Note 59 — VII. THE MARRIAGE OF THE FOX’S DAUGHTER.
Herbert Allen Giles translation
The soberest people in the world, amongst whom anything like sottishness is comparatively unknown, think it no disgrace, but rather complimentary, to get pleasantly tipsy on all festive occasions; and people who are physically unable to do so, frequently go so far as to hire substitutes to drink for them. Mandarins especially suffer very much from the custom of being obliged to “take wine” with a large number of guests. For further on this subject, see No. LIV., note 292. return to text