QUESTION:

If you have ever been invited to a formal Chinese banquet, you may have been given a glass (or six) of 5 Grain Wine (Wu Liang Ye). What are the five grains that make this special liquor?

A. Wheat, Rice, Barley, Maize and Sorghum
B. Maize, Sorghum, Rice, Barley and gasoline
C. Rice, Barley, Maize, Sorghum and Tequila
D. Rice, Sorghum, Maize, Potato and Wheat
E. Flour, water, beans, whiskey and a tobacco leaf

ANSWER:

A. Right. It's an acquired taste but after a few glasses the world seems a much better place. Some foreigners have been known to speak fluent Mandarin (or at least think they were) after enough glasses of this.

B. Not right, but it may explain the unique taste and odor!

C. Not quite. Actually this could be a whole new taste sensation! Mexican Four Grain wine!

D. So close, but yet so far. The addition of potato to this already powerful concoction could make this a viable alternative to rocket fuel!

E. So far from the mark. You'd better keep reading Xianzai every day to improve your knowledge of Chinese trivia.