#70 A mysterious Chinese convention – drinking hot water 神秘的中国习俗:喝热水

Podcast Transcript

大家好,欢迎回来MaoMi Chinese!

夏天快到了,天气越来越热了,大家记得要多喝水!天气热的时候,真想喝一大杯冰水。但是,如果你在中国的话,你可能会听到:“不要喝冰水,要喝热水!”“多喝热水”,是一个万能的句子。如果你不舒服,头疼,中国人可能会跟你说:“多喝热水”。如果女生的生理期到了,她们的男朋友也可能会说:“多喝热水”。热水真的这么神奇吗?为什么中国人这么爱喝热水呢?今天我们一起来聊一聊,喝热水。

如果一个中国人出国,到了另一个国家,去饭馆吃饭,他/她一定会特别惊讶:这里居然没有热水?是的,绝大部分的中国人,不爱喝凉水,也不爱喝冰水,他们爱喝热水。如果你在中国,你可能会看到很多人都拿着一个保温瓶,保温瓶装的就是热水。在中国人的传统观念里,吃饭要吃热的,喝水要喝热的,因为热的东西对身体好,尤其对胃有好处。

其实啊,中国人也不是一开始就爱喝热水的。在中国古代,大多数中国人都不喝热水,因为烧热水要生火,要燃料,对于大部分人来说都太贵了。很多人因为喝了有细菌的水生病,甚至去世。但是,到了现代社会,中国的生活条件越来越好了,越来越多人可以买得起燃料了。从20世纪30年代开始,中国开展了“新生活运动”,国家鼓励人们喝烧开后的水,因为把水烧开可以杀死绝大部分细菌,这样更加卫生。后来,“喝开水”就变成了各个地方的口号。还有一个原因,那就是中国的自来水还不是特别干净,还不能直接饮用,所以最好还是烧开了再喝。

当然,在寒冷的冬天里喝一杯热水,那真是太舒服了。我也很喜欢在感冒的时候喝热水,因为我会觉得舒服一些。只要是干净的水,是冷的还是热的,其实没有所谓啦!

Hello everyone, welcome back to MaoMi Chinese!

Summer is coming and the weather is getting hotter and hotter, so everyone please remember to drink more water! When the weather is hot, I really want to drink a big glass of ice water. However, if you are in China, you may hear "Don't drink ice water, drink hot water!" "Drink more hot water" is a catch-all sentence. If you are uncomfortable and have a headache, the Chinese may say to you: "Drink more hot water". If girls are on their period, their boyfriends may also say, "Drink more hot water." Is hot water really so magical? Why do Chinese people like drinking hot water so much? Let's talk about drinking hot water today.

If a Chinese person goes abroad and goes to another country to eat in a restaurant, he/she will be very surprised: there is no hot water!? Yes, the vast majority of Chinese people do not like to drink cold water, nor do they like to drink ice water. They like to drink hot water. If you are in China, you may see a lot of people holding a thermos, which is just hot water. In the traditional Chinese concept, eat hot food and drink hot water, because hot food is good for the body, especially for the stomach.

In fact, Chinese people don't like drinking hot water from the beginning. In ancient China, most Chinese people did not drink hot water, because hot water required fire and fuel, which were too expensive for most people. Many people got sick and even died from drinking water with bacteria. However, in modern society, the living conditions in China were getting better and better, and more and more people could afford fuel. Since the 1930s, China has launched the "New Life Movement". The country encourages people to drink boiled water because boiling water can kill most bacteria and is more hygienic. Later, "drink boiling water" became a slogan in various places. There is another reason, that is, the tap water in China is not yet particularly clean and cannot be drunk directly, so it is best to boil it before drinking.

Of course, it's so comforting to have a cup of hot water on a cold winter day. I also like to drink hot water when I have a cold because I feel better. As long as it is clean water, cold or hot, it doesn't really matter!

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