皇帝进膳制度

37　皇帝进膳制度　Dining Arrangements for an Emperor

In ancient China，imperial cooks who served kings or emperors had official rank and received the same salary as other officials in similar positions.During the Qin and Han dynasties，a person who led the imperial cooks was called taiguan ling(太官令)，which literally means“senior official.”Tai guan remained the name of a house where imperial meals were cooked and prepared until the Northern Qi State(北齐，550-577 AD)，when taiguan was replaced by guang lu si(光禄寺)，until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

In accordance with Rites of the Zhou Dynasty(《周礼》)，musicians would play music while the king ate his meal.In later dynasties，although musicians seldom played music during the king or emperor's daily meals，some other rules were added to further demonstrate the king or emperor's dignity.For example，no one was allowed to dine with the emperor without his explicit permission.In ancient China the king or emperor was the supreme ruler in the country.If he invited someone to dinner，it was usually considered as a significant favor bestowed upon participants.Qingke chifan(invite someone to dinner，请客吃饭)is a common expression in modern Chinese，but cifan(grant someone a meal，赐饭)or shangchi(award someone with food，赏吃)more accurately displays the status between the emperor and his subjects in ancient China.

In the Qing Dynasty，befor epreparing the emperor's meal，the cooking staff had to submit a list of food，soup，and dishes to be approved by the minister of the internal affairs.The imperial kitchen prepared the emperor's meals;the imperial tea house supplied varied tea，and made milk tea with tea，cream，and salt;the imperial bakery produced pastries and cakes.

At the start of a meal，the emperor might have his bodyguard give notice to the imperial cooking house.An official who was in charge of the imperial cuisine immediately arranged for the eunuchs to lay on a table a number of big and small covered bowls filled with a variety of foods and soup.The emperor would not start to eat even after everything was ready.Instead he would watch small silver sticks that were inserted in the food.The change of the metal colour might indicate that the food was poisoned.After the silver metal test，a eunuch had to“taste”to further guarantee that the food was not poisoned.This process was called“food tasting(尝膳).”

In the Qing Dynasty，the emperor usually had two meals a day.His first meal started at six o'clock and ended at eight in the morning;his second meal was between two and four o'clock in the afternoon.Each meal usually contained 15 to 25 kinds of food in a number of big and small exquisite bowls and other utensils.The Dowager Empress Cixi(慈禧太后) preferred rich food.Each time her cooks provided her with over 100 varied foods，including 10 pork dishes and other dishes made of chicken，duck，or mutton.Before hermeal，Empress Dowager Cixiusually preferred eating fruit and drinking tea.In order to please the empress，cooks racked their brains，shaping some of dishes into beautiful patterns like a phoenix，butterfly，flowers，or even Chinese characters like fu(福，happiness)or shou(寿，Longevity).Emperor Kangxi(康熙)was different，preferring simple over elaborate meals.He had no special requirements for food.

When the emperor's meal was over，he usually offered his leftover dishes or food to his subjects，including concubines，children，or ministers.In ancient society being offered the emperor's leftover food was considered to be a great honour.

Notes: 1)similar 相似的 2)musician 音乐家 3)demonstrate 证明 4)significant 重要的 5)bestow upon 把……赠与 6)status 地位 7)bakery 面包房 8)eunuch 太监 9)phoenix 凤凰 10)butterfly 蝴蝶 11)requirement 要求