Manchu–Han Imperial Feast
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The term Manchu–Han Imperial Feast ( zh, t=滿漢全席, p=Mǎnhàn quánxí, c=, s=满汉全席, and also Comprehensive Manchu–Han Banquet) refers to a style of cooking and a type of grand banquet that combines elements of
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
and Han's Chinese cuisine developed in the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(1636–1912). The origins are disputed, but by the nineteenth century, the style became popular and was emulated in twentieth and twenty-first-century restaurants.


History


Qing dynasty

When the Qing dynasty took control of China in the seventeenth century, they replaced the Ming dynasty chefs in the palace, who were mostly from
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
, with their own
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
cooks. Manchu food was the main food served in the palace until the
Qianlong The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
emperor invited notable chefs from the south to join the palace kitchen. The new style of cooking included Shandong, southern, and Manchu elements, and resulted in what was called a "Manchu-Han banquet" (''Man Han quanxi''). This style of the banquet was not featured at palace banquets, but soon became fashionable and by the nineteenth had spread to cities such as
Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...
and
Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...
. Another legend is that the
Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
wanted to resolve disputes between Manchu and Han peoples, so he held a banquet during his 66th birthday celebration (with 66 being a special number in Chinese culture, see
Chinese numerology Some numbers are believed by some to be auspicious or lucky (吉利, ) or inauspicious or unlucky (不吉, ) based on the Chinese language, Chinese word that the number sounds similar to. The numbers 3, 6, and 8 (number), 8 are generally consider ...
). The banquet consisted of Manchu and Han dishes, with officials from both ethnic groups attending the banquet together. There is also another theory that this kind of feast never existed in the history, but was a ''
xiangsheng Xiangsheng (), also known as crosstalk or comic dialogue, is a traditional performing art in Chinese comedy, and one of the most popular elements in Chinese culture. It is typically performed as a dialogue between two performers, or rarely as a ...
'' sketch comedy instead, which included a long list of various dishes.


Preparation

The meal comprised six banquets over three days with over 300 dishes. Altogether there are said to have been 196 main dishes and 124 snack dishes, for a total of 320 dishes sampled over three days. Depending on how the dishes are counted with the samples, at the absolute minimum there were 108 dishes. The feast was divided into inner-palace and outer-palace banquets; only the imperial family and meritorious officials, including Han officials above the second rank, were invited into the inner-palace banquets. A book from the reign of the
Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
(1735–1796) gives a detailed description of the feast and the dishes and ingredients.


The meal

It is said that there were "Thirty-Two Delicacies," referring to exotic ingredients used for the banquet. The "Eight Mountain Delicacies" includes such dishes as camel's hump, bear's paws, monkey's brains, ape's lips, leopard fetuses, rhinoceros tails, and deer tendons. The "Eight Land Delicacies" includes several precious fowls and mushrooms, and the "Eight Sea Delicacies" includes dried sea cucumbers, shark's fin,
bird's nest soup Edible bird's nests are bird nests created by edible-nest swiftlets, Indian swiftlets, and other swiftlets using solidified saliva, which are harvested for human consumption. They are particularly prized in Chinese culture due to their rarity ...
and others. Some of the dishes: * Snowy Palm:
bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
claw with
sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...
* Golden Eyes and Burning Brain:
bean curd A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes thr ...
simmered in
chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
,
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...
and
cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...
brains * Monkey King and Shark: goat brain * Monkey brain *
Egg tart The egg tart (; ) is a kind of custard tart found in Chinese cuisine derived from the English custard tart and Portuguese pastel de nata. The dish consists of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard. Egg tarts are often served at dim s ...
* Wensi Tofu * Dezhou braised chicken *
Peking duck Peking duck is a dish from Beijing (Peking) that has been prepared since the Imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the d ...
*
Shark fin soup Shark fin soup is a traditional soup or stewed dish served in parts of China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The shark fins provide texture, while the taste comes from the other soup ingredients. It is commonly served at special occasions such as ...
*
Edible bird's nest Edible bird's nests are bird nests created by edible-nest swiftlets, Indian swiftlets, and other swiftlets using solidified saliva, which are harvested for human consumption. They are particularly prized in Chinese culture due to their rarity ...
* Dried Sea Cucumbers *
Ye wei ''Yewei'' ( zh, s=野味, p=yě wèi, l=wild taste) is a Southern Chinese term that describes various types of game meat, including bushmeat from exotic wild animals. Terminology The character 野 () means "wild", and is shortened from 野兽 ( ...


Utensils

The utensils, like the food, were lavish; the majority of utensils were finely crafted bronzeware and porcelainware in the shape of many animals which was designed with mechanisms for keeping the dishes warm throughout the meal. In general the Manchu dishes were first sampled, followed by the Han dishes.


In popular culture

The imperial meal was re-enacted in the movie ''
The Chinese Feast ''The Chinese Feast'' ( Chinese: 金玉滿堂) is a 1995 Hong Kong film co-written, produced and directed by Tsui Hark, and starring Leslie Cheung, Anita Yuen, Kenny Bee, and Law Kar-ying. Synopsis Kit was a master chef who once raked in many ac ...
'', which featured a banquet of 108 dishes served in six meals over the course of three days. The dishes themselves involved exotic ingredients and a variety of cooking techniques from every part of
Imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...
. The television drama '' Happy Ever After'' and ''
Gilded Chopsticks ''Gilded Chopsticks'' (; literally "Eat to be Enslaved") is a 2014 Hong Kong historical fiction television serial produced by TVB. Set during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, the serial follows the adventures of ...
'', in the anime ''
Cooking Master Boy Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in variou ...
'' and the television series ''
My Fair Princess ''My Fair Princess'', also known as ''Return of the Pearl Princess'' or ''Princess Returning Pearl'' (), is a 1998–1999 Taiwanese television costume drama jointly produced by Yi Ren Communications Co. (怡人傳播公司) in Taiwan and Hunan B ...
'', as well as in chapters 106 and 142 of the
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
''
Medaka Box The Japanese rice fish (''Oryzias latipes''), also known as the medaka, is a member of genus ''Oryzias'' (ricefish), the only genus in the subfamily Oryziinae. This small (up to about ) native of East Asia is a denizen of rice paddies, marshes, ...
''. In modern times, the Chinese term "Manhan Quanxi" can be used as an idiomatic expression to represent any feast of significant proportions. As an example, various media outlets may refer to a dinner gala as "Manhan Quanxi", while in China there are also numerous cooking competitions which make use of the aforementioned name, while not specifically referring to the original meaning of the imperial feast. The name is also used extensively in product names in the food industry, such usage evident as brands of sauces and instant noodles by various companies. An abridged version of the Cantonese version of the imperial meal was depicted in ''
Mister Ajikko is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Daisuke Terasawa about a young boy cook. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1986 to 1989, with its chapters collected in ninete ...
'', where the dessert: Almond Tofu dessert is used as a contest against the expert in the dish: A corrupt monk in the Cuisine Temple.Episode 57 of Mr. Ajikko (Japanese with Chinese subtitles)
/ref> An inspiration of the imperial meal was re-enacted in ''
Kung Fu Panda Holiday ''Kung Fu Panda Holiday'' is a 2010 American computer-animated Christmas comedy-drama television special produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Tim Johnson. A spinoff of the ''Kung Fu Panda'' franchise, the special stars the voices of ...
''. A fictional Japanese version of the imperial meal was depicted in '' The Last Recipe''. In the anime ''Kore wa Zombi Desu ka?'' (English:
Is This a Zombie? , also known as for short, is a Japanese light novel series by Shinichi Kimura, with illustrations by Kobuichi and Muririn. Since January 2009, 19 volumes have been published by Fujimi Shobo under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint. There ...
) the mute character Eucliwood Hellscythe, who communicates by writing messages, demands that the main character make her dinner; then follows up this demand by demanding a "Manchu Imperial Feast."


Replicas

There have been attempts since 1720 to replicate the original ''Manhan Quanxi'' and in the late 1980s, a certain replica meal was estimated to cost over one million
Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...
.Chang, Jianhua 常建華, “Sheng Qing Yangzhou de chengshi shenghuo: yi Yangzhou huafang lu wei zhongxin 盛清揚州的城市生活:以揚州畫舫錄為中心”, in ''Sheng Qing shehui yu Yangzhou yanjiu 盛清社會與揚州研究'' Feng Mingzhu 馮明珠(ed.), 227–258, Taipei: Yuanliu chubanshe, 2011. Many of the animals used in the meal are
endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...
today.


See also

*
List of dining events This is a list of historic and contemporary dining events, which includes banquets, feasts, dinners and dinner parties. Such gatherings involving dining sometimes consist of elaborate affairs with full course dinners and various beverages, while ...


Further reading

* *


External links


Man-Han Banquet
''China Story'' (2019).


Reference

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manchu-Han Imperial Feast Chinese imperial cuisine Qing dynasty culture Dining events