Secrets of Yuqing Palace

Soon, a young eunuch brought a basin of hot water into the hall.

After Xia He helped Wanyu soak her feet, Wanyu felt much warmer.

She quickly lay down in the warm bed and fell asleep unknowingly.

I felt a warm stove approaching me in a daze.

She rolled over without hesitation, hugged the stove tightly, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

When Xia He woke her up in the morning, she thought of the big stove last night and asked, "Did the prince come back last night?"

"Yes, when the prince came back, the master had already fallen asleep. The prince did not allow the servants to disturb the master's sleep."

Wanyu asked, "Where is the prince now?"

"My Lord, the Crown Prince got up early and has already gone to the Qianqing Palace."

Wanyu nodded.

When she thought about seeing her father and mother today, her face was full of joy.

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, which is New Year's Day.

The emperor will hold the "opening of the pen" and "opening of the seal" ceremony on this day.

It symbolizes the official start of the emperor's work for the new year and prays for blessings in the new year.

Only after completing this ceremony does it mean that from today on, the emperor can begin to review other memorials and memorials.

After this ceremony, the emperor would lead the royal family members and first-rank ministers who had been waiting outside the palace to the auditorium east of Yuhe Bridge outside the left gate of Chang'an to hold a ceremony to worship the heaven.

This auditorium is called "Tangzi."

There was a reason why the emperor did not go to the Temple of Heaven to offer sacrifices on this day but chose this hall.

Volume 12 of "Records of the Holy Martial Arts" by Wei Yuan of the Qing Dynasty records: "Tangzi has been an old Manchu custom, a public place for offering sacrifices to heaven, gods and Buddhas. The emperor would worship heaven in Tangzi, and he would do the same when he went on an expedition."

This is because this special hall was built according to the Manchu Shamanism ceremony hall.

Emperors of the Qing Dynasty came here to offer sacrifices to heaven to express their gratitude for their roots.

The main process of this ceremony is that the shaman offers wine, holds the sacred knife to pray, chants sacred songs, and performs kneeling ceremony.

Therefore, Han ministers are not required to participate in this ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven.

After completing the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, the emperor and the princes would go to the Kunning Palace to offer sacrifices to the gods.

Pray to the gods to bless the country with prosperity in the new year.

They worship many gods, including Shamans, Sakyamuni Buddha of Buddhism, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Guandijun, and many gods of other religions.

After the sacrifice, the emperor would go to the ancestral temple to worship the ancestral gods.

After everything was done, the sky was already getting light.

The emperor then went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to accept the worship of all officials, and the celebration in the palace officially entered the next stage.

That is the "New Year's Day Celebration".

It was a custom in the Qing court to hold a court ceremony in the early morning of New Year's Day every year.

Moreover, princes and envoys from various vassal states would come together with ministers and wives of the dynasty to pay New Year's greetings to the emperor.

However, the Empress Dowager was still alive at that time, and in order to show his filial piety to the people of the world, the Emperor naturally put the Empress Dowager first.

The Ningshou Palace needs to be equipped with the Empress Dowager's ceremonial guards, musical instruments, etc., and the Empress Dowager will take the throne.

After the sacrifices to gods and ancestors are completed, the emperor will lead all the princes, the internal ministers, the generals, the guards, etc. to perform the three-kneeling and nine-kowtow ceremony, and the crown princess, princesses, wives and other ladies of honor will follow.

Next, the grand court ceremony was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

All officials below the rank of prince, princes from foreign vassal states, envoys, etc. had to attend. Among them, kings, beile, and beizi gathered at Taihemen, while the rest of the officials gathered at Wumen.

When most of the people have gathered, the officials of the Ministry of Rites will place the congratulatory letters from the officials in the Dragon Pavilion.

Then it was carried by the captain to the outside of the Meridian Gate and displayed on both sides, and the memorial was brought into the Hall of Supreme Harmony and placed on the table.

Then, the Minister of the Honglu Temple led all the princes and beile to stand at the Danbi. The envoys from Korea, Mongolia and other countries entered from the Xiye Gate and stood at the end of the western team.

When the official from the Imperial Observatory reported that the auspicious time had arrived, the emperor returned from the Zhonghe Hall to the Taihe Hall. The bells and drums at the Wumen Gate were rung, and music was played at the Zhonghe Hall.

When they arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the emperor took the throne. The eunuchs stood in front and behind, blew whips, and lined up in order. The princes and officials all took their seats.

After the Grand Secretary finished reading the congratulatory message, all civil and military officials performed the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows. Foreign envoys such as Korea also performed the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows when they came to pay their respects.

After accepting congratulations from his ministers, the emperor would go to the Qianqing Palace to receive gifts from his family.

After the crown prince finished his ceremony, all civil and military officials had to perform the ritual of two kneelings and six kowtows to him.

In particular, Crown Prince Yinreng was extremely favored and valued by the emperor.

Kangxi's treatment of Crown Prince Yinreng was always no less than that of the emperor himself.

Even in some aspects, even if it means injustice to himself, he would never injustice to his own Prince Ma Bao.

After the ceremony, the emperor ordered people to give seats and tea to the ministers. After the ministers had symbolically drunk the tea, the whip would be blown again, the middle and harmonious music would be played, and the emperor would return to the palace with the prince and the princes.

Next was the banquet arranged in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

This is also the most solemn moment of the day and has very important political significance.

The emperor would hold a banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony to entertain his ministers, which was also called the "Hall of Supreme Harmony Banquet."

All civil and military officials in the court shared the banquet with the emperor, and each person's seat was arranged in order according to the size of their official rank.

Every year, nearly a thousand people participate in this banquet, and more than a hundred sheep are consumed, which shows how large the scale of the banquet is.

The ministers and envoys would sit in different seats according to their status, and the tableware and types of food they used were obviously different.

The feudal dynasty's system of hierarchy is vividly displayed.

Although the banquet was grand and solemn, the atmosphere was relatively cheerful after it began.

In order to show his respect for his ministers and envoys, the emperor would arrange music, tea, wine, dance, acrobatics, and other programs to entertain everyone, which was a grand event.

When the Qing court first established its capital in Beijing, the New Year's Day banquet followed Manchu customs and was mostly based on game.

Most of them are meat dishes, which not only has a complicated production process, but also because of the cold weather, the oil and meat will solidify quickly, making it difficult to swallow.

In addition, officials either did not like the taste or were waiting to go back to have dinner with their families, so there was often a lot of leftovers.

On November 12, the 22nd year of the Kangxi reign, considering that the New Year's Day banquet was very complicated and too extravagant and wasteful according to Manchu customs, especially since it required the slaughter of a considerable number of livestock, he felt very reluctant.

Emperor Kangxi then ordered that future New Year's Day banquets be changed from Manchu banquets to Han banquets, and the Ministry of Rites was to discuss the specific dishes, drinks, etc.

In this way, not only can the taste of the majority of people be catered for, but it also makes the work of the kitchen staff in charge a lot easier.

After that, banquets in the Hall of Supreme Harmony gradually became a regular practice.

After the banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the emperor's political tasks that needed to be completed on the Spring Festival came to an end.

The banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony revealed the supremacy of imperial power and the strictness of the enthronement system, which made the banquet less festive and more like a grand political event.

So after completing all this, the emperor would have a reunion dinner with his family on the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year.

This meal is not much different from the New Year's Eve dinner, except that it is not on New Year's Eve.

However, this New Year’s Eve dinner was not as sumptuous as the banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the family dinner on New Year’s Eve.

The food the emperor ate also became much simpler, especially the main dish.

"Vegetarian dumplings"!

There is a reason why dumplings must have vegetarian fillings.

It is said that this was because Nurhaci once repented in the first month of one year for his years of war and excessive killing.

Therefore, the family is required to eat only vegetarian dumplings on New Year's Eve.

Moreover, these dumplings are different from the dumplings we eat on ordinary days. When the Manchus make dumplings during the New Year, they will put small eight treasures or small ruyi and other gold and silver products in some dumplings.

These dumplings are called "good luck dumplings".