20 local cultural celebrities gathered at the Jinyuanchun Ecological Distillery Park on June 24 for a Shanguo ritual banquet.

The Shanguo ritual banquet is a replica of the banquet culture that has rites and music, including “serving a washbasin for handwashing, Offering a separate place to sit, presenting liquor in ancient drinking vessels, entertaining with harmonious rites and music, and performing chime bell sound and jade bell vibration”. The programs selected originate from bell songs and dances, as well as harmonious rites and music, including On Governance Inquired by the Duke Wen of Teng, Xiaoya · Cai Wei, and Jian Drum Dance.

Serving a washbasin for handwashing

Before entering the banquet, a ritual person provided each guest with a washbasin and poured water over their hands, and another ceremonial person carried a basin to collect the flowing water. For the ancient people, serving a washbasin for handwashing was an important ritual to entertain guests.

Offering a separate place to sit

The law of arranging seats is included in the Rites of Zhou. To provide a separate place for each of the 20 guests, the Shanguo ritual banquet used screens with the subject of 10 virtues, including “being benevolent, righteous, courteous, wise and trustworthy, and being cordial, upright, courteous, temperate and complaisant”. They were provided with gorgeous seating and separate meals.

Presenting liquor in ancient drinking vessels

Skilled artisans in Jingdezhen were invited to hand-fire a set of antique porcelain liquor dividers and drinking cups based on the two Shang Dynasty bronze vessels “Zun” and “Jia”, both collections in the Tengzhou Museum. The names “Zun” and “Jia” were chosen because the term “Zunjia” has long been used as a generic term for liquor vessels in China.

Entertaining with harmonious rites and music

In addition to the harmonious rites and music in On Governance Inquired by the Duke Wen of Teng and Xiaoya · Cai Wei, the vigorous Jian Drum Dance was thrilling. The Jian Drum, often referred to as the “Ying Drum”, is the dancing instrument used in the Jian Drum Dance and is believed to have originated in the Shang Dynasty. The program’s concept was inspired by the Han Dynasty stone portraits that were discovered in Tengzhou.

Performing chime bell sound and jade bell vibration

A highly ingenious design was used for the banquet’s beginning and conclusion, which began with the “chime bell sound” of striking the chimes and ended with the “jade bell vibration” sound from striking the jade bells. This design was inspired by the “Jinsheng Yuzhen Archway” in the Confucius Temple. It is full of wit and thought-provoking. The “chime bell sound and jade bell vibration” originates from Mencius’ comment on Confucius: “Confucius is regarded to be a sage who absorbs diverse opinions from others. His thoughts are like performing music, with a loud chime bell starting the rhythm and a jade chime finishing it off in perfect harmony.”

A smell of four aromas

Through the explanation of Yang Lei, the person in charge, guests intuitively perceived the liquor characteristics of “Jinyuanchun· Shanguo” with a scenting jar, which has a subtle aroma of grain, a deeper scent of aging, a delicate scent of pear, and a strong scent of pine. They praised the superior quality of the Grand Gold Medal-winning product in the Spirits Selection by CMB.

Some industry insiders claimed that the Shanguo ritual banquet demonstrated the development strategy of Jinyuanchun Liquor Industry, which is meticulously planning its march into the high-end market and the market in Shandong Province with the “Jinyuanchun · Shanguo” as a grip.