What does a Manchu emperor wear?
The clothes of a Manchu emperor reserve the customs of Manchu clothing styles and also inherit the clothing tradition of a Han Chinese emperor, which makes each robe golden and requires clouds and dragons be embroidered on each robe. In fact, the sun, the moon, stars, mountains, dragons, fire and other six patterns must be embroidered on the golden robe, for these elements symbolize the authority of an emperor.
The Qing emperors wear different kinds of clothes in different seasons and occasions. On a ceremony or a court meeting, a Manchu emperor wear ceremonial robes; during festivals he is dressed in auspicious gowns, also named dragon robes; in common days he usually wears everyday clothes; and his hats must be in accordance with his clothes, relatively named Chaoguan (court hat), Jifuguan (auspicious clothes’ hat), Changfuguan (everyday clothes’ hat) and Xingfuguan (hat for un-ceremonial occasions).
What does the emperor eat daily?
The imperial families inherit the dining habit of their Manchu ancestors, having dinners twice a day including breakfast and supper. Their breakfast usually begins from 8 or 9 am and had supper between 1 to 2 pm. In summer and autumn, they eat the two dinners one hour earlier than usual. After each dinner, they will have some snacks. The menu for the emperor is arranged by the officials of Neiwufu (a governmental institute which only deals with the small and big things of the imperial family), who supervise the process of cooking when the cooks were working. The places where a Manchu emperor eat are mostly his own living palaces or office areas.
When the dining time comes, the eunuchs in charge of the imperial kitchen are responsible for piecing together three dining tables and spreading a piece of table cloth on the table, and the eunuchs holding red paint boxes will quickly bring all kinds of dishes, desserts, soups and other foods to the table.
After the emperor sits down, the eunuch that asks for the dishes must taste the foods first before the emperor eats them. A poison-testing piece is three inches long and is made of silver. Ancient Chinese thought if the tested food is poisonous, the silver piece’s color will change.
The emperor usually eats alone and no one is allowed to eat together with him, unless he orders someone to eat with him. His dishes usually includes 8 main dishes, 4 snacks, hotpot, porridge, soup etc. The staple food includes rice, noddles and cakes.
How does the emperor deal with political affairs?
The emperor deals with political affairs between 9 and 11 am. The political affairs he deals with can be divided into two parts: daily affairs and special events. When the emperor is having breakfast, a eunuch will collect the reports of the officials who asks for seeing the emperor and it is the emperor himself who decides who should come and report. After breakfast, the emperor begins reviewing the reports of his officials and inviting them to come in and discuss important issues. During the process, the emperor will finally issue his final decisions or orders.
After dealing with political affairs on the morning of each day but having not reviewed all the reports handed in or still having other things to deal with, he will finish them in the afternoon. After eating between 11 am to 2:30 pm, he will continue reviewing the reports of his officials and then begin learning. Apart from his work and learning, he also has some time to play and his entertainment includes Chinese painting, calligraphy, antique appreciation, kite flying and so on.
Where does the emperor reside?
The emperor must worship the gods between 7 pm and 9 pm. Shamanism is the original religion of the Manchu race. In addition, Buddhist and Taoist sites can also be found, scattered in many different parts of the imperial palace.
After the Manchu people defeated the Ming Dynasty and became the ruler, they kept using the regulations of the Ming Dynasty. Xinange (西暖阁: west warm studio) in Qianqing Palace (乾清宫) was used as the sleeping area of the emperor. However, only Emperor Shunzhi and Kangxi lived in the palace, and those after the two emperors all lived in the back palace of Yangxin Palace (养心殿). The empress and the emperor’s concubines all resided in the six eastern palaces or six western palaces.
According to the rules of the imperial family, each young emperor of 15 years old should reach the time of marriage. After the marriage ceremony, the newlyweds will stay in the eastern warm studio of Kunning Palace for three days before departing for their individual residences.
In average conditions, the emperor is not allowed to visit any of his concubines to sleep. If the emperor wants someone to sleep with him, he must order them to his bedroom. The concubine ordered by the emperor will not return to her own bedroom or stay in bed with the emperor all night long. Therefore, a temporary residence has been built near the bedroom palace of the emperor.
These are excerpts from Literature Offprint, the first edition, 2007. Author: Zhang Bo
