What did the Qing emperors do during the Spring Festival?

Chinese New Year? It is one of the most important folk festivals in China. We all know that posting Spring Festival couplets, eating New Year's Eve and paying New Year's greetings are common customs. So how did the Qing emperor live? In the drama of the Qing Dynasty, the scene of the Spring Festival is that the emperor and the concubines in the harem sit together to eat and drink. In fact, for the Qing emperor, the Chinese New Year can be more than just eating food, and there are many things to do.

(Qing Palace Opera for the New Year)

Let's talk about holidays first. Now people have seven days off for the Chinese New Year, while the Qing emperor only has five days off. On the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor will bathe, change clothes, burn incense and salute. Is it solemn? A pen seal? . This means that the emperor will no longer write, even if there are military affairs or government affairs, the emperor will personally handle them, and the emperor will only dictate the decision to the nearest ministers, who will issue the imperial edict. The emperor's pen won't be used again until the first day of the first month? Write and seal? .

Since it is a holiday, let's have a good time! But as an emperor, there are still many things to do. For example:? Prepare a list of people you want to call to attend the New Year's Eve ceremony? In other words, we should consider trivial matters such as the guest list for dinner on New Year's Eve. Of course, it's not all worry. Like ordinary people, they will set off firecrackers, paste blessings and eat New Year's Eve. The only difference is that the emperor's couplets are not put up, but hung up. If they are well preserved, they can be hung for years. I don't know if this is a sign of advocating thrift. On the morning of New Year's Eve, the emperor should first worship Buddha with the Queen Mother. Then worship the ancestors in the ancestral temple.

(ancestor worship)

Then, you can have breakfast with the harem concubines, as well as all kinds of porridge, pasta and rice cakes. Be sure to eat more of this meal, because lunch will not be served until four o'clock in the afternoon! But the most important thing is the New Year's Eve dinner, where the emperor and queen each occupy a table and the other concubines sit according to their positions. Of course, the food at the dinner party is delicious and very rich. The eunuch first made soup for the emperor, and then sent soup to the queen and the concubines in turn according to the grade. The lower the position, the less income. After the dinner, the emperor and his family will go to Baohe Hall, princes and ministers and Mongolian nobles who come to worship for another dinner. There are not only fine wines and delicacies, but also song and dance performances and, of course, red envelopes to make you feel happy. I just don't know how queens can eat so much!

At least this is dinner. The emperor is happy for the Empress Dowager and will accompany the Empress Dowager with his concubines. I can go to the theater to play some small games. But the emperor doesn't need to keep it for a long time, because he has other things to do, so he should take the time to rest. After midnight, the eunuch will wake the emperor up. We can talk before the chicken! What are you doing up so early? ? Write? Ah! He will first go to Zhunfu Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha, saying? Explain Ford? Meaning, and then return to hall of mental cultivation in the Forbidden City? Write? After the ceremony, he will worship the gods and ancestors. At half past six, the princes and ministers wait outside the temple, and the emperor will take them into the harem to pay a New Year call to the Queen Mother.