Chinese Beijing nightlife nouveau_生活Life
upon a fellow entrepreneur from shenzhen comes to the capital. that evening his beijing associate took him out to dinner, followed by drinks at the famous sanlitun bar street and an hour or so of karaoke at the cash box party world.
at midnight, when the sleepy host intimated it might be time to go home, his guest replied in genuine astonishment, "but it’s at this hour that shenzhen nightlife really gets going!"
to older chinese people, the nightlife phenomenon is as new as the reform and opening generation that pursue it. these young well-paid white collars regard a night on the town as their hard-earned reward for a long, high-pressure working day.
but it is only in the past hundred years that enjoyment of nightlife has become accepted in china. in ancient times going out after dark was actively discouraged in order to instill temperate habits in the populace and keep them from harm.
■■nightlife origins
centuries ago, night-time activities had either politically subversive or corrupt connotations, insofar as they were associated with forming cliques, plotting insurrections or currying favor, to the accompaniment of wine, women, flattery and bribes.
qing emperor yongzheng once remarked in a letter to his minister that malpractice was rife throughout officialdom, and that rather than concentrating on state affairs, many officials opted for take the hedonistic route to promotion.
in order to discourage after-dark debauchery, successive chinese dynasties adhered to the ritual of morning audience, whereby the emperor and his ministers assembled at dawn to discuss national affairs.
this was an effective deterrent to nocturnal carousing and, therefore, corruption. it also made temperance the yardstick by which the emperor and his courtiers might be judged.
the wisdom of adhering to this system became obvious with the ignominious termination of the glorious tang dynasty (618 - 907).
upon its establishment the tang dynasty, emperor taizong set himself and achieved the goal of making china more prosperous than ever before.
succeeding rulers, however, were vain, vapid and preoccupied with aestheticism and carnal indulgence. the last tang emperor, xuanzong, became infatuated with his concubine yang yuhuan, and upon her becoming his favorite he never once attended morning audience.
this gave yang guozhong, yang yuhuan’s cousin and an already powerful figure, carte blanche as regards political intrigue and opportunities to line his pockets; officials of every rank rode roughshod over the people.
matters came to a head with the an shi riots, when tang officials an lushan and shi siming launched an insurrection that toppled emperor tang xuanzong and the entire tang dynasty.
morning audience was an ordeal that taxed the strength of the most vigorous statesmen. hundreds of officials from the capital and its environs would wait at dawn for bell that signaled the opening of the palace gate, before entering and lining the palace square, civil officials facing west and military officers east.
those of the prestigious 1 to 4 pin ranks would then file in to the palace hall for that imperial audience. officials in charge of each department reported to the emperor on national affairs and request his instructions, and the emperor would raise his own questions.
since the reform and opening policy, life in china has become varied and colorful. surveys show that people in shanghai spend 50 percent of their daily consumption on nightlife, and residents of guangzhou and shenzhen even more. in beijing, an increasing number of new consumers spend their leisure time in the traditional bars and eateries around shichahai lake, and shops, restaurants and entertainment venues have considerably extended their business hours to meet the demands of their younger clientele.
however, the quality of chinese nightlife is questionable. a recent internet survey on beijing summer nightlife showed that people spend 60 percent of their leisure expenses on drink. the same survey showed that 70 percent of people enjoy beijing’s summer nightlife and that 60 percent party till past midnight each weekend. also evident was that entertainment venues are generally geared to young singles and mainly comprise pubs, clubs and karaoke bars. sad to say, patronage of cultural centers and gymnasiums is down. one wonders, is this a change for the better?
at midnight, when the sleepy host intimated it might be time to go home, his guest replied in genuine astonishment, "but it’s at this hour that shenzhen nightlife really gets going!"
to older chinese people, the nightlife phenomenon is as new as the reform and opening generation that pursue it. these young well-paid white collars regard a night on the town as their hard-earned reward for a long, high-pressure working day.
but it is only in the past hundred years that enjoyment of nightlife has become accepted in china. in ancient times going out after dark was actively discouraged in order to instill temperate habits in the populace and keep them from harm.
■■nightlife origins
centuries ago, night-time activities had either politically subversive or corrupt connotations, insofar as they were associated with forming cliques, plotting insurrections or currying favor, to the accompaniment of wine, women, flattery and bribes.
qing emperor yongzheng once remarked in a letter to his minister that malpractice was rife throughout officialdom, and that rather than concentrating on state affairs, many officials opted for take the hedonistic route to promotion.
in order to discourage after-dark debauchery, successive chinese dynasties adhered to the ritual of morning audience, whereby the emperor and his ministers assembled at dawn to discuss national affairs.
this was an effective deterrent to nocturnal carousing and, therefore, corruption. it also made temperance the yardstick by which the emperor and his courtiers might be judged.
the wisdom of adhering to this system became obvious with the ignominious termination of the glorious tang dynasty (618 - 907).
upon its establishment the tang dynasty, emperor taizong set himself and achieved the goal of making china more prosperous than ever before.
succeeding rulers, however, were vain, vapid and preoccupied with aestheticism and carnal indulgence. the last tang emperor, xuanzong, became infatuated with his concubine yang yuhuan, and upon her becoming his favorite he never once attended morning audience.
this gave yang guozhong, yang yuhuan’s cousin and an already powerful figure, carte blanche as regards political intrigue and opportunities to line his pockets; officials of every rank rode roughshod over the people.
matters came to a head with the an shi riots, when tang officials an lushan and shi siming launched an insurrection that toppled emperor tang xuanzong and the entire tang dynasty.
morning audience was an ordeal that taxed the strength of the most vigorous statesmen. hundreds of officials from the capital and its environs would wait at dawn for bell that signaled the opening of the palace gate, before entering and lining the palace square, civil officials facing west and military officers east.
those of the prestigious 1 to 4 pin ranks would then file in to the palace hall for that imperial audience. officials in charge of each department reported to the emperor on national affairs and request his instructions, and the emperor would raise his own questions.
since the reform and opening policy, life in china has become varied and colorful. surveys show that people in shanghai spend 50 percent of their daily consumption on nightlife, and residents of guangzhou and shenzhen even more. in beijing, an increasing number of new consumers spend their leisure time in the traditional bars and eateries around shichahai lake, and shops, restaurants and entertainment venues have considerably extended their business hours to meet the demands of their younger clientele.
however, the quality of chinese nightlife is questionable. a recent internet survey on beijing summer nightlife showed that people spend 60 percent of their leisure expenses on drink. the same survey showed that 70 percent of people enjoy beijing’s summer nightlife and that 60 percent party till past midnight each weekend. also evident was that entertainment venues are generally geared to young singles and mainly comprise pubs, clubs and karaoke bars. sad to say, patronage of cultural centers and gymnasiums is down. one wonders, is this a change for the better?