Take the first family dinner after Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne as an example. The banquet was held in Gan Qing Palace, and there was a Zhang Jinlong banquet table in front of the emperor's throne. On the horizon on the left, there is a queen's banquet table facing the west. The first table in the west is a noble lady, the second table is a pure princess, the third table is a marine lady, and the second table in the east is Arlene Fei. In addition, there are several banquet tables. Banquets are arranged according to strict grades. At about 3: 30 in the afternoon, music was played on both sides of Gan Qing Palace, and Emperor Qianlong took the lead in taking a seat, followed by his concubines. The banquet has just begun, and everyone is very particular about when to eat what meal. After the banquet, the concubines knelt down and sent the emperor back to their residence.
It's easy to say, but some details are stipulated. It is estimated that even people who eat must be careful not to violate etiquette. Fortunately, the food on the banquet table is still edible. But at the royal banquets in the Tang and Song Dynasties, even some dishes were not allowed to be eaten. Whoever ate them was really embarrassed. According to Song history, Song Huizong Evonne was born on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which is the Dragon Boat Festival. However, people born on this day are traditionally considered unlucky, so they changed the emperor's birthday to the tenth day of October, which sounds wonderful. But what can't be changed under the authority of the emperor? Even the 10th day of October is designated as Tianning Festival, which is celebrated by people all over the world.
Song Huizong is very concerned about his birthday, not only in the palace, but also among the people. On one occasion, Liao sent envoys to celebrate his birthday, because this was the first time that Liao envoys attended the royal banquet in the Song Dynasty. Before the banquet began, the official in charge of the ceremony called the envoys to a place and repeatedly emphasized a rule: some banquets can't be eaten, otherwise it will make a big joke!
It turns out that this inedible dish is called "Kancai", which has not appeared many times in history. According to records, it first began in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty, but there are relatively few records in the Tang Dynasty and even less in the Song Dynasty. In addition to the court appearing on the court menu, most of them are recorded in the literati's essays.
On the menu of Song Huizong's birthday party, there are two kinds of dishes, one is dim sum and the other is meat. The method of dim sum is relatively simple, that is, it is made into the shape of dim sum with mud, and then painted with pigment to confuse the real with the fake; Watching meat dishes is complicated. Craftsmen need to choose the right wood first, carve it into the shape of food, then put it in a big bowl and pour soup on it. Because the image is vivid, people who don't know may really make jokes. Thanks to the previous warning, the envoys didn't make jokes, but this behavior of watching food left a deep impression on them. After all, the food at the banquet itself is extremely rich and inexhaustible, and the emperor of the Song Dynasty has to go to great lengths to add icing on the cake, which is really a luxury.
Therefore, after hearing the news, Emperor Liao couldn't help sighing that Song Dynasty would die at the hands of Song Huizong sooner or later. Sure enough, after the "Jingkang disaster", the Northern Song Dynasty went to extinction, and the author couldn't help thinking of Abang Palace Fu, in which the phrase "spend as much as possible" had to be said that many dynasties were tripped over by the word "luxury".