CHINESE Culture and Language Help

[AidaLuthien]

I was just thinking about the opening feast again, more specifically about drinks. What would Chinese wizards drink?

It does seem like wizards have really odd taste buds - butterbeer and pumpkin juice... right - but what would Chinese wizards drink?

A really, really fancy tea seems almost too ordinary, even something like grade triple A non-exportable long jing cha.

[OliveOil_Med]

Well, tea would be the obvious answer, but maybe tea made from some magical plant that would give it magical properties. This could be a great opportunity to be creative!

But if you wanted something cool to drink, maybe some kind of cold nectar-based beverage.

[AidaLuthien]

Chinese don't drink cold things.

... no seriously. It's considered really bad for you to drink things are cold or cool. This is a traditional belief, but wizards would probably hold with traditional beliefs.

They wouldn't drink a magic tea just with dinner though, would they? Not if it had any side effects...

[Evora]

Oooh! I'm part chinese (have been hanging out with traditional chinese granny, too), and I would agree with Molly that tea would be the most believable. Maybe you don't even need to add "special" herbs to it, but just a normal herb (for wizards)... but the Chinese likes drinking teas that can have a good effect on the body (or maybe even magic), so again, I agree with Molly about tea made from magical plants.

Hope you don't mind me visiting XD

[AidaLuthien]

Oooh! I'm part chinese (have been hanging out with traditional chinese granny, too), and I would agree with Molly that tea would be the most believable. Maybe you don't even need to add "special" herbs to it, but just a normal herb (for wizards)... but the Chinese likes drinking teas that can have a good effect on the body (or maybe even magic), so again, I agree with Molly about tea made from magical plants.

Hope you don't mind me visiting XD

Why would anyone mind? The more the merrier, really.

Hmm... I guess I need to do some plant research. I'll probably just get lazy and end up using long jing cha or something. Maybe bacon tea. Um, lapsang souchong. I just call it that because it smells like bacon.

I get leery of the idea of boiling things that are not tea leaves to make tea. Mostly because Chinese medicinal remedies often consist of boiling herbs down into a tea which taste and smell horrific.

[lilyevansfan]

Oooh! I'm part chinese (have been hanging out with traditional chinese granny, too), and I would agree with Molly that tea would be the most believable. Maybe you don't even need to add "special" herbs to it, but just a normal herb (for wizards)... but the Chinese likes drinking teas that can have a good effect on the body (or maybe even magic), so again, I agree with Molly about tea made from magical plants.

I'm a half chinese, and my chinese grandma only drinks water and tea. She says that the bitter taste in the tea can actually make you skinnier.

Would you think a Chinese school would even have a beginning of the school year feast?

I should think so.

[Evora]

Why would anyone mind? The more the merrier, really.

Thank you, that's very kind (: (that's why you're in Hufflepuff, I think XD) I was just avoiding being rude.

I've racked my brains of traditional chinese things, and the only thing I could say regarding tea is that the Chinese drink Oolong tea more often than the other categories of tea. Black tea, I think, is drank often, too. It really depends on the person and the family.

I get leery of the idea of boiling things that are not tea leaves to make tea. Mostly because Chinese medicinal remedies often consist of boiling herbs down into a tea which taste and smell horrific.

That's true, but think about it; the Chinese had been drinking tea since they were born. They were used to drinking teas that aren't made from actual tea leaves. You could have different kinds of tea in the feast! It's perfectly reasonable to have a wide variety of teas during feasts.

I should suggest another thing to add to the feast. Soup! the Chinese love soup, really. There are different kinds, obviously, but if you want to know more about it, I could ask my friends and relatives, and maybe do some research about it, I totally would. I'm not very good remembering names of the soups I've tasted, but with an effort I could tell you the most favorable ones.

my chinese grandma only drinks water and tea. She says that the bitter taste in the tea can actually make you skinnier.

The more bitter the tea is, the better it is for your health. Tea makes you skinnier because of the purpose of the tea leaves. It's herbal, and most, if not all, of the tea leaves are antioxidants, so it cleanses your body (good for the digestion), therefore making you skinnier. Tea doesn't only makes you skinnier, but it gives more minerals to generate more collagen, making your skin firmer and younger-looking. Certain soups can do that, too.

So, Aida, if you need more help and research about anything concerning Chinese food, I'll be more than happy to help you!

[AidaLuthien]

That's true, but think about it; the Chinese had been drinking tea since they were born. They were used to drinking teas that aren't made from actual tea leaves. You could have different kinds of tea in the feast! It's perfectly reasonable to have a wide variety of teas during feasts.

I should suggest another thing to add to the feast. Soup! the Chinese love soup, really. There are different kinds, obviously, but if you want to know more about it, I could ask my friends and relatives, and maybe do some research about it, I totally would. I'm not very good remembering names of the soups I've tasted, but with an effort I could tell you the most favorable ones.

Hey, I hated tea when I was little and I am 100% Chinese.

As far as types of tea, it's apparently considered a Canto thing to drink strong black pu-erhs as opposed to oolongs. I fit this stereotype to a... t. *horrible pun* Apparently most non-Cantonese Chinese consider strong pu-erhs too close to coffee to drink. I like my tea strong though. Iron Goddess of Mercy is one of my favorites.

The concept of teas being paired with various dishes is amusing though. They could have a tea sommelier or something. Now that would be hilarious... though as far as I know has no basis in reality. "I would recommend the white tea jasmine blend for this dish." *giggles*

Oh yeah, definitely soup. Probably shark fin, though I'm against the stuff myself. Or bird's nest maybe. hmm... I think bird's nest might be just medicinal though. Oh and then there's ox-tail soup. Ox-tail, yum.

[AidaLuthien]

Reviving this thread with a thought for Molly, if she's still working on transportation.

Canals. The north is so arid that the dynastic Chinese constructed a lot of canals to aid in agriculture and move stuff from place to place. There was even this ritual related to the Bian River in the Song dynasty around dredging the river to prevent too much silt from building up. Apparently they had stones on the bottom of the river and these guys would drag them along. They were really famous for their strength.

The problem with canals is that wizards can't exactly just move a river without the Muggles noticing.

[OliveOil_Med]

On some level, though, you could see Chinese wizards as their own minoruty group. They would have their own traditions, their own customs, their own cultural norms. We see them differ greatly from the Muggle population in Britain and I can't see how it would be much different in China.

But most scholars tend to agree that among the Han Chinese, there was never any general acceptance of tattoos, because they were either symbols of punishment or barbarians. But I think you might be able to use this to your advantage, like the way we previously spoke about owls. Since owls were considered bad luck by the Muggle Chinese, they wouldn't have interfere with them delivering messages.

The same could be said with wizards with tattoo, and I can especially see how this would be useful for Aurors. If they ever needed to go investigate in Muggle areas. The Muggles would see their tattoos and instinctively stay away from them, allowing them to continue on with their works.

I guess it all depends on how you choose to spin it.