Kung Peng-chang explains that the Outlaws of the Marsh, another classic from Chinese literature, depicts the drinking customs of the lower classes. Their drinking customs were not as elaborate as those of the sophisticated literati. They drank, rather, to relax, to let their hair down. Individuals who could hold their liquor were highly respected.
龔鵬程指出，同樣是中國古典文學經典的《水滸傳》中，描述的下階層喝酒方式，不是文人風雅、講求品味的方式，而是表達豪情、浪蕩江湖人的飲酒方式，以量取勝，以能不能喝酒來認定是不是朋友。