Page 14 - Bonhams GANBEI A Toast To Wine Culture, Hong Kong Nov 30 2022

A Glance at Chinese Wine Culture

and Art in Wine Vessels

Keason Tang

Wine was introduced probably not too long after the cultivation Wine vessels that were used as ritual vessels were intimidating
of crops, and the invention of which was highly likely to be and solemn, while wine vessels as daily utensils were more
accidental, as fermentation of alcohol takes place when crops are diverse in form. Whereas the material was no longer limited to
spattered by water or are soaked in it for a period of time. A sense bronze, ivory or horns, the shape also moved on from zun, jue,
of intoxication was entered upon ingesting said crops, inducing jiao, and zhi. By Han Dynasty, gold, jade, and lacquer became the
a trance state resembling spiritual enlightenment, blurring the preferred materials for high-end wine vessels, whereas wine cups
boundary between the mortal and the divine. It was believed that made of rhinoceros horns had become the most precious since
among the very first groups of the initial stages of civilization to Ming Dynasty. After skillful craftsmanship, wine vessels made of
indulge in heavy consumption of alcohol was the shaman class, common materials like bamboo or gourd are increasingly sought
followed by the aristocracy. after by the literati, who saw beyond the materials of these vessels
and found their charm (Lot 142 and 144).
Seeing how the vessels embody the zeitgeist, the fervent
popularity of wine drinking during the Shang Dynasty can be The evolution of wine vessels was also influenced by ethnic
seen from the large number of bronze wine vessels found, many amalgamation and brewing techniques, on top of ritual system
of which are huge in size and elaborate in form (Lot 101). As changes. From Shang and Zhou to Han Dynasties, despite the
the Shang capital of Yin was conquered by Zhou Dynasty, they ritual system underwent multiple changes, wine vessels basically
believed that alcoholism was the culprit for the downfall of the followed the prototype of Shang and Zhou bronze vessels, with
Shang Dynasty, and the Duke of Zhou even specifically issued brief variations between complexity and simplicity (Lot 105). It
the Announcement about Drunkenness to warn his successors was until later stages of the bronze age when a handful of new
against the consumption of alcohol except during religious rituals. wine vessels showed up, such as the ear cup (Lot 104). After Wei
"The Book of Songs" also has many verses about the downfall and Jin Dynasties, different northern nomads brought over their
of Shang Dynasty as a result of excessive wine drinking. Such own ethnic wine utensils and drinking culture. The prosperous
messages are also seen from bronze ritual vessels from the Zhou Tang Dynasty was built on hundreds of years of multi-ethnic
Dynasty. Given that our impression of the Shang Dynasty is based coexistence, where traits of pre-Qin and Han Dynasties were no
solely on the description by Zhou Dynasty who conquered them, longer to be traced in Tang vessels, now influenced by foreign
not to mention that Zhou Dynasty did not outright ban alcohol, and aesthetics. For example, the prototype of the Tang white-glazed
many elaborate and extravagant wine vessels were still produced double-dragon amphora (Lot 110) can be traced all the way back
during the Western Zhou period, whether Shang society had drunk to Yotkan culture through silk road (fig. 1), where its exotic beauty
their whole country away remains unknown to the modern mind. of “fine wine glittering in a jade chalice glowing in the night (Wang
Nonetheless, it is certain that Duke of Zhou or some of the upper- Han, active circa 680-700)” was such a novelty, even the most
level aristocrats of the Zhou Dynasty did try to standardize alcohol extravagant last King of Shang Dynasty, who was said to indulge
consumption which would be codified into the ritual system. in a “wine pool and meat forest”, could only imagine. The drinking
Starting from around 8 Century BC, amongst Zhou Dynasty’s culture and wine utensils brought by the nomad-established
th
ritual vessels, wine vessels had experienced a decline, with dynasties like Liao, Jin, Yuan and Qing Dynasties can be said to
increasingly simplistic decorations, which continued all the way have left a legacy which remains influential up to this day. As the
until the demise of the ritual system in Eastern Zhou period. The high-foot stem cup evolved into a shorter form (Fig.2), and with
secularization of wine coincided with the demise of Zhou rituals, a size reduction (Lot 117), it has evolved into the modern-day
when wine categories diversified, yield increased, the population Chinese wine cup.
of wine consumption expanded from the most senior nobles to
officials and commoners, and wine vessels transitioned from a
ritual vessel to a daily utensil.

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