Wine Virtues
1 min readWine virtues are also the essence of Chinese traditional wine culture.
Throughout the ages, in addition to wine etiquette, it should be particular about wine virtues while drinking.
The so-called wine virtues refer to the real temperament one shows after drinking, rather than the disguise. Another function of wine lies in that it broadens one’s formulary thinking and brings inspiration. We can hence find that the nature of wine virtues is to seek trueness and encourage innovation. Yet this is only the understanding of the upper class since mid-feudalist society. On the contrary, people in the ancient times had a totally different understanding of it.
In their opinion, wine virtues indicated the way people behaved after drinking. It had a negative meaning. Liu Ling once wrote a poem titled Ode to the Wine Virtues inwhich he iterated wine virtues in terms of cultural connotation and conception. Born in a troubled times and had much frustration, Liu Ling was addicted to alcohol. It is said that he once sitted in nude inside his house, explaining to surprised visitors that he considered the entire universe his home and his room his clothing, and then inquiring as to why they had just entered his crotch. This is an inelegant manner. Actually, wine virtues at that time were to stay clear-minded, never harm your body by drinking, swift to make decision and take action.
