The Full Manchu-Han Banquet

During the Qing Dynasty there were all kinds of palace banquets. Grand banquets were held for a number of reasons: when a new emperor came into power, when the government changed its title of reign，when a war was won，for the Spring Festival，or for special birthdays.Fish，deer and pork were very important food in the Manchu’s daily lives.The method they used for cooking was usually either toasting or boiling.After their occupation of the former Han areas and in order to strengthen their control of the Han people，they made a large number of former Han officials，landlords and scholars，their officials.In order to satisfy both the Han and the Manchu，banquets during the Qing Dynasty were divided into two forms:the Han banquet and the Manchu banquet.Different cooking utensils，dinner sets，materials，and cooking methods were used in preparation of the banquets.

In the middle period of the Qing Dynasty，the folk customs and cultures of the Manchu and Han gradually became blended，which promoted the development of a Qing Dynasty palace foodculture where the two styles became mixed.During the period of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong，when society and politics were stable and the economy was flourishing，luxurious customs became popular.It is said that when Emperor Kangxi first tasted the full Manchu-Han banquet，and wrote down its four characters，the banquet became famous in the palace，and became popular among nobles and rich businessmen.The materials used to cook the food were varied，a characteristic of the food was that it looked beautiful and tasted delicious，and the only disadvantage was that the price was very high.As time went on，Mongolian，Hui and Tibetan foods were added to this banquet，so the Manchu-Han Banquet became a five-nation banquet，later known as the combined banquet.The exquisite appearance of the food had never been seen before and it became the most colorful and luxurious banquet in Chinese history.

Following the development of cooking methods，courses in the Manchu-Han banquet have undergone considerable changes，its contents have become richer，its appearance has further improved，and today there are more than 200 kinds of courses，including varied materials from the mountains and sea.Indeed，this banquet has become a symbol of traditional Chinese culture.

Due to the fact that its courses are very rich，it is impossible to eat all the courses at the samesitting，therefore such a banquet is usually eaten over several sittings.It can be eaten for lunch，dinner and supper and some people eat it over a two-day period，others over a three-day period.

In order to fully appreciate such a splendid banquet，some Japanese guests relax and enjoy the food over six meals.

hancheng

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