Kaleidoscope

Tibetan Toasts

: Cut white gourd into 2 inch by 2 inch by 1/4 inch (5 cm by 5 cm by 7 mm) slices...

: This is a well-known Chinese sweet dish, and it can be made with either apple, pear, banana or...

: Min Cuisine, one of the Eight Cuisines of China, is mainly represented by dishes of Fuzhou and...

Well-known for their hospitality, the Tibetans often treat their guests with highland barley wine. First they fill up the wine cups and hold to their guests, when the guests shall take the cup with both hands. Then, with one hand holding the cup, the other hand shall dip a little wine with the middle finger and thumb and flip to the air so as to toast the gods in heaven. Similarly there shall come another two flips to toast the earth and the Buddha respectively. This is a traditional custom to remind people of the fact that we have barley wine to drink owing to the generous bestowal from the heaven, the earth and Buddha. When drinking the barley wine, the conventional custom of the Tibetans is: the guest shall take a drag first when the host fills up the cup at once, then another two drags with the motions repeated. After that the guest shall drink off the cup so as to please the host. The more the guest drinks, the happier the host will be since it proves the fine taste of the wine. When the Tibetans make a toast, big cups or bowls are given to male guests, while smaller ones are given to females.

The Chinese Way of Urging People to Drink

The hospitality of the Chinese can be thoroughly seen at banquets. More often than not, communication between people is sublimed during the process of toasting. When a Chinese makes a toast to someone, he often hopes the person to drink more so that his hospitality is delivered. The more the guest drinks, the happier the host will be; if the guest declines to drink, the host may feel loss of face. Therefore, in order to urge guests to drink, multiple means are adopted in China.

Details

"Civil Toasts"

"Civil Toasts"

As an embodiment of traditional drinking manner, it refers to asking guests to drink in good manners. Usually when a banquet begins, the host may start the first round of toasting after brief...
"Return Toasts"

"Return Toasts"

The guests may return a toast to the host to express their thanks.
"Mutual Toasts"

"Mutual Toasts"

It refers to toasts between guests for the purpose of urging each other to drink more. Here the toaster may find every possible reason to make the other side drink, if the one being toasted cannot...
"Substitutive Toasts"

"Substitutive Toasts"

It's a way to dodge drinking with decency while pleasing both the host and other guests. If a person is a non-drinker or has already drunk excessively, but he cannot avoid another drink toasted by...
"Toasts for Punishment"

"Toasts for Punishment"

It's a unique way of toasting practiced by the Chinese. Toasts for punishment can be made for numerous reasons, while the most common one may be the "three cups of wine" for punishing the...
Toasts by the Zhuang Minority

Toasts by the Zhuang Minority

The "union of wine cups" toasted by the Zhuang people actually use not cups but white porcelain soup spoons to get wine from a bowl and drink with their arms crossed. Here the host may even sing a...
Toasts by the Yugur Minority

Toasts by the Yugur Minority

It's a tradition for the Yugur minority in northwest China to toast their guests with double cups for each. Regardless of how many guests there are, only two wine cups are used for all hosts...