Drinking Culture in China
The two weeks leading up to Chinese New Year are marked by excessive feasting and drinking between colleagues and friends in China. It is an important social duty that puts one’s drinking ability into serious test. I was at such a dinner recently where a friend was barely holding his liquor, but insisted on drinking until he collapsed. He even proudly announced that his body can collapse, but his dignity can’t. This is the essence of China’s drinking culture.
Destructive drinking isn’t really a college thing here as it is an indispensable social ritual among mature, grown up men. They drink not for the thrill of getting wasted, but to show that they are trustworthy and upright. Yes, drinking excessively is a respectable quality here. We have this word 酒品/jiu3pin3, which combines the word for alcohol/酒/jiu3 and the word for personal integrity/人品/ren2pin3. The result is a concept which glorifies drinking and associates it with one’s dignity.
Business dinners in China are the most prominent display of our die-hard drinking culture. Even if you can’t drink, you need to drink to give your business partner face and respect, and also to show him that you are honest and trustworthy by putting your life on the line and drinking more than you are capable of. It’s not uncommon to find people whose entire career is built on their ability to drink. But of course not everyone in China abides by the same rule. The drinking culture in Shanghai for example is a lot more moderate. But that’s also why people from Shanghai are often the subject of ridicule at dinner tables.
Tags: business etiquette, Chinese New Year, drinking
This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 11:29 am and is filed under China, Uncategorized, business, culture, inspiration, learning with ChinesePod. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
2:26 pm on February 8th, 2010
What I find surprising is that young Chinese (at least the 21 year-olds I know) drink really weak drinks and get drunk really easily. Did the 40-somethings of today drink just as much when they were 20-somethings?
10:03 pm on February 8th, 2010
That’s really interesting. What about Chinese businesswomen? Do they drink like this, or is it just a male thing?
1:32 am on February 9th, 2010
I have heard that most Chinese women drink very little if at all. How does this culture of drinking affect women’s ability to be successful in business? Are business women obliged to drink as much as the men?
2:22 am on February 9th, 2010
I would love to hear the Chinese version of “My body can collapse, but my dignity can’t.”
4:27 pm on February 13th, 2010
What’s the liver cancer incidence rate in China?
11:42 pm on February 14th, 2010
I am a foreigner living in China. Even though I like a lot of things about China, the drinking culture is one thing I dislike, as it’s excessive and unhealthy. Even though I can drink, I will usually say that I can’t drink bai jiu at dinners, and that in my country we are more used to drinking beer, so I will be given beer instead. It’s much less strong, and easier to handle. Sometimes I will even refuse to drink all together. I refuse to be drawn into this unhealthy and silly game of who can drink most.
3:08 pm on February 19th, 2010
Thanks Jenny, I didn’t know about jiupin and renpin. I just spent the holiday at my girls home in the country side again, last year I was able to escape getting wasted but this year I had to show some new family members I was a part of the family. I paid for it last night though, and grandma was telling me I don’t need to drink.
3:44 pm on March 4th, 2010
@Alec,
Age definitely plays a role. Drinking is an important networking tool in China to the point of one has to drink to bond with colleagues and clients. So as young people start to work, they are exposed to more drinking or in some ways forced to do so. My dad couldn’t drink at all when he was young, but that changed when he started working and drinking was almost a professional requirement. I think it’s even fair to say that a man who doesn’t drink doesn’t have an extensive network in China. I also think that regional difference counts for quite a lot in people’s drinking habits. Young people in their 20’s drink considerably less in Shanghai than their counter-parts in Beijing or Dongbei (the Northeast region of China).
3:46 pm on March 4th, 2010
@Jane and Frances,
The social expectation for women to drink is a lot less. Although women will sometimes be made (or even teased) to drink a bit, it’s much less of an obligation than it is for men.
3:47 pm on March 4th, 2010
@Carl,
My Canadian husband went through the same learning curve. A few of my uncles are still adamant about making him like Baijiu.
3:49 pm on March 4th, 2010
@Nathan,
我的身体可以倒下，但我的酒品不能倒。/Wo3 de shen1ti3 ke3yi dao3xia, dan4 wo3 de jiu3pin3 bu4neng2 dao3.
3:49 pm on March 4th, 2010
@art,
High and getting higher I suspect.
3:51 pm on March 4th, 2010
@Gabriel,
I concur with you. Although sometimes drinking is done in good spirit, I think it’s often quite juvenile.