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Something about Alcohol

在旧大陆，陶器的起源独立发生在两个地区：非洲撒哈拉沙漠南部和东亚地区。非洲最早的陶器与利 用野生粟和高粱煮粥的生计方式有关。这种炊煮方式发展为酿造谷芽酒的传统，典型的酿酒器是鼓腹陶罐。 在东亚地区，更新世晚期和全新世早期的陶器与利用水生动物和用野生植物煮粥有关。在中国，新石器早期 小口鼓腹壶成为常见的器型，有些用来酿酒，说明此时利用谷物酿酒可能已是黄河及长江流域的普遍现象。 新石器中期陶器分布可划为两大地区类型：东部地区器型复杂，以酒器居多，如鬶和高柄杯。西部地区的仰 韶文化器型简单，代表性器物为尖底瓶。有些尖底瓶用来酿造谷芽酒，也是集体饮酒（咂酒）的容器。西部 地区咂酒群饮代表了以集体为本位的文化传统，在仰韶文化之后消失。相反，东部地区使用高柄杯为饮器的 饮酒方式强调以个人为本位的社会关系，后来成为注重社会等级关系的中国礼制传统的重要组成部分。

– “早期陶器、煮粥、酿酒与社会复杂化的发展”

Stanford University

刘莉

In the Old World, the origin of pottery independently occurred in two regions: the southern part of the Sahara Desert in Africa and the East Asian region. The earliest African pottery is associated with the practice of cooking porridge using wild millet and sorghum. This cooking method evolved into the traditional brewing of cereal beer, with the typical brewing vessel being the globular pottery jar. In East Asia, Late Pleistocene and early Holocene pottery is linked to the utilization of aquatic animals and the cooking of porridge using wild plants. In China, the early Neolithic small-mouthed globular pot became a common form, with some used for brewing, indicating that the use of grains for brewing might have been a widespread practice in the Yellow River and Yangtze River valleys at this time.

The distribution of pottery in the mid-Neolithic period can be categorized into two major regional types: the eastern region with complex vessel forms, mainly used for brewing, such as gui and high-footed cups, and the western region characterized by the simple vessel form of pointed-bottomed bottles, representing the Yangshao culture. Some pointed-bottomed bottles were used for brewing cereal beer and served as containers for communal drinking (toasting). The communal drinking practices in the western region represented a cultural tradition centered around the collective, disappearing after the Yangshao culture. In contrast, the eastern region’s drinking tradition, emphasizing individual-based social relationships through the use of high-footed cups, later became a significant component of the Chinese ritual tradition, which prioritizes social hierarchy.

-Early Pottery, Porridge Cooking, Brewing, and the Development of Social Complexity

Stanford University

Li Liu

东汉时期，有“猴儿酒”(Monky wine)的传说，即灵长类动物有着储存果实的习惯，山中诸猴采百果于一洞作为过冬粮食，如果当季并未出现粮食短缺的情况，猴子们就会忘记曾经藏在洞中的百果，久而久之，果子们会因自然发酵而意外酿成酒。不过这种只有史料中记载的酒一般是可遇不可求的。从进化论角度来说，相比猴子们的无心插柳，酿酒其实是人类自发的，有计划的社会行为。

追溯至新时期时代，古埃及和两河流域两地的人类祖先就开始不约而同地使用粮食和水果酿酒，他们使用尖底瓶作为专门的酿酒器和贮酒器。苏美尔人习惯在印章上刻画文字和图像，在一片有6000年历史的印章中，就绘有两个人使用吸管从一个巨大的小口尖底器皿中吸食饮料。这是人类历史上最早的饮酒证据。

酒，这种刺激性饮品自从被发明以来就在人类社会的各个方面扮演特殊的角色。希腊罗马宗教把饮酒当作被看作是一种可以与神同乐的祭拜仪式，基督教也会使用红酒作为天父的血给信徒们饮下。在医疗中，酒在中世纪的欧洲也曾被用作可以避免感染霍乱的特效药。

而酒最广泛的角色，便是作为人们的标准饮食中融入到生活中。餐前酒，餐后酒，葡萄酒，鸡尾酒，白酒，黄酒，清酒，啤酒，这么多种类和用途的酒，总是能让人找到喝一杯的理由。对于个体而言，酒是生活的仪式感，迎新酒，婚宴酒，离别酒，祭奠酒，在人们忙碌的一生中，每个重要的节点里总会有酒的身影。再延伸一点点，酒又与文学戏剧息息相关，中国文人的气节和洒脱总是会被一杯酒激发出来，“纶巾羽扇颠倒，又似竹林狂”，“钟鼓馔玉不足贵，但愿长醉不复醒”；又或者是西方戏剧里，哈姆雷特的父亲饮下的那杯毒酒而造成的悲剧。这一杯小小的饮料总会带来一些意想不到性的转折，但其实，只是人们赋予酒的角色和意义太多，归根到底，它只是成年人在忙碌生活中的一点点特权而已。

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there is a legend of “Monkey Wine.” The legend goes that primates, having the habit of storing fruits, collected various fruits in a cave as winter food. If there was no shortage of food during the season, the monkeys would forget the fruits stored in the cave, and over time, the fruits would undergo natural fermentation, unintentionally turning into wine. However, such wine, mentioned only in historical records, is generally not readily available. From an evolutionary perspective, brewing alcohol is a spontaneous and planned social behavior unique to humans compared to the monkeys’ unintentional discovery.

Tracing back to the ancient period, human ancestors in ancient Egypt and the Mesopotamian region independently began using grains and fruits to brew alcohol. They used pointed-bottom bottles as dedicated brewing and storage vessels. Sumerians, known for inscribing texts and images on seals, depicted two individuals using straws to drink from a large narrow-mouthed pointed-bottom vessel on a seal dating back 6,000 years. This is the earliest evidence of alcohol consumption in human history.

Since its invention, alcohol, this stimulating beverage, has played a special role in various aspects of human society. In Greek and Roman religions, drinking wine was considered a ritual to joyfully commune with gods, and in Christianity, red wine is used symbolically as the blood of Christ for believers. In medieval Europe, alcohol was even used as a specific medicine to prevent cholera infections.

The most widespread role of alcohol, however, is integrated into people’s daily lives as part of their standard diet. Pre-dinner wine, post-dinner wine, red wine, cocktails, white wine, yellow wine, sake, beer—so many types and uses of alcohol always provide people with reasons to have a drink. For individuals, alcohol adds a sense of ritual to life—welcoming wine, wedding banquets, farewell wine, memorial wine. In the busy lives of people, there is always the presence of alcohol at significant milestones. Expanding a bit further, alcohol is closely related to literature and drama. Chinese literati’s integrity and free-spiritedness are often inspired by a glass of wine: “Turbans and feathered fans upside down, like a madman in the bamboo grove” or “Goblets and dishes of jade are not enough to be precious; I just hope to stay drunk and not wake up.” In Western drama, tragedies can be set in motion by a cup of poison, such as the one King Hamlet drinks in Hamlet. This small beverage often brings unexpected twists, but in reality, it’s just a small privilege that adults have in their busy lives.

下了几场大雨后上海终于凉快下来，一周中最舒适的时刻就是晚上和朋友骑着自行车穿梭在街道上，梧桐树依旧茂密，但是空气中已经有了丝丝凉意，随着逐步放宽管制，城里热门的小饭馆小酒馆终于又开始营业了，每家店都车马盈门，打扮精致的人们在路边谈笑风生，这个城市就好像做了一个很久很久的梦，现在终于醒了。我和朋友进了一家理发店，把攒了四个月的头发修剪了一番，随着冷冷的金属声在我耳边嚓嚓地响，感觉头部愈发地轻盈，剪下来的头发碎碎地围了我一圈。走出理发店时，才第一次意识到，生活又重新开始了。

After several heavy rains, Shanghai has finally cooled down. The most comfortable moments of the week are in the evening when I ride bicycles with friends through the streets. The plane trees are still lush, but there’s a subtle coolness in the air. With the gradual easing of restrictions, popular small restaurants and pubs in the city have finally reopened. Every establishment is bustling with activity, and elegantly dressed people chat and laugh by the roadside. It’s as if the city has just awakened from a long dream. My friends and I entered a barbershop, getting our hair trimmed after four months of growth. As the cold metallic sounds echoed in my ears, my head felt lighter, and the cut hair surrounded me like a circle of confetti. Stepping out of the barbershop, I realised for the first time that life had resumed.

-Write on the 2022 Summer