Winding Stream Party / Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion

Throughout Chinese history, drinkers delighted in turning convivial gatherings into elegant games of skill and creativity. One of the most celebrated was the “winding stream party”, an intoxicating blend of poetry, play, and drink that traced its origins to the legendary Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion in 353 CE.

At this famed event, the scholar and calligrapher Wang Xizhi and forty-one fellow literati assembled beside a gently winding stream to compose poetry and drink rice wine. Cups of wine, often set afloat on lotus leaves, drifted down the water’s course; when a cup stopped before a guest, they were expected to improvise a poem before drinking its contents.

Over time, the winding stream party came to symbolize the ideal life of the cultured scholar—where artistic inspiration flowed as freely as the wine itself. The tradition spread to Japan and Korea, inspiring centuries of paintings, poems, and re-enactments that celebrated not only poetic talent but also the joyful, communal spirit of shared intoxication.

Much like the Greek Kottabos, the Spanish porrón, the northern European Passglas, and the British puzzle jug, the Chinese winding stream party reminds us that drinking has long been about more than consumption alone—it has been a global canvas for play, skill, artistry, and social connection.