How do emperors eat? Every dynasty has its own way of eating. The richness and collocation of meals also vary according to the emperor's tastes and preferences. At present, what we know more is the royal eating method in Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Not all emperors have three meals a day, and some have more or less. For example, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty usually only ate two meals a day, namely breakfast and dinner.
The emperor claimed to be alone, and in order to show his supreme status, he ate alone at a special table, which was called "eating alone" by the people. Although the emperor likes to eat alone, he will not be alone when eating, and there will be eunuchs to wait on him-eunuchs to serve food. Because there are too many dishes, the tables are full, and the dishes in the distance can't be reached when eating. But don't worry, when the emperor eats, he doesn't have to get the food himself. The eunuch sent food to his mouth.
When the emperor dines, besides eunuchs, there will be courtiers and princes standing by. The emperor doesn't want to eat, or he is happy for a while, and more often he can't finish eating, so he will enjoy the meal. The rewarded person can only stand at another table and eat. Because it was rewarded by the emperor, even if you don't want to eat, you have to eat, and you have to say "delicious".
Early emperors used bands to entertain them at dinner. Later emperors only used bands on birthdays or celebration dinners. However, putting on airs while eating was carried forward until the late Qing Dynasty.
Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, talked about this point in his autobiography My First Half Life.
There is also a set of technical terms about the emperor eating, and it is absolutely forbidden for others to make mistakes. Rice is called "rice" instead of "rice", rice is called "rice", rice is called "rice" and the kitchen is called "chef".
It's time to eat-there is no fixed time, it's entirely up to the emperor. I said, "Pass the food!" The little eunuch in front said, "Pass the rice!" When we arrived at the eunuch's palace, it was in hall of mental cultivation in the Ming Dynasty Palace. The eunuch passed this on to the eunuch standing outside Yangxin Gate, and he passed it on to the eunuch waiting in the Imperial Kitchen in West Long Street, and passed it on to the Imperial Kitchen. (T. Chang Jun has seen that the original "passing rice" is really passed one after another)
Before the echo disappeared, a team like a dowry had walked out of the royal kitchen. This is a team of dozens of well-dressed eunuchs, carrying seven dining tables and holding dozens of red paint boxes with golden dragons on them, heading straight for hall of mental cultivation.
When he entered the Ming Temple, he was taken over by the little eunuch with white sleeves and stood in Dongnuange. There are two tables of dishes on weekdays and a hot pot in winter. Besides, there are three tables of snacks, rice, porridge and a small table of pickles.
The so-called "play" is not the genealogy of the northeast people, but the menu. The standard imperial meal in Qing Dynasty, with three tables for each meal 120 dishes. In addition, there are staple foods, snacks, fruits and so on. Later, some emperors thought it was too wasteful and reduced the menu from 120 to 64. The husband of Empress Dowager Cixi? During the Xianfeng period, it fell to 32; Hey? After his death, the number of people who listened to politics by Empress Ci 'an decreased to 24. After the death of Empress Ci 'an, Empress Dowager Cixi, who had all the power, put on a show again and restored the old rule that every meal should cost at least 200 taels of silver.
Another layer means that the emperor puts on airs when eating, that is, what is the name of each dish and who cooked it, and it must be clearly marked on the side of the plate. One is to ensure the quality of food and show cooking skills; Second, in case of food quality problems, such as toxicity, it is also convenient to investigate. Now more advanced hotels will do the same. I wonder if they learned it from the royal family.