Yesterday, I received a message from a friend: "Old Zhou, do you know? Now you can spend 2700 yuan on the Qingming Festival to ask someone to sweep on behalf of you, and you can also send real Moutai! "I almost squirted out the freshly brewed Longjing tea. As a foodie who has studied Chinese food culture for more than ten years, I can't help but ponder: when can our traditional sacrificial culture be "outsourced"? And what kind of cultural significance does that bottle of Moutai worth 0 yuan carry?

I remember when I was a child, every year during Qingming, my grandfather would take the whole family back to the ancestral grave. Before leaving, he always went to the brewery to buy a pot of local rice wine. "The sacrificial wine must not be sloppy," said the grandfather, "and this is our respect for our ancestors." "At that time, I wondered, why do you have to use wine? Why is the quality of wine so important?

It wasn't until many years later when I studied Chinese food culture that I realized that in traditional Chinese culture, wine is not only a drink, but also a medium that communicates the two worlds. The oracle bone inscription of the word "wine" is the shape of a wine jar, symbolizing a container full of blessings. From the bronze wine vessels of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, to the Han Dynasty's "one drunken solution to a thousand sorrows", to the Tang and Song dynasties' "toast to invite the bright moon", wine has always been an important carrier of Chinese emotional expression.

The sacrificial wine is based on the word "sincerity". Whether it is the rice wine of ordinary people's families or the wine of rich and noble families, they all carry thoughts and respect for the deceased. When I was collecting wind in Moutai Town, Guizhou, I saw with my own eyes that the locals used the newly brewed first wine to worship their ancestors, and the piety was moving.

Have you ever wondered? Why do we have to "toast" when we sacrifice? In fact, there is a profound cultural connotation behind this: wine is regarded as a bridge between yin and yang, and a link between the living and the deceased.

When it comes to Moutai, it's not just a high-end liquor. As China's national liquor, Moutai carries a heavy history and culture.

Last year, when I was writing "Chronicles of Chinese Famous Wine Culture", I specialized in the history of Moutai. According to legend, as early as the Qin and Han dynasties, Moutai Town (then called "Yangliujing") had already produced fine wine. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, Moutai became a tribute and was transported to the capital. In 1915, Moutai won the gold medal at the Panama International Exposition and has become famous since then.

The reason why Moutai is precious is not only because of its unique brewing process (it requires 7 times of cooking, 0 times of fermentation, and 0 times of pouring, which lasted more than five years), but also because the culture it represents is the culmination of wine culture and an important part of national etiquette.

From a gastronomic point of view, the flavor characteristics of Moutai are also very unique. It is soft in the mouth, sweet in the mouth, and has a long aftertaste, with obvious "sauce aroma" characteristics. This aroma comes from its special brewing process and the local climate of Guizhou. If you have the opportunity to taste it, remember to smell it first, then take a sip and let the wine sit in your mouth for a moment to appreciate its layering.

But I can't help but ask: when Moutai has changed from a fine wine on the table to a sacrifice, has its meaning changed? Is it really respect for the deceased, or is it the pursuit of "face" by the living?

The year before last, I went back to my hometown to worship. Uncle Wang, a neighbor, told me an interesting custom: in our place, the offerings are placed with strict care. The wine should be placed in the center, the dishes should be placed in the order of "sweet, salty, sour and spicy", and there should be a bowl of water to symbolize "innocence". These details are all respectful to the deceased.

And now, with the development of society, the pace of people's lives has accelerated, and the traditional way of sacrifice is also quietly changing. From the initial preparation of the sacrifices themselves, to the later purchase of ready-made offerings, to the current "sacrifice sweeping service", this change reflects a certain reality of modern society.

I interviewed a cultural scholar who said, "Tradition is not a fossil that is immutable, but a living culture." It adjusts its form of expression as the times change. The point is that no matter how the form changes, the core value of the present – respect and remembrance for the ancestors – should not be lost. ”

Back to the 4999 yuan "Filial Piety Full of ULTRA Edition" package, it includes services such as cleaning up the cemetery, offering incense and worshipping, and real Moutai. From a purely service point of view, this really addresses the needs of some people who can't do it in person. But from the perspective of cultural heritage, are we missing something?

I am reminded of an article I wrote ten years ago, "Thoughts in Food", which mentions that the real sacrifice lies not in the preciousness of the sacrifice, but in the sincerity of the heart. A glass of water and a bowl of white rice are also the best offerings if they carry sincere thoughts.

As a researcher of food culture, I believe that the most important thing is to maintain respect and understanding of traditional culture, whether it is to perform the ritual yourself or to entrust it to others. If you choose to serve as a substitute sacrifice, you should also understand the cultural meaning of the sacrifice, rather than simply pursuing "pomp and circumstance".

For example, if you want to choose wine as a sacrifice, you can consider the type of wine that the deceased liked during his lifetime. My grandfather loved to drink bamboo leaf green when he was alive, so every year during Qingming, we would bring a bottle of bamboo leaf green to worship. This makes more sense than blindly choosing expensive Moutai.

What kind of offerings do you prepare during your daily sacrifices? Do you follow tradition, or do you have your own innovations?

Qingming Festival is not only a day of sacrifice, but also one of the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms, which is closely related to food culture. In the south, people will eat Qingtuan and Qingming ba; In the north, there are cold food dumplings and Qingming rice. These foods carry people's understanding of the cycle of life and thoughts about the deceased.

I believe that no matter how the times change, the remembrance and respect for our ancestors will never become obsolete. Perhaps, while maintaining the core values of tradition, we can find expressions that are more in line with the rhythm of modern life.

For example, if you can't pay your respects in person, you can set up a simple altar at home and place food and drinks that the deceased loved and mourn quietly. Or, using modern technology, you can complete the ritual together with your distant family members in the video.

In closing, I would like to say that no matter what method of sacrifice you choose, the most important thing is that you think and respect from the heart. As an old tea farmer told me: "Good tea needs to be tasted with heart, good wine needs to be brewed slowly, and thoughts need time to precipitate." ”

Do you have any special ways to express your thoughts about the deceased during this Qingming season? Is there a family food tradition associated with the sacrifice? Feel free to share your stories and feelings in the comment section. Let's work together at the intersection of tradition and modernity to find the most suitable way for ourselves and inherit that eternal memory.