History: Dr. Smith on Alcohol in Manchuria

China’s reputation for being a country of teetotalers couldn’t be farther from the truth, says history professor Norman Smith, author of a recently published book called Intoxicating Manchuria: Alcohol, Opium and Culture in China’s Northeast.
“So many people think that the Chinese don’t drink and that the only popular intoxicant in Chinese history has been opium,” says Smith. Having attended many social functions in China where alcohol was served, he found it strange that the role of alcohol in Chinese culture has not been the subject of much research. Smith says the Chinese are now consuming alcohol at unprecedented levels due to rising wealth among the middle and upper classes. “It’s front and centre, at least in the northeast,” says Smith. “It’s unthinkable to go to a banquet or many other social functions without people drinking. If you say that you don’t drink, they’ll say, ‘Have a beer.’”
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