白酒在中国的未来.doc

The Future Of Chinese Firewater In A Changing Country 白酒在中国的未来 Russia has vodka, Korea soju, Japan sake, and China – baijiu (bye-joh). Like its cousins, baijiu serves as a national symbol, a social lubricant, a business sealant, a cultural baptism, and not the least of all, a mark of distinction. Rookies gag on its infernal flow, but a cultured person would never turn down a chance to clink glasses. As one Chinese friend puts it, “To the older generation, baijiu is a habit – there is no good or bad to it. It’s a part of the culture.” 俄罗斯有伏特加，韩国有烧酒，日本有清酒，而中国有白酒。像其他酒类一样，白酒是国家的象征、社会的润滑剂、商界的粘合剂、文化的洗礼，然而不仅于此，白酒还是身份的标志。 It therefore came as a pleasant surprise to me when I started doing business in China last year and realized that most of my associates turned their noses up at it. I unabashedly admit that I have no taste for the stuff, but I accepted long ago that it would be an important – nay, critical – aspect to sales in China (let alone beer sales, which was my industry). 因此，当去年我在中国做生意时，白酒给我带来了惊喜的发现，而且我意识到我的大部分同事都对白酒嗤之以鼻。我毫不掩饰地承认，我对白酒也没有兴趣，但是我很久以前就明白，白酒将是在中国展开销售的重要环节，不，可以说是关键的环节（除了啤酒销售外——那是我的老本行）。 What I instead encountered was a distinct split between people born before and after 1980. While the older generation clearly preferred to slicken meetings with the traditional liquor, the younger clients cringed at the suggestion of it. The latter group was quicker to offer a beer or cigarette, and did not press when I turned either down. The older group, however, had a song-and-dance centered on baijiu, and to interrupt this show would be to derail the business transaction. 而我遇到的情况却显示，1980年前和1980年后出生的人对此存在明显的分歧。尽管老一代人显然喜欢在聚会上用传统的白酒助兴，可是年轻的客户却害怕提议喝点白酒。年轻人会很快拿出啤酒和香烟，如果我对这两样都拒绝的话，他们也不会坚持。然而，上年纪的人会大肆宣传白酒的好处，如果打断他们的表演，可能会搞砸这次商业交易。 Most who have lived in China have participated in “the baijiu show” more than once. Picture a group of middle-aged people seated around a circular table, pleasantries underscored by a bubbling hot pot and punctuated by the clinking of cups. When som