茶會和葡萄酒會：中國當代消費之社會政治論述初探

Tea and Wine Tasting: The Social and Political Discourses of Consumption in Contemporary China

茶通常被當作中華文明的重要象徵，就如同葡萄酒被視為理解西方文明的窗口一樣。歷經經濟高度的增長以後，生活水準不斷提高的中國人不僅在「復甦」茶文化，同時也開始學習品飲葡萄酒。本文以正在中國東部沿海城市頻繁出現、頗具儀式感的「茶會」和「酒會」作為民族志觀察點，分析以茶和葡萄酒消費的社會文化環境。作者從三個方面進行討論，分別是品飲儀式本身、兩種消費所代表的個人生活理想及其所隱含的國家民族主義情感，來探討影響這兩種品飲文化的社會政治論述的異同。本文認為，理解茶和葡萄酒所代表的不同傳統和文化固然重要，但是，集商機、文化展演和跨文化交流為一體的茶會和酒會，更為我們揭示了一種兩者所共有的當代中國獨特的社會政治論述，同時也寓含著中國人在經濟快速發展之下，急遽膨脹的生活理想和現實條件之間的矛盾。 Chinese people usually regard tea as an important symbol of Chinese civilization, while they regard wine as representative of Western civilization. With rapid economic development and the elevation of living standards, Chinese people are not only ''resurging'' reconstituting tea culture but also learning how to appreciate imported Western wine. Based on ethnographic investigation of tea and wine tasting events in eastern coastal China, this paper aims to explore the accompanying consumption contexts in contemporary China. The tea and wine tasting events themselves have a ritual-like quality. Three aspects are examined to compare and contrast the discourses encapsulated in such tea and wine tasting: the tasting ritual itself, the embedded individual lifestyle aspirations, and the implied sentiments of nationalism. Despite the obviously different symbolic values of tea and wine, this paper argues that ritualized tea and wine tasting events share common social and political discourses in contemporary China, both showing the unresolved paradox between ideals and realities, performances and practices.

Chinese people usually regard tea as an important symbol of Chinese civilization, while they regard wine as representative of Western civilization. With rapid economic development and the elevation of living standards, Chinese people are not only ＂resurging＂ reconstituting tea culture but also learning how to appreciate imported Western wine. Based on ethnographic investigation of tea and wine tasting events in eastern coastal China, this paper aims to explore the accompanying consumption contexts in contemporary China. The tea and wine tasting events themselves have a ritual-like quality. Three aspects are examined to compare and contrast the discourses encapsulated in such tea and wine tasting: the tasting ritual itself, the embedded individual lifestyle aspirations, and the implied sentiments of nationalism. Despite the obviously different symbolic values of tea and wine, this paper argues that ritualized tea and wine tasting events share common social and political discourses in contemporary China, both showing the unresolved paradox between ideals and realities, performances and practices.