During the Qing Dynasty, the imperial family was still very enthusiastic about celebrating the Spring Festival. Emperors of the Qing Dynasty generally gave themselves five days off.
During the Qianlong period, on the twenty-third day of the waxing moon a few years ago, that is, when the New Year was celebrated, Qianlong Ye would personally perform a special ceremony at the time of the sacrifice stove - beating drums on the kang and singing songs.
According to Qing and Yao Yuanzhi's "Miscellaneous Records of bamboo leaf pavilions", "Every year the Kunning Palace is dedicated to the stove, and a drum board is set on its main kang. Last, first served. Gao Miao drove in, sat on the kang and beat himself on the drum board, and sang the song "Visiting xian". "The queen here is the empress, the high temple is Qianlongye, and what Qianlongye sings on the kang is likely to be a big drum book." Imagine this picture, it's interesting!
From the twenty-sixth day of the waxing moon, "seal the pen" and "seal", wait until the first day of the first lunar month, then hold a ceremony, and officially start work. When the Qianlong Emperor was rich, because the country was rich, his Spring Festival activities would be more abundant.
The emperors of the Qing Dynasty liked the cold and were afraid of heat, and most of the time they lived in the Yuanmingyuan, and the office enjoyment was not wrong, and Qianlong was no exception. Every Spring Festival, Qianlong would get off and drive back to the Forbidden City for the New Year, and on the 26th of the 26th month of the month, he stopped all office and began to prepare for the New Year.
During the Qing Dynasty, the emperor mostly ate by himself, and only Chinese New Year's Eve years would he eat with the empress, concubines and other people in the Qianqing Palace.
On the morning of the thirtieth, Qianlong and the empress concubines want to have breakfast together, which is also a rare time for the family to be reunited, and the concubines will dress up like the emperor and the empress to invite Ann to the New Year, and then everyone will sit down in order according to the level. The food is generally yellow rice, dumplings, rice cakes and other vegetarian foods, quite a bit of bittersweet taste. Of course, on this occasion, everyone is still very restrained, mostly symbolically eating a little.
Lunch is only four o'clock in the afternoon, the most hearty is the dinner, it is located in the Bohol Hall, Qianlong is a table for one person, the table is made of sandalwood, the table is embroidered with gold wire table fence, quite elaborate, next to the empress and the imperial concubine, and then down is the concubine talent. The dinner party was exceptionally sumptuous, with chicken, duck, fish, mountain and sea delicacies. Of course, the emperor's table is the most luxurious, the empress concubine is second, and the rank is still very distinct. When everything was ready, the eunuch first fed the emperor soup, and then gave the empress dowager and other cadres. The status is different, the pattern of the bowl is also different, the amount of soup is not the same, in short, eating with the emperor, really living and suffering.
The sumptuous feast was not only eaten by the emperor's family, but also generally invited some ministers to eat together, and the whole world was happy.
The most solemn ceremony of the year is the hundred officials paying homage to Qianlong. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, just after dawn, hundreds of officials gathered in the square in front of the Taihe Temple. Luan's honor guards had been lined up there early, and the royal band stood majestically under the eaves of the main hall. Qianlong Duan sat in the Yangxin Hall and comfortably drank a cup of Tu Su wine, his wine glass was specially made, weighing up to one pound, and was inlaid with gold jewelry, known as the Jin Ou Yonggu Cup, which means Jiangshan Yonggu.
When the new year's day came, the bells and drums sounded in unison, and Qianlong ascended to the throne of the Taihe Hall to the sound of music. Three silent whips sounded, the ceremonial officials shouted "queue shifts", and the hundred officials lined up in turn to kneel, the university scholars knelt down to hold the congratulatory watches, and some propaganda officials read aloud, all of which were auspicious words that looked forward to the peace of the country and the people and the eternal stability of the country. After the reading, the hundred officials performed a great salute to Qianlong on three knees and nine prostrations. Qianlong gave him tea, and the hundred officials once again buckled their heads to give thanks. Drinking tea is only symbolic, and being able to have such a special honor once a year makes the hundred officials grateful. After the tea-drinking ceremony, the quiet whip sounded again, the music played, the Qianlong lower hall, the hundred officials retired from the dynasty, and the New Year ceremony ended.
As the master of the Forbidden City, Qianlong was indispensable to send some red envelopes to those who served him. However, people do not call it red packets, they call it "Ruyi Purse". It will be given to the Eight Banners disciples, eunuchs, and palace girls around them. Depending on the status, relatives are distant and close, there will be different rewards of value in the purse, including gold ruyi, silver ruyi, silver money and so on. The rest are much the same as the folk New Year's day. Such as pasting couplets, setting off firecrackers . But there is one point, the couplet of the Forbidden City is made of carved and painted on the wooden board, which looks magnificent. Because the couplet is a wooden board can only be hung on the door.
Manchu Culture Network