Treatise on Wine

窦苹Jul 2024

4.0

Word count: 1.1K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

The thought of traditional Chinese culture has a long history and is highly original, inventive, and literary. Early forms of thought have striking characteristics: religious theology, medical classics, ancient military texts, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and the Hundred Schools, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, customs and local gazetteers—all are profound and extensive. This series, “Essential Classics of National Studies: Original Texts of Culture,” preserves the appearance of the original books and focuses on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, one cultivates temperament and subtly comes to appreciate the classics of national studies.

Editor's review

Jiu Pu is included in the series “Essential Classics of National Studies: Original Texts of Culture,” whose aim is to preserve the appearance of the original books and to preserve and transmit traditional Chinese thought and culture. For this book, what readers receive is not a modern general survey of drinking culture but a body of ancient writings on wine matters available for study. Together with the traditional cultural threads emphasized by the series—religious theology, medical classics, customs and local gazetteers—it allows readers to understand the place of wine in ancient life against a broader background. Its value lies in presenting ancient texts authentically, giving readers direct contact with traditional modes of narration and classification of knowledge rather than a secondhand summary shaped by extensive paraphrase. It may be read as one gateway into the classics of national studies: first read the original text through, then use annotations and background materials to sort out object names, institutions, and customs, and appreciate how the ancients connected everyday objects with ritual. It suits slow reading and repeated consultation, and also reading alongside other classics in the same series.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Lovers of national studies who wish to encounter ancient original texts directly
Readers interested in traditional wine matters, customs, and local gazetteers
Learners who need texts preserving the original book's appearance for reference
Readers who enjoy slow, consultative reading

Not a good fit for

Readers wanting a modern technical manual on brewing
Readers expecting a light, story-driven book on drinking culture
Beginners who need detailed vernacular translation and entry-by-entry annotation

Reading tips

First read the original text through without rushing to understand every word, grasping the overall structure.
On the second pass, use reference works to check object names, official titles, and customary terms, making brief notes.
Read alongside other classics in the same series, noting connections between wine matters and ritual customs or medical records.

版权信息
提要
酒谱
酒令

FAQ

Is this book a popular introduction for beginners?

No. The series description stresses preserving the appearance of the original books and focusing on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture, so this book is closer to an original-text reader than to a popular explanation. Beginners may need reference works or background materials to understand the object names and terms smoothly.

What kinds of knowledge can be gained from reading Jiu Pu?

Judging from the series' positioning, this book is part of the original texts of traditional culture. Readers can encounter ancient records of wine matters and understand them in relation to adjacent fields such as religious theology, medical classics, and customs and local gazetteers. It offers primary texts and traditional classifications of knowledge, not modern brewing techniques or a tasting guide.

Can someone without a foundation in classical Chinese read this book?

They can try, but patience and aids are needed. It is best first to read through for the general sense, then examine difficult words and object names section by section, without insisting on understanding everything at once. If you want sentence-by-sentence vernacular comparison, this book may not fully meet the need; use an annotated edition or reference works alongside it.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

窦苹 Author

Dou Ping is an author about whom little is publicly known: neither his dates, nor his native place or nationality have been clearly recorded, and only one work, Jiu Pu (A Treatise on Wine), survives under his name. Judging from the available evidence, Jiu Pu is classified under Eastern philosophy, which suggests that the book is not merely a record of brewing techniques or tasting experience, but more likely uses wine—an ordinary thing in daily life—as a starting point for reflection on human life, the ways of the world, and human nature, giving it the character of a traditional philosophical essay. In ancient China, works titled pu (treatise or register) often combined the gathering of earlier records with the expression of the author's own views; while collecting material related to wine, the writer frequently used the subject as an occasion for discussion, linking matters of food and drink to self-cultivation and conduct in life. Dou Ping's style probably follows this path: beginning from concrete things, plain in language yet carrying deeper meaning, so that readers encounter philosophical ideas while learning about wine culture. Because of limited sources, his friendships, teachers, and sphere of influence are difficult to examine in detail, but Jiu Pu, as his extant representative work, remains the main basis for understanding this author's thought.