How did "Man Han Feast" appear, and how extravagant it is?

In my country’s traditional cross talk, there is a well-known program called "Reporting the Name of Food". With the tongue and lotus of the cross talk actors, the common people can use their ears to "see" the legendary "Man Han Feast". According to a popular saying among the people, the prototype of the Manchu and Han banquets was the "Thousand Sovereign Banquet" organized by Emperor Qianlong in order to demonstrate his national power. Later, the scale was expanded to a full 108 dishes, which absorbed the essence of Manchu and Han cuisines. He was named the Manchu Feast.

In the era when it was difficult for the people to eat meat, many people were already enjoying the luxury food in the Qing palace. With the widespread spread of this statement, over time, people subconsciously regarded the Manchu and Han banquet as the pinnacle of our ancient feast. So, how did the Manchu Feast, the highest standard in the Qing court, come from? What kind of banquet is it, and how luxurious is it?

Some people believe that the Manchu-Han Quan Feast does not actually exist. It is just a section of Guankou made up by the famous cross talk artist "Millionaire" Li Desheng in the early 1920s. However, as early as the end of the nineteenth century, novels and notes included the name of the Manchu and Han Quanxi, and even Wu Yong, who was responsible for solving the meal problem for the Empress Dowager Cixi and others who fled west when the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China, directly wrote in "Gengzi Xishou Conversation" It records the specifications of the queen dowager, the emperor's full banquet, and each king's pot. It can be seen that there was indeed a Manchu Feast at that time, and it was indeed the daily meal of the Empress Dowager Cixi.

So, is it correct to say that the Qianlong emperor held a banquet of thousands of old men to give birth to the full feast of the Han Dynasty? In fact, the Qianshou Banquet was first organized by Emperor Kangxi to celebrate his 60th birthday in the 52nd year of Kangxi (1713). Later, Emperor Qianlong, who was also very long-lived, followed the example of his grandfather and also held Qianshou Banquet. As for the dietary specifications at the Thousand Seniors Banquet, the popular sayings are: 2nd class of fragrant tea, 4th class of dried fruit, 4th class of preserved fruit, 4th class of glutinous rice, 4th class of pickles, 7th class of appetizer, 1st class of soup, 5th class of imperial dishes, The second product of pastry, the fifth product of imperial pastry, the second product of pastry, the fifth product of imperial pastry, the second product of pastry, the second product of barbecue, the game hot pot (twelve dishes), the first product of congee, and the first product of fruit.

Because the name is too complicated, I won't repeat it here, but judging from the quantity of dishes, the rareness of the ingredients, and the complexity of the cooking skills, the Qianshou Banquet is already a top feast. Let us cite a few examples, such as "Tianxiang Abalone", "Three Loofah Rolled Shrimp Seed and Winter Bamboo Shoots", "Can Braised Fish Lips", etc., all of which reveal a high-end and exquisite atmosphere. However, compared with the 108 dishes in the legendary Manchu and Han banquet, the number of dishes in this thousand old feast is indeed less.

During the Qianlong period, the opera writer Li Dou compiled a collection of notes called "Yangzhou Huafanglu", which is the earliest known record of the name of the full seat of the Manchu and Han Dynasty. However, according to Li Dou, the Manchu and Han banquets did not spread to the people from the imperial palace, but first appeared in the south of the Yangtze River. According to Li Dou's record, the Man-Han Banquet uses a large number of precious ingredients such as bird's nest, sea cucumber, abalone, shark fin, etc., as well as a "shark skin chicken soup".

Nowadays, we know that game meat has not undergone formal quarantine, it is likely to carry germs, and the taste will not be better than beef, sheep and pork, but will be more sour, but at the time, game meat was a lot of People are regarded as a symbol of identity and wealth. Therefore, the so-called "mountain and sea delicacies" such as bear paws, orangutan lips, hump, civet cat, and deer tail are also on the food list of the Manchu Feast. Compared with the Qianshou Banquet, the folk "Man Han Xi" seems to be simpler in production. This may be because there are many imperial chefs in the palace serving one person, and the folk business atmosphere is stronger, so it is not so detailed. .

The author believes that it is more credible that the Manchu and Han banquet originated from Jiangnan officialdom, because Manchu and Han officials were mixed at the time. When banqueting a large number of officials, it is indeed possible to take care of the difference between Manchu and Han cuisine. Eating habits and preferences. Perhaps it was the officials who had eaten the full Han banquet that brought this idea into the Forbidden City, and the royal chefs combined it with the Qianshou banquet, which is a representative of traditional court dishes, and this resulted in the palace version of the banquet that was widely circulated.

As for the Man-Han full-feast food list claimed in the cross talk "Reporting the name of a dish" fragment, I think it is far from the truth. Although there are many Chinese dishes, they are mixed with many folk food, such as steamed pumpkin, fried loofah, and braised gluten. They are not like things that will appear on the Empress Dowager Cixi’s dinner table. Therefore, heartthrobs with low levels of education may have compiled this down-to-earth version by adding their own thoughts on the basis of life experience. After all, if you tell the audience a series of dishes such as "Songhe Yannian" and "Erlong Xizhu", most of the same uneducated audience will be at a loss.

Generally speaking, there are still thousands of legends about the Manchu and Han Chinese Feast, and which version is the historical truth without any omissions is hard to know now. However, what we can know is that even if the real Manchu Feast is not as rich and luxurious as the legend, it must be a top delicacy with exquisite craftsmanship and precious raw materials. Of course, if the delicacies of the past are put to this day, people who have adapted to the modern diet may not find it so delicious.