【A,Comparison,of,Chinese,and,Western,Wine,Culture】and of course

　　Abstract: Wine, as a distinguished and traditional drink, has long been liked by people all over the world, and has developed a unique culture both in China and abroad. This essay will make a comparison between Chinese and western wine culture from three aspects, and especially focus on the differences between the two cultures. And finally a conclusion about the differences will be drawn.
　　Key words: Chinese wine culture; Western wine culture; wine drinking customs; materials of wine; objectives of drinking wine
　　中图分类号：G04
　　
　　1. Differences in materials of wine
　　Chinese wine culture has a very long history, in which, the one with the longest history is millet wine, while white liquor is characteristic of Chinese wine. Among the many Chinese wines, it has both a long history and mature technology. The production of Chinese white liquor ranks first in the world′s distilled liquors. Chinese civilization was brought about from Yellow River Valley, which has soil of surpassing fertility and mild climate. Over 10，000 years ago, China, together with Western Asia and Central America, had already become one of the three famous agricultural centers in the world. The fact that China has long been rich in its food crops has laid the foundations for brewing wine from grain.
　　Greece, where Western Civilization is cultivated, is located in Balkan Peninsula, and is full of hills and islands. The soil is relatively infertile. The Mediterranean climate there is not suitable for growing crops. Therefore, the grain can only be adequate to feed people, while little surplus to brew wine. However, grapes suit the soil and climate in Greece well. Thus grapes became the main materials of wine in the Western world.
　　2. Differences in drinking customs
　　Chinese drinking customs show respect for the person who drinks wine. Hosts and guests both have their fixed seats and toasting orders. A host must be the first to toast others, and other people are not supposed to toast until the host finishes toasting. If someone does not conform to this order, he or she will be punished. When toasting, wine cups should be full, which also show respect for the person who is toasted. And the toasting should be started from the most distinguished guests. The younger generations should first toast members of the elder generations, and the lower levels should first toast the higher levels. Another custom to show respect when toasting is drinking off a cup of wine at one draught. Drinking customs such as playing a drinker′s wager name and playing finger-guessing game are designed for the drinkers to have more fun when drinking. Apparently, influenced by Chinese traditional culture of seniors and juniors, Chinese wine culture focuses on the respect for the person who drinks wine.
　　Different from Chinese way of drinking, Western drinking customs show respect for wine itself. One must appreciate wine from different angles and in different aspects, such as looking, smelling and tasting, from white wine to red wine, lighter wine to stronger wine, and younger wine to older wine. Only by this way can one fully enjoy the taste of wine. In addition, drinking utensils such as wine glasses, decanters and thermometers are also designed for better enjoying the taste of wine. All in all, all drinking customs are surrounded the goal of tasting and enjoying wine. In feasts, toasting usually takes place between main courses and desserts. When toasting, one should hold up his or her wine glass and looks at the object person of toasting, and drink at least a sip of wine to show respect. There is no need to drink the whole glass of wine, unlike in China. One can drink the amount of wine as he or she pleases.
　　3. Differences in objectives of drinking
　　Though a delicious drink, wine is treated as a tool in most cases in China. One of the most famous sayings about drinking wine is “the Old Tippler′s delight does not reside in wine”, which means having other things in mind, demonstrating that what Chinese people pursue by drinking is something other than wine itself. The objectives of drinking for Chinese can be various. In history, some objectives known are as appreciating beautiful scenery, debating, dispelling worries, etc. In Chinese people′s eyes, wine is more of a communicating tool than a pure drink; therefore, Chinese wine culture is focused on the diverse effect brought by drinking wine rather than the theoretical analysis and appreciation of wine itself.
　　In western countries, however, the objective of drinking wine is much simpler, namely sampling and appreciating wine itself. While wine is a communicating tool as well in west, it is more treated as purely a drink. What people pursue by drinking wine is fully enjoying the taste of it. In drinking, people tend to attach more importance to the match of wines, dishes and glasses. Moreover, there is a trend to drink different wines, such as champagne, dry red wine and dry white wine in different temperatures. All these show that people try to fully enjoy the taste of wine, which is the core of western wine culture, very much different from its Chinese counterpart.
　　4. Conclusion
　　In studying the differences between western and Chinese wine cultures, a conclusion as following can be drawn: the differences in Chinese and Western wine cultures are in effect the differences of Chinese and western ways of thinking. Chinese people treat wine as a tool in communicating. When drinking wine, in order to stimulate communication, they create many activities, and toasting is of great importance in the customs of drinking wine. This shows the Chinese divergent way of thinking, which is like the freehand brushwork in Chinese painting. While in west, wine is treated simply as a kind of drink. People drink wine only because it is a drink that they like. All the drinking customs and objectives are based on sampling and enjoying wine itself. Therefore, though western wine also has the function of stimulating communication, it is relatively weak compared to Chinese. The core of western wine culture reflects their direct way of thinking, which is like the sketch in western painting.
　　
　　References：
　　[1] The Wine Culture Between China and Western Countries. [OL].
　　[2] Li, Z. CHINA′S WINE CULTURE. [M]. Beijing: China Intercontinental Press, 2010.
　　[3] He, Z. Chinese Wine Culture. [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House，2001.
　　
　　作者简介：
　　王霓（1983― ）女，陕西西安人，助教，硕士，主要研究方向为外语教学及国际贸易。
　　（责编 潘冰）