On 8/24/2018 at 6:31 PM, Lisa Shock said:Thanks for the pictures! It's great to see the beautiful view and the bountiful feast.
Toasting each guest sounds like a great custom, except was it with alcohol? I mean, isn't that a lot of drinks?
Good question! When I first went to a wedding banquet in China about twenty years ago, I wondered exactly the same. The happy couple would come around with a friend (a kind of equivalent of our bridesmaid or matron of honour) equipped with a flask full of what appeared to be very strong Chinese liquor (白酒 bái jiǔ) to top up the couple's glasses. Then they would toast up to a 100 people
I quickly worked out something didn't add up. If my friend J really drank that much, she'd pass out by the second table. Her husband isn't a big drinker either.
I have been reliably informed that what they are actually drinking is good old fashioned H2O. The guests are drinking the real stuff, and are well aware of this pretence, but politely feign ignorance. However, it is considered a sign of deep skill among the groom's friends to perform a bit of sleight of hand and switch the groom's drink for the real stuff. I'm reasonably certain that this didn't happen on this occasion.
However, I did see a few guests challenge him to down a half pint glass of beer in one go - a popular way to drink beer here in China. He accepted a couple.
They left totally sober! Unlike most of the guests.