Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010

The pornography isn't usual, neither are the "shot-glasses" the
invariable ones used in China.

The Chinese often drink rice wine, but the name "Saki" is the Japanese
name for the drink, not the Chinese name. The Chinese have quite a few
names for what might be generically called "rice wine", depending on
what kind of rice is used to make it, and how it is made. A common
name for them is the now-generic name for wine, though it is a word
that may be better translated as "alcoholic drink": "jiu". The
different types then often have a qualifier preceding "jiu" to further
identify them. In its undistilled form, one of the more common is
"huang jiu" (yellow alcoholic drink), and another, made from glutinous
rice, is "chou jiu". For distilled types a common type is "bai jiu"
(white alcoholic drink). You may have had a distilled rice wine. Some
bai jiu is made from sorghum. Other grains are also used as well.

You may well have had a famous brand of Chinese distilled wine: Maotai
jiu. This is a well-known brand, often used as part of the strategy
Chinese businessmen may sometimes use as a kind of drinking game when
engaged in business discussions in which they weant to gain an
advantage.

Wine from grapes is known as "putao jiu" (grape alcoholic drink").