Why eat fish and drink fish head wine?

China has a profound culture and a long history. It contains two basic spirits, "people-oriented" and "harmony is the most important". As an important part of wine culture, the basic spirit of China culture is often interpreted incisively and vividly in a unique way.

As we all know, China people, especially those from the Central Plains, have always been famous for their hospitality. On holidays, or when friends and relatives get together, they usually arrange a feast to celebrate each other. On this basis, a rich and colorful diet culture and wine culture have been formed. "Fish head wine" is a wonderful flower in this cultural garden, which can fully embody the essence of "people-oriented" and "harmony is precious".

As the saying goes: no wine, no table, no fish, no table. When entertaining guests, a fish is usually the main course-meaning "more than one year". Whenever the hostess or hostess shouts, "Here comes the fish!" "Everyone's spirit will be greatly improved. At this time, put the fish plate in the center of the banquet, and the fish head will drink first, and the fish tail will drink with anyone. Then the guests who drink fish head wine move chopsticks first to express their gratitude-that is, cut the ribbon. After that, other people can eat fish with chopsticks, which adds a lot of interest to the banquet. This kind of wine is commonly known as "Fish Wine Order" or "Fish Head Wine".

The formation of a social custom is by no means accidental, it is restricted and influenced by many conditions. The emergence and evolution of fish head wine is no exception. According to ancient legends, fish head wine originated from Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty. In the sixth year of Xiande in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (AD 959), Zhou Shizong Chai Rong suddenly died of illness. Prime Minister Fan Ju took care of his life and helped Chai Rong's youngest son Chai Zongxun succeed him as Emperor Gong. At this time, Emperor Gong was only 7 years old (say, 5 years old), and the unstable situation of "being a master and suspecting the country" appeared in the following week. The following year (AD 960), on the first day of the first month, it was widely rumored that the Khitan and the Northern Han sent troops south, and Fan Ju, the ruling minister of the Zhou Dynasty, and others rushed to the temple to check, and the temple was returned to the Germans. Zhao Kuangyin commanded the army to defend the enemy in the north. On the third day of the first month, Zhao Kuangyin led his troops to leave Beijing, and stayed in Chen Qiaoyi (now Chenqiao Town, southeast of Fengqiu, Henan) in the northeast of Kaifeng that night. He put a beautiful tent in the main hall of Dongyue Temple in the town and ordered the guards to hold a banquet in the main hall. After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, "here comes the fish!" With the loud sound, the waiter brought a big plate of fish. In the middle of the plate, a golden carp lay on its side in the steaming soup, which won the applause of the civil servants and military commanders present, and everyone at the table was salivating. Zhao Pu, Zhao Kuangyin's counselor, said, "As the saying goes, a bird can't fly without a head, nor can a snake without a head. I have an idea. Whoever faces the fish head will drink three glasses of wine first and take the lead in eating fish! " After Zhao Kuangyin drank three glasses, everyone began to drink heartily. On the fourth day of the first month, the generals will add a yellow robe to Zhao Kuangyin. The reason why you want to drink three cups is because "three, six and nine go up". Three, six and nine have always been the auspicious numbers generally respected in China.

This drinking method was later spread to the people and gradually evolved into a popular "fish head wine". It is used to entertain guests, and there are more and more patterns. When serving fish, the owner or waiter intends to point the fish head at the person with the largest generation, the highest status or the largest amount of alcohol on the table, and he will take the lead in drinking and eating fish. If someone moves chopsticks before the fish head points at him, he will be laughed at for not knowing the rules or seeing the big scene.

At present, whenever fish is served, the fish head is usually oriented towards the host and the fish tail is oriented towards the last seat or (main) companion seat. The first three tails and four drinks are necessary, that is, three drinks with the fish head facing and four drinks with the fish tail facing. Since then, people who drink fish head wine (guests and guests) have successively presented fish eyes, fish noodles, dorsal fins and other different parts to everyone, saying greetings such as "looking up", "giving face" and "smooth sailing" respectively. Please have a drink or a few drinks each, in order to let everyone have a few more drinks and bring the wine into full play.