As an emperor, it is natural that he should have some privileges that ordinary people do not have. When the emperor took office, it coincided with the prosperous times, and when his civil and martial arts reached a level that other emperors could not match, Generally speaking, many emperors wanted to show off their "performance" ", starting from Taishan Fengchan .
This is the highest honor for an emperor. It began with Qin Shi Huang's eastward tour. Emperor Qin Han Wu, Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian, Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi all once enshrined Zen here.
When it came to the Qing Dynasty , I don’t know why. Kangxi and Qianlong both went to Mount Tai for a tour, but they did not hold a Zen ceremony. feast .
These old people cannot express their sufferings, and in the end they have to die in depression.
1. Women are not allowed to come
First of all, what is the Thousand Old Man Banquet? The main reason is that the emperor decided to banquet the elderly old men in the world. It is a bit difficult for people from all over the world to come to the capital, so they will banquet the specially selected old men. , the specific number of people depends on how many the emperor wants to invite.
However, it is said that there are generally more than 1,000 people, and they must be men. This is because due to the feudal ideology at that time, people generally believed that women could not serve, forming a systematic discrimination against women.
But there are actually conditions for holding the Qiansou Banquet.
In many cases, only emperors over 60 years old can do it. As we all know, the emperor is a short-lived and extremely dangerous profession. In the Ming Dynasty , there were only Hongwu and Yongle , which is Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di lived over sixty years . Therefore, the Thousand Old Banquet was basically a banquet where the emperor flaunted that he could live longer than ordinary people.
Some people say that it is just a show off, but it is not the case. Thousands of Old Banquets also have other functions.
In the Qing Dynasty, the meaning of the Thousand Old Feast became complicated, because in the Qing Dynasty, foreign races entered the Central Plains, The Aixinjueluo family wanted to obtain the orthodoxy of the Central Plains, they must maintain and flaunt the traditional filial piety in Confucianism, As early as the Kangxi Dynasty, the first sentence of " Holy Edicts and Guangxun" is "Add filial piety and brotherhood to value human relations" in the Confucian classics, and one of the important ones is "respect the elderly."
Emperor Kangxi saw it and thought, "I have to do it once." So, the most extravagant, largest and most attended super banquet in the history of the Qing Dynasty appeared. The first time it was held was in the fifty-second year of the Kangxi Dynasty, and Kangxi was over sixty. In order to enjoy the birthday with all the people, directly invited 1,000 elderly people to attend the birthday banquet in the palace of Beijing.
Moreover, Kangxi also asked a painter to draw this scene. When Kangxi was drunk, he even composed an impromptu poem, which was very enjoyable.
When the Qianlong Dynasty arrived, Emperor Qianlong saw that his grandfather had hosted two Thousand Old Banquets, and I had to do it. Everyone knows that Qianlong always loves success, and imitating his grandfather, Emperor Kangxi, was one of the things he did most, Otherwise, why would I have the nerve to call myself " Shiquan old man " in his later years?
In 1785, Qianlong completed an achievement in this year, that is, he reigned for fifty years, so he held the Thousand Old Banquet. At this grand banquet, 3,000 elderly people were invited to participate. Banquet.
Whether it is the scale, the ingredients of the banquet, or even the number of old people coming from afar, it greatly exceeds the pomp of his grandfather Kangxi. Emperor Qianlong sat on a high dragon chair, looking majestically at the people under his rule. , listening to countless old people shouting long live long live long live, long live long live, for a moment, it seemed that he was already the king of kings.
Regardless of their true thoughts or not, the guests gave Emperor Qianlong a great deal of face. Everyone's face was filled with smiles, which made Qianlong very happy.
After the banquet was over, the civil and military officials of the dynasty also immediately presented the report. Although it was mostly flattering, this Thousand Old Banquet was indeed in line with what they said: "The kindness and courtesy are unprecedented."
Emperor Qianlong He was full of pride, and he may not have received it, or deliberately ignored the follow-up investigation of this banquet. I don’t know how many old people died suddenly after returning to their hometown, one after another. It was simply a "death banquet".
As the emperor, he still wants to do it again regardless of what the common people think.
In the 60th year of Qianlong's reign, Qianlong was preparing to follow the old example of Yao and Shun and abdicate his throne to his own son Jiaqing. In this year, he would also hold a banquet of thousands of old men.
This year was also the first year of Jiaqing. On the first day of the first lunar month in 1796, Qianlong truly became the Supreme Emperor. In order to celebrate his great achievements, he decided to hold the most glorious, grandest, most gorgeous and grand meeting. There are more people... Of course, there is also more money spent.
Qianlong was already old-fashioned at this time. He was already 86 years old. He had already achieved countless goals in life, and even in his old age, he had few wishes that could satisfy him. Therefore, he only made one request, which was to raise the age limit for participation in the last conference from 60 to 70.
In other words, no 70-year-old man is qualified to attend this banquet. There were many elderly people who had just turned 60 years old who were excitedly preparing to participate. When this order was issued, they were dumbfounded.
They made a mental calculation and remembered that ten years ago, that is, the last Qiansou Banquet was for elderly people over 60 years old. This time, ten years later, elderly people over 70 years old will be invited.
I didn’t expect that I would still be the same person in the end! Although I dare not say it in front of others, these old men who are not old enough behind the scenes must be very angry and think, let the emperor return the trouble to those people!
Yes, now everyone knows that participating in the Thousand Sou Banquet is not a good thing, and it may even lead to death!
Old ladies are also glad that they are women, but they really can't get on the table, and they really don't want to get on the table. If you want others to die, don't involve yourself.
2. Thousands of Old Banquets Killing People with Dull Knives
At this most glorious Thousands of Olds Banquet, most of the guests were princes, nobles, relatives of the emperor, and important ministers of His Highness. Although there are no statistics, people generally think that it is easier to find old people who live a long life here. Who allows these people to have high living conditions and good food and clothing.
Therefore, these people were not afraid to attend the Qiansou Banquet. On the contrary, they were very happy. On that day, they put on their own silks and satins and attended the banquet calmly. Maybe they could chat with the emperor about their daily life and the stories they shared when they were young.
However, Qianlong also hosted a banquet for a group of other people. These people were the lowest class of scholars, farmers, industrialists and merchants. Moreover, Qianlong also specifically asked to find centenarians who were few in number in the country, and deliberately asked them to come and attend. , and even personally issued an invitation.
If you think about it simply, you will know what a terrifying journey this is.
This trip was really exhausting. Teacher Ji Lianhai once told people about this incident. He said that in Hainan at that time, an old man was suddenly notified by an official to attend the Qianlong Emperor's Thousand Old Banquet. The old man looked at the time. Isn’t it still early? There is still a full year left.
As a result, the official said, it will take you a year to go, and you will leave for a year just to eat this meal. After eating, we will spend another year to send you back. Please prepare more clothes, it can snow in Beijing, you Say you've never seen snow? See you this time.
The old man almost cried at that time. If you think about it, you will know that the health and medical conditions of people in that era were not as good as those in modern society. This trip basically cost me money, and I left home for a meal. In two years, there is a high probability that he will be tortured to death.
Even now, letting the elderly travel far away is a kind of wear and tear on their bodies, which is very not recommended.
But I had to obey the emperor's orders. There was still a chance of surviving when I went to Beijing. If I died on the return trip, at least I had a full meal before death.
If I say even one word of "no" now, it will be like an old man eating arsenic - if he thinks that he has lived too long, the crime of deceiving the emperor is not a joke, and being beheaded directly is a minor matter.
Therefore, the old people who set out from all over the country to the capital all went with the feeling that they would never come back. It is not difficult to understand why these old people died soon after returning to their hometowns. This is because they traveled by boat and car along the way. Tired, it is too tiring for the elderly.
Suddenly seeing the emperor when he was tired, not to mention heart disease high blood pressure and other chronic diseases , just this stimulation is not something that an elderly man of several decades can bear.
Moreover, this is not the main reason why old people Qian Souyan passed away one after another. You may not believe it, but the most dangerous things are often hidden in the most unexpected places.
3. It is a delicacy, but also a life-threatening delicacy.
On the day when the banquet started, in front of the Huangji Hall of the Forbidden City, visited a total of 800 banquet tables. Only in this way can these 5,000 elderly people from across the country sit down. The scale is very grand, and the scene is extremely prosperous. It is the ultimate that the ancient feudal dynasty could achieve.
In historical materials, the types of this banquet are clearly recorded.It is mainly divided into two types, divided into first-class tables and second-class tables. Before the old man had this meal, he also followed the strictest rules of identity, status, and For the breakdown of age and grade, it is estimated that the supervisor at that time wished he could invent a form tool. Just arranging seats was a big project and a big problem.
In short, we still have to eat, and at this time, the old people will go through the test. The document "House Affairs Office" at that time recorded what people ate this time. At this Qiansou Banquet, the most distinguished person At the first-class banquet, there were two large hot pots, as well as a plate of pork slices and mutton slices. This was the earliest Beijing hot pot .
Don't make fun of Qianlong's "country". Pork slices and mutton slices are just the basics. There are also venison slices, flying dragon breasts, roe deer spines, pheasant slices, wild boar meat, wild duck breast, squid rolls, fresh fish, thorn dragon teeth. and so on, could eat these things in that era, only the royal family could do it.
Immediately afterwards, there are delicacies from the mountains and seas that modern people cannot eat, because what follows is roasted venison with deer tail, four plates of rare meat dishes, a plate of steamed shouyi, a plate of stove-cooked shouyi, and two ebony tendons.
html Compared with the first-class table, the amount of dishes at the first-class table is slightly smaller, but the dishes are the same.
How much did it cost in total this time? According to statistics, more than 1,700 kilograms of pork and several hundred kilograms of venison were used in this Thousand Old Banquet. In this era when poor people cannot eat meat more than once in their lives, these things cost hundreds. Wanliang pattern silver .
And the tax revenue of the Qing Dynasty during this heyday was only 50 million taels of silver. In order to eat this meal, one-tenth of the national treasury was directly consumed.
This time the old people were even more supportive. In the Qing Dynasty book "The Banquet of Yisi Thousand Elders", recorded that at this banquet, an old man suddenly felt itchy. I don't know if it was made by someone in advance or made up on the spot. , directly recited a poem that goes "In pursuit of grace, I serve your majesty in the sun, and I am so surprised that I hold my hand to give him years".
By any standards, this was not a good poem, but the emperor was still coaxed into laughing like a child.
These old people did not make it clear to Qianlong how much harm this banquet had done to them. Because the banquet was full of big fish and meat, which was too raw, cold and greasy, the old people's stomachs were not very good. In order to eat this meal, there were People also starve themselves for a long time, and it is extremely difficult to digest after eating too much.
Moreover, it was the time of year when this Thousand Old Man's Banquet was held. It was very cold on the fourth day of the first lunar month.. The old man had just opened his mouth to eat in the open air, and before the food was eaten, the cold wind was poured directly into the young man. The body can't stand it after staying overnight in the tooth's mouth.
Finally, just like in modern business activities, there is always some wine that you have to drink in the wine shop. Whether it is the leader, father-in-law, or senior, you have to toast. If the other party toasts you, you still have to drink.
The person who toasted the old man this time was called Qianlong, and he was one of the most awesome people in the world. Therefore, after the meal, the old man got drunk immediately. If you still drink like this when you are seventy or eighty years old, even gods will stop you. Can't live.
Although it is not alcoholic liver disease , due to overeating and overeating, the body is overloaded, which directly leads to the death of a large number of elderly people.
4. It is a delicacy, but also a deadly delicacy.
So, isn’t there any benefit from such a “tragic” Thousand Old Man’s Banquet? In fact, it is not the case. These old men worked hard to participate in the meal given by Qianlong. It would be unreasonable to say that they had nothing.
When it was held last time, Qianlong would give the ninety-year-old man an honorary title, that is, an "honorary official." There was no real power, it was just an honor.
This time, the emphasis was placed heavily. After the toast, Emperor Qianlong was very happy and directly decreed that two centenarians named Xiong Guopei and Qiu Chenglong be given six-level crowns. Those who are over ninety years old will all serve as officials in place. are all top wearers of the seventh grade, and they will spread out countless money, jewelry and wishes.
And everyone who comes to participate in this team building activity will receive a small prize, that is, a longevity stick for each person. If this old man had been a high-ranking official in the Qing Dynasty, he would naturally sneer at the small gifts, but most of the people here are rural old men, let alone the emperor. They have never even seen the county magistrate a few times in their lives.
When they return to their hometown, the stories of these people will be spread all over the countryside. In that era, the imperial power could only reach the township level at most, and the villages were still managed by respected old people. These people could show the imperial power. exist.
The emperor had more than that in mind. He might also want to convey a message to others, that was to live honestly. As long as he stayed well and didn't make trouble, he might be able to become a Guangzong Yaozu wearing flower feathers .
However, even the wealthy Qing Dynasty could not afford this kind of Thousand-Senior Banquet. In 296 of the Qing Dynasty, Guo Zuo only held it four times, Kangxi held it twice, and his grandson Qianlong also held it twice, all of which were Kang The grand scene that appeared in Qian Shengshi , is because the Thousand Sou Banquet is really too expensive.
Moreover, it is really a waste of people and money, and the old man died innocently for no reason. I really don’t know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing.
