For example, the emperor's meal is different from that of ordinary people in cloth. Although China has a feudal society of more than 1000 years, a lot of information about the harem can't be found, and now there are detailed records of the life and eating habits of the emperors in the Qing Dynasty. So how did the emperors of the Qing Dynasty eat?
The emperor of the Qing dynasty did not eat three meals a day, but two meals a day. The emperor's meals are called imperial meals. Since Emperor Kangxi, dining has been very ostentatious. We watched the TV series in which the emperor catered to various delicacies, drank a little wine, hugged the ladies and listened to songs. That's a pleasure, but don't forget, it's a TV play.
A real emperor can't have a royal dinner with these people. Do you think concubines can serve dishes or something to the emperor in TV dramas? That's a big sin to ask for beheading directly! The emperor can only eat with eunuchs, but he has no intention of sitting with them. He could only sit alone, and the eunuchs stood and waited on him. There is also a eunuch who, by contrast, licks the food for the emperor.
Because the emperor's life is the most precious, in order to prevent others from poisoning the dishes, eunuchs must taste the dishes in front of the emperor. Every dish the emperor wants to eat must be licked first, that is to say, the emperor can only eat the dishes left by the eunuch, which is quite annoying to think about. Every dish has been licked by eunuchs. Where can the emperor eat it again?
Emperors in the Qing Dynasty usually had 60 or 70 dishes, with 360 dishes for more than an hour. Of course, this is a special festival, usually around 100 dishes. Later, during the Empress Dowager Cixi in the Qing Dynasty, each meal required 120 dishes, which was quite special. Generally, emperors don't spoil like her. Although there are many dishes, the emperor can only eat three dishes per meal.