Drankard Heros

[Son of Light]

Why does it seems that the heros in most WuXia novels simpily love alcohol?
In fact, being a alcoholic seems to be one of the most important criteria in making friends in JiangHu.
Why?
I've only drink alcohol once in my life, and that is when I decided never to do it again.
The damn thing tasted liked cats' urine.
I wonder why plp would want to drink such a horrible thing, and in fact make it a criteria for being a hero.
So, why are there so many drankards in WuXia novels.

[Yang Guo]

because drunkards are usually happy and not gloomy? Drinking = socializing skill apparently

[kidd]

I've only drink alcohol once in my life, and that is when I decided never to do it again.
The damn thing tasted liked cats' urine.

What kind of alcohol did u drink? I don't like beer, but I think wine taste pretty good. BTW, how do u know what cats' urine taste like? :P

[James Ko]

Originally posted by kidd
What kind of alcohol did u drink? I don't like beer, but I think wine taste pretty good. BTW, how do u know what cats' urine taste like? :P

BURN

but back to the topic. I think alcohol is another measure of a males' masclineability in many people point of view. The more you can drink the more studiliess you are.

It is like smoking. Do you know a lot of people don't smoke but just like the feeling of holding a smoke in their mouth and fingers... makes them look cooler.

Drinking also have the same affect of making you cool. The werid thing is you don't see many wuxia female that drinks like crazy. I wonder why that is the case.

[Meh]

To say that "most" wuxia heroes drink is a gross overstatement. It is true for Gu Long heroes, because GL himself is an alchoholic. But this certainly doesn't apply to other writers. In fact, I can't remember a single Liang YuSheng main character who drinks. Jin Yong has a few drunks, like Ling HuChong and Qiao Feng. But most of his heroes don't care much for alcohol.

[junny]

Having a few drinks is a good way to make friends. . It's also a way to relieve stress or boredom. But I agree with Meh that it's a gross overstatement that most wuxia heroes are alcoholics. Just because some of them drink more than others is no reason to put them in the alcoholics category.

[Son of Light]

What kind of alcohol did u drink?

Voka.

how do u know what cats' urine taste like?

That was just a figure of speach. I don't know how it tasts like. But I think it should be better then alcohol.

[Yang Guo]

Originally posted by Son of Light
Voka. That was just a figure of speach. I don't know how it tasts like. But I think it should be better then alcohol.

What really? Then why are we paying for alcohol when cat urine is still free?

[James Ko]

now now... no need to focus on the cat pee

But I think is also to fill in the gap when the hero is not doing anything... so he or she drinks to pass the time... instead of he or she just sitting there staring at the sky and day dreaming...

[kidd]

why don't they drink tea instead?

[charbydis]

I was made to drink Port cos my mother said it makes hair grow.

But i don't like alcohol and won't drink it even sips unless i am testing in a winery/brewery, where they only do give you sips.

I think the heroes drink it because wine relieves stress and it makes the person more braver, which is in sync as the heroes probably have to get ready for fights. And when a man and woman drink together, it is probably for a romantic feeling.

Drinking is just a way of socialising for men cos people get drunk and blab. Tea makes one dehydrated and talking with a dry mouth is not that comfortable.

But I would rather chose Ooolong over Vodka anytime.

[luna_rainbow]

Hrm, I have a feeling this topic pertains mostly to GL heroes, most of whom are such gross drunks it's a wonder they got anything done >_>; Obviously, one of the main reasons he creates characters who have a love of drinking because he himself is an alcoholic. The other thing is, a lot of the heroes he created are loners and dreamers, or have chosen a life of seclusion, and for the characters (let's not even go into how much GL would understand the pleasure of alcohol) at least, alcohol presented a nice temporary escape from their reality. As GL points out in some of his prologues, these heroes lead such colourful lives in JiangHu that we forget that they are human inside. "After the party is over, they return to an empty bed and a solitary night passed in loneliness and fear. No one knows about the misery behind their fame and achievement." (<-- patchy paraphrase) And the third reason is yes, alcohol is a mark of unschooled masculinity, whereas tea is the pastime of the richer and more educated folk. Wuxia is about "wu" but tea goes with "wen" (er, Chinese people would get this, I hope).

[Son of Light]

I loved Tea.
I currently have the following...
BiLuo Chun
JunShan YinZhen
DongDing WuLong
NanJing YuHuaCha
DaHongPao
I'm thinking of getting some LongJing tomarrow...
Anyone wonder why there aren't any heros who loved tea in WuXia?

[Yang Guo]

Tea tastes bitter sometimes... and they probably don't wanna stay awake at night?

[Buffy_85]

wut's the chinese title for this?

[luna_rainbow]

Originally posted by Buffy_85
wut's the chinese title for this?

Title for what? We're not actually talking about a specific book ^^; We're just discussing a recurring phenomenon in wuxia books.

[Yang Guo]

which I've only seen in a few stories

[kraal]

Drinking was used to pass the time, mostly, I think. No TV or karaoke in those days to entertain and amuse.

[athlonkmf]

funny. I've just read an article about alcohol consumption in the middle ages and before. It's about the western culture, but it could be used to explain a bit about wuxia too I think.

In the article it states that people in the middle ages only drank alcoholbased fluids, because they don't have much choice. There were even documents which proofed that peasants mums gave their babies beer instead of milk.
Milk and the likes are only for the rich.
There is no drinkable water.
So naturally, beer and other alcoholic drinks are better choice.

If we look back at china, there is of course tea. But those are for sophisticated people.
Water is possible too, considering the wells and springs. And I believe ancient china is still much cleaner than the middle ages... (i can't imagine Wong Yung or XLN shitting all around the place and then used perfume to cover up the smell)
But water is for peasants and the ordinary poor people.

So wine is more suitable for the martial artists. And without the weight of historical knowledge... ancient china don't have destillationtechniques yet, so they only used wine that has way lower alcohol percentage than the ones we have now.

Maybe the average discodude would be able to hold a drinking fest with Kiu Fung

[luna_rainbow]

Originally posted by athlonkmf
So wine is more suitable for the martial artists. And without the weight of historical knowledge... ancient china don't have destillationtechniques yet, so they only used wine that has way lower alcohol percentage than the ones we have now.

I don't know, but aren't those really famous Chinese brews, such as Zhu Ye Qing and Nv Er Hong very high in alcohol concentration, up to 50% or more? The current standard beer only contains about 5-10% of pure alcohol. I may be wrong about the percentage, but I'm fairly certain that old Chinese brews are much stronger than standard western drinks. The measurement of good alcohol back then was often by its strength...and considering how much these people in wuxia fiction binged...it's a wonder they didn't all die from liver cancer.