How Do Eastern and Western Drinking Cultures Differ?

Historically, high-stakes corporate banquets relied on baijiu (白酒). At 110-proof, China’s iconic sorghum spirit served a singular purpose: stripping away polite boardroom facades in under an hour. In international business, a deal is rarely sealed by signatures alone; it demands a moment where guards drop and true character emerges. How someone handles their liquor—whether they match their host toast-for-toast and hold their composure—remains a traditional test of trust.

As a new generation took over the international trade stage, luxury red wine offered a practical upgrade. Grand Cru Bordeaux and benchmark Burgundy brought instant prestige to the table while solving a major operational problem. At these dinners, the custom is that every guest brings a bottle of something, and the group has to finish it all. Even if you swap out the baijiu (白酒), taking down five or six bottles of whisky is detrimental. Fine wine drops the ABV to a manageable 14%, allowing you to execute dozens of toasts while keeping your composure.

As one seasoned collector friend, Jenny, notes: “My best strategy for survival is convincing everyone to bring wine.”

Historically, human bonds were forged in shared trials, where trust was earned through strain. Today, the banquet table serves a similar function. The venue has evolved, but the instinct to build a tribe remains: navigate the night, protect your own, and finish together.

In Chinese dining culture, this camaraderie takes on tactical form through dang-jiu (挡酒)—the art of "shield-bearing," where a friend steps in to take a toast on your behalf when you have reached your limit. Who will take the drink for you? Who will ensure you make it home on two feet? At a table governed by honor, surviving the evening is never a solo mission; it is a shared effort of loyalty and care.

The instinct to gather a tribe extends far beyond boardroom doors—and occasionally defies medical advice. A friend of mine recently marked his 41st birthday by putting his inner circle through a grueling triathlon, then rewarding their collective joint damage by uncorking all five First Growth Bordeaux Châteaux: Lafite, Margaux, Latour, Haut-Brion, and Mouton Rothschild.

Opening those five bottles was his way of thanking the crew who ran the race beside him. Whether you measure time in ibuprofen, miles, or vintages, the point remains: the greatest wines are made for creating memories with your people.

That exact energy—the collision of rare, high-heritage allocations with unbuttoned, high-octane human connection—is rarely captured on a museum wall. But it is precisely what animates the work of Tokyo-based artist Campbell La Pun,

Just as gan bei-ing a benchmark allocation shocks traditionalists, La Pun’s canvases mash up world-class wine iconography with neon stencils, aerosol spray, and pop vitality. His work is the visual counterpart to that "bottoms up" moment: stripping away cold formality and replacing it with human energy.

Hamptons Palm Beach is presenting a curated collection of studio-released prints and small original works—all at $500—by the Tokyo-based Australian artist, now on display at our boutique. For collector-level canvases or custom commissions, we direct our clients right down Worth Avenue to our friends at DTR Modern Galleries, Palm Beach's premier home for modern masters.