The Greek protagonist of the warrior-banqueter-lover type finds a very different counterpart in the Chinese convivial discourse. Even though fighting was a key function of the Zhou aristocracy and festivities were an important vehicle for the expression of social values and the forging of group cohesion, the major material for the Chinese representation of convivial life came from kin gatherings and kinship solidarity. We see a striking contrast between the agonistic spirit and strong extrafamilial male homosocial bonds that predominate in the Greek sources and the preoccupation with domestic harmony and order in the transcribed thoughts and emotions of the Chinese merrymakers.

The analysis of this chapter falls into three major parts. We begin with Chinese religious festivities, including festivals in honor of deities and banquets associated with ancestral sacrifices. Then we move on to banquets celebrating military victories. Finally, we examine how the relationship between kinship and friendship was a serious question in the minds of the Chinese banqueters and how they reasoned about and formulated their answers. Comparisons will be made with Greece throughout the chapter.

Besides using bronze inscriptions, prescriptions for drinking rituals found in the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial (Yili), and a few other sources as corroborating evidence, the bulk of the primary material analyzed in this chapter comes from the Book of Odes. This anthology consists of 305 poems in four divisions.