to the cattle also means "beating the hard work" for the cattle. In Baihua Village, Zhangzhou, during festivals, villagers feed glutinous rice wine to buffaloes and hang blooming narcissus on the horns of the buffaloes to celebrate the festival. This kind of scene where wine is used as a bond and people and cattle are celebrating each other can be called a wonder in Fujian's wine customs.