Basic introduction Chinese name: Imperial mbth: food of imperial family; Pinyin: yù shàn Athena Chu: ㄧㄩˋㄕˋˋ Interpretation: refers to the diet of the emperor. The concept, basic information, quotation and explanation, basic meaning, classification of imperial meals, imperial meals at the end of sacrifice, imperial meals for farming, imperial meals for private use, imperial meals for betrothal gifts, imperial meals for celebrating achievements, imperial meals for competitive shooting, management institutions, main features, strict selection of materials, exquisite cooking, novel products, imperial meals in Wei and Jin Dynasties, imperial meals in Tang Dynasty, imperial meals in Song Dynasty and imperial meals in Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Liu Tang Yuxi's "Metabolism Giving Wine and Food": "Fu Jiang is proud of imperial food." Tang Shunzhi's Biography of Wu Gong in the Ming Dynasty: "Divide the imperial rice, but fortunately the public can't get it, and the public can get it." Basic meaning Although the meals in the imperial palace were exclusively enjoyed by emperors, every delicious drink and delicacy came from cooking materials and techniques provided by ordinary people. If the local houses and restaurants in the city are the basis of China's cooking, then the Forbidden City cuisine is the peak of China's ancient cooking art, so the Forbidden City cuisine in each era can actually represent the highest level of China's cooking skills in that era. In the long history of China's catering culture, the imperial cuisine of China Palace experienced a development process from coarse to fine, from simple to complex, and from simple to complex, and then formed an endless development system with peaks, like a symphony of jubilation and excitement, which constituted the main theme of the process of China's culinary art's continuous enrichment, development and self-improvement. As early as the Zhou Dynasty, the flavor of court meals had initially taken shape. The ruling class in the Zhou Dynasty attached great importance to the relationship between diet and politics. Zhou people have no feast, no feast day. The reason is not only the pleasure needs of Zhou and princes, but also political purposes. Through feasting, strengthen the spirit of rites and music and maintain the ruling order. Poem Xiaoya Luming Literature is about Zhou Wang and his guests feasting. What's the purpose of Zhou Wang's banquet? "(the son of heaven) did his best, and then the loyal minister Pei Hornshu had to do his best. Going up to the dragon and reporting down, the monarch and the minister are sincere, so it is also the beauty of politics "("Justice in Shi Mao "). Because of this, the types and specifications of the royal meals in the Zhou Dynasty are very complicated. As far as the participants and scale of the imperial banquet are concerned, there are private seats and official seats. A private banquet is a gathering of relatives and friends. This kind of banquet is usually held in the palace of the emperor or monarch. Official banquet refers to the banquet hosted by the emperor and monarch to entertain courtiers or foreign envoys. This kind of banquet is large in scale, and the host usually entertains the guests with excessive firmness. "Xiao Ya Gong Gong" describes the scene where the Emperor of Zhou gave a banquet to entertain his ministers. Judging from the two sentences of "the bells and drums are fixed once and enjoyed once", there are usually bells and drums at official banquets, and music is used to add a solemn and harmonious atmosphere. "Dine," Jian Zheng said. "Indulge in hospitality." It serves to show that the ostentation and extravagance of the imperial banquet official seats is quite large. The classification of imperial meals is first of all "offering imperial meals". "Zuo Zhuan's Thirteen Years of Public Service": "The great event of a country lies in respect and glory." Zhou people attached importance to sacrifice, and one of the important manifestations of sacrifice ceremony was to recommend food sacrifice. After the sacrificial ceremony, the Zhou royal family and their entourage got together for a banquet. Judging from the ostentation and extravagance, the imperial meal after the holiday is bigger than usual and the food quality is higher. Book of Rites: "Governors don't kill cows without reason, doctors don't kill sheep without reason, scholars don't kill dogs without reason, and Shu Ren doesn't eat treasures without reason and is ashamed of himself." Zheng Note: "Therefore, it is called a sacrificial genus." The Zhou royal family can only slaughter cattle and sheep at the time of sacrifice and list all kinds of ostentation and extravagance. Xiaoya Chutz, Zhou Song You Ke, Uematsu Liezu and others. In the poems of agricultural emperors, the last banquet was described to varying degrees. The second is the "farmer's diet". From the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, the rulers attached great importance to farming and directly participated in agricultural labor. Historically, it was called "Wang Geng Borrowing Land", which was usually held in early spring. Emperors, princes, officials, doctors and agricultural officials at all levels all carry farm tools and symbolically plough the fields in the emperor's manor. The number of plows varies from person to person. On the other hand, the title is held in the big bed, and the ministers of the three public officials and nine expensive officials are all imperial, and they must drink alcohol every day ("Book of Rites, Monthly Order"). After the ceremony of "borrowing farmland", it will be a feast for farmers. The emperor gave a banquet, and the public gave a banquet. Xiaoya Datian, Xiaoya Futian, Zhou Song Zhaji, Zhou Song Liang Ji, Songluyou Road, etc. The poems all describe the emperor's agricultural food to varying degrees. The third kind is "Private Old Imperial Diet", also called "Swallow Drink", which is a private banquet between the elderly. According to "Yili Li Yan", Jia avoided the sun: "The princes swallowed nothing, one also; Doctor Qing has the power of a king, and the second is also; I also hired Dr. Qing, which is also, with strictness and three; The four sides hired it, and the guests were ashamed, and the four were also. "Although the banquet in the last three cases is related to state affairs, the monarch and his subjects have deep feelings and the banquet atmosphere is leisurely and easy-going, so it is called' banquet', which is a common situation in private royal meals. The fifth is "betrothal gift" and "invitation to visit" ("said"). The engagement banquet is a banquet hosted by the emperor or monarch for visiting envoys, which was also called "rewarding gifts" in the Zhou Dynasty. Zuo Zhuan recorded a lot about this, and the atmosphere was warm or solemn; Participants either recite poems or sing songs; The scene is set with bells and drums or accompanied by dance. There is an established requirement in the banquet that "poetry should be of the same kind", that is, poetry, song, dance and music should all express the theme of the banquet. It is reported: "The marquis of Jin and the princes held a banquet in Wen, which made the doctors dance and say,' Poetry must be like this!'" "Qi Gao Hou's poems are not of the same class. Gou Jian suppressed his anger and said, "The princes have their own plans!" Make the doctor form an alliance with Gao Hou, and Gao Hou will flee. So, the doctors of Uncle Sun Bao, Jin Gouyan, Song, Wei Ningzhi, Zheng Gongsun, etc. made an alliance day:' Let's discuss it together! (Zuo Zhuan's Sixteen Years of "xianggong") It can be seen that enjoying gifts has a strong diplomatic color. It takes feasting as the form, poetry and dance as the means of expression, and diplomacy as the purpose. Participants can understand and grasp the contents of diplomatic negotiations by listening to and watching poetry and dance music, and even make major decisions on this basis. Celebration Banquet VI is a "celebration banquet", that is, a banquet in which Buddhists or Julian Waghann returned home in triumph after going to war. This banquet is grand, large-scale, beautiful, singing and dancing, with a warm atmosphere and a grand scene. This scene is described in Xiaoya in June, Luton Flooding, Luton Rice Palace and so on. Although the specific degree is different, it can still be seen. In 632 BC, Chu and Jin launched a fierce battle for hegemony, which was the famous battle of Chengpu in the history of war, and the Jin army won. In the golden autumn of July, he returned home in triumph and held an unprecedented celebration banquet (see Zuo Zhuan Xi Gong Twenty-eight Years for details). The banquet was held in Jinzong Temple, and Duke Xiang of Jin gave the three armed forces a prison to reward meritorious soldiers. The number and scale of participants are self-evident. Fighting for the imperial four is "fighting for the imperial four", and the people of the Zhou Dynasty re-shot the ceremony. "This is to observe morality" (Book of Rites, Shooting Righteousness), which is an indispensable event for the rulers of the Zhou Dynasty to observe morality, choose officials, be polite and happy. Poetry, Elegance and Walking Reed is generous in brushwork, which depicts the banquet of shooting ceremony for us. "There is a banquet, and a few prizes will be given." Give or chop, wash and drink. Acyl sugar is recommended, either burnt or baked. Jia Yao's spleen cavity, or singing or hissing. Bow is strong, four forging is king, arrows are neat, and order is good. A bow is a sentence with four cymbals. Four as a tree, the guest does not regret. At the banquet, people drew bows and shot arrows, which not only enlivened the atmosphere of the banquet, but also embodied the spirit of rites and music of Zhou people. According to Zuo Zhuan, Fan Xianzi, the minister of Qi, visited Lu, and Lu Xianggong gave a banquet and held a shooting ceremony between the banquets. Participants need three pairs of shoes. "Home minister: show flaw, show jade father as husband and wife; Chen Gong: Wu Gong Zhao Bo and Zhongyan Zhuangshu are a pair; This kind of "shooting guests" banquet between vassal States was quite frequent at that time and was characterized by some diplomatic activities. The Zhou Dynasty, the ruling institution, also designed a set of management institutions for the imperial meals of the emperor and his royal family. According to Zhou Li, the Prime Minister has 59 ministries, 20 of which serve the diet and life of the Emperor of Zhou, the Empress and the Prince, such as the "Chef" in charge of imperial meals, the "Jiren" and the "Wife" in charge of the cooking of imperial meals. According to the available data, the eight treasures in The Book of Rites are the representatives of the imperial banquet in the Zhou Dynasty, which embodies the highest level of cooking skills of the Zhou royal family. Zhou's diet has a certain ritual system. The ritual system of eating six grains (rice, millet, millet, sorghum, wheat and glutinous rice), drinking six clear grains (water, pulp, glutinous rice, cold and glutinous rice) and eating six animals (cattle, sheep, tapirs, dogs and glutinous rice) is the quantification of the ritual system, and the royal diet system of Zhou Dynasty attaches importance to health. Taking meat eating as an example, the requirements for slaughtering animals should change with the seasons. Lambs and pigs should be killed in spring, dried pheasant fish in summer, calves and elk in autumn and fresh fish and geese in winter. From the point of view of eating fish, tuna, snapper and carp are the most precious cooking materials in the palace. "Shihengmen": "If you eat its fish, you will fall into the river. ..... carp in the river. " Zhou Li Ren Qian: "Spring presents the king's tuna." There were not many varieties of vegetables in the imperial diet of the Zhou Dynasty. According to Zhou Li Anyi, the vegetables eaten by emperors, queens and their descendants mainly include sunflowers, turnips, leeks, celery, long roots and bamboo shoots. Because of the limited variety of vegetables, they are supplied by making sauces or vinegar products at will. If the royal diet in Zhou Dynasty represents the food culture in the Yellow River valley, then the royal diet in Southern Chu, which represents the food culture in the Yangtze River valley, confronts it from a distance, showing the cultural charm of the ancient royal diet in China more than 3,000 years ago. The two articles "Evocation of Soul" and "Zhao Da" in the Songs of Chu describe a wide variety of dishes, which are quite exquisite, and are afternoon literature materials for studying the royal meals of the court of Chu. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Central Plains culture was mostly absorbed by Chu people. In the Warring States period, Chu's territory expanded eastward, and Chu started his career in Qilu many times, and the Central Plains culture penetrated into Chu more deeply. Chu imperial cuisine is eclectic, exquisite, rich and elegant, forming the flavor form of Chu imperial cuisine. After Qin and Han Dynasties, the imperial chef enriched and innovated the imperial cuisine on the basis of summarizing the cooking practice of the previous generation. According to relevant data, the number of pasta in the imperial meals of the Han Palace has obviously increased, and the typical ones are soup cakes, steamed cakes and Hu cakes. In addition, the types of bean products have also greatly changed the imperial meals in Han Palace. The appearance of condiments such as lobster sauce and bean paste has changed the situation that only salted plum was used in the past; The invention of tofu was deeply loved by Emperor Zhou and became a nutritious cooking material. The royal banquet in the Han Palace was very grand. When the emperor feasted his ministers, the imperial court had thousands of products. The purpose is to drink for 10,000 minutes. happy ever after, Royal is precious, too strong. Orchestral bells and drums, beautiful sounds, nine tricks, singing and dancing. It can be said that it is delicious, the bells and bells are dazzling, the princes are staggered, and the scale is grand. There were two main institutions in charge of imperial catering in Tang Dynasty: Guanglu Temple and Monk Food Bureau. Guanglu Temple lasted from the Northern Qi Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, and consisted of Taiguan Department (utensils), Delicious Department (ingredients), Liangyun Department (wine and drinks) and Zhang Chong Department (meat sauce seasoning). Guanglu Temple is mainly responsible for major sacrifices, court banquets, weddings, funerals and weddings, foreign affairs reception, official meals, etc., and belongs to the organization that supports the scene. The second imperial catering institution opened in the Sui and Tang Dynasties was the Diansheng Shangshi Bureau, which was responsible for the daily diet of the emperor. There are two royal servants in Shangshi Bureau, which are very important. They will choose the corresponding ingredients according to the season and adjust the menu to ensure that the emperor can enjoy delicious food and achieve the effect of health preservation. In addition, all the royal meals served must be tasted by the royal servants, and they can only be presented to the emperor after they are safe and non-toxic. It can be said that it is both an imperial dietitian and a vegetable tester. The main feature is strict selection of materials. First, strict selection of materials. Imperial cuisine has the characteristics of strict selection of materials from the beginning. There is a saying in the Zhou Dynasty that "young turtles don't eat". Wolves remove intestines, dogs remove kidneys. Raccoon goes to the right spine, rabbit goes to the top, fox goes to the head, pig goes to the brain, fish goes to B, turtle goes to ugliness (Book of Rites). The production process of "eight treasures" shows the chef's good intentions in selecting materials to a great extent. For example, when you cook "man-eating pomfret", you must not get a one-year-old pig. When you cook "Daozhen", you must take the meat from the backs of cattle, sheep and elk. According to the Zhou Li, the Zhou royal family set up an "inner stomach", whose duties included "cutting, reconciling, frying and reconciling the humiliation of the king, empress and prince". "It can be seen that at least since then, the selection criteria of cooking materials in imperial cuisine have become more and more strict, which has become a major feature of imperial cuisine. Exquisite cooking Second, the cooking is exquisite. All the emperors in China collected the best chefs in the world to satisfy their personal appetites with their unparalleled power. These court chefs have superb cooking skills. They have good operating conditions and cooking environment in the palace, and the court has strict division of labor and management of cooking procedures. For example, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Guanglu Temple are huge and sound management institutions of the imperial palace in the Qing Dynasty, which have strict restrictions and management on the form and content of dishes, the selection and processing of materials, the modeling and blending, the taste and nutrition, and the names of utensils and dishes. In this case, cooking can't be exquisite. The novelty of food is the novelty of food. From the early slave society to the long feudal era, the rulers' pursuit of taste is often higher than sensuality. In the content of material desire, food enjoyment occupies a major position, which is not only the responsibility of the chef, but also the breakthrough point for the courtiers to please the emperor. It is with this historical pace that the food in the Forbidden City is constantly innovating and surprising. Take the Qing Dynasty as an example. Before entering the customs, raw materials such as cattle, sheep, pigs, deer, roe deer, chickens and ducks were often used in the royal meals of Emperor Taizong's birthday. After entering the customs, the emperors and nobles of Wang Fu refused to eat, prompting the chefs to ponder all day, not only to make delicious food in the world, but also to make many famous dishes, such as the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, a special period in the history of China, where division and turmoil intertwined and national cultures blended. In terms of food culture, the eating habits of people of all ethnic groups meet in the Central Plains, which greatly enriched the imperial palace meals. For example, the barbecue in Xinjiang, the roast goose and raw fish in Fujian and Guangdong were all absorbed into the court by the royal chefs at that time. The eleventh volume of Southern History, Biography of Empress Chen of Emperor Xuandi, records that in the ninth year of Song Yongming, the food provided to the royal family was "Xuan Di recommended bread and duck soup, Empress Filial Piety recommended bamboo shoots, duck eggs, bacon, sauce and roasted white meat, Emperor Qi recommended meat soup and soup, and Empress Zhao recommended tea, rice books and grilled fish. Bread and roast white meat were originally northern foods, which were loved by the royal family in the Southern Dynasties and became routine items in the imperial diet. In addition, due to the northwest nomadic people living in the Central Plains, dairy products were popularized in the Central Plains, which not only changed the history that Han people were not used to eating milk, but also added many new contents to the flavor of the palace. The court food in the Tang Dynasty was not only rich, but also innovative, which was inseparable from the strong economic foundation and prosperous catering market in the Tang Dynasty. The staple food of imperial cuisine is Baihua cake, Qingfeng rice, Wang Mu rice and HongLing cake, while the dishes are Xingyang red Hu, Lingxiao Shao, braised in brown sauce, brocade turtle, hump roast and camel foot soup. In the Tang Dynasty, the court held banquets and attached great importance to "watching the seats". "Lu Zaji" records: "The imperial chef of the Tang Dynasty used nine pieces of food, with nine pieces of tooth plates sandwiched in the middle, also known as' fragrant food'. Wei Juyuan designed a "barbecue banquet" for Tang Zhongzong. The "table-watching" in the imperial cuisine is the "vegetarian steaming department", which is a song and dance scene composed of 70 flour products. The shapes of musicians and geisha are very realistic. The imperial meals in the Tang Palace are not only large in scale, but also various, and the name and luxury of the imperial meals are unprecedented. Just look at Wei Juyuan's "Barbecue", and there are as many as 58 kinds of land and water flavors, each with its own ingenuity. This not only reflects the amazing extravagance and waste of imperial meals in Tang Palace, but also shows that the cooking technology of imperial meals in this period has reached a quite high level. Imperial meals in the Song Dynasty were very different before and after. Generally speaking, the early to the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty is relatively simple, and the late Southern Song Dynasty is relatively luxurious. According to historical records, the first dish that Song Taizu invited Qian Chu, the monarch of wuyue, was "Xuantai" made of mutton. However, Renzong was hungry in the middle of the night, and what he wanted to eat was "roasted sheep" (Volume 6 of "All Talks on Tiewei Mountain"). As the Long Edition of Xu Zi Zhi Tong Jian said: "The diet is not expensive and smells bad, so the chef stops using mutton. This is the ancestral law, so it is peaceful. " It can be seen that the dishes cooked with mutton at that time played an important role in the royal diet in the early Song Dynasty. After the Southern Song Dynasty, Emperor Gaozong had a high demand for imperial meals. When he was the emperor's father, his son Xiaozong gave him a royal meal for his birthday, but he was angry with Xiaozong because the royal meal was not rich. He also often sends the chef to the restaurant outside the palace to buy back delicious food, constantly enriching the variety of royal meals and satisfying his appetite. According to Feng Chuang Xiao Jia, the people of Gaomen Sect went to Lin 'an Su Causeway to buy his favorite fish soup, Li's mixed vegetable soup, He Si's dirty cheese noodles, Sanzhu Pancreas and Hu Cake, and some candy. The royal meals in the Song court festivals are also very grand. "Miscellanies of Wenchang" records that the emperor hosted a banquet in Zheng Dan to entertain hundreds of officials, and the Qing Palace was filled with royal banquets. "Dream of Liang Lu" Volume III also contains: "Its royal banquet wine lamps are all curved, such as dishes and bowls, with handles. Pure gold in the temple, your highness pure silver. The utensils are all painted plates with gold edges. The royal chef cooked food in the banquet hall, the royal tea bed looked at the dishes, dishes, spoons, salt dishes and vinegar bottles, the prince and the minister looked at the dishes, and his royal highness looked at the dishes, ring cakes, oil cakes and jujube towers, all according to the ceremony of the first day of the country. It was not easy. " It can be seen that there was a grand royal banquet. However, there are times when emperors who eat all the delicious food in the world don't like it. "Dazhong Zen House was located in Zhao Ying Palace, Qing Yu for nine years, and then moved to the Imperial Chef" ("The Six Imperial Chefs in Jiyuan"). This is clearly to reconcile the emperor's taste, but it may not satisfy the emperor. Once, Hui Zong didn't like breakfast, so he wrote on a small white round fan: "When cooking, he didn't like eating, and the chef wasted eight precious dishes." A bachelor realized what this meant, and then he continued, "Everyone has tasted everything, except Jiang Mei." Hui Zong was overjoyed and gave him a house (see Hua Sao). It serves to show the luxury of imperial meals in Song Palace. Imperial Meal in Yuan Dynasty The Imperial Meal in Yuan Dynasty is dominated by Mongolian flavor and full of exotic atmosphere. In the past, the Mongolians who entered the Central Plains were mainly engaged in animal husbandry and liked to eat meat, among which mutton accounted for a large proportion. The food in the Forbidden City is very complicated. Apart from Mongolian food, it is compatible with the dishes of Han nationality, Nuzhen nationality, western regions, India, Arabia, Turkey and some European nationalities. During the Yanyou period of the Yuan Dynasty, Juzhen Lu, written by Hu Sihui, an imperial doctor, included 94 Hui, Mongolian and Indian dishes, which fully reflected the flavor characteristics of imperial cuisine in the Yuan Dynasty. According to the book, the royal meals in Yuan Palace are mainly mutton, and the staple food is also cooked with mutton. There are many ways for chefs to cook mutton. The most famous is the whole lamb banquet, which is said to be a royal meal designed and produced by the court of the Yuan Dynasty to celebrate happy events and entertain distinguished guests. Named after all the materials are taken from sheep. Due to different materials and cooking methods, dishes have different colors, tastes and shapes. By the Qing Dynasty, the whole lamb mat was more luxurious and exquisite, "steaming, boiling, burning, frying, exploding, burning, smoking and frying." Soup, soup, cream, sweet, salty, spicy, salt and pepper. The container is either a bowl, a plate or a dish, and there is no way to see the sheep. "(Clear Money and Diet) is comprehensive in techniques and rich in categories, which can be seen. The imperial cuisine in Yuan Palace is very tolerant of exotic flavors, such as "puffer fish soup", which is quite famous in imperial cuisine. The main ingredient of this dish is mutton. The so-called "puffer fish" is to use puffer fish-shaped noodles, fry them in oil and cook them in mutton soup. This is a famous Uyghur dish, which was introduced into the palace by Mongols and became a favorite food of the royal family, reflecting the eclectic and eclectic characteristics of the imperial cuisine in Yuan Palace. The flavor of imperial cuisine in Ming Dynasty emphasized the timing and seasonal customs of drinking, and attached importance to the southern flavor. "History of the Forbidden City in Ming Dynasty" records: "The first emperor liked to use grilled clams, fried shrimps, frog legs and dried bamboo shoots. There are also stews of sea cucumber, mullet, shark tendon, fat chicken and pig's trotters, which are called' three things' and always like to use. "Because the capital of the Ming Dynasty began in Beijing during the Yongle period, and Emperor Judy was from the south, most of his concubines came from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and the southern cuisine in this period dominated the royal cuisine. Since Hongxi, the proportion of northern flavor in imperial meals in Ming Palace has gradually increased, and mutton has become a delicious food in the palace. According to the History of the Forbidden City in Ming Dynasty, mutton is mainly used for health care, and it is mostly eaten in winter. According to "Things in the Pearl", after the middle of the Ming Dynasty, there were more varieties of imperial meals, and pasta became the main staple food. Compared with the previous generation, meat products have not only increased a lot, but also made great breakthroughs in cooking methods: "The royal meat products in China include: Phoenix Swan, Roasted Goose, White Fried Goose, Brocade Goose, Steamed Goose, Pickled Goose, Brocade Chicken, Steamed Chicken, and so on. It can be seen that the imperial chef's network of delicious food all over the country and the improvement of his own cooking skills are the premise of continuous innovation of imperial cuisine in Ming Palace. Imperial Diet in the Qing Dynasty reached its peak in the history of China. Imperial meals are not only expensive, but also pay attention to the shape of food. In terms of cooking methods, the imperial cuisine in Qing Dynasty also emphasized "ancestral system", and many dishes were stylized in raw material dosage, compatibility and cooking methods. For example, when people cook babao duck, they only use the main ingredient duck and eight kinds of auxiliary materials; However, the eight kinds of auxiliary materials used in the Babao duck cooked by the chef of Qing Palace are not allowed to be changed at will. Luxury and waste, emphasizing etiquette, although this is the common ground of imperial meals in past dynasties, the imperial meals in Qing Dynasty are particularly prominent in these two aspects. When the emperor uses the command, he must set dishes that match his identity. In order to meet the unexpected needs of the emperor, chefs often prepare dishes half a day or even a day before. The later the Qing dynasty, the more extravagant the emperor ate. According to relevant data, Nurhachi and Kangxi ate simple meals, with 40 or 50 kinds of dry food and hundreds of kinds of emperor Guangxu. Therefore, the quality and quantity of imperial meals in the late Qing Dynasty are unprecedented. The flavor structure of imperial cuisine in Qing Dynasty is mainly composed of Manchu cuisine, Shandong cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine. The chef is very particular about the plastic arts of dishes, emphasizing the harmony and unity of each other in terms of color, texture, taste and nutrition. There are many kinds of banquets in the imperial palace of the Qing Dynasty, but the thousand banquets are the largest, the largest and the most expensive.