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Ashlyn Chak

A Chinese wedding has many of the trappings of a Western marriage and in addition rituals, traditions and matters of etiquette to follow. In our series on Chinese weddings, we break these down and tell you how to get everything right.
Nu’er hong is a Chinese rice wine originating in Shaoxing, eastern China. It is a type of huangjiu – “yellow wine” brewed by mixing steamed grains with a traditional fermentation starter called jiuqu.
Dating back to the Xia dynasty (2070 to 1600 BC), huangjiu is the oldest brewed alcoholic drink in Han Chinese culture.
Despite its name, huangjiu – which has a typical strength of 16 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV) – can range in colour from clear to brown; nu’er hong is often amber.

Nu’er hong has long been very important in Chinese culture.
In the wuxia universe of Hong Kong novelist Jin Yong, the rice wine signified courage, strength and intimate ties to Chinese tradition – “Waiter, serve me a pot of good nu’er hong” was a phrase commonly used by his heroic vigilante characters.
The drink’s importance was highlighted when, in 1997, Tung Chee-hwa was given pots of it to celebrate his appointment as Hong Kong’s chief executive, the head of its incoming government – ahead of the restoration of Chinese sovereignty over the city.
Nu’er hong has special significance in Chinese weddings.
It is often given as a wedding gift and served at banquets, where it comes in a beautifully sculpted bottle decorated with bows and painted with auspicious colours and motifs. This is said to be where its better-known name – huadiao, or “flower-carving wine” – comes from.
When a daughter reaches several years of age the family starts to brew wine. The wine is put in jars, tightly sealed at the top, and buried
From a translation of a book by a 3rd-century Chinese scholar
Because it is traditionally buried for as long as 18 years, Chinese “bride wine” is known to have a rich body, a complex taste and a heavy aroma, although modern variations are processed differently, with a decocting technique instead of the ancient natural brewing method.
Historical mentions of nu’er hong, which literally translates as “daughter red”, point towards its strong link with marriage, and in particular with families giving away their daughters as brides.
One of the earliest written mentions appears in Nanfang Caomu Zhuang (“Plants of the Southern Regions”) by the Western Jin dynasty scholar and botanist Ji Han (263-307).
A translation of one of the sections of the book published in 1979 reads: “When a daughter reaches several years of age the family starts to brew wine on a large scale. After straining, and when the ponds dry in the winter, the wine is put in jars, tightly sealed at the top, and buried in the side of the ponds.
“When spring comes and the ponds are full of water, these jars are not removed. When the daughter is getting ready to be married, the pond edges are dug to remove the wine for use in feasting the guests at the marriage ceremony. It is called ‘girl’s wine’. The taste is exceedingly fine.”

Folk legends pertaining to the rice wine’s origins centre on themes to do with marrying off daughters.
According to one tale, there was once a squire who desperately wanted offspring. When his wife finally fell pregnant he became excited and brewed many batches of huangjiu to be drunk at a celebration to mark the child turning one month old.
The batches of wine he made were not finished at the celebration, so 18 years later, when guests ran out of drink at his daughter’s wedding, he brought out the buried jars to share with the party, who were pleasantly surprised by the smoothness of the aged huadiao.
Another tale is about a man whose heart was softened by his newborn daughter’s first cries. He buried a jar of wine in the garden of their home upon hearing them.
As she grew up, he repeatedly visited the spot where the jar was buried, stamping on the earth from time to time as if to ease his anxiety at the thought of having to one day give her away.
A sip of nu’er hong to thaw out two hearts [...] only a woman can understand the bitter and sour taste in the cup
Lyric from Anita Mui’s song Nu’er Hong
A lesser-known version is zhuangyuan hong, or “scholar wine”. The male alternative to nu’er hong, it was drunk to celebrate getting good results in the imperial examination, which, for over 1,000 years in imperial China, young men sat to gain entry to the bureaucracy.
While the union of two people is usually seen as something to celebrate, weddings have sometimes been viewed with a tinge of sadness in traditional Chinese culture. This is because the bride becomes part of the groom’s family and is no longer considered a part of her own.
Because of this, some Chinese cultures developed mourning rituals, such as the “crying marriage” custom – also known as bridal laments – in which mothers sing and sob for the daughters that will soon leave their family.
Nu’er hong also became embedded in bittersweet wedding rituals.
In Shaoxing culture, nu’er hong is a part of a bride’s dowry. At weddings, the first three pours of the drink are served to the bride’s father, father-in-law and husband. The practice of preparing it from the time the daughter was young continued in Shaoxing until the early 20th century.
“A sip of nu’er hong to thaw out two hearts [...] only a woman can understand the bitter and sour taste in the cup,” sang late Hong Kong Cantopop diva Anita Mui Yim-fong in Mandarin in her 1998 song “Nu’er Hong”.


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The bride’s dowry should include red sheets and pillow cases with which to make the bridal bed. Photo: Shutterstock Images

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A still from a video showing men taping a bridesmaid to a lamp post and setting off firecrackers at her feet. This is one of many wedding hazing incidents that has ignited debate in recent years.

A still from a video showing bridesmaids injured during a wedding in Shenzhen, southern China. Photo: qq.com

A still from a video of a man tied to an electricity pole as part of a wedding hazing incident. Chinese authorities are trying to stamp out the practice. Photo: thepaper.cn

A bridesmaid in China cowers on a street as men spray her with fire extinguishers during a wedding hazing incident that sparked outrage online.

Ai Guangtao was wearing only his underwear and was covered in ink when he was hit by a car while fleeing from his entourage during a hazing prank gone wrong. Photo: sohu

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Bride’s chaperon Chan Wah-yuet says tradition dictates that a tea ceremony be held in the groom’s family home, to be followed by a meal, but that these days the meal may be taken in a restaurant. Photo: Chan Yuet-wah

Bride’s chaperon Lo Kan-fong with a tea ceremony set. In the olden days, the Chinese tea ceremony was done with the bride’s elders first at her home, and then with the groom’s elders at his home. Photo: Edmond So

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Nu’er hong, or huadiao, is rice wine traditionally drunk at Chinese weddings. Matured 18 years, its opening marks a daughter’s leaving home


Nu’er hong, or huadiao, is rice wine traditionally drunk at Chinese weddings. Matured 18 years, its opening marks a daughter’s leaving home.


Chinese history

Wine and Spirits

Weddings

Food and Drinks