What is Shai Wine related to the work?

  "Filtering wine", is a term that Chinese people are both familiar with and strange to. It's because the famous "Water Margin" has this term appearing extremely frequently; it's strange, because how many people understand its true meaning?

  According to the more common interpretation, "sieving wine" has two meanings: one is pouring wine and the other is warming up wine. The Commercial Press's "Modern Chinese Dictionary", which can be found in almost every household, explains the second meaning of the character "" on page 1184 as follows: "1. To make wine warm: to sieve the wine before drinking it again. 2. To pour (wine or tea)." However, after researching historical materials and based on personal experience, the author believes that neither of these two meanings is completely accurate.

  The author was once puzzled by the term "sifting wine" in "Water Margin". In early 2004, when I returned to my wife's hometown in Guangdong with her, I found that every household had a custom of brewing their own rice wine - using a large jar, putting half-cooked glutinous or non-glutinous rice inside, mixing an appropriate amount of wine yeast evenly, digging a depression on the surface of the rice, and sealing the jar. After several days, rice wine would seep out from the depression. It can be drunk directly by scooping it up. Since this kind of rice wine is mixed with dregs, it's inevitable to have some rice grains and impurities when scooping, so it generally needs to be filtered before drinking. When I saw this, I suddenly realized the meaning of "sifting wine". Of course, this is only a direct evidence, an indirect evidence.

  The magazine "Wine World" published an article by Mr. Le Yuanshi in its 5th issue of 2005, titled "Sifting Wine is Not Decanting Wine". The text also proves the author's personal experience: "The 'Dream of Red Mansions Dictionary' annotates 'sifting wine refers to decanting wine, also known as warming up wine'. This inaccurate annotation will mislead readers. It is a common understanding that 'Jin Ping Mei' influenced 'Dream of Red Mansions'. Both books have descriptions of sifting wine, with 'Jin Ping Mei' being more detailed: Pan Jinlian seduces Wu Song, 'The woman sifted another cup, Wu Song also sifted a cup and handed it to the woman, they had sifted three or four cups and drank them.' 'Dream of Red Mansions' is simpler: 'Xue Pan said that he wanted to sift wine.' Pan Jinlian repeatedly sifts wine, giving people the wrong impression that she frequently decants wine. In 'Jin Ping Mei Ci Hua 42', there is a key word, the sifting wine uses 'copper mesh filter', which is a filtering device and has not been lost. Qing Bao Yangsheng's 'A Small Record of the Imperial Court in the Year of Jia Shen' records that during Chongzhen's reign, the imperial kitchen used 'bottom filter'. Is 'copper mesh filter' copper or another type of filter? Both are for sifting out wine sediment. 'Copper mesh filter' is a device placed on the table to sift and drink immediately."

  The magazine "Chinese Character Culture" published an article by Mr. Liu Junyi in the 6th issue of 2006, titled "Brewing Wine, Filtering Wine and Serving Wine". The article uses a large amount of space to verify the conclusion that "filtering wine is actually warming up wine". Here are some excerpts:

  "In ancient times, people were accustomed to drinking hot wine. There are many specific descriptions in Yuan and Ming dynasty operas. In the opera 'The Old Son' by Wu Hanmin of the Yuan dynasty, there is a character named Liu Yingsun who is very poor. On Qingming Festival, he went to his parents' tomb to sweep and offer sacrifices, but only managed to beg for a bun and half a bottle of wine as offerings. After finishing the rituals, he wanted to use the offerings to fill his belly, but he said: 'This wine is cold, how can I drink it? I'll go to the Zhuang family's house to warm it up.' (Act 3) It can be seen that drinking hot wine was a very important and widespread custom at that time.

  Later, Mr. Liu cited 20 pieces of evidence from Ming and Qing dynasty literature to prove this conclusion. For example:

  * "Jin Ping Mei" Chapter 46: "The book boy hurriedly went up and said: 'I'll take the hot wine from the fire pot and pour it into the silver bottle.'"

  * "Jin Ping Mei" Chapter 70: "After a long time, Xiu Chun took out the wine and opened it to warm it up. Like Yi'er, she poured it into the wine cup and handed it over."

  * Li Luyuan's "Qilu Deng" Chapter 9: "Like Zhang Zongzu, he heard that he had taken the old man's printing blocks and had those gambling prostitutes burn them to warm up the wine."

  * "Dream of the Red Chamber" Chapter 63: "Two old women were squatting outside by the fire pot, warming up the wine."

  He thus concluded: "From the above examples, it is quite clear that 'shāi jiǔ' means to filter wine, no need for further explanation."

  However, the author found through analysis of historical materials that Mr. Liu's cited historical materials are suspected of being incomplete and selective. Therefore, his conclusion also has flaws. This view is very popular, so it's necessary to elaborate a bit.

  Recently in Bianzhou, there was a scholar who liked to compose laughable poems and rhapsodies. He would often mock Xing and Wei, and the crowd would join in to ridicule him. They would falsely praise each other, then kill an ox and brew wine, inviting guests to boost their reputation.

  Mr. Wang Liji explained the term "击牛酾酒" in his book "Yan Shi Jia Xun Ji Jie" as follows: "'必击牛酾酒延之' is written in 'Tai Ping Guang Ji'. In 'Shi Ji · Li Mu Zhuan', it says '日击数牛飨士.' In 'Poetry · Xiao Ya · Fa Mu', there is a line '酾酒有藇.' The 'Jie Wen' quotes Ge Hong as saying: '酾 means to filter wine with a bamboo basket.' According to the 'Qi An': 'Later generations wrote it as 筛酒, which is a change in pronunciation.'"

  In the Southern Song Dynasty, Nai De Weng wrote "The Record of the Capital's Scenic Spots - Four Offices and Six Bureaus": "Government offices and wealthy families set up four offices and six bureaus, each with its own responsibilities... The Tea and Wine Office is in charge of tea and wine for guests, [daily] filtering and straining wine, inviting them to sit and consult, opening cups and resting, lifting the mat to welcome and send off, responding to various rituals." It can be seen that by the Southern Song Dynasty at the latest, the term "filtering wine" had already appeared. However, this passage does not provide a detailed explanation, so we cannot determine the exact meaning of this term.

  The term "chanyu" has an obvious meaning of "due to the presence of impurities in the wine, it needs to be filtered out with a tool".

  However, the author has reservations about the view that "shaijiu" has the meaning of "warm wine".

  The current person Su Shu Sen Ji "Quan Yuan San Qu" recorded the Yuan Dynasty's Hebei Province, Zhengding County, Hou Zhengqing's one paragraph of "Huang Zhong" tune: "Brocade curtains embroidered screens cold and clear, silver platforms painted lanterns green and bright. Golden winds blow disorderly yellow leaves sound, sinking smoke quietly disappears white jade tripod. Bamboo sieves wine again wakes up, border geese return melancholy adds more, eaves horses inferior dreams difficult to achieve. Early is accustomed to solitary sleep, then these are the most difficult to struggle with." The so-called "bamboo sieve", refers to a tool like a bamboo net, this place describes filtering wine, only speaking of removing impurities, without mentioning heating.

  In the "Yuán Yuè" (元乐) drama "Lǔ Zhì Shēn Xǐ Shǎng Huáng Huā Yù" (鲁智深喜赏黄花峪), it is recorded that in the Yuan Dynasty, filtering wine and warming wine could also be two different actions. In Act 1: "The shopkeeper says: 'Yes, yes, yes. This room is clean, please sit down.' Cai Jing says: 'Filter the wine for me to drink.' The shopkeeper says: 'It's not hot wine that has arrived, please drink at your leisure.'"

  If serving wine has the implication of warming up the wine, since the guest has already made a request, how could the shopkeeper say "it's not hot wine" and still ask the guest to "drink at ease"?

  The above-mentioned Mr. Liu Junyi's article "Wine Filtering, Wine Straining and Wine Serving" lists materials from "Jin Ping Mei" and "Dream of the Red Chamber" to prove that wine filtering has the meaning of warming up wine, but there is also ample evidence in "Jin Ping Mei" that shows wine filtering has nothing to do with warming up wine.

  "Wu Da taught his wife to sit in the main seat, Wu Song sat opposite, Wu Da poured wine horizontally, and the three of them sat down. He brought wine to pour in front of each person. The woman picked up the wine and said: 'Uncle, don't blame me for not having much to entertain you, please have a cup of watered-down wine.' Wu Song said: 'Thank you, sister-in-law, no need to say that.' Wu Da was busy pouring wine back and forth, how could he care about trivial matters?"

  "Sifting wine in front of everyone", "only focusing on sifting wine up and down". If the act of sifting wine implies warming the wine, how can such an action occur? How is this action completed?

  Here is the translation:

  "Just then, Yīng Chūn brought down a plate of roasted goose meat and a dish of steamed buns with rose petal filling from upstairs. Seeing this, she said: 'You scoundrel, what are you laughing at? Why aren't you watching the wine?' Qián Tóng had just taken out the jug from under his clothes and handed it to Yīng Chūn, saying: 'Sister, take this.' Yīng Chūn asked: 'What's this jug for? This is the one used for filtering wine upstairs.' Qián Tóng replied: 'Don't mind that. This is a trick played by the seven or eight young servants from the inner chamber, including Yù Sháo and Shū Tóng. They stole this jug of wine and some oranges and pears to eat in the study. I didn't see them, but I'll take advantage of it. You just keep it safe, and if anyone comes looking for it, don't give it to them. I've got a good thing going.' He then took out an orange and a pear and showed them to Yīng Chūn, saying: 'I saw that they filtered the wine today, so I'll take this jug to my place on Lion Street tonight.' Yīng Chūn said: 'Wait, if they come looking for the jug later, you'll be in trouble.' Qián Tóng replied: 'I didn't steal their jug. Each person is responsible for their own mess. Don't bother me!' With that, he left. Yīng Chūn hid the jug on a table in the inner room and said nothing more about it. In the evening, when the wine was finished and everyone had dispersed, they discovered that one of the jugs was missing. Yù Sháo searched for it in the study but couldn't find it anywhere. She asked Shū Tóng, who said: 'I went out on an errand and don't know anything about it.' Yù Sháo panicked and pushed the blame onto Xiǎo Yù. Xiǎo Yù retorted: 'You're crazy! I was watching the tea in the back, and you were holding the jug, pouring wine for the mistress at the table. Now that the jug is gone, you're blaming me!' They searched everywhere but couldn't find it."

  This clearly states that the lost "executive" is "on top of filtering wine", and "I look at tea behind, you hold the executive, on the banquet with Niang to filter wine." It's clear that filtering wine is pouring wine, which has nothing to do with warming wine, regardless of whether there is a "filtering" process in between.

  "Ximen Qing instructed, 'Tell the child to go to sleep, don't make any noise, I'm afraid of waking him up.' Ying Chun then brought tea for him to drink. Li Ping'er asked, 'Why did you come back from drinking so early today?' Ximen Qing said, 'Xia Longxiang is still grateful that I gave him that horse the other day, so he spent a lot of effort preparing a feast to invite me; he also called two young entertainers. After sitting with him for a while, seeing that it was snowing outside, I came home early.' Li Ping'er said, 'You've been drinking? Let the maid bring some wine for you to drink. Coming home in the big snow, aren't you afraid of the cold?' Ximen Qing said, 'Also bring me that grape wine. Today at his house they were serving self-brewed chrysanthemum wine, I thought it smelled and tasted bad, so I didn't drink much.'"

  Anyone with a little knowledge of drinking knows that fruit wines (such as the grape wine mentioned in the text) absolutely cannot be heated before consumption, and will immediately lose their flavor and become undrinkable if heated. It can be seen that the "sifting" referred to here is actually the act of pouring wine (regardless of whether there is any filtering action).

  Let's take another look at the content of Chapter 63 of "Dream of Red Mansions" quoted in the article "Filtering Wine, Sieving Wine and Serving Wine". The original text only quotes the sentence "Two old women were squatting outside filtering wine by the brazier", which is why it gives people the impression that filtering wine means warming wine. To clarify this issue, we need to take a look at the preceding and following texts.

  "Dream of Red Mansions Chapter 63: Longevity Nai's Birthday Banquet":

  "I told Ping'er that I had already hidden a jar of good Shaoxing wine on the other side. The eight of us will celebrate your birthday in private... Mei Yue and Si'er went to fetch fruit, using two large tea trays to carry it back four or five times. Two old women were squatting outside filtering wine by the brazier. Bao Yu said: 'It's hot, let's all take off our outer garments.' Everyone laughed and said: 'You can take yours off if you want, but we still have to take turns serving tea.' Bao Yu smiled and said: 'If we start this, it will go on until dawn. You know I hate these conventional rituals, and having to put up with them in front of outsiders is even more annoying.' Everyone heard him and said: 'Let's do as you say.' So they didn't sit down at first, but instead busied themselves removing their makeup and changing into comfortable clothes."

  Shaoxing wine is most famous and commonly seen in the forms of huadiao and jiachang. Shaoxing yellow rice wine is usually served hot, with added Qingmei plum, rock sugar, and ginger shreds; the main purpose of heating and adding ingredients is due to the astringent taste when consumed cold. Therefore, "filtering wine on a brazier" in this context should be considered an exception. Moreover, the text also mentions "hot weather", which makes it unnecessary to heat the wine for consumption.

  Further examination of other materials can also prove that there is no direct and necessary connection between "Shai wine" and "Wen wine" in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

  Song Jiang used kind words to comfort Yan Guang, asking him to take his seat again. He also said to Wu Jiao: "Don't be offended, this brother is just a bit crazy, what he says doesn't count, unless it's done, sometimes I too can't control him, that's why he rushed at you and your master, who wouldn't get angry? Please look at Song Jiang's face and don't take it to heart with him, it would be fortunate indeed!" After speaking, he personally poured wine for the five of them to drink. The five hastily left their seats and bowed down to the ground.

  "Personally holding the jug, filtering wine for five masters and disciples to drink." Here, "holding the jug" obviously means "hand-holding a wine jug", not the noun "jug" mentioned in the previous text of "Jin Ping Mei". It can be seen that holding a wine jug to filter wine is pouring wine (whether or not there is a filtering action).

  At that time, it was the end of winter with heavy snow. Ji Gong felt cold and came to the kitchen to warm himself by the fire, revealing a pair of thin legs. The cook said: "Your master has many clothes for you, but they were all snatched away. In this heavy snow, your thin legs must be very cold." Ji Gong said: "It's okay to feel cold, what's unbearable is that I haven't had wine for a long time." The cooks saw how sad he looked and said: "Ji Gong, we have a bottle of wine here, please drink it, but be careful not to let the elder know." Ji Gong said: "Brother, you're so kind. I'll hide under the stove to drink." One person covered for him while the other poured the wine.

  The man has already hidden under the stove to secretly drink wine, and another "cover" is needed, how can he "warm up the wine"?

  "The Water Margin, Chapter 24: Wang Po Corruptly Mediates the Affair of Xie Zhou's Sister-in-Law": "Wu Dalang was pouring wine in front of everyone. The woman picked up the wine and said, 'Uncle, don't be offended, I have nothing to offer you, just a cup of wine.' Wu Song said, 'Thank you, sister-in-law, no need to say that.' Wu Dalang was busy filtering and warming the wine, how could he care about other things."

  It's clearer here that filtering wine and boiling wine are two actions, using two different terms.

  There is also evidence from the Qing dynasty that proves shaijiu and warm wine are two different things.

  "Xiao Jie said: 'This is just fine.' As she spoke, the two wives-in-law heated up the wine and had their personal maids bring over the jugs to filter the wine."

  "Zhang Hui-chen said: 'Have another two cups.' She said, and took the wine pot to pour wine for Ge Zhongying."

  From the same book "Chapter 8: Hoarding a deep heart, robbing the red thread box, boasting of profit, thanking the seven fragrance car":

  "Jin Feng pushed Zi Fu to sit down, saying: 'Please have some wine.' He immediately took the wine pot, wanting to pour wine for Zi Fu, but couldn't pour any more out. Lifting the lid to look, he laughed and said: 'It's all gone!' Then he shouted for little Ah Bao to bring another pot of wine."

  In summary, by the Ming and Qing dynasties at the latest, filtering wine did not necessarily include warming the wine. It could be an action of "filtering impurities + warming the wine", or it could be an action of only "filtering impurities", or it could simply be a "pouring wine" action. To say that filtering wine originally referred to "filtering impurities + warming the wine" or just "filtering impurities". However, as winemaking techniques changed, wine no longer needed to be "filtered", but the term "filtering wine" was retained and passed down, becoming another way of saying "pouring wine".

  Kang Tao February 10, 2008 Written in Pu Garden

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