Brewing Rice Wine, Brewing Community: Gender and Hakka Lineage Continuation in Western Fujian in the 20th Century

Hakka lineage organizations in western Fujian experienced remarkable changes and continuations in the twentieth century as a result of the political, social and economic transformations on the regional and national levels. Using oral history materials, lineage genealogies, family photos, and unpublished autobiographies, this paper explores the custom of rice wine brewing and consumption in Hakka lineage communities in western Fujian in the twentieth century, with particular attention to the gendered roles of women and men in their connection to rice wine making and drinking. Rice wine was commonly used in ceremonial and ritual occasions other than being a major alcoholic beverage for social gatherings usually dominated by men. Hakka women and men played distinctive roles in their rice wine culture in accordance with their expected gendered roles in their communities. Women often were the ones who made and prepared wine, while men interpreted Hakka lineage rituals involving the usage of rice wine together with other sacrifices. This paper argues that the ever-evolving rice wine culture is an arena where Hakka gender is reconfigured and reconfirmed, and therefore the Hakka lineage community continuously reconstructed.