Chapter 59 - 56 Heartbreak_2
"This is You Douzhi."
Yang Yu said with a beaming smile, "Today, she will act as the Law Recorder, while the Gong Recorder..."
"I’ll do it."
Song Shaoyuan volunteered as if possessed, exchanging a glance with the charming You Douzhi. He quickly took a swig of wine to conceal the faint blush creeping up his cheeks.
Although Pingkang Square was known as a place of pleasure, pure entertainment was only a small part of its function; it primarily hosted banquets and wine parties for officials and scholars.
The Law Recorder and Gong Recorder that Yang Yu mentioned were roles in a drinking game known as a "drinking order."
The Law Recorder served as the judge, sitting at the edge of the table to "announce the decrees"—the rules for the day’s drinking order. Scholars who prided themselves on their knowledge often engaged in "drinking decrees," which involved composing poetry.
Participants might compose poems extemporaneously, about specific objects, according to the calendar or season, or create punning verses about the scenery. Each person contributed one line; failing to continue the verse or producing a poor line resulted in a penalty cup of wine, as determined by the Law Recorder.
For example, if the first person said, "The autumn moon is round like a mirror," the second might counter with, "The autumn breeze is sharp like a knife," the third, "The autumn wind is soft like down," and the fourth, "The autumn grass is fine like hair."
The difficulty of different drinking decrees varied greatly. "Thematic linked verses on autumn," for instance, were among the simplest, and most scholars of a certain caliber considered such drinking orders beneath them.
The most difficult drinking orders demanded that each line be a quotation or reference to the classics, strictly adhere to rhymes and couplets, and be closely related to the people and events at hand.
This required the famous actor serving as the Law Recorder to possess extremely high talent and emotional intelligence, enabling them to instantly judge whether each line complied with the rules and if a penalty drink was warranted.