The Social Functions Assigned to Wine in Zhou and Scythia and Their Similarities and Differences---Seen in the Shangshu·Jiugao and the Historiae

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of the social functions ascribed to Jiugao and Historiae during the Western Zhou period in China and in the early Scythian civilisation. While regulating the conditions under which wine may be consumed, Jiugao also ascribes very important ethical attributes and functions to wine. In Jiugao, the necessary indoctrination, national laws and ideologisation are applied to the otherwise simple act of drinking alcohol. While in Herodotus: On the Scythians, wine is an integral part of the sacrifice, and is also closely associated with warfare. The act of "drinking" is directly linked to one's military prowess and social status. There are fundamental differences between the Zhou and Scythian cultures. The fact that the Zhou culture was a subsistence agricultural civilisation, while the early Scythian culture was a nomadic civilisation living on water and grass, is the main reason why the two cultures assigned different social functions to wine.