But among the famous banquets in history, Jiang Jianghao heard the most about the Manchu and Han banquets, but what he was most curious about was the historic Confucian banquet. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

I thought that this banquet, as the name suggests, should be easy to understand, but I didn't expect that the explanations are varied. However, it is certain that the banquet was of a high standard. It is a high-end banquet specially prepared for the reception of VIPs, the appointment of the lord, the birthday festival, and the wedding and funeral. The banquet is divided into several categories, both homely and homely, and there are banquets for the emperor and ministers, all kinds of banquets are all-encompassing, and the culmination of Chinese banquets is completely in accordance with the principle of Confucius "not getting tired of eating, not getting tired of being fine".

In the late Spring and Autumn period, Confucius represented the interests of the declining slave-owning aristocracy and was the ancestor of Chinese Confucianism. He advocated that people's words and deeds should be subject to "etiquette", believing that "etiquette" is the highest norm in society. Therefore, the banquets created by his descendants under the influence of Confucian culture naturally expressed the basic form of "rites". As early as more than 2,000 years ago, Confucius was very particular about food. With the successive emperors of Confucius continue to be sealed, posthumously, Yan Shenggong and the past dynasties, plus the emperors of the past dynasties, Qincha and other officials to Qufu to worship Confucius, some bring chefs to come, gradually Confucius banquet set the essence of all parts of the country, set the culmination of Lu cuisine, its characteristics are color, fragrance, taste, shape, name, material and so on. The raw materials of Confucian cuisine include precious camel's hooves, bear paws, etc., as well as local specialties, such as fish and shrimp produced in Weishan Lake, which are commonly used in Confucian cuisine, and are supplied by special tenants.

The Confucian banquet is different from the general banquet, for example, firecrackers should be set off before the wedding banquet, and one dish and one dish should be eaten. In addition, every Confucian dish has a beautiful legend. The name of the dish is very elaborate and has a profound meaning. Some follow the traditional name, and some take the name elegant and simple, full of poetry, such as "poetry ginkgo" and so on; There are also names used to praise the glory of his family history or express auspiciousness, such as "auspicious wishes" and so on. The Confucian banquet is also very particular about the containers, silver, copper, tin, lacquer, porcelain, agate, glass and other tableware are complete, and they are used for the sake of things, and their image is perfect. In a variety of containers, in addition to fish, duck, deer and other special pictographic tableware, there are square, round, ingot-shaped, gossip-shaped, cloud-shaped and other utensils. These vessels decorate the opulence of the table.

Moreover, as far as the Confucian banquet is concerned, it should be divided into five major banquets of the Confucian Mansion, which are the birthday banquet, the flower banquet, the festive banquet, the welcome banquet and the home-cooked banquet.

As the name suggests, birthday banquets are held specifically for birthday celebrations. The Confucian Mansion has a special book to record the birthdays of the main dignitaries such as the Emperor Yan and his wife, son, young lady and close relatives, and a banquet will be held to celebrate at that time, so that the cycle repeats itself and forms a birthday banquet. The famous dishes at the birthday banquet are very exquisite, the tableware is exquisite, and the furnishings are elegant. The names of the dishes also have their own meanings, such as "longevity", "longevity", "longevity fish" and so on. The production is fine, and its "Yipin Shou Peach" is the first treasure in the Confucian birthday banquet.

The flower banquet is a banquet set up at the wedding of the prince and the son of Yan and the young lady. Confucius has always been married to the high gate, therefore, the flower banquet is naturally noble and decent, this kind of banquet, the word "happy" is vacant during the banquet, and there is a "double happiness" shaped high plate in the center of the banquet. The name of the dish is also apt and tasteful. Such as "peach blossom shrimp", "mandarin duck chicken", "phoenix shark fin", "belt upward" and so on.

Festive feast. All the festive things in the Confucian Mansion such as being feuded, raided, and having a son must be congratulated by a banquet. The festive atmosphere is often highlighted on the surface of this banquet. The name of the dish is beautiful and auspicious. Such as "fried chicken", "Yangguan three stacks", "four happy balls" and so on.

The welcome banquet is a banquet used by high-ranking officials such as welcoming the holy car and entertaining the ministers of the royal palace. Due to the special political function and status of Confucius, the emperors of all generations advocated Confucianism, sometimes the emperor came to pay tribute to Confucius, and sometimes sent princes and ministers to come, and the banquet to receive these high-ranking officials was of higher standard, and there were delicacies from the mountains and seas on the table, such as "Qiong Jelly Swallow Vegetables", "Bear's Paw Chop Beef Tendron", "Royal Pen Monkey Head" and so on. One of the most luxurious is the Manchu and Han Dynasty banquet of the Qing Dynasty, which is a feast dedicated to entertaining the emperor and the ministers, with 404 pieces of tin tableware of different shapes and 196 famous dishes served at a banquet. Such as the whole sheep barbecue of the Manchu people, the camel hooves of the Han people, the bear's paws, etc. The Confucian banquet pays attention to pomp and luxury, in addition to the "Manchu and Han full banquet", there are also "whole sheep banquet", "shark fin banquet", "sea cucumber banquet" and four large pieces, three pieces of banquet.

The home-cooked banquet is a banquet used by the Confucian Mansion to receive relatives and friends, and the dishes often change with the seasons. In addition to the internal and external kitchens, the Confucian Mansion also has its own small kitchen to cook their own meals.

There are three famous feasts in history, and Jiang Jianghao remembers that there is another banquet called the Roast Tail Banquet.

It is said that this roasted tail banquet refers specifically to the banquet held by the scholar Dengke or the promotion of official positions, which was popular in the Tang Dynasty and is a typical representative of Chinese celebration banquets. The term "burning tail" originated in the Tang Dynasty, and there are three sayings: one is that the beast can change into a human, but the tail cannot be changed, only burned; The second is that the new sheep have just entered the flock, and it can only be accepted if the tail is burned; Although these two theories differ, they both believe that "burning tails" is a ritual that signifies a sudden change from one's original identity.

The third is that the carp jumps on the dragon gate, and there must be a heavenly fire to burn its tail to become a dragon. This statement originated from the Tang Zhongzong period, saying that an official named Yang Zaisi cooked a table of delicacies in order to pat the emperor's ass, but when the dishes were ready, he didn't think of what to name the banquet. At this time, he heard someone report: "The Dragon Gate guard Yang Junren has arrived!" Hearing this, he thought of the story of the carp jumping over the dragon gate and needing the fire to burn its tail. As a result, the word "burning tail" has the meaning of perseverance and a symbol of great future, prospering officials, and immeasurable emperors.

These three theories all have the meaning of promotion and renewal, so the banquet is named "Burning Tail Banquet". Although the "roasted tail" banquet in the Tang Dynasty was popular for a while, it only lasted for about 20 years. "Tang Shu Su Gui Biography" records: Su Gui worshiped the right servant of Shangshu and shot the three products under the door of Zhongshu, and when he entered the title of Xu Guogong, he did not offer the emperor a "burning tail banquet", which was not only ridiculed by hundreds of officials, but also by Emperor Zhongzong. Faced with the ridicule of the Ming bureaucracy and the dissatisfaction of the Son of Heaven, Su Gui directly admonished Emperor Zhongzong: "The prime minister is to assist the Son of Heaven in governing the country's major affairs, and now the rice and grain are expensive, the people can't eat enough, and the guards haven't even eaten for three days, although the ministers are incompetent, they don't dare to burn their tails." Zhongzong had no choice but to acquiesce. Since then, the "roasted tail feast" is no longer held.

Roasted tail feast menu [according to "Wei Juyuan・Recipe" (part)]:

Rice and dim sum: Jushengnu (honey powder), Brahmin light high noodles (steamed noodles), Guifei red (red puff pastry), Han Palace chess (boiled printed round noodles), Changsheng porridge (therapeutic food), sweet snow (candied noodles), single cage golden soufflé (steamed pastry), mandol-like sandwich cake (oven scones), etc.

Dishes and soups: Tonghua soft beef intestine (cooked in mutton fat), bright shrimp (live is grilled), white dragon yao (made with repeatedly beaten tenderloin), sheepskin shredded (fried shredded mutton, cut one foot long), snow baby (bean sprouts pasted field chicken), fairy belly (stewed chicken with milk), small day crisp (fried with deer and chicken), chop head spring (roasted quail), Guomenxiang (all kinds of meat matched and fried) and so on.

"Roasted Tail Banquet Food List" includes "Tang Dynasty Sayings", "Saying Xuan", "Five Dynasties Novels" and "Qing Yilu Food and Drink" and so on.