Wine and Spirits of the Ancestors by Edith Frankel from Antiques & Fine Art magazine

Wine has matured alongside human institutions such as religion and the arts, and, therefore, has been viewed to have religious, spiritual, and ritual significance. The connection between wine and spirituality, artistic expression and social customs may be observed in any culture of any epoch. In studying the traditional uses of wine in China, we confront the mystique of antiquity and basic human spirituality, but we also encounter a living tradition. This article is intended to open a window on Chinese culture through wine and wine-related materials as their history is traced through the dynasties.

Distillation originated in China as early as the Yangshao culture (5000–3000 B.C.) in the Neolithic period.¹ The classic bronze wine vessel forms of the Shang (ca. 1766–1122 B.C.) and Zhou (1122–256 B.C.) periods actually evolved from the pottery and horn vessels used for prehistoric rituals, cooking, and serving.² These forms developed from primitive prototypes during the Xia dynasty (ca. 2500–ca. 1766 B.C.) [Fig. 1] and became increasingly ornate during the Shang, when the attachment of figures and animals in relief and in the round as finials and handles, as well as entire drinking vessels made to resemble animal forms, were introduced. Shang oracle bone inscriptions indicate that a wide variety of ritualistic ceremonies involved the consumption of wine, some of which are reflected by the decorative animal elements on the wine vessels. While wine was important in a religious context, with the relatively high standard of living garnered from agricultural pursuits among the ruling class, drinking also became a recreational activity that led to debauchery and extravagant lifestyles.

Wine retained a significant ritual role in the Zhou period. Opulent furnishings found in royal tombs demonstrate that the Zhou dynasty resembled the Shang in their enjoyment of wealth as well as in their devotion to similar religious beliefs and practices; in contrast to their late Shang predecessors, however, the Zhou dynasty prided themselves on their sobriety and piety. In the Zhou period, their own stylistic signature was interpreted on their bronzes, which tend to be less delicate in their decoration than Shang examples.

Archaeological finds attest to the prominent role wine played in ceremonies as reflected in the storage vessels found at burial sites [Figs. 2, 3]. The literature of the period also contains some of the earliest descriptions of the precise use of wine and wine-related paraphernalia. Zhou texts, for instance, describe different varieties of alcoholic drink and their ingredients and production methods. Generally speaking, at this point there were two primary kinds of wine available in China: one made from rice in the South and one from millet in the North.

The Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220) ushered in political and economic stability in the wake of the social upheaval accompanied by the end of any dynasty. The unified empire expanded into Central Asia. Emperor Wudi (141–87 B.C.) sent the official Zhang Qian on a diplomatic mission whereby he discovered cultures with valuable goods to trade in exchange for silk. Opening the fabled “Silk Road,” he is also credited with the introduction of grapes and grape wines. The introduction of this new beverage resulted in the opening of wine shops in the Han capital Chang’an, where exotic food and wines were available to the privileged class.

During the Tang dynasty (618–906), Silk Road trade brought in goods as well as an increased influx of foreign ideas and artistic influences. In cosmopolitan Chang’an, grape wine from the West became fashionable not only among the elite but also among the masses. The popularity of the beverage was reflected in the images of grapes that embellished wine vessels, influences absorbed from Central Asia and the Middle East. Li Bai (701–762), regarded as the finest poet of the Chinese language, frequented the wine shops of Chang’an. His poetry expresses his love of solitude, wine, and the transcendent beauty of nature. He and his friend Du Fu (712–770) were the voice of this golden age; the depiction of Li Bai in Chinese art immortalized him in later dynasties [Fig 4].