諺語 · a single proverb

酒jiǔ中zhōng無wú大dà小xiǎo,，酒jiǔ後hòu無wú老lǎo少shǎo

Simplified: 酒中无大小，酒后无老少

jiǔ zhōng wú dà xiǎo, jiǔ hòu wú lǎo shǎo

What does 酒中無大小，酒後無老少 (jiǔ zhōng wú dà xiǎo, jiǔ hòu wú lǎo shǎo) mean?

酒中無大小，酒後無老少 (jiǔ zhōng wú dà xiǎo, jiǔ hòu wú lǎo shǎo) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語). Word for word it reads "in wine there is no rank, after wine there is no age." In use it means: Alcohol levels social hierarchies and reveals a more honest version of people, for better or worse. You reach for it when you want that idea in one breath, and the Fire note it carries is why we hand it to those born in the Year of the Pig.

Literally: "in wine there is no rank, after wine there is no age."

The reading

The wine does not care about your title. After three cups, neither does anyone else. This leveling is real, and it is double-edged. What comes out after the hierarchy dissolves is sometimes the best version of a person and sometimes the worst. The wine does not choose. It only reveals.

What kind of proverb it is

Source Folk proverb from Chinese banquet culture

Sits beside

一個籬笆三個樁

yī gè lí ba sān gè zhuāng

Even the strongest person needs support.

三思而後行

sān sī ér hòu xíng

Deliberate before you act-turn a decision over more than once before letting it out of your hands.

人心隔肚皮

rén xīn gé dù pí

You can never truly see inside another person's heart.

Keep reading

Return to the Proverb Pond to draw another of the eighty-seven, or hear one read aloud. Read the rest of its chapter in Friendship, Trust & Speech, or follow the years these lines belong to: Year of the Pig, Year of the Rat, and Year of the Ox.

Questions

Is 酒中無大小，酒後無老少 a real Chinese proverb?

Yes. 酒中無大小，酒後無老少 (jiǔ zhōng wú dà xiǎo, jiǔ hòu wú lǎo shǎo) is a colloquial saying (súyǔ 俗語), and it comes from Folk proverb from Chinese banquet culture. It is living Chinese heritage, given here with per-character pinyin and its source so you can trust the line, not a phrase invented in English.

How do you pronounce 酒中無大小，酒後無老少?

In Mandarin it is jiǔ zhōng wú dà xiǎo, jiǔ hòu wú lǎo shǎo. Read the pinyin above each character to follow the tones, or press the speaker beside the calligraphy to hear your browser read 酒中無大小，酒後無老少 aloud in Mandarin.