The Sichuan Diaries: A China Journey | Chicago Tribune

Originally posted: September 21, 2007
China‘s stiffest drink
LUZHOU, China - - The bottle, that frightful red bottle, loomed from across the room. We had dreaded a night like this.
We were 10 days into a trip across southwestern China, and our route had taken us to the heart of Chinese liquor country. This stretch of the Yangtze River is ground zero for the country’s most storied - - and punishing -- brands of Chinese baijiu, or white alcohol. Or, simply, firewater.
“Once you have a taste, I’m sure you’ll never forget it,” entreated our gracious host, ominously.
Like much of East Asia, an increasingly prosperous China has bear-hugged the culture of social drinking. More business is conducted over booze-infused Chinese lunches than over negotiating tables. A formal dinner features many rounds of obligatory toasts, punctuated by draining the contents of one’s glass, whether beer, wine, Coke, or, most potent of all, baijiu. Demurring is discouraged.
To the uninitiated, a lusty whiff of the stuff brings an uppercut to the septum. Baijiu comes in proofs ranging from 40 to 65 percent alcohol. The cheapest sells for pennies, while the costliest varieties stretch to the thousands of dollars for each ornate bottle. Distilled from sorghum, barley or rice, some also contain a preserved snake or scorpion floating inside.
The power of baijiu to overwhelm visitors is legendary. When, in 1972, Richard Nixon made the first U.S. presidential visit to the People’s Republic of China, national-security aides were so concerned that the president would be addled by toasts - - and, perhaps, give away the farm - - that, before departure, aides warned Nixon to feign drinking from his glass at all costs.
A book on Chinese negotiating tactics also recounts the cautionary tale of foreign executives on a high-stakes visit who limped through night after night of post-negotiation baijiu-bacchanals, only to discover that their Chinese counterparts brought in a fresh team of negotiators on the final, decisive day of talks.
We had stopped in the fast-growing river port of Luzhou, home to Luzhou Lao Jiao, or Luzhou Old Cellar. China is so proud of the stuff that its 400-year-old distillery was declared a national historic site. Just upstream, the city of Yibin prides itself on producing an equally strong variety called Wu Liang Ye, or Five-Grain Liquid.
We found ourselves at a table of genial companions, eager to show us the local best. Leading the evening was Chen Jing, a sales manager from the local distillery. She is a tall and decisive 30-year-old who still bears the commanding stare she acquired in China’s army and air force. (“What was your job?” I’d asked gamely. “That’s a secret,” she said without smiling, and we went back to talking about alcohol.)
“Tonight, I will show you the proper way to drink baijiu,” she said, and the table fell into nervous silence.
During two years in China, I’d tussled with baijiu many times, but I usually found ways to dodge it. In this instance, I’d been weighing some time-tested excuses: professed allergies, a religious objection or two, or, the silver bullet, a graphic declaration of stomach trouble.
But Chen was a willful host, and I saw no escape. A waitress circled the table like a coyote and filled each tiny wineglass to the brim.
“Look at the clarity. It should be crystal clear against the light,” Chen said, holding her glass aloft. “Now, smell it, by waving your hand across the top like this. And, finally, take a little sip, letting it move around your mouth and revealing its many flavors, from the tip of your tongue to the end.”
I was dumbstruck. I’d never seen anything like this in China.  In fact, I‘d never heard the Chinese word for "sip."
But like so much here, the culture of drinking is changing. Some city dwellers now take pains to show their moderation and emphasize that they have moved beyond their hard-drinking country roots. Still, they are in the minority, and I asked Chen why so few people drink baijiu this way.
“Traditionally, liquor is to help you be brave,” said the former soldier. “Chinese generals would have a drink before going into battle. Taking just one sip has no effect, so people got used to taking more than a sip.”
“In China, alcohol is also closely related to ritual,” she continued. “It is given to honor ancestors and to celebrate occasions. So it has been elevated to something more important than just alcohol.”
Indeed, many Chinese business associates still see a night of falling-down drunkenness as a necessary path to bonding. If you are willing to suffer through a miserable hangover, the thinking goes, then you’ve proved your loyalty.
On this night, the bottle continued to wind its way around the table. Hours passed. But, to our surprise, this was no forced-march banquet. This was an honest-to-goodness dinner in China‘s answer to bourbon country. Before leaving, Chen raised her glass for a final toast. And on the way out, I noticed that we had made barely a dent in the bottle.
也许是译文
中国退役女军官敬酒，芝加哥论坛记者吓破胆！ [原创 2007-09-25 04:30:46 ] 发表者: Beiwa 

China‘s stiffest drink
最难以下咽的中国饮料
作者：埃文.欧斯诺斯  翻译：北洼  芝加哥论坛报 2007年9月21日
中国泸州――瓶子，散发出可怕红色的瓶子，在整个房间里若隐若现。我们一整晚都在这样提心吊胆。我们正在中国西南部进行为期10天的旅行，现在已经踏入了中国酒乡的腹地。这条长江的支流是那些在中国名头最响亮――也是最可怕――的白酒品牌的发祥地。
如同大多数东亚国家一样，一个正在日益富裕的中国也在热烈欢迎用于社交活动的酒宴文化。在开怀畅饮的午餐中谈成的生意比在谈判桌前达成的还要多。以多轮义不容辞的干杯为标志的正式晚宴，经常被将杯中饮料一饮而光的要求所打断，无论里面装的是啤酒、葡萄酒、可乐，还是最常见的白酒。推辞的行为是不会受到欢迎的。
对于缺少饮酒经验的人来说，喝下一大口通常会感到喉部一阵刺痛。白酒的酒精含量通常在40度到65度之间。最便宜的只要几块钱，而一瓶包装精美、价格最昂贵的白酒则需要几千美元。白酒由高粱、大麦或者大米蒸馏而来，有些白酒里面还漂浮着干蛇或者蝎子。
用白酒的威力将来宾掀翻在地的说法富有传奇色彩。1972年理查德.尼克松第一次来华访问时，国家安全局的官员非常担心总统会被干杯弄得晕头转向，或者甚至放弃其立场，在离开美国之前，他们告诫尼克松要不惜一切代价拒绝喝酒。
一本关于和中国人谈判技巧的书籍，还提到了一位外国经理在每天谈判后的酒宴上都喝得酩酊大醉，在最具有决定意义的最后一天谈判中，这位经理晕头转向，已经失去了知觉，只是发现中国公司带来了一个全新的谈判小组，对于其他事情则是懵懂无知。
我们到了经济快速发展的河港城市泸州，这是泸州老窖的原产地。中国对他们具有400年历史的酿酒厂感到非常自豪，将它列入了国家级历史遗迹保护名录。就在泸州的上游有一座为其生产的五粮液而自豪的城市宜宾。
我们发现我们已经置身于一个酒桌，友好的中国陪伴人员迫不及待地向我们展示当地最好的酒。当晚主持酒局的是当地酒厂的销售经理陈静（音）。她今年30岁，身材高挑，行事果断，仍然具有她在中国陆军和空军部队练就的威风凛凛的气质。（“你曾经做什么工作？”我状着胆子问。“那是一个秘密，”她面无表情地说，我们的话题又回到了酒上。）
“今晚，我会向你们演示喝白酒的正确方法，”她说，酒桌陷入了一种令人心惊肉跳的沉寂。
在中国的两年时间内，我已经和白酒进行了多次斗争，但是我通常都能找到推辞的办法。在这场场合下，我依仗的是一些久经考验并屡试不爽的借口：酒精过敏，宗教禁忌，或者伪称胃病等。但是陈静是一个坚定的主人，我看不到能够逃脱的迹象。服务员为将每个人面前的酒杯都倒满了酒。
“看看它的清晰度，在光照下应该是如水晶一般的透亮，”陈举着酒杯说。“现在，闻闻看，像这样用手拿着晃一晃。最后，轻轻地啜一小口，让酒在嘴里来回转一转，使它释放出大量香味，从舌尖到舌根仔细品味一番。”我被吓得目瞪口呆。我在中国从来没有见过这种场面。实际上，我从来没有听过这个中文“啜”字。
但是饮酒文化正在发生改变，没有这里这么浓烈。一些城市市民在试图调整，并强调说他们已经逐渐放弃了这种植根于中国的饮酒方式。然而，他们依然是少数人。我问陈为什么没有几个人这样喝白酒。
“从传统意义上来说，酒能够帮助你壮胆，”这位中国前军人说。“中国的将军们在出征之前会喝酒。只啜一小口起不到什么作用，所以人们通常会多喝一些。”“在中国，酒精同样与典礼息息相关，”她继续说道。“人们用它来祭祀祖先和庆祝某些活动。所以它的作用已经远远超越了它单纯的酒精作用。”
实际上，做为一种融洽人际关系必不可少的手段，在许多中国人的商业活动中，仍能在晚上看到一些倒地不起的醉酒者。如果你决心经历一次令人忍受的酩酊大醉，你就已经（向对方）证明了你的诚意。
在今天晚上，酒瓶一直在酒桌上转来转去。几个小时过去了，让我们喜出望外的是，这不是一场强行劝酒的筵席。在回应中国根深蒂固的陋习方面，这是一场地道而纯粹的晚餐。酒席即将结束，陈举起了酒杯进行最后一次干杯。离开之前，我注意到瓶中的酒仅仅凹下去很小的一块。
－完－
备注：个别留言怀疑文章的真实性，我很欣赏他们的狐疑精神和阴谋论的思维方式。
不得已再把该文在芝加哥论坛报的链接地址贴在这里，您如果有疑问的话就打开看看吧：