Emperors in Qing dynasty usually ate by themselves, and only ate with concubines on holidays. Is that what the ancients called it? Family dinner? . Like what? Spring Festival? The emperor is very particular about the Spring Festival, and there is more than one Spring Festival, which is very different from the Spring Festival of ordinary people. Ancient emperors were busy with state affairs, so was the Spring Festival. At noon on New Year's Eve, the emperor usually holds a banquet in Baohe Hall first, and the ministers of Yierpin are accompanying him. This means that the foreign minister pays a New Year's greeting to the Emperor. Besides eating and drinking, there are of course various kinds of music and dances for entertainment.
After the banquet in Baohe Hall, at about four or five o'clock, the emperor will hold a family dinner with his concubine in Gan Qing Palace. This kind of family banquet has very strict etiquette procedures, such as how many dishes to serve, what furniture to use and the order of seats.
According to the records of the second year of Qianlong, at the grand banquet table of Emperor Qianlong, 40 items of cold, hot and group meals were set first, then 20 items of wine and tea, and finally 108 items of side dishes, soup and candied fruit. It can be said that it is very rich, but it is not so rich at other tables. The banquet for the queen is 64 tables, and the banquet for the concubines is 32 tables.
In addition to these cuisines, they are also very particular about their layout. For example, the emperor's banquet table has eight routes from the outside to the inside, with all kinds of snacks, cakes and fruits, as well as steamed stuffed buns, rice noodles and all kinds of cold and hot meals.
Therefore, in the royal New Year's Eve dinner, it is not about eating and drinking, but more about etiquette.