Full Description
China is one of the world's leading producers and consumers of liquor, with alcohol infusing all aspects of its culture, from religion and literature to business and warfare. Yet to the outside world, China's most famous spirit, baijiu, remains a mystery. This is about to change, as baijiu is now being served in cocktail bars beyond its borders.
Drunk in China follows Derek Sandhaus's journey of discovery into the world's oldest drinking culture. He travels throughout the country and around the globe to meet with distillers, brewers, snake-oil salesmen, archaeologists, and ordinary drinkers. He examines the many ways in which alcohol has shaped Chinese society and its rituals. He visits production floors, karaoke parlors, hotpot joints, and speakeasies. Along the way he uncovers a tradition spanning more than nine thousand years and explores how recent economic and political developments have conspired to push Chinese alcohol beyond the nation's borders for the first time. As Chinese society becomes increasingly international, its drinking culture must also adapt to the times. Can the West also adapt and clink glasses with China? Read Drunk in China and find out.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Notes on Language
Time Line of Alcohol in China
Introduction: The First Sip
Part 1. Climbing the Sky
1. The Wild West
2. Three Hundred Shots
3. The Way
Part 2. Jiu's Story
4. Drink of the Dead
5. Drink of the Immortals
6. Firewater
7. The People's Choice
Part 3. The Journey of a Thousand Drinks
8. Party Favors
9. Song of the South
10. Yangtze Delta Blues
11. Dust Bowl Ballad
12. Yellow River Ramble
Part 4. Warning Labels
13. Burning Questions
14. Quality Control
15. The Cost of Doing Business
16. Red Tape
Part 5. Matters of Taste
17. Reinventing the Flavor Wheel
18. Exclusion
19. A Seat at the Bar
Afterword: Why We Drink
Appendix: About the Recipes
Notes
Bibliography
Index
