1. A Scene: Airport Awkwardness
Autumn 2019. I was flying from Frankfurt back to Florence. In the waiting lounge, a German woman—Helga, in her 60s, looking like a retired teacher—sat beside me.
She took out a thermos from her bag, opened it, and took a sip. Then she looked at the bottled water in my hand.
"You Chinese people," she said, "do you really drink hot water?"
"Yes," I said.
"Why?" Her tone was not curious, but puzzled—like watching a human behavior she could not categorize.
"Isn't cold water better to drink?"
"Good question," I said. "Let me ask you back: when you drink cold water, what does your stomach feel?"
"Nothing. Cool, quite comfortable."
"Right. That's your feeling. But Chinese people's feeling is: the stomach needs warmth."
"Why?"
"Because Chinese people believe that the stomach is a pot. A pot needs fire to cook food. Pouring cold water into the pot extinguishes the fire."
Helga looked at me like I was a riddle.
"I need more explanation."
"Okay," I said. "Let me start from the beginning."
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2. A Funny Misunderstanding: Is Hot Water Because the Water Is Not Clean?
"Many foreigners ask me: do Chinese people drink hot water because the water in China is not clean?"
"Historically, there is indeed this reason. In early China, there was no tap water system, and drinking raw water easily caused illness. So Chinese people developed the habit of 'boiling water before drinking.'"
"But this is only the historical reason. Not the whole reason."
"The real reason is: Chinese people believe that hot water is good for the body."
"How good?"
"Let me explain a concept."
"Chinese people call the 'temperature' inside the body 'Yang energy.' Yang energy is the 'fire' of the body—it makes your heart beat, your digestion work, your blood flow."
"When you drink cold water, your stomach needs extra energy to 'heat' that water. It's like entering a freezing room in winter—you first need to light a fire to warm up."
"But when you drink hot water, the stomach doesn't need extra heating. Hot water enters the body directly, helping blood circulation and digestion."
Helga thought about it: "But Westerners have been drinking cold water for so many years, and we don't seem to have more stomach problems."
"You're right. But Westerners drinking cold water doesn't mean drinking cold water is right."
"Just like Westerners eating steak doesn't mean steak is the best food."
"Every culture has a different body view. The Western body view is: the body is a machine, it needs cooling (because machines break when they overheat)."
"The Chinese body view is: the body is an ecosystem, it needs balance (too hot is bad, too cold is also bad)."
"So Westerners drink cold water to 'cool down.'"
"Chinese people drink hot water to 'keep warm.'"
"It's not about who is right or wrong. It's different body models."
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3. The Chinese Explanation: Hot Water Is Not Temperature, It's Attitude
"But hot water is not just a medical issue," I said. "It's also a cultural issue."
"In China, pouring a cup of hot water for someone is an expression of care."
"You visit a Chinese friend's house, the first thing they do is pour you hot water."
"You go to a Chinese restaurant, the first thing the waiter does is pour you hot water."
"You go to a Chinese hospital, the first thing the nurse does is pour you hot water."
"Hot water is not a beverage. Hot water is a greeting."
"In Chinese logic: if I say to you 'drink some hot water,' I am saying 'I care about you, I hope you are comfortable.'"
Helga's eyes lit up.
"Like Germans saying 'Komm, trink einen Kaffee' (come, drink a coffee)?"
"Very similar!" I said. "But coffee is a 'social drink,' hot water is a 'care drink.'"
"Coffee is 'let's chat,' hot water is 'I hope you are well.'"
"So hot water in China is not just temperature. It's attitude."
"It's a silent care: I don't need to do anything big for you, but I can pour you a cup of hot water to let you know I am by your side."
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4. The Deeper Logic: Why Does Care Need a Medium?
"Helga," I said, "have you ever wondered why Chinese people don't say 'I love you' very often?"
"Because there is no direct 'I love you' in Chinese?"
"No, there is 'I love you' in Chinese. But Chinese people rarely say it."
"Why?"
"Because Chinese people believe that true care doesn't need words. It needs actions."
"You can't say 'I love you' and then do nothing."
"You must do something: pour a cup of hot water, cook a meal, put on a jacket."
"Hot water is one of the ways Chinese people express care."
"Your boyfriend doesn't say 'I love you,' but he pours you a cup of hot water—that's him saying 'I love you.'"
"Your mother doesn't say 'I worry about you,' but she tells you 'drink more hot water'—that's her saying 'I worry about you.'"
"So foreigners find it strange that Chinese people drink hot water, but they don't understand: hot water is not a beverage, it's a language."
"A language that needs no translation, that the whole world can understand, that is warm."
Helga was silent for a moment.
"Now I understand," she said. "When I traveled in China, every place gave me hot water."
"I thought they just wanted me to 'drink more water.'"
"Now I understand, they were saying: 'Welcome to China, we hope you are comfortable here.'"
"Yes," I said. "You understand."
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5. Learn a Chinese Word: Why Is It Called "温"?
"Speaking of hot water," I said, "let's learn a Chinese word today."
I wrote a character on the paper: 温.
"This character has 'water' on the left and '昷' on the right."
"What is 昷?"
"昷 means 'warm.' So 温 means 'warm water.'"
"But 温 is not just a temperature. 温 is also a feeling."
"Chinese people say '温存' (wēncún)—not preserving temperature, but preserving affection."
"Chinese people say '温柔' (wēnróu)—not soft temperature, but soft attitude."
"Chinese people say '温饱' (wēnbǎo)—not warm food, but basic livelihood security."
"So 温 is a word full of emotion in Chinese culture."
"It's not just 'hot.' It's 'just right'—not scalding, not cold, making people feel comfortable."
"Hot water is 'warm' water."
"It's not as hot as boiling water, not as cold as ice water."
"It's warm—just like Chinese people's attitude toward friends: not passionate, not cold, just right."
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6. One-Sentence Summary: What I Took 25 Years to Understand
Helga put down her thermos and looked at me.
"Liu," she said, "I'm going to start drinking hot water tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Not because I think hot water is healthier."
"But because I want to experience—the kind of 'warmth' you mentioned."
"I want to feel whether, when I take my first sip of hot water in the morning, my body says 'thank you.'"
I smiled.
"You will feel it."
"Because hot water is not just a temperature."
"Hot water is an invitation: inviting your body back to a comfortable state."
"Inviting your heart back to a peaceful state."
"Inviting you to build warm connections with the people around you."
> Hot water is not a beverage. It is the "warm language" Chinese people use to express care.
>
> It took me 25 years to understand: when I pour a cup of hot water for you, I am not giving you a drink. I am giving you an invitation—an invitation to return to warmth, an invitation to feel cared for.
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Have you started the habit of drinking hot water? Or do you think cold water is your favorite? Tell me your experience—the next xiaokz article might just be written for you.