Manchu Han Imperial Feast
Encyclopedia
Manhan Quanxi, literally Manchu Han Imperial Feast was one of the grandest meals ever documented in Chinese cuisine. It consisted of at least 108 unique dishes from the Manchu
and Han Chinese
culture during the Qing Dynasty
, and it is only reserved and intended for the emperors. The meal was held for three whole days, across six banquets. The culinary skills consisted of cooking methods from all over Imperial China
.
, common people learned about this royal cuisine. The original meal was served in the Forbidden city
in Beijing
.
, shark's fin, bird's nest
and others.
Some of the individual names of the dishes within:
and the TV drama Happy Ever After.
In modern times, the Sintic 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.
today, and if offered it is by a large margin one of the most expensive meals in the entire Chinese cuisine collection. Even when served, it is done with replacement ingredients, as many of the animals are essentially endangered species
. Waiters serving the replicas are required to wear some form of traditional Chinese clothing.
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
and Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
culture during the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
, and it is only reserved and intended for the emperors. The meal was held for three whole days, across six banquets. The culinary skills consisted of cooking methods from all over Imperial China
Late Imperial China
Late Imperial China refers to the period between the end of Mongol rule in 1368 and the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912 and includes the Ming and Qing Dynasties...
.
Names
Quite a number of English names have been used to describe the dish combinations.- Manchu Han Imperial Feast
- Qing Han Imperial Feast
- Manchu Han Feast
- Feast of Complete Manchu-Han Courses
- Man Han Quan Xi
Qing Dynasty
When the Manchus conquered China and founded the Qing dynasty, Manchu and Han struggled for power. Kangxi emperor wanted to resolve the disputes, and held a banquet in his 66th birthday. The banquet/imperial meal consisted of Manchu and Han dishes, both groups also attended the banquet together. After the Wuchang UprisingWuchang Uprising
The Wuchang Uprising began with the dissatisfaction of the handling of a railway crisis. The crisis then escalated to an uprising where the revolutionaries went up against Qing government officials. The uprising was then assisted by the New Army in a coup against their own authorities in the city...
, common people learned about this royal cuisine. The original meal was served in the Forbidden city
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
Preparation
The meal was prepared comprising 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 emperor, after previewing the dishes, gave the feast its present name. 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 Qianlong 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 the more 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 cucumbersHoi sam
Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea used in fresh or dried form in various cuisines.The creature and the food product is commonly known as bêche-de-mer in French, trepang in Indonesian, namako in Japanese and in the Philippines it is called balatan...
, shark's fin, bird's nest
Bird's nest
Bird's nest may refer to:*Bird nest*Bird's nest soup, delicacy made from the salivary excretions of the swiftlet*Seafood birdsnest, southern Chinese dish made of taroPlants and fungi*Bird's nest plant, carrot...
and others.
Some of the individual names of the dishes within:
- Snowy Palm - bearBearBears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
claw with sturgeonSturgeonSturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common... - Golden Eyes and Burning Brain - bean curd simmered in chickenChickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
, duckDuckDuck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
and cuckooCuckooThe cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos . Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute...
brains - Monkey King and Shark - goat brain
- Live monkey brain
- Egg tartEgg tartThe egg tart or egg custard tart is a kind of custard tart pastry commonly found in Hong Kong and other Asian countries, which consists of an outer pastry crust that is filled with egg custard and baked...
Utensils
The utensils, like the food, were also lavish; the majority of utensils were finely crafted bronzeware, and porcelainware in the shape of many animals were designed with mechanisms for keeping the dishes warm throughout the meal. In general the Manchu dishes were first sampled, followed by the Han dishes.Popular culture
The imperial meal was re-enacted in the movie The Chinese FeastThe Chinese Feast
The Chinese Feast 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:...
and the TV drama Happy Ever After.
In modern times, the Sintic 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.
Replicas
The cuisine is extremely rare in ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
today, and if offered it is by a large margin one of the most expensive meals in the entire Chinese cuisine collection. Even when served, it is done with replacement ingredients, as many of the animals are essentially endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
. Waiters serving the replicas are required to wear some form of traditional Chinese clothing.