Wine Culture 美酒文化 Way of Drinking for Merriness 饮酒助兴的方式

一、饮酒行令
1. Playing Drinking Games
饮酒行令是中国人在饮酒时助兴的一种特有方式。酒令由来己久，开始时可能是为了维持酒席上的秩序而设立“监”。在远古时代就有了射礼，为宴饮而设的称为“燕射”。即通过射箭，决定胜负。负者饮酒。古人还有一种被称为投壶的饮酒习俗，酒宴上设一壶，宾客依次将箭向壶内投去，以投入壶内多者为胜，负者受罚饮酒。总的说来，酒令是用来罚酒。但实行酒令最主要的目的是活跃饮酒时的气氛。何况酒席上有时坐的都是客人，互不认识是很常见的，行令就象催化剂，顿使酒席上的气氛就活跃起来。
Playing drinking games is a unique way for Chinese when drinking for merriness. The drinking game has a long history and may be established for maintaining the order in the feast at first, which was called “Jian”. In the ancient time, there was shooting ceremony, and that set for the feast was called “Yan She”, which meant to make a decision on victory or losing through shooting. The loser shall drink. There was a drinking custom called Tou Hu in the ancient time. There was a kettle set in the feast, and the guests cast the arrow towards the kettle in turn, the people casting the most arrows in the kettle were the victor, and the loser shall drink for punishment. On the whole, drinking game is for punishing to drink. But the main object was to active the atmosphere of drinking. Sometimes, the people sitting in the guests are all guests, and it is very common to be unknown with each other. Playing drinking game is like the activator, which makes the atmosphere in the feast active at once.
行酒令的方式可谓是五花八门。文人雅士与平民百姓行酒令的方式大不相同。文人雅士常用对诗或对对联、猜字或猜谜等，一般百姓则用一些既简单，又不需作任何准备的行令方式。
There are various ways to play drinking games. It may be different for refined scholars and civilians in playing drinking games. The refined scholars usually adopt such modes as matching poems and couplets or guessing words or riddles, while the common civilians adopt some easy mode without any preparation to play drinking games.
最常见，也最简单的是“猜拳”，即用手指中的若干个手指的手姿代表某个数，两人出手后，相加后必等于某数，出手的同时，每人报一个数字，如果甲所说的数正好与加数之和相同，则算赢家，输者就得喝酒。如果两人说的数相同，则不计胜负，重新再来一次。
The most common and easiest mode is the finger-guessing game. In this game, two people use gestures of some of the fingers to represent some figures, when they take out their hands, there must be a figure for the added gesture. Every people say a figure at the time taking out his hands. If the person says the same figure with the added figure, he wins, and the loser shall drink. If the two people say the same figure, then it is a fair, and the game shall be played again.
二、击鼓传花
2. Passing Game
这是一种既热闹，又紧张的罚酒方式。在酒宴上宾客依次坐定位置。由一人击鼓，击鼓的地方与传花的地方是分开的，以示公正。开始击鼓时，花束就开始依次传递，鼓声一落，如果花束在某人手中，则该人就得罚酒。因此花束的传递很快，每个人都唯恐花束留在自己的手中。击鼓的人也得有些技巧，有时紧，有时慢，造成一种捉摸不定的气氛，更加剧了场上的紧张程度，一旦鼓声停止，大家都会不约而同地将目光投向接花者，此时大家一哄而笑，紧张的气氛一消而散。
This is a lively and nervous punishing way of drinking. After the guests seated in the feast in turn, one person beats a drum while other person passes the flower with the beginning point separated for justice. While beginning to beat the drum, people begin to pass the flower one by one. At the time the drumbeat ends, the person with the flower in his hand shall drink for punishment. Therefore everyone passes the flower very quickly, lest the flower staying in his hands. There are skills for the person beating the drum, sometimes he beats quickly, sometimes he beats slowly, which creates an intangible atmosphere and intensifies the nervous atmosphere in the game. once the drumbeat ends, people will look to the person holding the flower coincidently. At this moment people laugh and the tense atmosphere disappears.
接花者只好饮酒。如果花束正好在两人手中，则两人可通过猜拳或其它方式决定负者。击鼓传花是一种老少皆宜的方式，但多用于女客。
The person holding the flower has to drink. If the flower is right in both people’s hands, then the two people may decide the victory or lose through finger-guessing game or other ways. The passing game is for both the old and the young, but is often for the female guests.