October 25, 2006
Baijiu as a chemcial weapon: Deaths and consequences
It seems that smell alone would be enough to leave you turning up daisies, and the taste suggests something which, unless you are a lawnmower, positively should never be ingested. If ever you've imagined taste-testing insecticide or paint thinner, Chinese white wine, or baijiu (白酒), should be a fair approximation. And if by some divine intervention you do survive it and the inevitable hangover, you will forever be haunted by memories of your hosts plugging your nostrils with lit cigarettes and forcing the drink down your throat with ghoulish generosity.
Okay, so obviously, we're not fans of the stuff and many of the delightful perversities ... er, idiosyncracies of doing business with Chinese characteristics. But, alas, we know: it's all about fun and love and our host just wants to know what we look like when we are hysterically drunk against our will so that we can be very close friends and reminisce about our over-indulgence. "Ha! That was just degrading!" we'll laugh one day.
In any case, it seems that at least some Chinese should agree that a live-pickling is not such a good idea, as Reuters is reporting that the Shanghai Daily is reporting that that five Chinese power bureau officials have been dismissed or demoted after 25-year-old Hebei man, Zhang Hongtao was found dead after a night of binge drinking.
"That night, Zhang consumed a lot of alcohol and became very ill. When the bureau invited the group to dine again the next day, Zhang's lifeless body was found, which Zhang's family said was due to alcohol poisoning."
The story might have died with [Zhang] in April were it not for subsequent revelations that the fatally lavish binges were paid for by the company he was supposed to be inspecting, Yanshan Power Supply.Mr Zhang's case is now held up as an example of how widespread bribery has become in China, despite frequent highly publicised crackdowns and a ban on corporate entertaining of auditors.
This incident follows a similar case in Zhejiang last month in which eight friends were ordered to pay compensation after a guest they "made drink too much" collapsed and died at a banquet.
One would think that the intrinsic charms of the drink would be a deterrent to such depravity, but like corruption, pounding baijiu is simply a fact of the moment here.
Does anyone know where we can get a good deal on a new or used liver?
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Baijiu is a definate upside of professional life in china - less fattening than beer, higher quality than domestic wine, good with most types of Chinese regional cuinese.
Plus showing you're a 男子汉 by downing shots is priceless . . .
How downing shots makes you manly is beyond me. Personally, I see the ability to refuse these sort of frat-boy games as the mark of an experienced operator and a sign of real respect from your host.
Plus, it tastes bad by itself and in combination with every known form of matter, and it knocks years off your life. If you need further proof of its deleterious affects, just look accross the table at your hosts' weather-beaten mugs.
So true, so true.
A good friend from the States who worked with manufacturing companies suffered this problem for a long time. Then wised up. When the baijiu came out, he would drink one to be friends, and then he would unveil a bottle of tequila which he wanted to "share" with his new friends. After one shot of tequila, all his new found friends suddenly remembered lonely wives or children or other urgent matters. He thinks he has saved years off his liver in a non-offensive way - he just wanted to thank his hosts after all.
The mystery to me is why they can't drink Tequila - Baijiu is 100 times worse.
My first experience 'manning up' with baijiu in 1999 left me staggering beyond belief. One of my many hard lessons learned here in China. Since then I've downed a few shots of the nasty stuff over dinners in my occasional gigs as a white 'laowai' businessmen for hire. And what I've learned along the way is that the time honored, 'face' earning art of toasting with baijiu, is often as fake as the goods peddled at the old Xiangyang market.
Many Chinese businessmen and other dinner time show-offs, after one or two genuine drinks, simply spit their shots of baijiu into a glass of water set on the table for exactly this reason. Of course, for all I know, this slight of mouth may be just another cunning Shanghai move.
I agree with WLW in that the real manning up is in saying no, and cutting yourself off from drinking yourself into an embarrassing stupor, whether your at a business meeting or celebrating your 100th shag (hookers included) with your knuckle dragging buddies. What's more, I respect guys – young and old alike – who step up and pull a brother out of a bad drinking scene before they fall too far, as apposed to sliding him another drink for cheap tosser entertainment.
Valid points.
While its true that you don't transform a shady factory owner/official into a lifelong brother by drinking baijiu with them, a moderate amount of "white lightning" often breaks through the facade they project in formal meetings and you get another assessment of them (provided you understand their slurred semi-dialect Chinese).
Frat-boy showing off aside, in moderate amounts it actually pairs with many types of dishes better than other beverages.
This is one of those china in a nutshell stories.
Everything was about face, nothing was about consequence, and it was all about bribery.
Another example of how Chinese people think and act like kids.
all the sudden their actions have doomed them to be kids ? lol, it doesnt really make sense.
it's only tradition for them to act that way to be polite, if you know a little bit about the chinese culture, u'd know. and plus, the north and south has a huge difference based on that alone.
yeah, how the westerns respect others' wishes, yeah, we've all been to Salem.
Firstly, not all of a sudden - it's always like that - this is an example.
Congratulations on turning this into something positive for Chinese culture. 'lol'.
I never said it was positive, in fact, i have the way how they "WANTING" you to drink and smoke.
but, haven't anyone teach you how to respect others cultures?
it's like i say 'cheese' really stinks, and throws that in your face, how would you take it ?
Usagi, do you start off every morning in front of the mirror convincing yourself that "everything is wonderful in China" then having some week old tea egss from Lawson for breakfast on the way to the metro station?
Not everything that can be located under the banner of "culture" is necessarily good, respectable, and valuable. This is universally applicable across cultures. And if your thinking stops at the word "culture," then you're obviously not thinking very much.
Certainly, not everything in western culture is good; however, scrutiny, public discourse, and self-criticism are areas in which the west is particularly strong.
nanheyangrouchuan
China has its goods and obvioulsy has its bads.
If you are so convinced that China is horrible, then why are you even interested in anything about China at all, since it is so unspeakable.
yes, culture isn't a safety net for the popularity of BAIJIU and it also isn't a safety net for a lot of things.
However, you also do have to remember, everything has its dark and brigt sides.
what's most important is your choice, you've got to choose on your won, man.
no one can do anything to change that.
the reason i define drinking BAIJIU due to culture is because back in the old times, drinking was a way to prove friendship towards each other, you can find it often in old text describing about drinking.
personally, i dont' drink at all because i simply don't like it period. But if you all find it's soooooooo good, then drink.
all im saying is try to be fair.