The history of bar culture

Speaking of the history of bars, we have to start with the word "bar".

Perhaps through the archaeological knowledge of this word, we can capture the historical shadows emerging in some bars.

"Bar" refers to a table made of wood, metal or other materials whose length exceeds its width.

The Chinese word "ba" is a unique combination of Chinese and English, because "ba" is Taiwan Province and Taiwan Province is it.

As the name implies, a bar is also a counter for selling wine.

So, how did the long counter selling wine enter the pub and become the protagonist in the pub? In this process, "Ba" successfully performed a show on the stage of the pub.

It makes the meaning of "handle" gradually go beyond the narrow scope of the counter and extend to a space, a place or a structure and function.

Today, when we talk about "Ba", there is almost no original meaning. It mainly refers to a house, a space and a place.

As a result, "Ba" began to sway in the streets of the city.

With the expansion and extension of the meaning of "ba", new sentence-making words such as discos, internet cafes, chat bars, pottery bars and tea bars have appeared.

The appearance of the program not only made "Ba" a tyrant in the pub, but also extended "Ba" from the pub to a broader urban stage space.

As we know, the owners of bars and pubs have a long history in both the west and the east.

As a public consumption place for ordinary people, tables and chairs in pubs are necessary, but bars or counters are dispensable.

Today, we often go to bars without bars and counters.

What we are interested in is how the bar enters the pub and becomes the protagonist.

Although bars have gradually occupied a prominent position in pubs, compared with museums or shops, "bars" are just a small long table. Why can it replace pubs and successfully occupy the scenery?

This is a puzzling and interesting question.

It is not enough to analyze the change of address and the popularity of a word only from the functional reference of language.

The change and popularity of language often reflects the change of fashion life, indicating that the current attitude towards life, value orientation and behavior have changed.

In the revolutionary era, people called each other "comrades". At first, they were limited to the same group, organization, political party or people with the same ideal pursuit. Later, this term was widely circulated, and people referred to it as "comrade", indicating that the revolution has become the fashion of the times.

Saying goodbye to the revolution and entering the era of commodity economy, people gradually abandoned those old titles and began to call each other "Mr" and "boss".

The change of this term can be said to be the best barometer to monitor the changes of the times.

The process of replacing pubs with bars also reflects some subtle changes in urban life.

In order to better grasp the ins and outs of these subtle changes and the implied fashion interest.

The following investigation may enable us to grasp some internal historical reasons for the "Ba".

With the commercialization of society, the bar has catered to the consumption fashion in commercial times, and the bar has become a fashionable consumption space in commercial times.

/kloc-Before the 0/9th century, the production and circulation of commodities were at a low stage of underdevelopment.

Small-scale production maintains a self-sufficient life, and people buy some limited necessities from markets or small shops.

Market transactions constitute the general form of commodity exchange.

With the vigorous development of large-scale industrial production and the rise of metropolis, the market trade in rural areas has been difficult to meet the consumption needs of cities. Therefore, a brand-new business model has been established in metropolis. There are countless department stores, shops and shopping malls with comfortable environment, even today's large supermarkets, shopping parks and chain stores.

The prosperity and development of shops and shopping malls in cities have made commercialization a popular fashion in people's daily life and a fashion label of urbanized life.

When a fashion becomes popular in the society and becomes the goal that people expect, yearn for, imitate and pursue, it will exert a kind of magic, release a kind of temptation and make the whole social life enter a state of fashion obsession.

Social fashion obsession will subtly influence and change people's way of life, leaving a clear mark on behavior, language, ideas and so on.

Andrew barr, an American social historian, wrote in Drinking,/kloc-Before the 9th century, the difference between pubs and private houses was just a signboard on the door.

The interior of the pub is relatively simple, generally divided into public business room, bar, kitchen and private space.

Guests go to pubs mainly in the public hall, with only tables and chairs.

At that time, the bar only had simple functions of paying goods, accounting and collecting money, and it was not a space for guests to drink.

By the 191920s, the commerce in metropolis had a more prosperous development, especially the retail revolution had a revolutionary impact on the consumption life of metropolis and led the fashion of urban consumption life.

Shops have become fashionable spaces in cities, and shopping has become an important part of citizens' fashionable life.

This shopping fashion still maintains its fresh charm today.

Facing the fashion trend of the city, the original humble tavern is becoming more and more out of date.

In order to catch up with fashion trends, cater to citizens' consumption interests and change the backward image, pub operators and designers began to seek inspiration from shops and imitate the style of mobile commercial counters.

The dazzling storefront style gradually affects the design style of the hotel, especially the dazzling commercial counter directly affects the bar design of the pub, making the bar enter the public space from an inconspicuous corner and become more and more attractive.

Coupled with the use of lighting equipment and glassware, the bar has become a very dazzling commercial counter, and the pub has therefore echoed the commercial fashion style of the metropolis and merged with the commercial consumption fashion of the metropolis, becoming an important scene and landscape of the commercial consumption life of the metropolis.

Since then, bars have become a show-off in pubs. Few bars in the west don't claim to have a long bar when they open, and there are often media advertisements telling people where there is the longest bar in the local, city and even the whole country.

After the change of business fashion, in the baptism of business consumption fashion in metropolis, bistro has evolved into a fashionable public space with strong commercial flavor.

Gradually, people began to call pubs bars, which gradually replaced pubs and became a place of leisure consumption with unique functions.

From this point of view, the change of bar is also the commercial change of bar, and the change of department store in bar introduces commercial times's consumption fashion style into the ancient and humble bar, making it a beautiful window for metropolis to display commercial fashion.

Today, the bar still occupies a very prominent position in the bar and is still the most striking part of the bar space.

Carefully designed high counter with a beer machine on the table.

Soft lights hit the bar, and various brands of wine are dazzling, all of which exude intoxicating luster.

Hanging glass reflects blurred light and shadow, and there are graceful bar girls in the light and shadow, which makes people intoxicated at once.

Wine is not intoxicating, everyone is drunk. This is the charm of the bar.

Around the charm of the bar, people gradually like to drink around the bar. It is not only very convenient to order wine, but also to chat with the girls in the bar.

In order to meet the needs of guests, a unique bar stool was designed, and the bar became a public space for drinking.

Some bars also specially arrange bar girls to accompany guests to drink and chat in the bar, which adds a lot of temptation to drink in the bar. At this point, the charm of the bar has almost been brought into full play.

Behind this charm, it is the influence of metropolis commercial fashion, the implantation of shop counter window style, and the fashion of lifestyle in the era of commercial consumption.

To adapt to it and cater to it is to change from servant to master, from subsidiary to theme, from secondary to prominent.

The charm of the bar shows the magic of business fashion.

In the trend of commercial fashion, another reason why bars stand out and replace pubs is the vulgar history of pubs themselves.

One accusation is popular, and the other accusation is replaced or eliminated, indicating that the replaced and eliminated accusation is out of date.

In the west, pubs are so backward.

Speaking of pubs, we know that they have a long history. Since human beings have business travel and transportation activities, various inns, post stations, inns and pubs have emerged.

Especially with the development of maritime trade, the population in the port area is concentrated, and various facilities to provide services for the floating population such as crew members are gradually increasing, so pubs are thriving.

Those who wander around and have no fixed place have broken away from the behavior norms of their hometown and village, and eat, drink and be merry in time.

This bar has become an ideal place for debauchery.

In Moonlight Hutong (People's Literature Publishing House, 1982 edition), the famous Austrian writer Zweig described the pub hutong in the harbor area.

"I like these hutongs in foreign cities, and these dirty markets are full of everything. This kind of elk is a secret place for all kinds of temptations to sailors. After spending a long and lonely night in a strange and dangerous ocean, they come here to live for one night and turn their countless charming dreams into reality within an hour.

Attractive music wafted from the small room here, with eye-catching beauty posters in front of the cinema and dim light shining on the small square candlestick at the door, which clearly attracted customers.

Through the crack of the door, * * * body flashing jewelry.

Drunk people in the cafe are shouting and singing wildly, and gamblers are arguing loudly.

When sailors meet here, they always smile knowingly, and their dull eyes are full of life, because everything here is everything, women and gambling, drinking, taking risks, being dirty and great.

These streets, whether in Hamburg, Colombo or Havana, are the same, just like luxurious streets, they are the same everywhere, because the upper and lower levels of life are the same.

These non-bourgeois streets are the last wonderful corner of the unrestrained world, where desires can be rudely vented. These streets are also a dark forest, a jungle full of impulsive little beasts, which are exciting because of what they reveal and attractive because of what they hide.

"(page 34 1-342) It is worth noting that Zweig used the hierarchical concepts of upper and lower classes, bourgeoisie and non-bourgeoisie when describing pub street.

The pub is obviously incompatible with the living space of the upper class or the bourgeoisie, and it belongs to the living space of the lower class of the non-bourgeoisie.

Vulgarity, vulgarity, debauchery, alcoholism, heresy, and shelter evil people from evil practices have always been the historical image of pubs.

This historical image has a long history, at least dating back to the Renaissance, and extending to the end of 19 and the beginning of the 20th century.

Among the western literary works, the earliest work describing the life of the bottom society with the pub as the background belongs to the French writer Eugene? The Secret of Paris by Su Zhu (Yunnan People's Publishing House, 198 1 Edition).

The Secret of Paris was published in 1842, a French newspaper, The Review.

Where is the secret of Paris hidden? The secret of Paris is hidden in a dirty pub.

Are we going to follow Eugene? Sue's guide went into the Paris pub and looked at it: "The White Rabbit pub is located in the middle of Meijing Street.

This small shop is located on the ground floor of a tall house with two hanging windows on the front.

In the dark alley of the arch, a lantern is shaking, and' hospitality' is written in red on the broken glass.

This is a large but low restaurant, with black rafters on the smoked ceiling and a shabby chandelier giving off dim light.

Cracks are everywhere on the walls of lime powder, and some vulgar pictures are drawn or some epigrams are written in slang.

Nitrate grows on the ground and mud is everywhere; At the right end of the door, under the chandelier, is the counter of the ogre, and a handful of hay is scattered under the counter as a carpet.

-A layer of lead skin is nailed on the counter surface, and there are some large wine glasses with iron hoops and different weights marked with solder; There is a wooden board nailed to the wall with several glass bottles on it. This shape is a full-length portrait of the emperor.

The bottle is filled with red and green mixed drinks, and the names are' fitness wine',' thyme' and so on.

"There are men and women in the pub. Here they are rough and blunt, vulgar and vulgar when talking and laughing, and silent and melancholy, dull and stupid.

"(page 12) This is the Paris bistro that begins with 19. It is vulgar and humble, and it is a public activity space for the bottom citizens.

With the gradual growth and development of the civil class, especially the middle and small bourgeoisie, their social status has gradually improved, and civil society has begun to seek and create a suitable space for public activities.

Although some bourgeois nouveau riche and speculators used to be frequent visitors to pubs, in a sense, pubs may be witnesses to their prosperous history.

However, with the accumulation of capital and wealth, the bourgeoisie has a growing desire for luxury.

As in the past, going in and out of vulgar pubs is no longer in line with the rising social status of the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie needs a new social position, a new social image, a new communication space between the masses and a new way of leisure and entertainment. They demand their own social place and stage for social activities in order to get rid of their humble position.

The vulgar and rough memories left by the pub need to be erased slowly, along with the title itself.

At this time, the new fashion representative of the bar dressed up in disguise and put on bourgeois flashy clothes to meet new guests.

Judging from the communication space between the public and the public, the transcendence of bars and the backwardness of pubs have some meaning of space sociology or space politics.

/kloc-since the 0/7th century, the development of commerce, the circulation of trade and the rise of cities have gradually formed a civil society.

The citizens gathered in the city have a strong desire for communication. They abandoned the ancient rural lifestyle and bid farewell to the closed state of mutual affection and mutual destruction.

To establish its social status, the citizen class should have its own public sphere and communication space.

In a long historical stage, aristocratic society monopolized the communication space between people, and its main forms were court banquets and salons.

Palace banquets and salons have strict grade requirements, and people who come in and out must have noble titles. This is a small circle gathering, which has formed a set of special etiquette norms, language methods and rules of the game.

It was once the dream of many people, especially the emerging bourgeoisie, to become an aristocrat, step into the upper class and enter the salon social circle.

They spent a lot of money to buy noble titles, changed their names and surnames, and endured the humiliation of aristocratic ridicule.

Werner Sombart wrote in the book Luxury and Capitalism (Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2000 edition): "Throughout the early capitalist era, social concepts have always believed that the ultimate goal of the rich is undoubtedly to be accepted by the upper class, gentlemen or nobles; It is of great significance to emphasize this point.

However, the aristocratic characteristics of the aristocratic class are that a person is recognized as an aristocrat, not only because of his wealth, but also because he demands a completely non-bourgeois quality.

Keeping a certain distance from the actual business life and cultivating family traditions, which is reflected in the unchanging custom of nobles wearing weapons, is the premise of being accepted by the upper class.

"(page 16) squeezed by the aristocratic social hierarchy, the bourgeoisie has been in a very embarrassing position.

On the one hand, they dream of joining the upper class and becoming nobles with status; On the other hand, their humble origins, businessmen's breath, non-authentic ancestry and lack of etiquette education make it difficult for them to integrate into the aristocratic class like a duck to water.

A capitalist can explode overnight, but he may not be able to cultivate nobles after three generations.

Although, due to the consideration of material wealth, the nobles had to sell their noble titles, the discrimination and disapproval in their bones made the bourgeois who entered the aristocratic salon embarrassed and uncomfortable.

They need their own public communication space and their own activity stage.

For the middle and small bourgeoisie, this need is more urgent and intense.

They began to build their own public communication space and their own activity platform.

Transform the pub into a salon, but not a noble salon, but a civilian salon.

This is a bar.

Compared with the salon, the bar is a civilian space that can freely enter and leave, and there is no strict grade restriction here.

Here, you can be arty, loud, or indulge in wine and carnival; You can be passionate and romantic, affectionate and tonal, or vulgar and tasteless.

In short, the bar began to build a brand-new public space.

This is an open and diversified public domain.

It is the middle zone with the middle class character as the middle line, which not only absorbs the luxury of aristocratic salons, but also retains the wanton indulgence of the lower pubs.

Perhaps, it is this middle ground that not only conforms to the social identity of the bourgeois citizen class, but also frees the bourgeoisie from the embarrassing and uncomfortable predicament when entering the aristocratic salon.

When it comes to the relationship between bars and salons, we can't help but mention some historical origins of bars and cafes.

In the historical process of the formation of bars, the influence of cafes played a vital role.

/kloc-In the middle of the 0/8th century, a western scholar called the city of Paris "the coffee shop of Europe", and it is conceivable that the coffee shop was prosperous at that time.

At that time, there was another saying about Paris: "Paris imitates the court."

The best model to imitate the palace is the salon, and the best model to imitate the salon should be the cafe, or it can be said that the cafe is a variant of the salon style.

Compared with the aristocratic luxury of salons, cafes can better satisfy the desires of ordinary wealthy citizens and provide a place for the urban middle class to communicate and relax.

"Since the17th century, cocoa, coffee and tea have become necessities in Europe due to the role of sugar.

These drinks are very popular in the upper class, especially in the court.

For example, Louis XIV tasted coffee when he received the envoy of Sultan Muhammad IV in 1670. From then on, coffee became a household name in France and was introduced into the court society.

Related to these * * * sex drinks, mass cafes have begun to appear as a new luxury, especially in big cities, which will attract our attention in the future.

"(Luxury and Capitalism, p. 126) By the middle of17th century, coffee had become a common drink for the rich among citizens.

Later, with the opening of the first coffee shop, by the beginning of the18th century, there were more than 3,000 coffee shops in London.

Habermas thinks in the book "The Structural Transformation of Volkswagen * * * (Lin Xue Press 1999):" The flourishing period of coffee shops is 1680? 1780 Wherever they are, they are the center of literary criticism first, and then the center of political criticism. In the process of criticism, an educated middle class between aristocratic society and citizen class intellectuals began to form.

Cafes are not only free, but also open to authoritative circles, and mainly enter the middle class, even craftsmen and small businessmen.

"((page 37) almost synchronized with the prosperity of cafes, pubs also flourished during this period.

In this synchronous or linked development process, the interaction between cafes and pubs, the salon atmosphere imitated by cafes, moderate stimulation, gentle style, high-sounding topics and romantic sentiment gradually penetrated into simple and vulgar pubs.

Let the pub wear beautiful baroque clothes and give it a fashionable name: bar.

At this point, cafes and bars have jointly built a public communication space full of bourgeois interests.

In the process of investigating the birth history of bars, we have a historical review of the evolution of the western public and private communication space.

The history of this evolution can be roughly described as court-salon-cafe-bar.

The evolution of public space reflects the change of the subject of public space activities from aristocratic class to citizen class. It is worth noting that the completion of this transformation is not based on the resistance of diametrically opposed conflicts, but the way it is presented is a variation of imitation.

This imitation variation is based on the suboptimal temptation and the satisfaction of desire. Salon is the imitation and variation of court, cafe is the imitation and variation of salon, and bar is the imitation and variation of cafe.

It is in this process of imitation and variation that the bourgeoisie constructs its own public communication space and entertainment consumption space in the city through the material power of commerce.

The variation of imitation makes the establishment of bourgeois space always maintain the necessary tension between nobles and civilians.

On the one hand, we can't resist the temptation of aristocratic space to imitate it; On the other hand, it is civil maintenance, but it is a variant.

It should be said that the establishment of bar space typically presents these characteristics.

Compared with aristocratic palaces and salons, the establishment of bar space is undoubtedly a historic progress.

It disintegrated the monopoly situation in which aristocrats dominated the world, and opened a broader space for mass communication.

However, it is not really a public domain.

We can clearly see this from the history of bars breaking into pubs and the performance of bar programs.

The decisive force behind the victory of bourgeois public space comes from the powerful material force of commercial economy.

People are free to go in and out of the bar. Although there are no strict grade restrictions, there are still restrictions on consumption level and consumption ability.

In the past, the aristocratic badge was a passport to enter and leave the salon. Nowadays, money has become a special badge, and money has become a passport to go in and out of bars.

The ideology of material consumption still monopolizes the public communication space of the city, although it is another variant.