During the Chinese New Year, I believe that in addition to visiting relatives and friends, the most indispensable thing is to eat and drink one meal after another, and get drunk several times. The Chinese New Year is the main festival of the year, family reunion, happy drinking, our ancients have always been a must drink during the New Year. The Spring Festival has been around for a long time, so what kind of wine did people drink during the Spring Festival in ancient times?
Wine: Worship heaven and earth, pray for abundance
Before the pre-Qin period, the ancients mainly drank "labor wine" during the New Year. "Laojiu" does not refer to a specific type of wine, but the most primitive grain wine. According to the "Rites of the Month Order", it is recorded: "In the month of Meng Chun, the lord is in the big bed. The three dukes, the nine kings, the princes, and the doctors are all royal. Ordered to work wine. "After a year of hard work, everyone from the princes and nobles to the common people drank the wine. The ancients drank Laojiu to worship heaven and earth, praying for good weather and abundant crops in the coming year.
Pepper and cypress wine: In the joy of pepper wine
After the Han Dynasty, "Nian" was fixed as a legal holiday, and drinking during the Spring Festival has become a common practice. People improved pepper and cypress wine on the basis of Laojiu. The predecessor of pepper and cypress wine is pepper wine and cypress wine. Pepper wine, also known as "pepper flower wine", was originally the wine of the Chu people in the pre-Qin period, made from peppercorns, and cypress wine was soaked in cypress leaves.
Later, people for the sake of the province, the pepper, cypress leaves with the liquor soaked together, the Ming Dynasty Li Shizhen "Compendium of Materia Medica" described the pepper cypress wine: "New Year's Day to drink it, to dispel all the epidemic and unhealthy gas." On Chinese New Year's Eve, drink three or seven peppers, seven oriental cypress leaves, and a bottle of wine. It can be seen that the ancients believed that drinking pepper and cypress wine during the Spring Festival could go to illness and live a long life.
Tusu wine: The spring breeze sends warmth into Tusu
From the Wei and Jin dynasties to the Tang and Song dynasties, the economy is becoming more and more prosperous, and the wine that people drink during the New Year is also full of tricks, and the famous prime minister of the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi, wrote the poem "One year old in the sound of firecrackers, and the spring breeze sends warmth into Tusu", which is to drink Tusu wine during the Spring Festival.
Sun Simiao said in "Preparing for Emergencies and Thousands of Golden Prescriptions" that "drinking Tu Su, the year is full of epidemics, and you will not be infected with plague and typhoid fever". In ancient times, the sanitary conditions and epidemic prevention conditions were poor, and Tusu wine was one of the cheapest and most convenient drinks. In addition, the saying and function of Tusu wine to drive away evil spirits and prevent epidemics are compatible with legends such as "Nian" and "Zheng", which have auspicious meanings from the perspective of health and culture.
Year-old wine: Year-old wine is drunk
Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, there is a saying that "year-old wine" is drunk on Chinese New Year's Eve. The Chinese New Year not only has "keeping the New Year", but also "giving the New Year", "Farewell to the New Year" and other patterns, all of which are inseparable from wine. In the Song Dynasty, Wu Zimu's "Menglianglu" recorded: "Shishu, regardless of rich or poor, sit around the hearth, drink wine and sing." The matter of keeping the New Year, although it is close to child's play, but the father and son reunite to drink, laugh and sing, and never sleep at night, and they are right.
People generally drink twice during the New Year, except for Chinese New Year's Eve night when their families sit together to drink New Year's wine, during the day, neighbors also invite each other to drink, called "other years". In addition to drinking, neighbors also give each other food and drink, which is called "New Year's gift".
Shochu: It is as clear as water and has a very strong flavor
After the Ming and Qing dynasties, the wind of keeping the New Year prevailed in an all-round way, and the flavor of the year was particularly strong, and many customs were similar to today. With the maturity of winemaking technology and the improvement of economic conditions, Jiaobai wine and Tusu wine have become "old favorites", and soju has become "new favorites". Shochu is a distilled spirit, which is as clear as water, has a strong flavor, high degree, and pure texture, so its quality seems to be superior to that of previous sake brewing. The alcohol content of soju is roughly around 50%, which is similar to today's liquor.
In general, the ancients drank alcohol during the Spring Festival not only to celebrate the New Year, but also to maintain physical health, and to express good hopes for their families and the coming year. Nowadays, there are many kinds of wines to be distributed, and it is even more important to choose a good wine that is suitable for the New Year's feast.
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The flavor is getting stronger in 2024
From ancient times to the present, the varieties and etiquette of drinking during the Spring Festival are constantly changing, but what remains unchanged is the original intention and expectation of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new and praying for happiness.