The royal family of Qing Dynasty originated from Manchus in Northeast China, so it followed the eating habits of Manchus in Northeast China, and only ate two meals a day, called breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is usually from 6: 00 to 8: 30 in the morning, and dinner is in the afternoon 12:00-2:00, one hour earlier in summer and autumn. After two main meals, add a snack each. Time is not fixed. The emperor wants something to eat temporarily and can pass it on at any time.

2, the emperor dining terms

The emperor has his own special terms about eating. Guanfan is called "rice", eating is called "rice" or "rice", opening is called "passing rice", and the kitchen is called "imperial dining room".

When it was time to eat-there was no fixed time, it was entirely up to the emperor-I ordered "Pass the rice!" "The little eunuch in front of him said the same thing to the eunuch in the hall of Ming Cheng." Pass the rice! " In this way, the order to "pass the rice" went all the way down to the chef. Dozens of eunuchs' food brigade went straight to hall of mental cultivation.

3. The Imperial Chef Team

According to the regulations of the Qing Palace, the Imperial Tea Restaurant under the Ministry of Internal Affairs is responsible for the daily meals of the emperor, with 370 official chefs. There are more than 20 people in the Imperial Tea Room and Green Tea Room 120, and there are 50 or 60 eunuchs in the two places. The Imperial Tea Room consists of a meat bureau, a vegetarian bureau, a stove hanging bureau, a dim sum bureau and a dinner party.

All kinds of banquets are jointly hosted by the ritual department of Guanglu Temple, the clerical department of the ritual department and the Imperial Tea Room. The Imperial Tea Restaurant includes a restaurant, a tea room and a green tea room, in which the restaurant is equipped with three directors, two funerals, fifteen funerals, three waiters and twenty waiters. There are more than 120 people in the imperial tea room and green tea room, in addition to 150 and 60 eunuchs.

The emperor's daily meals were first listed by the officials of the Imperial Tea Restaurant, and then examined and filed by the competent minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs before cooking.

The emperor eats for ostentation and extravagance.

The so-called "play" is not the genealogy of the northeast people, but the menu. The standard imperial meals in Qing dynasty, each meal 120 dishes, should set three tables. In addition, there are staple foods, snacks, fruits and so on.

Later, some emperors thought it was too wasteful, and the number of recipes decreased from 120 to 64; During the Xianfeng period when Empress Dowager Cixi's husband was emperor, it was reduced to 32. After Yi Kun's death, the number of the Empress Dowager Ci 'an who listened to politics decreased to 24.

5, the emperor's royal tableware

The emperor's tableware is also exquisite, mainly gold and silver, and even ceramic products are of high quality. Among them, golden bowls, dishes, plates and other utensils can best reflect the royal style, so the royal family likes the "golden rice bowl". If you use other utensils to hold rice, it will make the host angry.

Reference materials? China Net-Revealing the Diet Process of the Ming and Qing Emperors; The standard for each meal is 120 dishes.