Distorted showoffery

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The practice of putting on a show when eating has existed since ancient times. Those who are well-informed understand that if one spends in a normal manner, it’s not really considered extravagant: how much pork, beef, or mutton can a person eat in one meal, and how much tea can they drink? So, to show off, one has to find various ways to do it. For normal people, dates are eaten, candles are used for lighting, tea is drunk, and pearls are used for decoration and as accessories. But it was only after Wang Dun became a son-in-law that he learned that dates are used to plug one’s nose while using the toilet ； It was only when Wang Kai, the imperial uncle, met Shi Chong that he realized candles were used as firewood ； It was only when Granny Liu entered the Grand View Garden that she found out. Tea is used for rinsing the mouth after meals ； As for pearls, it is said that Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, dissolved pearls in her drinks in order to show off her wealth in front of her lover Antony, then drank them by tilting her head back ； Later, during the Southern Tang dynasty, Xiao Zhou and Li Yu, dissatisfied with the smoke produced by candles, used night pearls for lighting when having sexual intercourse at night. These all fall under the second uses of developed items, breaking with conventional patterns. However, there is a way of showing off that is extremely crude, just like using the wrong medicine for the condition. Many nobles in medieval Europe, because ginger and **these spices were expensive, would try every means to show off their wealth. For example, it is considered elegant to drink wine with ginger. Drinking in this way these days would surely make people laugh their heads off.